1991 Cardiff City Council election

The 1991 Cardiff City Council election was held on Thursday 2 May 1991 to the district council of Cardiff in South Glamorgan, Wales. It took place on the same day as other district council elections in Wales and England. The Labour Party regained a majority on Cardiff City Council, after sharing government for the previous four years.^[1]

The previous Cardiff City Council took place in 1987.^[2] The 1991 election was to be the final election to the district council before its dissolution and replacement, in 1995, by the new County Council of the City and County of Cardiff unitary authority.

Overview[]

All 65 council seats were up for election, though the election in the safe Conservative ward of Heath was delayed, with the results coming later (though not affecting Labour's majority control). Since 1987 Labour had governed in coalition with the SDP-Liberal Alliance. Following the 1991 election it regained a majority on the council.^[3]

One of the major upsets of the election was the next Cardiff Lord Mayor-to-be, Gerald Brinks, losing his Roath seat. His designated successor, Anthea Thomas, also lost her seat in Llanishen. This meant Cllr Jeff Sainsbury unexpectedly became the new Lord Mayor, four years earlier than planned, as well as leader of the Conservative group on the council.^[3]

Labour made 11 gains and lost only one seat, to Independent Betty Campbell, in Butetown. The Conservatives lost 8 seats and the Liberal Democrats lost three.^[3]

Cardiff Council election result 1991^[2]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes
Labour	39	11	1	10	60.0	68,270
Conservative	16	0	8	8	24.6
Liberal Democrats	9	2	5	3	13.8
Independent	1	1	0	1	1.5	572
Green	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0	4,910
Plaid Cymru	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0	2,506
SDP	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0	717

Ward Results[]

Contests were held in all twenty-six wards:^[2]^(a)^[4]^(b)

Adamsdown (2 seats)[]

Adamsdown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Owen Jones *	1,209	65.9	+8.3
	Labour	W. P. M. Herbert *	1,194
	Liberal Democrats	Nigel Howells	256	14.0	-5.6
	Conservative	A. C. S. Baker	220	12.0	-5.9
	Liberal Democrats	S. Stevenson	210
	Conservative	B. Jeffreys	201
	Plaid Cymru	H. Davies	110	8.2	+3.3
Turnout				33.0	-3.8
Registered electors			5,649
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Butetown (1 seat)[]

Butetown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Rachel E. Campbell	572	46.4	*N/A*
	Labour	Ben J. Foday	532	43.1	-23.3
	Conservative	K. D. Summerhayes	114	9.2	-16.3
	Liberal Democrats	B. N. Singh	16	1.3	-6.8
Turnout				51.0	+7.7
Registered electors			2,437
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Caerau (2 seats)[]

Caerau^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jacqui A. Gasson *	1,914	49.9	+17.3
	Labour	Harry J. Ernest	1,546	40.3	-6.6
	Labour	David J. Seligman *	1,444
	Liberal Democrats	Roger C. Burley	1,417
	Conservative	A. J. Pithers	258	6.7	-10.3
	Green	R. S. Best	121	3.2	-0.2
Turnout				48.0	+1.8
Registered electors			7,532
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Canton (3 seats)[]

Canton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kevin D. Brennan	2,485	50.8	+15.6
	Labour	P. D. E. Mitchell	2,351
	Labour	David W. Thomas	2,153
	Conservative	D. O. Davey *	1,473	30.1	-9.3
	Conservative	S. P. Docking	1,421
	Conservative	Trevor C. Tyrrell *	1,405
	Liberal Democrats	P. E. Crees	513	10.5	-4.0
	Liberal Democrats	M. G. Kettle	464
	Green	Vivien M. C. Turner	416	8.5	+1.8
	Liberal Democrats	C. Morris	386
Turnout				44.0	-10.3
Registered electors			10,527
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Cathays (3 seats)[]

Cathays^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Michael J. German *	2,231	41.7	+4.1
	Liberal Democrats	Fred J. Hornblow *	2,115
	Labour	Derek R. Allinson *	1,903	35.6	-1.3
	Liberal Democrats	D. W. T. Rees	1,742
	Labour	L. J. Glaister	1,672
	Labour	Reg Surridge	1,553
	Conservative	B. Rees	621	11.6	-4.8
	Green	N. Clark	597	11.2	+5.3
	Conservative	D. G. Embers	496
	Conservative	M. M. Williams	457
Turnout				46.0	-5.2
Registered electors			10,363
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Cyncoed (3 seats)[]

Cyncoed^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Jenny E. Randerson	3,134	55.1	+4.4
	Liberal Democrats	T. C. Pickets	2,956
	Liberal Democrats	N. J. Lewis	2,846
	Conservative	C. V. Baker	1,868	32.8	-10.7
	Conservative	T. D. Donnelly	1,803
	Conservative	E. Loader	1,747
	Labour	S. N. Lashford	396	7.0
	Labour	C. Tugwell	393
	Labour	V. J. James	365
	Green	D. P. Corker	290	5.1	N/A
Turnout				62.0	-7.7
Registered electors			8,659
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Ely (3 seats)[]

Ely^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elaine E. Morgan*	2,448	67.9	+8.9
	Labour	T. A. Davies	2,194
	Labour	Charlie Gale *	2,144
	Conservative	K. B. Gillard	687	19.1	-1.9
	Liberal Democrats	I. I. Sadler	471	13.1	-7.1
	Liberal Democrats	M. Rawnsley	428
	Liberal Democrats	R. J. Hewlett	415
Turnout				34.0	-3.0
Registered electors			10,870
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Fairwater (3 seats)[]

Fairwater^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maxwell J. Phillips *	2,501	52.3	+12.2
	Labour	T. J. Ward *	2,497
	Labour	D. M. Evans *	2,227
	Conservative	D. M. Norman	1,046	21.9	-5.5
	Conservative	W. R. P. Clarke	1,002
	SDP	R. G. Drake	717	15.0	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	C. L. Ceaton	521	10.9	-18.1
	Liberal Democrats	S. L. White	373
	Liberal Democrats	A. M. Wigley	329
Turnout				41.0	+13.0
Registered electors			10,295
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Gabalfa (1 seat)[]

Gabalfa^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. D. Hutchinson *	1,362	63.1	+11.4
	Conservative	E. R. Morgan	506	23.5
	Liberal Democrats	Cathy W. J. Pearcy	389	13.4	-9.1
Turnout				45.0	-7.7
Registered electors			4,769
	Labour hold		Swing

Grangetown (3 seats)[]

Grangetown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joan M. Gallagher *	2,192	54.5	+7.1
	Labour	John F. Smith *	2,129
	Labour	Lynda D. Thorne *	2,123
	Conservative	J. S. Summerhayes	917	22.8	-17.6
	Conservative	F. M. Arnold	902
	Conservative	S. Trask	757
	Plaid Cymru	P. Fawkes	358	8.9	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	J. Turnbull	341	8.5	-3.7
	Green	K. S. Shaw	212	5.3	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	M. K. Verma	153
	Liberal Democrats	A. Sayeda	152
Turnout				40.0	-10.7
Registered electors			9,220
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Heath (3 seats)[]

Heath^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Milsom *	1,829	34.6	-18.4
	Conservative	P. Donnelly	1,770
	Conservative	Greville Tatham *	1,643
	Independent	N. Rhodes	1,470	27.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	W. Monkley	854	16.1	-7.2
	Liberal Democrats	V. Hallett	810
	Liberal Democrats	J. James	805
	Labour	S. Walters	750	14.2	-1.5
	Labour	L. Poole	650
	Labour	A. Culat	600
	Green	M. Evans	386	7.3	-0.8
Turnout				42.0	-13.5
Registered electors			9,395
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

The contest in the Heath ward was suspended until after the main election, with the result declared at a later date.

Lisvane and St Mellons (1 seat)[]

Lisvane and St Mellons^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. W. Richards *	1,217	52.0	-4.9
	Liberal Democrats	A. M. Holland	801	34.2	-0.4
	Labour	L. H. V. Davis	265	11.3	+2.9
	Green	M. L. Duddy	56	2.4	N/A
Turnout				49.0	-6.5
Registered electors			4,772
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llandaff (2 seats)[]

Llandaff^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julius Hermer *	1,631	46.1	-4.3
	Conservative	M. E. Jones *	1,605
	Labour	V. Seligman	836	23.6	+10.3
	Labour	R. C. Watson	775
	Liberal Democrats	W. A. Slack	501	14.2	-15.1
	Liberal Democrats	E. R. Williams	393
	Plaid Cymru	G. Jones	328	9.3	+2.2
	Green	F. O. James	241	6.8	N/A
Turnout				49.0	-7.0
Registered electors			6,767
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llandaff North (2 seats)[]

Llandaff North^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. D. Flynn *	1,799	66.9	+10.9
	Labour	M. E. Matthewson *	1,666
	Conservative	D. G. Morgan	548	20.4	-3.1
	Conservative	J. B. Marshall	524
	Liberal Democrats	G. M. James	343	12.8	-3.4
	Liberal Democrats	D. J. Wright	276
Turnout				46.0	-1.3
Registered electors			6,116
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanishen (3 seats)[]

Llanishen^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Tatham *	2,382	41.9	+1.9
	Conservative	A. L. Gretton *	2,316
	Labour	Garry Hunt	2,308	40.6	+10.1
	Labour	W. A. J. Matthews	2,252
	Labour	W. C. Laing	2,239
	Conservative	Anthea J. Thomas *	2,158
	Liberal Democrats	M. D. Cawley	989	17.4	-12.2
	Liberal Democrats	V. M. Hallett	951
	Liberal Democrats	E. W. Richards	900
Turnout				54.0	+0.4
Registered electors			10,784
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Llanrumney (3 seats)[]

Llanrumney^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gill M. Bird *	2,575	69.4	+18.1
	Labour	B. James *	2,386
	Labour	John R. Phillips *	2,159
	Conservative	A. M. McCarthy	743	20.0	-3.2
	Conservative	R. J. Robinson	735
	Conservative	H. P. Hunt	694
	Green	L. Davey	392	10.6	N/A
Turnout				39.0	-6.8
Registered electors			9,305
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentwyn (3 seats)[]

Pentwyn^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Longworth *	1,817	43.0	+15.5
	Labour	P. K. Cubitt	1,702
	Labour	J. Sullivan	1,641
	Liberal Democrats	J. A. Walklett	1,292	30.6	-6.2
	Liberal Democrats	M. C. McMahon	1,270
	Liberal Democrats	G. R. Williams	1,221
	Conservative	W. J. Pursey	813	19.2	-11.7
	Conservative	E. T. Richardson	777
	Conservative	V. A. West	717
	Green	G. J. John	305	7.2	N/A
Turnout				35.0	-5.7
Registered electors			11,749
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Plasnewydd (4 seats)[]

Plasnewydd^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. C. Cox	2,401	37.4	+10.4
	Labour	P. W. Morris	2,203
	Labour	F. M. Jackson	2,153
	Labour	J. Wilkinson	2,083
	Liberal Democrats	Georgette O. J. German *	1,782	27.8	-8.6
	Liberal Democrats	S. E. Jennett	1,459
	Liberal Democrats	J. C. Bennett	1,379
	Liberal Democrats	P. K. Verma	1,226
	Conservative	S. V. Cox	1,048	16.3	-7.7
	Conservative	K. Fisher	933
	Conservative	D. C. Porter	876
	Conservative	D. C. Williams	809
	Green	C. J. von Ruhland	675	10.5	+3.5
	Plaid Cymru	S. Edwards	511	8.0
Turnout				43.0	-13.9
Registered electors			12,088
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing
	Labour gain from Liberal Democrats		Swing

Radyr & St Fagans (1 seat)[]

Radyr & St Fagans^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Davison-Sebry	1,035	48.4	-3.2
	Labour	P. Robinson	600	28.1	+16.5
	Liberal Democrats	N. L. Roberts	502	23.5	-11.3
Turnout				55.0	-12.1
Registered electors			3,885
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rhiwbina (3 seats)[]

Rhiwbina^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth J. J. Neale *	2,642	50.5	-0.1
	Conservative	Jeffrey P. Sainsbury *	2,605
	Conservative	K. B. C. Heselton *	2,483
	Labour	L. L. Jenkins	1,183	22.6	+9.9
	Labour	J. B. Minkes	1,093
	Labour	A. P. Kempton	987
	Liberal Democrats	J. G. Brent	976	18.7	-9.1
	Liberal Democrats	G. Hallet	927
	Liberal Democrats	K. Bowden	832
	Green	G. P. Jones	427	8.2	-0.7
Turnout				52.0	-10.1
Registered electors			9,437
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Riverside (3 seats)[]

Riverside^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. I. O. Brown *	2,340	54.8	+7.2
	Labour	Jane E. Davidson *	2,295
	Labour	Sue L. Essex *	2,271
	Conservative	N. A. Rhodes	776	18.2	-5.3
	Conservative	G. Crosby	736
	Conservative	P. C. Young	720
	Green	P. G. Ward	406	9.5	-0.4
	Plaid Cymru	C. ap Henri	382	8.9	+2.1
	Liberal Democrats	R. Addison	367	8.6	-3.5
	Liberal Democrats	A. M. Burgess	303
	Liberal Democrats	R. P. Fawcett	247
Turnout				41.0	-9.7
Registered electors			9,438
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Roath (3 seats)[]

Roath^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	C. J. Kelloway *	2,717	49.1	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	M. N. Michaelis	2,458
	Liberal Democrats	Freda J. Salway	2,344
	Conservative	G. M. Brinks *	1,615	29.2	-13.2
	Conservative	D. G. Williams *	1,415
	Conservative	D. C. Harris	1,398
	Labour	Ralph Rees	818	14.8	-0.4
	Labour	D. Groves	789
	Labour	A. Stuart	629
	Green	D. Beasley	386	7.0	N/A
Turnout				51.0	-21.4
Registered electors			9,892
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Conservative		Swing

Rumney (2 seats)[]

Rumney^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. A. Huish	1,820	59.7	+18.9
	Labour	C. Holland	1,649
	Conservative	A. L. Hollands	1,216	40.3	-7.4
	Conservative	L. T. Sharp	1,079
Turnout				46.0	-8.4
Registered electors			6,724
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Splott (2 seats)[]

Splott^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey Mungham *	2,894	75.9	+13.2
	Labour	Ricky Ormonde *	2,572
	Conservative	G. D. Donaldson	585	16.5	-5.7
	Conservative	C. S. Ayland	546
	Liberal Democrats	J. V. Febbo	271	7.6	±0.0
	Liberal Democrats	R. K. Bhagat	193
Turnout				46.0	-1.6
Registered electors			7,974
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Trowbridge (2 seats)[]

Trowbridge^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. M. English *	1,689	61.7	-1.0
	Labour	R. S. Hughes *	1,658
	Conservative	A. L. Cashin	644	23.5	+0.3
	Conservative	K. Thomas	625
	Liberal Democrats	W. J. Ford	274	10.0	-4.0
	Liberal Democrats	H. K. Deogan	263
	Plaid Cymru	S. R. Parry	129	4.7	N/A
Turnout				33.0	-2.2
Registered electors			8,442
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Whitchurch & Tongwynlais (4 seats)[]

Whitchurch & Tongwynlais^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. H. Griffiths *	3,033	42.5	-2.3
	Conservative	T. H. Davies *	2,817
	Conservative	Brian John Griffiths *	2,798
	Conservative	Victor Riley*	2,652
	Labour	D. R. Bethel	2,629	36.8	+7.7
	Labour	T. H. Crews	2,561
	Labour	P. H. Owen	2,376
	Labour	M. R. Winters	2,176
	Liberal Democrats	G. A. Mellem	832	11.6	-14.5
	Liberal Democrats	H. G. Howell	812
	Liberal Democrats	F. Leevers	810
	Liberal Democrats	T. J. G. Williams	658
	Plaid Cymru	Harri Pritchard-Jones	648	9.1	N/A
Turnout				56.0	-4.3
Registered electors			11,647
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

(a) Elections Centre source also indicates pre-existing 'retiring' ward councillors, whether candidate is female, compares the percentage vote of the lead candidate for each party in the ward

(b) South Wales Echo source also indicates pre-existing 'retiring' ward councillors, candidates' full initials, whether the result was 'no change' or a 'gain'

* pre-existing 'retiring' ward councillors at this election

References[]

^ "Tories stunned, Plaid celebrate in S. Wales - Labour Sweep To Power In Cardiff". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 1.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Cardiff Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 23 May 2019.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Labour sweep the city - Tory gloom as eight seats fall". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 3.
^ "How You Voted - South Glamorgan". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 8.

[SWE_Labour_Sweep-1] "Tories stunned, Plaid celebrate in S. Wales - Labour Sweep To Power In Cardiff". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 1.

[Elections_Centre-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Cardiff Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 23 May 2019.

[SWE_Tory_gloom-3] "Labour sweep the city - Tory gloom as eight seats fall". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 3.

[SWE_how_you_voted-4] "How You Voted - South Glamorgan". South Wales Echo. 3 May 1991. p. 8.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t Council elections in Cardiff
Cardiff Council	1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022
Cardiff City Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
Cardiff County Borough Council	1889 1890 1891 1892 1919 1920 1928 .... 1966 1967 1970 1971 1972 Abolished
	.... 1887 1888 Superseded

v t Council elections in the preserved county of South Glamorgan
Cardiff Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022
	1983 1995 2004 2008 2012 2017
	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished

v t (1990 ←) 1991 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1992)
Metropolitan boroughs	Barnsley Bradford Bolton Leeds Liverpool Manchester Sheffield Solihull Trafford Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton
District councils (England)	Basildon Bath Braintree Brentwood Bristol Broxbourne Castle Point Chelmsford Cheltenham Colchester Corby Derby East Northamptonshire Erewash Gloucester Guildford Harlow High Peak Horsham Ipswich Langbaurgh-on-Tees Lincoln Mid Bedfordshire Norwich Plymouth Rochford South Kesteven Southend-on-Sea Stevenage Tendring Wansdyke Watford West Dorset
District councils (Wales)	Cardiff Carmarthen Ceredigion Dinefwr Llanelli Ogwr Preseli Pembrokeshire South Pembrokeshire