1931 Glamorgan County Council election

The fourteenth election to Glamorgan County Council, south Wales, took place in March 1931. It was preceded by the 1928 election and followed by the 1934 election.

Overview of the Result

Labour was defending a secure majority in an election where they faced opposition from the left in the form of the Communist Party, as well as more traditional opponents. The result showed little change from previous years.

Boundary Changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Candidates

13 candidates were returned unopposed.^[1]

Contested Elections

Most of the retiring aldermen were returned.

Outcome

Labour retains its majority.^[2] The party won some additional seats, such as Pentre in the Rhondda where T.A. Thomas had held on against several previous Labour challenges.

In the Cymmer ward, David Thomas, who had failed to hold the seat in 1928 after David Watts-Morgan was elected alderman, was successful after the sitting Independent stood down.

Results

Aberaman

Aberaman 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Florence Rose Davies**	2,408
	Independent	T.Ll. Davies	1,833
Majority			575
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon

Aberavon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Edward Lewis Hare*	2,292
	Independent	Horace Hyde Macey	1,408
Majority			884
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon

Abercynon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Joseph Dicks**	2,434
	Liberal	Edward J. Thomas	1,063
Majority			1,381
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare Town

Aberdare Town 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Bargoed

The sitting member had been elected as the official Labour candidate in 1928.

Bargoed 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent Labour	William Henry Hopkins*	2,434
	Independent	T.C. Jones	1,204
	Labour	Moses C. Price	550
Majority			1,230
	Independent Labour hold		Swing

Barry

Barry 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Rev D.H. Williams**	1,953
	Labour	Rev R.H. Lomas*	1,494
Majority			459
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Barry Dock

Barry Dock 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W.M. Davies*	Unopposed
	Liberal hold		Swing

Blaengwawr

Blaengwawr 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William J. Edwards*	1,156
	Independent	Henry Vause	518
	Communist	Trevor Williams	152
Majority			638
	Labour hold		Swing

Bridgend

Bridgend 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent Liberal	Dapho Llewellyn Powell*	1,713
	Ind. Conservative	William W. Phillips	1,227
Majority			486
	Independent hold		Swing

Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	George Gethin*	2,068
	Conservative	J.M. Bevan	1,500
Majority			568
	Labour hold		Swing

Cadoxton

Cadoxton 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Dudley Thomas Howe	1,631
	Labour	Frederick Cook	1,160
Majority			471
	Independent hold		Swing

Caerphilly

Caerphilly 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Evan Phillips	2,183
	Independent	Joseph Howells**	2,119
	Communist	Edward Withers	101
Majority			64
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Cilfynydd

Cilfynydd 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Arthur Pearson*	2,306
	Independent	Ivor W. Thomas	1,358
Majority			948
	Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc

Coedffranc 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Ogley L. David	2,170
	Labour	W. Phillip Jenkins*	1,867
Majority			303
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Cowbridge

Cowbridge 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	George Lougher	2,147
	Labour	Emily Jones	1,487
Majority			660
	Independent hold		Swing

Cwm Aber

Cwm Aber 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev David M. Jones*	2,462
	Independent	Griffith H. Lloyd	845
	Communist	F. Parrish	95
Majority			1,617
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmavon

Cwmavon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Jones Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cymmer

Cymmer 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Thomas	997
	Independent	Brinley Ithel Rowlands	775
Majority			222
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Dinas Powys

Dinas Powys 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivor Broadbent Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Dulais Valley

Dulais Valley 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwilym Davies*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ferndale

Ferndale 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Alfred Evans*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Gadlys

Gadlys 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Prowle	1,328
	Independent	T. Marchant Harries*	1,000
Majority			328
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Glyncorrwg

Glyncorrwg 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Gower

W.H. Davies had won the seat in 1919, and was elected alderman. He failed to be re-elected in 1925 and 1928.

Gower 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William Henry Davies	1,761
	Independent	Frederick W. Davies*	1,602
Majority			159
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Evans*	1,900
	Independent	T.B. Fisher	1,551
Majority			349
	Labour hold		Swing

Hopkinstown

Hopkinstown 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E.H. Fleming**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Kibbor

Kibbor 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Edgar L. Chappell	1,769
	Independent	John Kane	1,400
Majority			369
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandaff

Llandaff 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Ind. Conservative	Sir Lewis Lougher*	862
	Independent Liberal	Mary Annie Powell	440
Majority			422
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo Talybont

Llandeilo Talybont 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Caradoc Jones**	1,885
	Independent	Alfred Morgan	1,153
Majority			732
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfabon

Llanfabon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William Bowen*	1,596
	Independent	Arthur Hopkins	966
Majority			630
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwydcoed

Llwydcoed 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Martha Emma Jones*	1,563
	Labour	Owen Powell	926
Majority			637
	Independent hold		Swing

Llwynypia

Llwynypia 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Philip Haines Rowlands*	2,241
	Communist	Lewis R. Jones	154
Majority			2,067
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughor

Loughor 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas J. Thomas*	2,245
	Labour	David J. Davies	1,854
	Communist	Sarah Edith Williams	143
Majority			391
	Independent hold		Swing

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Evans**	2,162
	Independent	Brinley Richards	984
	Communist	Benjamin Francis	914
Majority			1,172
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg, East and West

Maesteg East and West 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Albert E. Lockyer	2,863
	Labour	Tom Jenkins	1,746
Majority			1,117
	Independent hold		Swing

Mountain Ash

Mountain Ash 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Hon. John H. Bruce*	1,836
	Labour	Justin Lewis	1,727
Majority			109
	Independent hold		Swing

Neath (North)

Neath (North) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent Liberal	David Griffith Davies	1,382
	Labour	John William Morgan	1,234
	Communist	Frank Roper	77
Majority			148
	Independent hold		Swing

Neath (South)

Neath (South) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev W. Degwel Thomas*	1,934
	Independent	Theodore Gibbins	1,907
Majority			27
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle

Newcastle 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rev H.R. Protheroe*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ogmore Valley

The sitting Independent Labour councillor had recently died.

Ogmore Valley 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Lucas	2,337
	Independent	Thomas Llewellyn	2,152
Majority			349
	Labour gain from Independent Labour		Swing

Penarth North

Penarth North 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Frank L. Nicholls	1,261
	Labour	Ernest Edwards	615
Majority			646
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Penarth South

Penarth South 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Samuel Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pencoed

The sitting member, W.A. Howell, switched to contest the Porthcawl ward and Labour won the seat.

Pencoed 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Mervyn W. Paine	1,819
	Independent	David Bayliss	938
Majority			881
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Penrhiwceiber

Penrhiwceiber 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John William Bath	3,130
	Independent	Mrs Alice Phillips	1,343
Majority			1,787
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentre

Pentre 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	James Jenkin Lewis	2,061
	Independent	Thomas Alfred Thomas*	1,208
Majority			853
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pontardawe

Pontardawe 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Daniel Davies**	2,787
	Independent	Rev T.M. Roderick	1,342
Majority			1,445
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pontyclun

Pontyclun 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Johnson Miles	2,093
	Independent	Rev. Benjamin Salmon	1,778
Majority			315
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Port Talbot East

Port Talbot East 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Thomas**	1,481
	Independent	William Arthur Davies	1,226
Majority			255
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot West

Port Talbot West 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Llewelyn David*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Porthcawl

Porthcawl 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	W.A. Howell*	2,277
	Labour	Jenkin Jones	1,414
Majority			863
	Independent hold		Swing

Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.A. Hancock*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontycymmer

Pontycymmer 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ted Williams*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontypridd Town

Pontypridd Town 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Gwilym Seaton	1,438
	Labour	Myra O'Brien	1,407
Majority			29
	Independent hold		Swing

Penygraig

Penygraig 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William Job	2,019
	Independent	John Picton Davies*	1,378
	Communist	Vivian Howard James	231
Majority			641
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Porth

Porth 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Evans*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Swansea Valley

Swansea Valley 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Jenkins	2,903
	Independent	Richard Thomas*	2,058
Majority			945
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Dicks*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Trealaw

Trealaw 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Atkins	1,649
	Independent	Edwin Jenkins	993
	Communist	John James Townsend	213
Majority			656
	Labour hold		Swing

Treforest

Treforest 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Arthur James Chick*	2,104
	Independent	Zenos Thomas	1,968
Majority			136
	Labour hold		Swing

Treherbert

Treherbert 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Edward Williams*	2,674
	Independent	Frederick George Dingley	715
Majority			1,959
	Labour hold		Swing

Treorchy

Treorchy 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Hughes*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown

Tylorstown 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Lewis**	1,907
	Communist	George Edward Maslin	872
Majority			935
	Labour hold		Swing

Vale of Neath

Vale of Neath 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William A. Betty*	3,169
	Independent	Rees Howells	2.229
	Communist	W.J. Sherlock	129
Majority			940
	Labour hold		Swing

Ynyshir

Ynyshir 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Daniel Jones	1,744
	Labour	Thomas Henry Matthews	1,594
Majority			150
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Daniel T. Jones*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystrad

Ystrad 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Sidney Cadogan*	2,417
	Independent	Henry Harris	951
Majority			1,466
	Labour hold		Swing

Election of Aldermen

In addition to the 66 councillors the council consisted of 22 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the 1931 election, there were eleven Aldermanic vacancies, and the retiring aldermen were all re-elected.^[3]

The following retiring aldermen were re-elected:

William Bowen (Lab, Llanfabon)
David Daniel Davies (Lab, Pontardawe)
Rose Davies (Lab, Aberaman)
John Evans (Lab, Maesteg)
Johnson Dicks (Lab, Abercynon)
E.H. Fleming (Lab, Hopkinstown)
William Jenkins (Lab, Glyncorrwg)
Caradoc Jones (Lab, Llandeilo Talybont)
David Lewis (Lab, Tylorstown)
John Thomas (Lab, Port Talbot)
Rev D.H. Williams (Ind, Barry)

By-elections

Eleven vacancies were caused by the election of aldermen.

Aberaman by-election

Aberaman by-election 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sydney Herbert Stephens*
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Barry by-election

Barry by-election 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	L.P. Griffiths	2,032
	Labour	Rev R.H. Lomas	1,624
Majority			408
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Glyncorrwg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Hopkinstown by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Llandeilo Talybont by-election

Llandeilo Talybont
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Llewellyn Davies	1,501
	Labour	J. Powell	1,378
Majority
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanfabon by-election

Llanfabon by-election 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles Herbert Davies	1,212
	Independent	William Jones	1,169
Majority			43
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Pontardawe by-election

Pontardawe by-election 1925
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Williams	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Tylorstown by-election

Tylorstown by-election 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Mardy Evans*	1,977
	Communist	George Edward Maslin	584
	Independent	David John	284
Majority			1,393
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ "Glamorgan Contests. Eleven Aldermen Seek Election". Western Mail. 24 February 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
^ "County Council Elections. Small Polls in Monmouth and Glamorgan". Western Mail. 3 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
^ "Expenses of Members. Another Glamorgan Council "Storm"". Western Mail. 13 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 March 2021.

Bibliography

Williams, Chris (1996). Democratic Rhondda: Politics and society 1885-1951. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

[WM_24-2-31-1] "Glamorgan Contests. Eleven Aldermen Seek Election". Western Mail. 24 February 1931. p. 11. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

[WM_3-3-31-2] "County Council Elections. Small Polls in Monmouth and Glamorgan". Western Mail. 3 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 3 February 2021.

[WM_13-3-31-3] "Expenses of Members. Another Glamorgan Council "Storm"". Western Mail. 13 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 7 March 2021.

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