1946 Glamorgan County Council election

The seventeenth election to Glamorgan County Council, south Wales, took place in March 1946. It was preceded by the 1937 election after the 1940 and 1943 elections were postponed due to the Second World War. It was followed by the 1949 election.

Overview

Labour's comfortable majority on the council, including the aldermanic bench, remained unchanged.

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Candidates

A significant number of Labour candidates were returned unopposed. A number of long-standing members stood down including the Reverend William Saunders, who was not selected as a Labour candidate and Gwilym Davies (Dulais Valley).

There was significant Communist opposition, particularly in the Rhondda where Labour had only narrowly retained the Rhondda West constituency at the previous year's General Election.

In Neath, it was originally reposed that long-serving councillor D.G. Davies, who had been a member of the county council with a few breaks for twenty-five years, would stand again.^[1] However, he ultimately stood down.

Nine of the retiring aldermen sought re-election, the exceptions being the Rev William Saunders and Edgar Chappell.

Outcome

Labour retained their majority. In the Rhondda Valley, Labour withstood a Communist challenge^[2] This was the first county election for nine years as polling was reported as heavy in a number of wards, including the two contested wards at Pontypridd.^[3]

In the Neath area, Labour retained four seats but at Coedffranc the sitting member D.T. Jenkins was defeated by Communist Alun Thomas, a member of the Neath Rural council since 1937.^[4]

Results

Aberaman

Aberaman 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Florence Rose Davies**
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon

Aberavon 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Lewis Hare*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon

Abercynon 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Dicks**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare Town

Aberdare Town 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Alwyn John	1,292
	Labour	Tom Williams	977
	Independent	Henry Cohen	242
Majority			315
	Independent hold		Swing

Bargoed

Bargoed 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William John Kedward*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Barry

Dudley Howe had previously represented Cadoxton and gained the neighbouring Barry ward from Labour. However, Labour won Cadoxton for the first time against the new candidate.

Barry 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Dudley Thomas Howe*	2,304
	Labour	W. East*	2,004
Majority			300
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Barry Dock

Barry Dock 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Dorothy Rees**	1,965
	Independent	G. Edward Smith	1,762
Majority			203
	Labour hold		Swing

Blaengwawr

Blaengwawr 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William J. Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Bridgend

Bridgend 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William W. Phillips*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Gethin*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cadoxton

Cadoxton 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Digby Smith	1,499
	Independent	A.L. Davies	1,158
Majority			341
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Caerphilly

Caerphilly 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Evan Phillips*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Castell Coch

Castell Coch 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Sir Lewis Lougher*	1,458
	Labour	Edward Harry Follis	606
Majority			852
	Independent hold		Swing

Cilfynydd

Cilfynydd 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Edryd Lewis	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc

Coedffranc 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Alun Thomas	2,055
	Labour	D.T. Jenkins*	1,938
	Independent	Bessie Davies	1,286
	Plaid Cymru	Noah Williams	84
Majority			117
	Communist gain from Labour		Swing

Cowbridge

Cowbridge 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. John Smith	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwm Aber

Cwm Aber 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev David M. Jones*	Unopposed
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmavon

Cwmavon 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Jones Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cymmer

Cymmer 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John James Garwood*	1,167
	Independent	Evan Thomas	485
Majority			682
	Labour hold		Swing

Dinas Powys

Dinas Powys 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivor Broadbent Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Dulais Valley

Dulais Valley 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Adams	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ferndale

Ferndale 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alfred Evans*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Gadlys

Gadlys 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Phillips*	1,802
	Labour	David Idris Bruton	796
Majority			1,006
	Independent hold		Swing

Garw Valley

Garw Valley 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Gunter*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Glyncorrwg

Glyncorrwg 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins**	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Gower

Gower 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Fredrick William Davies	2,083
	Labour	Stanley Jones	1,480
Majority			603
	Independent hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Evans**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Hopkinstown

Hopkinstown 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Waite	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Kibbor

Kibbor 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Edgar L. Chappell	1,769
	Independent	John Kane	1,400
Majority			369
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo Talybont

Llandeilo Talybont 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caradoc Jones**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfabon

Llanfabon 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Bowen**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwydcoed

Llwydcoed 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Martha Emma Jones*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llwynypia

Llwynypia 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Haines Rowlands*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughor

Loughor 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David John Davies	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Evans**	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Maesteg, East and West

Maesteg East and West 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Jenkins*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Mountain Ash

The sitting member, the Hon. John Bruce (Ind) stood down and Labour gained the seat without a contest.

Mountain Ash 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Justin Lewis	Unopposed
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Neath (North)

Neath (North) 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	W.K. Owen	1,445
	Labour	Edgar Owen	991
Majority			454
	Independent hold		Swing

Neath (South)

Neath (South) 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev W. Degwel Thomas**	1,484
	Independent	Katie Davies	1,035
Majority			449
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle

Newcastle 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rev Horatio R. Protheroe*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ogmore Valley

Ogmore Valley 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Frederick Arthur Llewellyn*	1,963
	Labour	Stanley James Moore	833
Majority			1,130
	Communist hold		Swing

Penarth North

Penarth North 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	H.J. Cook	1,001
	Independent	F.R. Cratchley	801
Majority			200
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Penarth South

Penarth South 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.B. Jones	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pencoed

Pencoed 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mervyn W. Paine*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Penrhiwceiber

Penrhiwceiber 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Bath*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentre

Pentre 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Glyn L. Wales	2,530
	Labour	Glyn Evans	978
	Communist	Thomas Evans	414
Majority			1,552
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Penygraig

Penygraig 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Churchill*	2,148
	Independent	William John Gribble	981
Majority			1,267
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontardawe

Pontardawe 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Daniel Davies**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.A. Hancock*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontyclun

Pontyclun 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Theo Griffiths	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontypridd Town

Pontypridd Town 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ivor M. Jenkins	1,458
	Independent	Cyril R. Morgan	1,450
Majority			8
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot East

Port Talbot East 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Thomas**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot West

Port Talbot West 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Llewelyn David*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Porth

Porth 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Griffiths	976
	Independent	Daniel Jones*	974
	Communist	Murray Williams	868
Majority			2
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Porthcawl

Porthcawl 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.A. Howell*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Swansea Valley

Swansea Valley 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jenkins*
	Labour hold		Swing

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Rogers*	1,484
	Communist	David John Griffiths	711
	Independent	Harold Whitton Davies	584
	Independent	Evan Jones	97
Majority			773
	Labour hold		Swing

Trealaw

Trealaw 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Lewis Jones	1,945
	Labour	Richard Jones	1,315
Majority			630
	Communist hold		Swing

Treforest

Treforest 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Arthur W. Harris	2,507
	Independent	Ceiriog Williams	1,029
Majority			1,478
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Treherbert

Treherbert 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William Llewellyn*	3,345
	Communist	George Thomas	1,964
Majority			1,391
	Labour hold		Swing

Treorchy

Treorchy 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rhys Evans**	4,401
	Communist	Ivor Williams	1,077
Majority			3,324
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown

Tylorstown 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Llewellyn Jones	1,984
	Communist	Frederick J. Morton	942
Majority			1,042
	Labour hold		Swing

Vale of Neath

Vale of Neath 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William A. Betty*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ynyshir

Ynyshir 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ivor Jones	1,855
	Independent	Morgan Benjamin	1,418
Majority			437
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Alice Williams*	2,051
	Plaid Cymru	Wynne Samuel	873
Majority			1,176
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystrad

Ystrad 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Sidney Cadogan**	1,931
	Communist	Annie Powell	1,189
	Independent	Thomas Aldridge	853
Majority			742
	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 1946 election, there were eleven Aldermanic vacancies, all of which all of which were filled by Labour nominees despite the protestations of their opponents.^[5] Rhys Evans was the longest serving alderman, having first been elected in 1922.

The following retiring aldermen were re-elected:

Sidney Cadogan (Lab, Ystrad)
W.H. Davies (Lab, Gower)
Alfred Evans (Lab, Ferndale)
Rhys Evans (Lab, Treorchy)
Tom Evans (Lab, Pengam)
Daniel T. Jones (Lab, Ystalyfera)
W. Arthur Jones (Lab, Tonyrefail)
Evan Phillips (Lab, Caerphilly)
Rev W. Degwel Thomas (Lab, Neath)

The following new aldermen were elected:

H.J. Cook (Lab, Penarth)
Mervyn Payne (Lab, Pencoed)

By-elections

Eleven vacancies were caused by the election of aldermen. At Neath, Charles P. Huins held his seat with a majority which exceeded that gained by Alderman Degwel Thomas at the triennial election.^[6]

Aberaman by-election

Aberaman by-election 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sydney Herbert Stephens*
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath South by-election

Neath South by-election 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles P. Huins	1,571
	Independent	John Walter Jones	896
Majority			675
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfabon by-election

Llanfabon by-election 1946
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles Herbert Davies	1,387
	Independent	Rev. Henry Withers	798
Majority			589
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown by-election

Tylorstown by-election 1947
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

^ "County Council Election Prospects". Neath Guardian. 15 February 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ "Communist Fare Badly in the Rhondda". Western Mail. 9 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 19 April 2021.
^ "County Election Results". Pontypridd Observer. 9 March 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 23 April 2021.
^ "Communist Wins at Skewen. Surprise Election Result". Neath Guardian. 15 March 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2022.
^ "Seniority Ignored in Selection of Chairman". Western Mail. 15 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2021.
^ "South Ward By-Election Result". Neath Guardian. 19 April 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

Bibliography

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

[NG_15-2-46-1] "County Council Election Prospects". Neath Guardian. 15 February 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[WM_9-3-46-2] "Communist Fare Badly in the Rhondda". Western Mail. 9 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 19 April 2021.

[PO_9-3-46-3] "County Election Results". Pontypridd Observer. 9 March 1946. p. 1. Retrieved 23 April 2021.

[NG_15-3-46-4] "Communist Wins at Skewen. Surprise Election Result". Neath Guardian. 15 March 1946. p. 6. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

[WM_15-3-46-5] "Seniority Ignored in Selection of Chairman". Western Mail. 15 March 1946. p. 3. Retrieved 22 April 2021.

[NG_19-4-46-6] "South Ward By-Election Result". Neath Guardian. 19 April 1946. p. 8. Retrieved 15 December 2022.

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