1985 West Glamorgan County Council election

The fourth election to West Glamorgan County Council was held in May 1985.^[1] It was preceded by the 1981 election and followed by the 1989 election.

Candidates

Once again, the Labour Party fielded candidates in every ward. In addition to the Conservative Party and Plaid Cymru, a significant number of seats were contested by the SDP/Liberal Alliance. There were fewer Ratepayer candidates than at previous elections.

In the Neath area, Labour contested all thirteen seats, with Plaid Cymru running nine candidates.^[2]

Outcome

Labour retained their majority.

Results

• indicates sitting councillor

Ward Results

Aberavon East and West (three seats)

Aberavon East and West 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Colin Crowley*	3,703
	Labour	Cyril Lewis*	3,389
	Labour	Pat Jones*	3,310
	Alliance	T. Johnston	1,090
	Alliance	E. Prescott	1,050
	Alliance	B. Makinson	783
Turnout				43.1
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon North (one seat)

Aberavon North 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Harris	2,063
	Ratepayers	L. Griffiths	937
	Alliance	J. Larsen	419
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberavon South (one seat)

Aberavon South 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Llewellyn	1,183
	Alliance	A. Taylor	641
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Brynmelyn (two seats)

Brynmelyn 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Dowdle*	1,407
	Labour	J. Adams*	1,334
	Conservative	P. Morgan	382
	Ratepayers	M. John	348
Turnout				43.8
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Castle (two seats)

Castle 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Jones	945
	Labour	B. Ludlam*	893
	Ratepayers	I. Williams	558
	Ratepayers	B. Matthews	508
	Conservative	S. Patriarcia	358
Turnout				46.0
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmafan (one seat)

Cwmafan 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mel John*	1,586
	Alliance	M. Harris	434
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Fforest Fach (two seats)

Fforest Fach 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Bevan*	1,292
	Labour	Victor Cyril Alexander*	1,193
	Ratepayers	D. Jones	1,115
	Ratepayers	L. Evans	1,091
	Conservative	C. Andrews	767
	Conservative	E. Charles	750
	Plaid Cymru	A. Williams	319
	Plaid Cymru	D. Morton	305
	Communist	B. Lewis	92
Turnout				37.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Ffynone (two seats)

Ffynone 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Paul Valerio*	1,840
	Ratepayers	J. Thomas	1,383
	Conservative	G. Ashmole	1,296
	Plaid Cymru	J. Thomas	456
	Liberal	S. Evans	441
Turnout				63.6
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Ratepayers gain from Conservative		Swing

Glyncorrwg (two seats)

Glyncorrwg 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Jones	1,699
	Labour	R. Eckett	1,180
	Independent Labour	D. Daniels*	1,068
	Independent	Mairwen Goodridge	872
Turnout				58.8
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Gower No.1 (one seat)

Gower No.1 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Bartlett	Unopposed
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Gower No.2 (one seat)

Gower No.2 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	C. Sanders	1,660
	Labour	F. Lord*	1,407
Turnout				64.5
	Ratepayers gain from Labour		Swing

Gower No.3 (one seat)

Gower No.3 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Bevan	1,565
	Ratepayers	G. Beynon	1,166
	Labour	M. Thomas	273
Turnout				47.4
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

Landore (two seats)

Landore 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Cox*	1,286
	Labour	S. John*	1,237
	Ratepayers	J. Lewis	921
	Ratepayers	C. Phillips	917
	Communist	R. Thomas	97
Turnout				43.4
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llansamlet (two seats)

Llansamlet 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	L. Penhaligan*	2,471
	Labour	W. Davies	1,931
	Plaid Cymru	C. Phillips	1,181
	Ratepayers	E. James	845
	Plaid Cymru	W. Smith	779
	Ratepayers	C. Stevens	773
	Conservative	J. Edgecombe	661
	Conservative	J. Holmes	560
Turnout				42.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.1 (one seat)

Llwchwr No.1 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Williams	1,410
	Independent	D. Thomas	829
	Conservative	R. Day	576
Turnout				62.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.2 (two seats)

Llwchwr No.2 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Davies*	2,518
	Labour	J. Jones*	1,962
	Plaid Cymru	E. Thomas	1,780
Turnout				48.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwchwr No.3 (two seats)

Llwchwr No.3 1977

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Thomas*	1,835
	Labour	D. Turner*	1,697
	Conservative	W. Davies	1,301
	Independent	Cled Morgan	1,176
	Conservative	M. Bevan	1,167
	Plaid Cymru	H. Price	862
Turnout				64.6
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Margam Central (one seat)

Margam Central 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Rogers	1,642
	Alliance	W. Rees	334
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Margam North (one seat)

Margam North 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Southall	735
	Independent	W. Charles	561
Turnout				75.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Margam West (one seat)

Margam West 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	Edward Miles*	1,079
	Labour	B. Davis	743
Turnout
	Ratepayers hold		Swing

Morriston (two seats)

Morriston 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Evans	1,996
	Labour	S. Havard	1,977
	Ratepayers	C. Hadley	1,810
	Ratepayers	J. Howes	1,295
Turnout				35.8
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Mumbles (two seats)

Mumbles 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	A. Chilcot	3,180
	Conservative	M. Jones	3,072
	Labour	L. Neale	1,757
Turnout				38.2
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Neath No.1, South and Briton Ferry (four seats)

Neath No.1, South and Briton Ferry 1985

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dillwyn David*	Unopposed
	Labour	David Jeffs*	Unopposed
	Labour	Fred Kingdom*	Unopposed
	Labour	David Roberts*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath No.2, North, Pontrhydyfen and Tonmawr (two seats)

Neath No.2, North, Pontrhydyfen and Tonmawr 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Cecil Evans*	2,174
	Labour	M. Jones*	2,062
	Conservative	J. Lloyd	878
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath Rural (six seats)

Neath Rural 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Jones	2,905
	Independent	Martin Thomaso	2,534
	Labour	N. Thomas	2,385
	Labour	T. Thomas	2,131
	Plaid Cymru	H. Evans	1,919
	Plaid Cymru	O. Roberts	1,629
	Labour	W. Jones	1,575
	Labour	C. Jones	1,499
	Independent	T. Rees	1,346
	Labour	R. Davies	1,300
	Independent	L. Adams	1,191
	Communist	Glaslyn Morgan	734
	Plaid Cymru	T. Evans	346
Turnout				67.3
	Labour win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Plaid Cymru win (new seat)
	Plaid Cymru win (new seat)

Neath Rural No.5 (one seat)

Neath Rural No.5 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Hull	1,470
	Independent	R. Rees	1,277
	Plaid Cymru	G. Dawe	273
Turnout				63.2
	Labour win (new seat)

Penderry (three seats)

Penderry 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Allison	3,152
	Labour	T. Jones	3,090
	Labour	G. Thomas	3,032
	Plaid Cymru	D. Reynon	972
	Communist	W. Jones	584
	Communist	B. Lewis	424
	Communist	H. Barrow	280
Turnout				29.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.1 (one seat)

Pontardawe No.1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Williams	1,151	62.1
	Labour	G. Williams	703	37.9
Turnout				56.1
	Independent win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.2 (two seats)

Pontardawe No.2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Maunder	2,694
	Independent	M. Rees	1,948
	Labour	C. Jones	1,836
	Plaid Cymru	M. Mulcahy	1,507
	Independent	R. Jones	1,037
Turnout				78.9
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Pontardawe No.3 (three seats)

Pontardawe No.3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	G. Lake	4,702
	Labour	W. Rees	4,615
	Labour	B. Richards	4,464
	Plaid Cymru	R. Davies	3,305
Turnout				65.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St Helens (two seats)

St Helens 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Dilley	1,741
	Conservative	M. Hinds	1,545
	Labour	D. Davies	1,067
Turnout				49.1
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

Sketty (two seats)

Sketty 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Vaughan	5,270
	Conservative	S. Perry	4,819
	Conservative	R. Massey-Shaw	4,477
	Labour	J. Dalton	2,372
Turnout				47.2
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)
	Conservative win (new seat)

St Johns (two seats)

St Johns 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A, Morris	Unopposed
	Labour	H. Tabram	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

St Thomas (two seats)

St Thamas 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Hare	Unopposed
	Labour	I. Morgan	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Townhill (two seats)

Townhill 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Wignall	1,848
	Labour	T. Evans	1,748
	Conservative	C. McPherson	429
Turnout				34.4
	Labour win (new seat)
	Labour win (new seat)

Victoria (two seats)

Victoria 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	D. Jenkins	1,390
	Ratepayers	S. Jenkins	1,132
	Labour	A. Taylor	1,051
	Labour	R. Lloyd	852
	Conservative	T. Morgan	477
	Conservative	E. Burrington	329
Turnout				57.5
	Ratepayers win (new seat)
	Ratepayers win (new seat)

References

1. "West Glamorgan County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
2. Thomas, Wally (13 April 1981). "It's a Fight All the Way". Neath Guardian. p. 1. Retrieved 10 October 2022.