1931 Carmarthenshire County Council election

1931 Carmarthenshire County Council election
← 1928 1934 →
All 53 seats to Carmarthenshire County Council; 27 seats needed for a majority
	Council control after election ; TBD;

An election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in March 1931.^[1] It was preceded by the 1928 election and followed by the 1934 election.

Overview of the result

The Independent group remained the majority grouping on the Council. In the Llanelli area the potential for Labour to win further ground was complicated by the appearance of Communist Party candidates.

Boundary changes

There was one boundary change, namely the division of the existing Llandybie ward into two divisions, each of which was won by Labour.

Summary of results

Only a minority of the 53 divisions were contested. 53 councillors were elected.

Ward results

Abergwili

Abergwili 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Ammanford

Ammanford 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David George*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Bettws

Bettws 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Phillips*	1,379
Independent	D.M. Richards	800
Independent hold		Swing

Caio

Caio 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Isaac Williams*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Katherine Isobel Harries	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Upper Division) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Lewis David Thomas*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division)

Carmarthen Western Ward (Lower Division) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H.S. Holmes*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Western Ward (Upper Division)

Carmarthen Eastern Ward (Lower Division) 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Price Williams*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Cenarth

Cenarth 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ellenora James*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Cilycwm

Cilycwm 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivor Elystan Campbell-Davys*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Conwil

Conwil 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Jones*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Kidwelly

Kidwelly 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Alfred Stephens*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Laugharne

Laugharne 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Stephen Thomas*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanarthney

Llanarthney 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Stephens*	1,561
Labour	Thomas Thomas	604
Independent hold		Swing

Llanboidy

Llanboidy 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	C. Vaughan*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandebie North

Boundary Change

Llandebie North 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Gwilym R. Thomas	552
	Independent	David O. Davies	403
	Independent	Frederick Davies	225
Majority
	Labour win (new seat)

Llandebie South

Boundary Change

Llandebie South 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.B. Lewis*	unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Llandilo Rural

Llandilo Rural 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Evan Davies*	560
	Independent	John Henry James	424
	Independent	Owen Jones	169
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandilo Urban

Llandilo Urban 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Lord Dynevor*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandovery

Llandovery 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Harry Vaughan Watkins*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandyssilio

Llandyssilio 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Edward James*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanedy

Llanedy 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T.J. Parry-Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanegwad

Llanegwad 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William David Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 1

Llanelly Division 1 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Daniel Roberts*	1,047
Labour	S.T. Vicary	257
Communist	A. Evans	51
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 2

Llanelly Division 2 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Brinley R. Jones*	488
	Independent	James Jones	371
	Labour	John Roberts	323
	Independent	Elizabeth Thomas	49
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 3

Llanelly Division 3 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Joseph Roberts*	521
Labour	Percy M. Evans	252
Communist	Brin Jones	55
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 4

Llanelly Division 4 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	W.T. Morris*	670
	Labour	Thomas Charles	624
	Communist	William Morris	50
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 5

Llanelly Division 5 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Gwen Trubshaw*	621
	Labour	Mary M. Griffiths	174
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6

Llanelly Division 6 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	W. Douglas Hughes	636
	Independent	Agnes H. Evans	334
	Communist	Enoch Collins	51
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 7

Llanelly Division 7 1928
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	W. Powell Rees*	806
Labour	David John	184
Communist	Henry Jones	16
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 8

Llanelly Division 8 1928
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	H.W. Bowen	515
Independent	William Davies*	377
Communist	Enoch Collins	28
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Berwick

Llanelly Rural, Berwick 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	David Harry	999
	Labour	J.R. Jones*	680
Majority
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed

Joe Howells stood as an Independent against the official Labour candidate and won by a very narrow margin.

Llanelly Rural, Hengoed 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Joseph Howells*	436
	Independent	D.J. Stone	420
	Labour	John Harris	398
	Communist	Arthur Evans	11
Majority
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn

Llanelly Rural, Westfa and Glyn 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	William Jones*	998
Communist	S. Edwards	180
Labour hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythick

Llanfihangel Aberbythick 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.J. Evans*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	E. Haydn Davies*	709
	Independent	Mary P.A.E. Mansell	171
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangadock

Llangadock 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R.E. Williams*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangeler

Llangeler 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Henry Jones	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangendeirne

Llangendeirne 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	James Jenkins*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangennech

Llangennech 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	D.J. Davies	570
Independent	David J. Jones*	548
Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Llangunnor

Llangunnor 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Edwards*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanon

Llanon 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rees Morgan*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llansawel

Llansawel 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Evan Harris*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanstephan

Llanstephan 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	T.Ll. Haries	369
Independent	John James Bowen*	355
Independent hold		Swing

Llanybyther

Llanybyther 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Evan Morgan Evans	562
	Independent	W. James Williams*	527
Majority
	Independent hold		Swing

Myddfai

Myddfai 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembrey North

Pembrey North 1928
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Gomer Evans	1.095
	Independent	David Evans*	455
	Communist	Brin Jones	79
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pembrey South

Pembrey South 1928
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Henry Williams*	994
	Independent	Daniel Davies	293
	Communist	Henry Jones	22
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Quarter Bach

Quarter Bach 1931
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	William Jones*	886
Independent	Gomer Harries	680
Labour hold		Swing

Rhydcymmerai

Rhydcymmerai 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gwendoline Lloyd-Price*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

St Clears

St Clears 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Joseph David Rees*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

St Ishmael

St Ishmael 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Walter Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Trelech

Trelech 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Lewis L. Bowen*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Whitland

Whitland 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Lewis Phillips*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Election of aldermen

In addition to the 53 councillors the council consisted of 17 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the elections the following nine aldermen were elected. Eight were retiring aldermen (some of whom had not fought an election for many years) while Joseph Roberts had been re-elected in Llanelly Division 3.^[2]

T.R. Jones, Cross Hall
James Phillips, St Clears
Philip Phillips, Pencraig
W.R. Rogers, Closyfran
Rev William Thomas, Llanboidy
David Davies, Rhyblid
John Thomas, Llanelli
Joseph Roberts, Llanelli
W.N.Jones, Ammanford

In addition, W.D. Davies, recently re-elected unopposed for the Llanegwad division, was elevated to the aldermanic bench following the death of L.N. Powell.^[2]

By-elections 1931-1934

1931 Llanegwad by-election

A by-election was scheduled for March 1931 following the elevation of W.D. Davies to the aldermanic bench. B. Davies of Glancothi was elected unopposed in his place.^[3]

Llanegwad by-election March 1931
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	B. Davies	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

1931 Llanelly Division 3 by-election

A by-election was held in April due to the elevation of Joseph Roberts to the aldermanic bench. Strong objections were raised in the local press to the prospect of several Independent candidates contesting the vacancy,^[4] and these fears were realised when Labour candidate Percy Evans headed the poll with around a third of the votes cast.^[5] Gomer Thomas, chosen as an official candidate by the Ratepayers' Association, polled only 89 votes.

Llanelly Division 3 by-election
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Percy M. Evans	389
Independent	D. Haddon Jones	296
Independent	James Jones	248
Independent	Gomer Thomas	89
Independent	Elizabeth Thomas	10
Independent hold		Swing

1932 Llandissilio by-election

A by-election was held in December 1932 following the elevation of Edward James to the aldermanic bench. Henry Morris, a mamber of Whitland RDC for 28 years, was elected by a narrow majority^[6]

1932 Llandissilio by-election
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Henry Morris	285
Independent	Rev W.S. Thomas	269
Independent hold		Swing

References

^ "County Council Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 9 March 1931.
^ ^a ^b "Carmarthenshire County Council. New Chairman and Vice-Chairman". Welshman. 20 March 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
^ "Nodion Min y Ffordd". Welshman (in Welsh). 10 April 1934. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
^ "The County Council Vacancy (editorial)". Llanelly Star. 21 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
^ "County Council By-Election Fiasco. Independents Throw Away a Seat". Llanelly Star. 25 April 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2024.
^ "County Council By-Election". Welshman. 16 December 1932. p. 8. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

[CJ_6-3-31_CarmsResults-1] "County Council Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 9 March 1931.

[W_20-3-31_AGM-2] "Carmarthenshire County Council. New Chairman and Vice-Chairman". Welshman. 20 March 1931. p. 6. Retrieved 18 July 2024.

[W_10-4-34-3] "Nodion Min y Ffordd". Welshman (in Welsh). 10 April 1934. p. 7. Retrieved 19 July 2024.

[LS_edit_21-3-31-4] "The County Council Vacancy (editorial)". Llanelly Star. 21 March 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2024.

[LS25-4-31_by-el-5] "County Council By-Election Fiasco. Independents Throw Away a Seat". Llanelly Star. 25 April 1931. p. 5. Retrieved 18 July 2024.

[W_16-12-32-6] "County Council By-Election". Welshman. 16 December 1932. p. 8. Retrieved 24 July 2024.

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