1981 Dyfed County Council election

The third election to Dyfed County Council was held in May 1981.^[1] It was preceded by the 1977 election and followed by the 1985 election. There were a number of unopposed returns, particularly in rural parts of the county.

Overview

The Independents remained the largest party but lost ground to Labour.

In Pembrokeshire, Labour gained three seats from the Independents, although one of these - in Pembroke Dock - was from a former Labour councillor who stood as an Independent.

Ward Results (Cardiganshire)

Aberaeron No.1

Aberaeon No.1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Evan Evans Williams*	1,484	71.0
	Independent	L.E. Davies	411	19.7
	Independent	R. Fearon-Jones	195	9.3
Majority				51.3
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Aberaeron No. 2

Aberaeon No.2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	W.Ainsleigh Jones	1,294	67.0
	Plaid Cymru	William Lynford Thomas	636	33.0
Majority				34.0
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Independent		Swing

Aberaeron No.3

Aberaeron No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Owen Williams*	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Aberystwyth No.1

Aberystwyth No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Griffith Eric Hughes*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Aberystwyth No.2

Aberystwyth No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Peter James Goodman*	464	43.5
	Liberal	Ceredig Jones*	442	41.4
	Plaid Cymru	M. Dafydd	161	15.1
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberystwyth No. 3

Aberystwyth No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Griffiths Evans*	768	55.0
	Liberal	Elizabeth Mary Griffiths	629	45.0
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Liberal		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No. 1

Aberystwyth Rural No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John Gatty P. Lewis*	1,097	65.1
	Independent	Ll.D. Jones	588	34.9
Majority				30.2
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No.2

Aberystwyth Rural No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Richard Wynn Cowell*	1,027	50.6
	Plaid Cymru	Marian Eluned Parry	562	27.7
	Labour	C.I. Campbell	441	21.7
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No.3

Aberystwyth Rural No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Griffith Gwynfor Jones*	1,246	62.0
	Labour	R.B. Kemp	764	38.0
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Cardigan

Cardigan 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Alban Dewi Lewis*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Lampeter

Lampeter 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Robert George Harris	1,043	49.9
	Independent Ratepayer	R.G. Daniel*	1,004	48.0
	Green	G.E. Oubridge	45	30.2
Majority
Turnout
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Teifiside No.1

Teifiside No.1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D.G.E. Davies*	1,967	93.0
	SDP	T.G. Glaister	148	7.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Teifiside No.2

Teifiside No.2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Hywel Heulyn Roberts*	1,115
	Conservative	A. Richards	354	24.1
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Teifiside No.3

Teifiside No.3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	R.E. Morris*	1,418	74.7
	Conservative	D.J.D. Owen	271	14.3
	Plaid Cymru	Islwyn Iago	209	11.0
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Tregaron

Tregaron 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Marie James*	Unopposed
	Plaid Cymru hold

Ward Results (Carmarthenshire)

Ammanford No. 1

Ammanford No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David Howard Cooke*	898	68.1
	Plaid Cymru	D.H. Davies	420	31.9
Majority				36.2
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Ammanford No.2

Ammanford No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Myrddin Evans*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Berwick

Berwick 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. Williams	1,258	72.7
	Liberal	Kenneth Denver Rees	472	27.3
Majority				45.4
Turnout				45.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port East

Burry Port East 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Thomas Elwyn Marks	559	56.2
	Independent	E. Northam	230	23.1
	Independent	V. Morgan	119	12.0
	Plaid Cymru	T. Samuel	86	8.7
Majority				33.1
Turnout				45.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port West

Burry Port West 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bryan Joseph Rayner	540	44.3	+7.1
	Independent	Eirwen Jones-Parry*	527	43.2	+2.2
	Plaid Cymru	Michael E. Clement	153	12.5	−9.3
Majority			13	1.1
Turnout				49.2
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Carmarthen No. 1

Carmarthen No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Anthony Earle*	1,124	54.3	−19.9
	Independent	David Percy Jones	946	45.7	+45.7
Majority				8.6
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Carmarthen No. 2

Carmarthen No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	John Elfed Thomas	449	37.8
	Labour	Ellis James Powell*	429	36.1
	Liberal	John B. Lewis	143	12.0
	Conservative	Richard L. Thompson	95	8.0
	Independent	Gwynne Morris Williams	72	6.1
Majority			20	1.7
Turnout
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Carmarthen No. 3

Carmarthen No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	William Roy Nicholl*	933	68.6
	Labour	Kenneth Bryan Maynard	428	31.4
Majority				37.2
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No.1

Carmarthen Rural No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Ratepayers	William J. Wyn Evans*	1,515	53.4
	Labour	Terry Davies	1,321	46.6
Majority				6.8
Turnout
	Ratepayers hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No.2

Carmarthen Rural No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Philip Ian Evans	907	55.7
	Plaid Cymru	Handel Michael Ayres Williams*	644	39.6
	Conservative	D. Reed	76	4.7
Majority				16.1
Turnout
	Labour gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 3

Carmarthen Rural No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E.T. Davies*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Carmarthen Rural No. 4

Carmarthen Rural No. 4 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Arthur J. Harries*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Carmarthen Rural No. 5

Carmarthen Rural No. 5 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Dr William Edmund V.J. Davies*	2,024	81.6
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Rhodri Glyn Thomas	456	18.4
Majority				63.2
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 6

Carmarthen Rural No. 6 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J.L. James*	2,028	90.5
	Green	Brian Kingzett	213	9.5
Majority				81.0
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 7

Carmarthen Rural No. 7 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Clodwyn Percival Phillips*	1,331	55.6
	Plaid Cymru	Daniel James Roy Llewellyn	1,062	44.4
Majority				11.2
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Cwmamman

Cwmamman 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	W.J. Davies*	1,095	60.3
	Plaid Cymru	John Edwin Lewis	722	39.7
Majority				20.6
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Felinfoel

Felinfoel 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Cledwyn Francis*	1,484	83.9	+18.0
	Plaid Cymru	B. Lane	285	16.1	−8.9
Majority				67.8
Turnout				39.3	+1.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Irwyn Phillips*	1,057	73.4
	Labour	D. Thomas	383	26.6
Majority				46.8
Turnout				67.2
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.1

Llandeilo No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.D.R. Davies*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Llandeilo No.2

Llandeilo No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D.T. Davies*	1,923	92.0
	Green	S. Rawle	168	8.0
Majority				84.0
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.3

Llandeilo No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	V.E.D. Price*	1,539	83.6
	Independent	Michael J. North	301	16.4
Majority				67.2
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.4

Llandeilo No. 4 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Ken Williams	1,440	60.6
	Plaid Cymru	John Gareth James	936	39.4
Majority				21.2
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.5

Llandeilo No. 5 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Gerald J. Earl*	1,806	72.6
	Labour	Peter Bourne	683	27.4
Majority				45.2
Turnout				46.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.6

Llandeilo No. 6 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gwyn Jones*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Llanedi

Llanedi 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	I.L. Foulkes*	1,093	65.8
	Plaid Cymru	J. Keith Phillips	568	34.2
Majority				31.6
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.1

Llanelli No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Harry J. Richards*	934	56.3
	Labour	E. Davies	726	43.7
Majority				12.6
Turnout				43.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelli No.2

Llanelli No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Brinley Owen*	596	55.1
	Plaid Cymru	G. Morris	247	22.8
	Conservative	C.S. Snee	238	22.0
Majority				32.3
Turnout				50.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No. 3

Llanelli No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grismond J. Williams*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Llanelli No.4

Llanelli No. 4 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Martin Philip Morris	585	56.4
	Conservative	I. Jones	241	23.2
	Plaid Cymru	D. Thomas	211	20.3
Majority				33.2
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.5

Llanelli No. 5 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David Charles Prothero*	455	81.8
	Plaid Cymru	Roger Thomas Price	101	18.2
Majority				63.6
Turnout				46.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No. 6

Llanelli No. 6 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Harold J. Thomas*	1,060	81.3
	Plaid Cymru	M. Hughes	244	18.7
Majority				62.6
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.7

Llanelli No. 7 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George M. McConkey*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Llangennech

Llangennech 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Teifi Edwards*	828	57.9
	Labour	Thomas Gordon Lewis	603	42.1
Majority				15.8
Turnout				53.8
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llan-non

Llannon 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David Bryan Richards	1,400	66.1
	Independent	I. Thomas	717	33.9
Majority				32.3
Turnout				51.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle Emlyn No.1

Newcastle Emlyn No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.T. Enoch*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Newcastle Emlyn No.2

Newcastle Emlyn No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	William Evans*	2,100	81.1
	Labour	Peter Appleton Wilde	490	18.9
Majority				62.2
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembrey

Pembrey 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Hugh Samuel Peregrine	1,045	78.1
	Conservative	T. Jones	293	21.9
Majority				56.2
Turnout				45.7
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pontyberem

Pontyberem
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Howard Jones*	1,588	78.2
	Independent Labour	Dynfor Vaughan Owens	440	21.7
Majority				56.5
Turnout				59.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Trimsaran

Trimsaran 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Samuel T. Hughes*	901	75.9
	Plaid Cymru	J. Price	213	17.9
	Independent	V. Bevan	73	6.1
Majority				58.0
Turnout				63.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Westfa

Westfa
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D.R. Griffiths	786	58.6
	Plaid Cymru	William Gwyn Hopkins*	556	41.4
Majority				17.2
Turnout				40.0
	Labour gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Ward Results (Pembrokeshire)

Cemaes No. 1

Cemaes No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Halket Jones	1,571	65.6
	Conservative	D. James	822	34.4
Majority				31.3
Turnout				58.8
	Independent hold		Swing

Cemaes No. 2

Cemaes No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	T.R. George*	1,461	87.4
	Plaid Cymru	C.M. Phillips	210	12.6
Majority				74.9
Turnout				70.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Cemaes No. 3

This ward was previously known as Narberth No.3 but was renamed following the transfer of several wards from South Pembrokeshire to Preseli District Council.

Narberth No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	David John Thomas*	856	89.1
	Labour	J. Roberts	105	10.9
Majority				78.2
Turnout				67.2
	Independent hold		Swing

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 1

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	J.P.A. Maddocks*	1,185	69.0	+17.4
	Independent	Alwyn Cadwallader Luke	390	22.7
	Labour	D.D. Busby	143	8.3
Majority				46.3
Turnout				62.9
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 2

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	H. Williams	723	60.2
	Labour	Vaughan Barrah	478	39.8
Majority				20.4
Turnout				47.5
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest No.1

Haverfordwest No.1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.G. Parry*	unopposed
	Independent hold

Haverfordwest No. 2

Haverfordwest No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D.S. Grey*	656	43.2
	Independent	W.W. Ladd	462	30.4
	Independent	A.J. Webb	401	26.4
Majority				12.8
Turnout				39.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 1

Haverfordwest Rural No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D.G.B. Lloyd	982	54.3
	Conservative	D.H. Luke	828	45.7
Majority				8.6
Turnout				57.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 2

Haverfordwest Rural No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	O.C. John*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Haverfordwest Rural No. 3

Haverfordwest Rural No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J. James*	1,329	74.3
	Plaid Cymru	I. Williams	459	25.7
Majority				48.6
Turnout				47.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 4

Haverfordwest Rural No. 4 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	T.R.L. Martin	838	53.2
	Independent	P.M. Thomas	736	46.8
Majority				8.4
Turnout				57.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 5

Haverfordwest Rural No. 5 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H.W. Phillips*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Milford Haven No. 1

Milford Haven No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.W.H. Byard*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Milford Haven No. 2

Milford Haven No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Basil Ralph Woodruff*	1,063	50.7
	Labour	D. Phillips	1,034	49.3
Majority				1.44
Turnout				53.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Milford Haven No. 3

Milford Haven No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	David John Adams	799	64.1
	Independent	Mrs R. Keane*	448	35.9
Majority				28.2
Turnout				44.0
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Narberth No. 1

Narberth No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Elwyn John*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Narberth No. 2

Narberth No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	W. Harry*	1,028	59.9
	Labour	R.J.B. Asby	689	40.1
Majority				19.8
Turnout				52.3
	Independent hold		Swing

Neyland and Llanstadwell

Neyland and Llanstadwell 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	W.G.H. James	858	53.8
	Independent	J.F. Bowman	737	46.2
Majority				7.6
Turnout				53.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Pembroke No. 1

Pembroke No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	M. Mathias*	849	53.7
	Labour	A. Cookson	732	46.3
Majority				7.4
Turnout				40.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembroke No. 2

Pembroke No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	I.E. Morgan	715	56.1
	Independent	C. Sandell	560	43.9
Majority				12.2
Turnout				31.6
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pembroke No. 3

The previous Labour councilor stood as an Independent but was defeated by a future MP.

Pembroke No. 3 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Nicholas Richard Ainger	564	58.9
	Independent	C.E. Nicholls*	394	41.1
Majority				17.8
Turnout				31.2
	Labour hold		Swing

Pembroke Rural No. 1

Pembroke Rural No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Rev G.R. Ball*	800	80.0
	Labour	R. Milson	200	20.0
Majority				60.0
Turnout				42.5
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembroke Rural No. 2

Pembroke Rural No. 2 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	W.G. Lawrence*	662	52.0
	Independent	Norman Richard Parry	610	48.0
Majority				4.0
Turnout				43.2
	Independent hold		Swing

Tenby

Tenby 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H. Mace	Unopposed
	Independent hold

By-elections between 1981 and 1985

Carmarthen No. 1 by-election 1983

A by-election was held following the resignation of Labour councillor Tony Earle.^[2]

Carmarthen No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Alliance (Liberal)	Harry M. Lloyd	724
	Independent	David Howell Merriman	651
	Labour	Ellis J. Powell	537
Majority			73
Turnout
	Alliance gain from Labour		Swing

References

^ "Dyfed County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Cente, Plymouth University. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ "Win for Lib/SDP". Carmarthen Journal. 1 April 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2023.

[Dyfed_PlymEC-1] "Dyfed County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Cente, Plymouth University. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

[CJ_1-4-83-2] "Win for Lib/SDP". Carmarthen Journal. 1 April 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2023.

[1]

[2]