2017 Ceredigion County Council election

2017 Ceredigion County Council election
All 42 seats to Ceredigion County Council; 22 seats needed for a majority
Council control before election; Ellen ap Gwynn; Plaid Cymru & Independent coalition	Council control after election ; Ellen ap Gwynn; Plaid Cymru & Independent coalition

The 2017 election to Ceredigion County Council was held on 4 May 2017 when local elections took place across Wales. It was preceded by the 2012 election and followed by the 2022 election.

Summary of results

Plaid Cymru remained the largest party on 5 May 2017, but fell short of an overall majority with 19 councillors.^[1] However, James Wyn Reynolds Thomas (Plaid Cymru) was elected unopposed on 11 May 2017 for the Llandyfriog ward, bringing the number of Plaid councillors on the Council up to 20.^[2]^[3] Eight seats, out of the 42 available, had candidates elected unopposed.

Ceredigion local election result 2017
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	20	+4	-3	+1	46.0	36.11	8,554
	Independent	13	+2	-4	-2	32.0	32.70	7,509
	Liberal Democrats	8	+1	0	+1	20.0	22.82	5,406
	Labour	1	0	0	0	2.0	6.52	1,545
	Conservative	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.02	241
	NHA	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.96	228
	Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.87	207
Total		42						23,690

Background

The 2012 elections saw Plaid Cymru win 19 seats, independents 15 seats, Liberal Democrats 7 seats and the Labour Party one seat, leaving the council in no overall control, with Plaid Cymru three seats short of a majority. After the election the Independents agreed to work with Plaid Cymru, as did the sole Labour councillor, creating a coalition.

During the term Gethin James (Ind, Aberporth) joined UKIP but said that he would still sit in the Cabinet. This was strongly opposed by both the leader of the council Ellen ap Gwynn (Plaid, Ceulanamaesmawr) and by the leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. He eventually resigned from his cabinet post and sat on the opposition benches with the Liberal Democrats; and lost his Aberporth seat in the 2017 election.

At the close of nominations on 4 April 2017, the numbers of candidates nominated were as follows: Plaid Cymru 35, Independents 27, Liberal Democrats 22, Labour Party 9, Green Party 5, Conservatives 3, National Health Action Party 1.^[4]

Ward Results

Asterisks denote incumbent Councillors seeking re-election. Vote share changes compared with corresponding 2012 election.

Aberaeron ward

Aberaeron ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Evans*	559	88.45	−2.88
	Plaid Cymru	Owain Arwel Glyn Hughes	73	11.55	+2.88
Majority			486	76.90	−5.74
Turnout			632
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Aberporth

Aberporth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Gethin Davies	386	42.28	+15.56
	Independent	Gethin James*^{[n 1]}	323	35.38	−25.89
	Liberal Democrats	Stefani Flowers	114	12.49	+12.49
	Conservative	Owen William Edward Millward	90	9.86	−2.15
Majority			63	6.90	−27.66
Turnout			913
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

Aberystwyth, Bronglais ward

Aberystwyth, Bronglais ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Alun John Wiliams*	342	81.04	−8.36
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Matthew Dearden	47	11.14	+11.14
	Labour	Jamie Christopher Scott	33	7.82	+7.82
Majority			295	69.90	−8.90
Turnout			422
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Aberystwyth, Central ward

Aberystwyth, Central ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Ceredig Wyn Davies*	215	64.18	+1.75
	Plaid Cymru	Jeff Alfred Smith	73	21.79	−9.83
	Green	Julie Karen Makin	35	10.45	+10.45
	Independent	Mark Robert Bolderston	12	3.58	+3.58
Majority			142	42.39	+11.58
Turnout			335
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Aberystwyth, North ward

Aberystwyth, North ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Mark Antony Strong*	313	63.49	+22.06
	Liberal Democrats	Bryony Siân Davies	180	36.51	+4.14
Majority			133	26.98	+17.92
Turnout			493
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Aberystwyth, Penparcau ward

Cllr. Jones-Southgate was elected as a Plaid Cymru councillor for this ward in 2012 but subsequently became an Independent. She stood for the Liberal Democrats in the Llanfarian ward in 2008.

Aberystwyth, Penparcau ward (two seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Steve Davies*	354	44.19
	Liberal Democrats	Glyndwr Lloyd Edwards	251	31.34
	Plaid Cymru	Dylan Paul Lewis	247	30.84
	Independent	Elian Lorrai Jones-Southgate*	216	26.97
	Liberal Democrats	Charlie Kingsbury	213	26.59
	Labour	Alex Mangold	177	22.10
Majority
Turnout			801
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

Aberystwyth, Rheidol ward

Aberystwyth, Rheidol ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Mark Endaf Edwards	170	27.87	+5.14
	Liberal Democrats	Mair Benjamin	154	25.25	+3.47
	Independent	John Aled Davies*	134	21.97	−10.94
	Labour	Claudine Allison Young	97	15.90	+15.90
	Independent	Martin Wyn Shewring	55	9.02	−10.06
Majority			16	2.62
Turnout			610
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

Beulah ward

Beulah ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	William David Lyndon Lloyd*	Unopposed
	Plaid Cymru hold

Borth ward

Borth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ray Quant*	326	39.09	−10.49
	Independent	Hugh Richard Michael Hughes	285	34.17	+34.17
	Plaid Cymru	Kevin Roy Price	158	18.94	+18.94
	Independent	Phil Turner-Wright	65	7.79	+7.79
Majority			41	4.92	−4.22
Turnout			834
	Independent hold		Swing

Capel Dewi ward

Capel Dewi ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Peter Lloyd Davies*	362	58.86	+1.51
	Plaid Cymru	John Gethin Jones	253	41.14	−1.51
Majority			109	17.72	+3.03
Turnout			615
	Independent hold		Swing

The election in 2017 was a repeat of the 2012 elections (with both candidates being re-nominated)

Cardigan, Mwldan ward

Cardigan, Mwldan ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Thomas John Adams-Lewis*	411	52.56	−13.37
	Liberal Democrats	Myfanwy Maehrlein	371	47.44	+20.04
Majority			40	4.82
Turnout			782
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Cardigan, Rhydyfuwch ward

Cardigan, Rhydyfuwch ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Elaine Evans	258	64.99	−10.84
	Plaid Cymru	Shan Elizabeth Williams	139	35.01	+10.84
Majority			119	29.98
Turnout			397
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Cllr. Mark Cole announced his intention to stand down from the council at these elections on 4 April, the last day for nominations ^[5]

Cardigan, Teifi ward

Cardigan, Teifi ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Catrin Miles*	168	58.33	−5.09
	Liberal Democrats	Steven Paul Greenhalgh	120	41.67	+5.09
Majority			48	16.66
Turnout			288
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

This is a repeat of the 2012 election (with both parties re-nominating the same candidates)

Ceulanamaesmawr ward

Ceulanamaesmawr ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Ellen Elizabeth ap Gwynn*	452	55.12	−8.30
	Independent	John Dilwyn Lewis	368	44.88	+44.88
Majority			84	10.24
Turnout			820
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Cllr. ap Gwynn became leader of the council after the 2012 elections.

Ciliau Aeron ward

Ciliau Aeron ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Marc Davies	443	51.63	+51.63
	Plaid Cymru	John Edward Charles Lumley*	281	32.75	−17.88
	Independent	Sonia Rose Williams	134	15.62	+15.62
Majority			162	18.88
Turnout			858
	Independent gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Sonia Williams was the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2012 elections.

Faenor ward

Faenor ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	John Erfyl Roberts*	413	57.20	−8.16
	Plaid Cymru	Talat Zafar Chaudhri	174	24.10	−6.99
	Labour	Gareth Stevan Kelly	95	13.16	+13.16
	Green	Chris Simpson	40	5.54	+5.54
Majority			239	33.10
Turnout			722
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Lampeter ward

Lampeter ward (two seats)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Robert George (Hag) Harris*	737	81.71
	Independent	John Ivor Williams*	551	61.09
	Plaid Cymru	Elin Tracey Jones	270	29.93
Majority			281	31.16
Turnout			902
	Labour hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanarth ward

Llanarth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Bryan Gareth Davies	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llanbadarn Fawr, Padarn ward

Llanbadarn Fawr, Padarn ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Gareth Davies*	236	62.27	−17.52
	Liberal Democrats	Juliet Price	143	37.73	+24.14
Majority			93	24.54
Turnout			379
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llanbadarn Fawr, Sulien ward

Llanbadarn Fawr, Sulien ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Paul James*	267	70.63	−13.24
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Chappell	58	15.34	+3.93
	Labour	Wiliam Jac Rees	33	8.73	+8.73
	Green	John Roy Morgan	20	5.29	+5.29
Majority			209	55.29
Turnout			378
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llandyfriog ward

Two candidates were nominated for this ward, Neil Flower (Liberal Democrat) and James Wyn Reynolds Thomas (Plaid Cymru). On 28 April 2017 it was announced that Neil Flower had died.^[6] Following normal convention the election in this ward was cancelled and a new election was due to be held on 8 June 2017.^[7] ^[8] However, James Wyn Reynolds Thomas was elected County Councillor for the ward without a contest.^[2]

Llandyfriog ward
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	James Wyn Reynolds Thomas	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llandysiliogogo ward

Llandysiliogogo ward
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Gareth Lloyd*	Unopposed
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandysul Town ward

Here, Keith Evans regained the seat he lost four year previously.

Llandysul Town ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Evan John Keith Evans	407	63.30	+21.22
	Plaid Cymru	Peter Godfrey Evans*	236	36.70	−21.22
Majority			171	26.60
Turnout			643
	Independent gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Llanfarian ward

Llanfarian ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Alun Lloyd Jones*	Unopposed
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Ystrad ward

Llanfihangel Ystrad ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	William Lynford Thomas*	510	59.23	−5.25
	Liberal Democrats	Angela Lewes Gee	274	31.82	−3.7
	Green	Elly Foster	77	8.94	+8.94
Majority			236	27.40	−1.55
Turnout			861
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llangeitho ward

Llangeitho ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Rhodri Wyn Evans*	534	71.39	+17.67
	Independent	Margaret Eirwen James	132	17.65	+17.65
	Labour	James Ralph Cook	82	10.99	+10.99
Majority			402	53.74	+36.92
Turnout			748
	Independent hold		Swing

Llangybi ward

Llangybi ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	John Timothy Odwyn Davies*	402	69.91	−4.51
	Labour	Dinah Mulholland	173	30.09	+30.09
Majority			229	39.82	−9.03
Turnout			575
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llanrhystud ward

Llanrhystud ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	David Rowland Rees-Evans*	482	58.49
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Llŷr Jenkins	140	16.99
	Labour	Tony Geraghty	118	14.32
	Independent	Alan Scott Durrant	49	5.95
	Green	John Raymond Crocker	35	4.25
Majority			342	41.50
Turnout			824
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Llansantffraed ward

Llansantffraed ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Dafydd Edwards*	795	77.71
	NHA	Harry Hayfield	228	22.29
Majority			567	55.42
Turnout			1,023
	Independent hold		Swing

Harry Hayfield was the Liberal Democrat candidate for this ward in the 2012 elections.

Llanwenog ward

Llanwenog ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Euros Davies*	unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Independent hold		Swing

Lledrod ward

Lledrod ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Ifan Lloyd Davies*	571	54.02
	Independent	Aaron Benjamin	325	30.75
	Plaid Cymru	Angharad Danielle Adrienne Shaw	161	15.23
Majority			246	23.27
Turnout			1,057
	Independent hold		Swing

Melindwr ward

Melindwr ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Daniel Rhodri Davies*	627	79.17
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Patrick Walker	165	20.83
Majority			462	58.34
Turnout			792
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

New Quay ward

New Quay ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Dan Potter	261	52.62
	Independent	Sarah Gillian Hopley*	205	41.33
	Conservative	Faith Louise Millward	30	6.05
Majority			56	11.29
Turnout			496
	Independent hold		Swing

Penbryn ward

Penbryn ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Emyr Gwyn James*	691	71.61
	Plaid Cymru	Steffan Jenkins	274	28.39
Majority			417	43.22
Turnout			965
	Independent hold		Swing

Penparc ward

Penparc ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	John Clive Davies	423	44.48
	Independent	Des Davies	265	27.87
	Liberal Democrats	Graham William Dixon	142	14.93
	Conservative	Nigel Sydney Moore	121	12.72
Majority			158	16.61
Turnout			951
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

Tirymynach ward

Tirymynach ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Paul Hinge*	468	56.18
	Plaid Cymru	Richard Michael Lucas	365	43.82
Majority			103	12.36
Turnout			833
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Trefeurig ward

Trefeurig ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David James Mason*	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Independent hold		Swing

Tregaron ward

Tregaron ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	Catherine Jane Hughes*	325	54.08
	Liberal Democrats	Karine Davies	276	45.92
Majority			49	8.16
Turnout			601
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Troedyraur ward

The winning candidate ran as an independent in 2012.

Troedyraur ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Thomas Maldwyn Benjamin Lewis	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

Ystwyth ward

Ystwyth ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	John Edwin Meirion Davies	503	60.82
	Plaid Cymru	Mererid Jones	324	39.18
Majority			179	21.64
Turnout			827
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

By-elections 2017-2021

Llanbadarn Fawr, Sulien ward (2019)

A by-election was held in this ward on 18 July 2019 following the death of Cllr. Paul James in a cycling accident. The result of the by-election was:^{[citation needed]}

Llanbadarn Fawr, Sulien ward
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Matthew Woolfall-Jones	186	63.27	−7.36
	Liberal Democrats	Michael Chappell	93	31.63	+16.29
	Labour	Richard Layton	15	5.10	−3.63
Majority			93	31.64	−23.66
Turnout			294
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing	11.83

Notes

^ Gethin James had joined UKIP after being elected as a councillor in 2012, but sought re-election as an Independent candidate

References

^ "Ceredigion County Council Elections". Ceredigion County Council. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
^ ^a ^b "Election of a County Councillor" (PDF). Ceredigion County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ "Former Ceredigion council leader regains seat". Cambrian News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
^ "Voting & Elections - Ceredigion County Council". www.ceredigion.gov.uk.
^ "A Life Inside & Outside of Politics - Mark Cole: Time to Say Goodbye - Notes on my Political 'Retirement'". johnmarkcole.blogspot.co.uk. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017.
^ "Tributes paid following sudden death of Ceredigion County Council candidate". Tivyside Advertiser.
^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "Cyngor Sir Ceredigion County Council". www.ceredigion.gov.uk.

[5] Gethin James had joined UKIP after being elected as a councillor in 2012, but sought re-election as an Independent candidate

[1] "Ceredigion County Council Elections". Ceredigion County Council. Retrieved 5 May 2017.

[:0-2] "Election of a County Councillor" (PDF). Ceredigion County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 November 2021. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[3] "Former Ceredigion council leader regains seat". Cambrian News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.

[4] "Voting & Elections - Ceredigion County Council". www.ceredigion.gov.uk.

[6] "A Life Inside & Outside of Politics - Mark Cole: Time to Say Goodbye - Notes on my Political 'Retirement'". johnmarkcole.blogspot.co.uk. 4 April 2017. Archived from the original on 10 April 2017.

[7] "Tributes paid following sudden death of Ceredigion County Council candidate". Tivyside Advertiser.

[8] "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 November 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[9] "Cyngor Sir Ceredigion County Council". www.ceredigion.gov.uk.

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