South Glamorgan County Council

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South Glamorgan County Council

Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg
County Hall, Cardiff
History
Founded1 April 1974
Disbanded31 March 1996
Preceded byCardiff County Borough Council
Succeeded byCardiff
Vale of Glamorgan
Elections
First election
April 1973
Last election
May 1993
Next election
N/A

South Glamorgan County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996.

History[edit]

Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The old administrative county of Glamorgan was divided into three new counties and Glamorgan County Council was abolished. The new county of South Glamorgan was created covering the former county borough of Cardiff, (which had been independent from Glamorgan County Council), together with the southern parts of Glamorgan and the parish of St Mellons from Monmouthshire. South Glamorgan County Council came into existence on 1 April 1974.[1] There were two lower-tier district councils within South Glamorgan: Cardiff City Council (later Cardiff Council) and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council (later the Vale of Glamorgan Council).[2]

Ahead of the 1970 general election, the Labour Party, had proposed splitting Glamorgan into two counties, East and West. However, the Conservative Party prevailed at the election and proceeded to divide the county into three, hoping South Glamorgan would become a Conservative-controlled administration.[3]

South Glamorgan County Council was abolished in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. Its functions passed to the two district councils of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, which became unitary authorities.[4]

Political control[edit]

The first election to the county council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Despite the intentions of the Conservatives who created South Glamorgan, the Labour Party gained a majority of the seats on the council at the first election. Labour held the council from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1996, with the Conservatives holding power for the four intervening years.[5][6]

Party in control Years
Labour 1974–1977
Conservative 1977–1981
Labour 1981–1996

Leadership[edit]

The leaders of the council included:

Councillor Party From To
Jack Brooks[7] Labour 1974 1977
Hugh Ferguson Jones[8][9] Conservative 1977 15 Jun 1979
Bob Morgan[10] Labour 1981 1989
Jack Brooks Labour 1989 1992
Russell Goodway[11] Labour 1992 1996

Emyr Currie-Jones was the initial Chairman of the Council from 1973 until 1975.[12]

Elections[edit]

Elections were held every four years:[6]

Year Seats Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats[a] Plaid Cymru Others Notes
1973 80 42 36 0 0 2
1977 80 15 64 0 0 1
1981 80 41 35 3 1 0
1985 62 34 18 9 1 0 New division boundaries.
1989 62 40 13 6 1 2
1993 62 40 12 8 1 1
  1. ^ Includes Liberals and SDP pre-1988

Premises[edit]

The county council was initially headquartered in a building on Newport Road, Cardiff.[13] In 1986 the council moved to a purpose-built County Hall at Atlantic Wharf in Cardiff. Since the county council's abolition in 1996, County Hall has been used as offices by Cardiff Council.

See also[edit]

Sources[edit]

  • Alan Hooper; John Punter (Eds.) Capital Cardiff 1975–2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press (2006), ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ South Glamorgan/De Morgannwg: Directory of Services. South Glamorgan County Council. March 1975.
  2. ^ Stewart Williams (Ed.), The Cardiff Book: Volume I., Stewart Williams Publishers (1973), p. 8. ISBN 0-900807-05-9.
  3. ^ Capital Cardiff 1975–2020, "Chapter 3: Governing Cardiff: politics, power and personalities", p. 32
  4. ^ "The Bridgend and The Vale of Glamorgan (Areas) Order 1996". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  5. ^ Hooper, Alan; Punter, John (2006). Capital Cardiff 1975-2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press. pp. 34–35. ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.
  6. ^ a b "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  7. ^ "New councils must work". Glamorgan Gazette. Bridgend. 29 November 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  8. ^ "County Councillor Sir Hugh Ferguson Jones". Art UK. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  9. ^ "New knight dies at meeting". Sunday Mirror. London. 17 June 1979. p. 5. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
  10. ^ "The Reverend Bob Morgan". The Telegraph. London. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  11. ^ Hooper, Alan; Punter, John (2006). Capital Cardiff 1975-2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment. University of Wales Press. p. 37. ISBN 0-7083-2063-5.
  12. ^ "Obituary: Emyr Currie-Jones". South Wales Echo. 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  13. ^ "Jack Brooks", South Wales Echo, 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
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