 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 1,270 seats to 22 Welsh councils [1] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Colours denote the winning party with outright control (left), and the largest party by ward (right) | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2008 Welsh local elections took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 2004.
| Party | Votes [1] | % | +/- | Councils [2] | +/- | Seats | +/- | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 253,029 | 26.6% |  4.0% | 2 | 6 | 345 | 134 | |
| Independent | 217,369 | 22.9% |  0.3% | 4 | 1 | 334 | 13 | |
| Plaid Cymru | 159,847 | 16.8% | 0.4% | 0 | 1 | 206 | 31 | |
| Conservative | 148,708 | 15.6% | 4.6% | 2 | 1 | 174 | 67 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 123,175 | 13.0% | 0.9% | 0 |  | 165 | 19 | |
| Blaenau Gwent PV | 9,187 | 1.0% | 1.0% | 0 | | 8 | 8 | |
| Llais Gwynedd | 7,119 | 0.7% | 0.7% | 0 | | 13 | 13 | |
| Green | 6,568 | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0 | | 0 | | |
| Other | 25,214 | 2.7% | 1.6% | 0 | | 19 | 17 | |
| No overall control | n/a | n/a | n/a | 14 | 5 | n/a | n/a | |
In all 22 Welsh councils the whole of the council was up for election.
Plaid Cymru is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. It campaigns on a platform of social democracy and civic nationalism. The party is a supporter of the European Union and is a member of the European Free Alliance (EFA). The party holds 4 of 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 12 of 60 seats in the Senedd, and 202 of 1,231 principal local authority councillors. Plaid was formed in 1925 under the name Plaid Genedlaethol Cymru and Gwynfor Evans won the first Westminster seat for the party at the 1966 Carmarthen by-election.
Local government in Wales is primarily undertaken by the twenty-two principal councils. The councils are unitary authorities, meaning they are responsible for providing local government services within their principal area, including education, social work, environmental protection, and most highway maintenance. The principal areas are divided into communities, most of which have an elected community council. The services provided by community councils vary, but they will typically maintain public spaces and facilities. Local councils in Wales are elected; the most recent local elections in Wales took place in 2022, and the next are due to take place in 2027.
The Senedd, officially known as the Welsh Parliament in English and Senedd Cymru in Welsh, is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Wales. A democratically elected body, it makes laws for Wales, agrees to certain taxes, and scrutinises the Welsh Government. It is a bilingual institution, with both Welsh and English being the official languages of its business. From its creation in May 1999 until May 2020, the Senedd was officially known as the National Assembly for Wales and was often simply called the Welsh Assembly.
The Wales Green Party is a semi-autonomous political party within the Green Party of England and Wales (GPEW). It covers Wales, and is the only regional party with semi-autonomous status within the GPEW. The Wales Green Party puts up candidates for council, Senedd, and UK Parliament seats.
The Isle of Anglesey County Council is the local authority for the Isle of Anglesey, a principal area with county status in Wales. Since 2022 the council has 35 councillors who represent 11 multi-member electoral wards.
Gwynedd Council, which calls itself by its Welsh name Cyngor Gwynedd, is the governing body for the county of Gwynedd, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council administrates internally using the Welsh language.
Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin.
There are four types of elections in Wales: elections to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, elections to the devolved Senedd, local elections to community councils and the 22 principal areas, and the police and crime commissioner elections. In addition there are by-elections for each aforementioned election. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday. Three of these four types of elections are held after fixed periods; the exception is UK general elections, the timing of which is at the discretion of the prime minister of the United Kingdom. Senedd elections may be postponed to avoid elections to the UK parliament and Senedd coinciding with each other.
Pembrokeshire County Council is the local authority for the county of Pembrokeshire, one of the principal areas of Wales.
The Welsh Liberal Democrats is a liberal, federalist political party in Wales, part of UK Liberal Democrats. The party is led by Jane Dodds, who has served as an MS for Mid and West Wales since May 2021. The party currently has one elected member in the Senedd and one Welsh seat in the UK House of Commons. It also has several members of the House of Lords. The party had 69 local councillors serving in principal authorities as of the 2022 local authority elections, up 10 from 2017.
The 2012 United Kingdom local elections were held across England, Scotland and Wales on 3 May 2012. Elections were held in 128 English local authorities, all 32 Scottish local authorities and 21 of the 22 Welsh unitary authorities, alongside three mayoral elections including the London mayoralty and the London Assembly. Referendums were also held in 11 English cities to determine whether or not to introduce directly elected mayors.
The 2012 Cardiff Council election took place on Thursday 3 May 2012 to elect members of Cardiff Council in Wales. This was the same day as the national 2012 Welsh local elections. It was preceded by the 2008 election and followed by the 2017 election
The 2013 United Kingdom local elections took place on Thursday 2 May 2013. Elections were held in 35 English councils: all 27 non-metropolitan county councils and eight unitary authorities, and in one Welsh unitary authority. Direct mayoral elections took place in Doncaster and North Tyneside. These elections last took place on the 4 June 2009 at the same time as the 2009 European Parliament Elections, except for County Durham, Northumberland and the Anglesey where elections last took place in 2008.
The 2017 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 4 May 2017. Local elections were held across Great Britain, with elections to 35 English local authorities and all councils in Scotland and Wales.
The 2004 Cardiff Council election was the third election to the post-1996 Cardiff Council following the re-organisation of local government in Wales. It was held on 10 June 2004. It was preceded by the 1999 election and followed by the 2008 elections. On the same day, elections were held for the European Parliament as well as to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2004 Welsh local elections.
The 2012 Welsh local elections took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 2008.
The 2017 Welsh local elections were held on 4 May 2017 to elect members of all 22 local authorities in Wales. This included the Isle of Anglesey, which was previously up for election in 2013 due to having its elections delayed for a year. Community council elections also took place on the same day. These local elections were held as part of the 2017 local elections in the United Kingdom. Apart from Anglesey, the last elections were held in 2012. Normally these elections take place every four years, but the 2017 elections were postponed for a year in order to avoid clashing with the 2016 Welsh Assembly election, which itself had been postponed by a year to avoid clashing with the 2015 general election.
The 2004 Welsh local elections took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 1999.
Joel James is a Welsh Conservative politician who has served as a Member of the Senedd (MS) for the region of South Wales Central since the 2021 Senedd election.
The 2022 Welsh local elections took place on 5 May 2022 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 2017.
| Metropolitan borough elections |
|
|---|---|
| Unitary authorities | |
| District councils |
|
| Welsh councils | |
| Mayoral elections | |
| Regional assembly elections | |
