2022 Welsh local elections

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2022 Welsh local elections
Flag of Wales (1959-present).svg
←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)2027 →
All 1,231 seats to 22 Welsh councils
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
First Minister Mark Drakeford official portrait 2020 (cropped).jpg
Ind
Adam-price (cropped).jpg
Leader Mark Drakeford None Adam Price
Party Labour Independent Plaid Cymru
Last election468 seats, 30.4%309 seats, 22.5%208 seats, 16.5%
Seats won526307202
Seat changeIncrease2.svg66Decrease2.svg 2Decrease2.svg 6
Popular vote323,075206,703160,284
Percentage34%21.76%16.9%
SwingIncrease2.svg3.6%Decrease2.svg 0.74%Increase2.svg0.4%
 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Andrew RT Davies 2016 (cropped).jpg
Jane-dodds (cropped).jpg
GRN
Leader Andrew RT Davies Jane Dodds Anthony Slaughter
Party Conservative Liberal Democrats Green
Last election184 seats, 18.8%63 seats, 6.8%1 seat, 1.3%
Seats won111698
Seat changeDecrease2.svg86Increase2.svg10Increase2.svg 7
Popular vote145,11566,18021,585
Percentage15.3%6.97%2.27%
SwingDecrease2.svg 3.52%Increase2.svg0.17%Increase2.svg0.97%
2022 Welsh Local Elections - Ward and Council Control.svg
Colours denote the winning party with outright control (left), and the largest party by ward (right)
Key:

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.

Contents

The Welsh Conservatives lost over a third of their seats and their majority on Monmouthshire County Council. [1] Plaid Cymru won outright control of four councils, which was the highest number in the party's history, however their overall number of councillors elected decreased.

Background

In the local elections in 2017, 1,271 seats were elected. Welsh Labour won 468 seats, independent candidates won 309 seats, Plaid Cymru won 208 seats, the Welsh Conservatives won 184 seats, and the Welsh Liberal Democrats won 63 seats. Other parties including the Wales Green Party won 22 seats. [2] The 2022 Welsh local elections were initially scheduled for 2021, to give councillors a four-year term, but they were delayed to 2022 to avoid clashing with the 2021 Senedd election. [3] The 2021 Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act permanently changed the term length for councillors from four years to five years. [4]

Ahead of the 2022 elections, eleven of the twenty-two councils in Wales were under no overall control with no single party holding more than half of the seats. Labour controlled seven councils, Independents controlled two councils, and the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru each controlled one council.

Process

To have been able to vote in the 2022 local elections in Wales a person must be aged 16 or over on the day of the election (also called "polling day"), have been registered to vote by the morning of the 14 April 2022, registered at an address in Wales, and not be legally excluded from voting. [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] The deadline for applications to vote by post was 19 April 2022, of which a request must have been put in writing. [9] Persons wishing to vote must also be one of the following: [5]

For this election, councils in Wales use first-past-the-post voting (FPTP) in single-member wards and block voting in multi-member wards. For the next election in 2027, councils will choose whether to conduct elections under FPTP or the single transferable vote, due to changes in legislation in Wales. [10] [11]

Principal councils

Wales Administrative Map 2009.png

Elections were held for all councillors in all 22 local authorities, all of which were conducted under new boundaries. These boundary changes mean a number of seats have been redrawn and the total number of councillors in Wales will fall from 1,254 to 1,233, a decrease of 21.

CouncilSeats
NewPriorDifference
Anglesey 3530+5
Blaenau Gwent 3342–9
Bridgend 5154–3
Caerphilly 6973–4
Cardiff 7975+4
Carmarthenshire 7574+1
Ceredigion 3842–4
Conwy 5559–4
Denbighshire 4847+1
Flintshire 6670–4
Gwynedd 6975–6
Merthyr Tydfil 3033–3
Monmouthshire 4643+2
Neath Port Talbot 6064–4
Newport 5150+1
Pembrokeshire 60600
Powys 6873–5
Rhondda Cynon Taf 75750
Swansea 7572+3
Torfaen 4044–4
Vale of Glamorgan 5447+7
Wrexham 5652+4
Totals1,2331,254–21

Candidates

2,436 candidates sought election to 1,231 seats. [12] [13]

1. ^ Plaid Cymru figures include Plaid Cymru and Green Party Common Ground Alliance candidates in Cardiff.

Councils

CouncilSeatsParty controlDetails
PreviousNew
Anglesey 35 No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition) Plaid Cymru Details
Blaenau Gwent 33 Independent Labour Details
Bridgend 51 No overall control (Labour minority) Labour Details
Caerphilly 69 Labour Labour Details
Cardiff 79 Labour Labour Details
Carmarthenshire 75 No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition) Plaid Cymru Details
Ceredigion 38 No overall control (Plaid Cymru/independent coalition) Plaid Cymru Details
Conwy 55 No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition) No overall control Details
Denbighshire 48 No overall control (Conservative/independent coalition) No overall control Details
Flintshire 66 No overall control (Labour minority) No overall control Details
Gwynedd 69 Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru Details
Merthyr Tydfil 30 Independent No overall control Details
Monmouthshire 46 Conservative No overall control Details
Neath Port Talbot 60 Labour No overall control Details
Newport 51 Labour Labour Details
Pembrokeshire 60 No overall control (independent/Labour/Plaid Cymru/Lib Dem coalition) No overall control Details
Powys 68 No overall control (independent/Conservative coalition) No overall control Details
Rhondda Cynon Taf 75 Labour Labour Details
Swansea 75 Labour Labour Details
Torfaen 40 Labour Labour Details
Vale of Glamorgan 54 No overall control (Labour/independent coalition) No overall control Details
Wrexham 56 No overall control (independent/Conservative coalition) No overall control Details
All 22 councils1,233

Results

PartyVotes [14]  %+/-Councils+/-Seats+/-
Labour 323,07534%Increase2.svg3.6%8Increase2.svg1526Increase2.svg66
Independent 206,70321.76%Decrease2.svg0.74%0Decrease2.svg3307Decrease2.svg2
Plaid Cymru 160,28416.87%Increase2.svg0.37%4Increase2.svg3202Decrease2.svg6
Conservative 145,11515.28%Decrease2.svg3.52%0Decrease2.svg1111Decrease2.svg86
Liberal Democrats 66,1806.97%Increase2.svg0.17%0Steady2.svg69Increase2.svg10
Green 21,5852.27%Increase2.svg0.97%0Steady2.svg8Increase2.svg7
Other26,9392.84%Increase2.svg0.34%0Steady2.svg9 [15] Decrease2.svg12
No overall control n/an/an/a10Decrease2.svg1n/an/a
Post-election vacancyn/an/an/an/an/a2n/a

The Conservatives lost 86 councillors and lost control of the one council which they administered, Monmouthshire. Though Plaid Cymru lost a small amount of councillors, they consolidated and gained three councils. [16] The Liberal Democrats became the largest party in Powys council. [17] The Welsh Green Party gained 8 councillors across 7 councils. [16] Propel gained one councillor in Cardiff. [18]

Whilst Labour gained two councils and lost one, they gained 66 councillors across the country. [17]

Analysis

Ward result maps

By council

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wales Green Party</span> Political party in Wales

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of Wales</span>

Politics in Wales forms a distinctive polity in the wider politics of the United Kingdom, with Wales as one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom (UK).

Welsh Labour, formerly known as the Labour Party in Wales, is an autonomous section of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears have won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 1922, every Assembly and Senedd election since 1999, and all elections to the European Parliament in the period 1979–2004 and in 2014. Welsh Labour holds 27 of the 32 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, 30 of the 60 seats in the Welsh Senedd and 576 of the 1,264 councillors in principal local authorities including overall control of 10 of the 22 principal local authorities.

The Welsh Conservatives, also known as the Welsh Conservative Party, is the branch of the United Kingdom Conservative Party that operates in Wales. At Westminster elections, it is the second-most popular political party in Wales by vote share, having obtained the second-largest share of the vote at every general election since 1931. In Senedd elections, the Conservatives are currently the second-most supported party but have at times been third. As of 2024, they hold none of the 32 Welsh seats in the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.

The 2004 Monmouthshire County Council election was held on 10 June 2004 to Monmouthshire County Council in southeast Wales, on the same day of the European Elections. The election was preceded by the 1999 elections and followed by the 2008 elections.

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The Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party, or in Wales, simply Abolish, is a registered single issue political party in Wales. It campaigns for the abolition of the Senedd, formerly known as the "National Assembly for Wales", the devolved legislature of Wales. Abolish advocates that devolved powers be returned to the Secretary of State for Wales within the UK Central Government and the Parliament of the United Kingdom at Westminster.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Welsh local elections</span>

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Cardiff Council election</span> Local election in Cardiff, Wales

The 2017 Cardiff Council election was held on 4 May 2017 as part of the national 2017 Welsh local elections. The elections were preceded by the 2012 elections and were followed by the 2022 elections.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fairwater (Cardiff electoral ward)</span> Electoral ward in Wales

Fairwater is an electoral ward in the west of Cardiff, capital city of Wales. It covers Fairwater and Pentrebane on the outskirts of the urban area.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Cardiff Council election</span> Local election in Wales

The 2022 Cardiff Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 79 members to Cardiff Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election</span> Election to Wrexham County Borough Council

The 2022 Wrexham County Borough Council election took place on 5 May 2022 to elect 56 members to Wrexham County Borough Council, the principal council of Wrexham County Borough, Wales. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities, and community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Wrexham County Borough all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years, with the next scheduled for 2027.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Vale of Glamorgan Council election</span> 2022 Welsh local government election

The 2022 Vale of Glamorgan Council election took place as of 5 May 2022 to elect 54 members across 24 wards to Vale of Glamorgan Council. On the same day, elections were held to the other 21 local authorities and to community councils in Wales as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. The previous Vale of Glamorgan all-council election took place in May 2017 and future elections will take place every five years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 United Kingdom general election in Wales</span>

The 2024 general election was held on Thursday, 4 July 2024. Thirty-two seats were up for election in Wales as the general election occurred after the recently completed boundary review took effect. The Labour Party remained the largest party in Wales, gaining six seats for a total of 27. Both Plaid Cymru and the Liberal Democrats made gains, taking them to four seats and one seat respectively. The Conservatives lost all thirteen seats they had held previously, leaving the party without Westminster representation from Wales for the first time since 2005.

Plaid Cymru and the Green Party of England and Wales have a history of collaborative working, including running candidates together, under the names of both parties. The parties have done this at a number of different elections, including to successfully elect an MP, Cynog Dafis, at the 1992 general election.

References

  1. ↑ "Local Elections 2022 in Wales". BBC News. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
  2. ↑ Blake, Aled (5 May 2017). "The full results from the local elections in Wales". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  3. ↑ Mosalski, Ruth (24 September 2019). "The date of the next council elections in Wales has moved". WalesOnline. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021". business.senedd.wales. 18 November 2019. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  5. 1 2 "Types of election, referendums, and who can vote". GOV.UK. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  6. ↑ "Running electoral registration - Wales". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  7. ↑ "Votes at 16". Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  8. ↑ Uberoi, Elise; Johnston, Neil (19 November 2020). "Voting age". Commons Library. Retrieved 10 January 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Wales council elections 2022: A simple guide". BBC News. 25 March 2022. Retrieved 14 April 2022.
  10. ↑ Cromar, Chris (10 September 2021). "Should England introduce PR for local elections like Scotland?". Public Sector Executive. Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  11. ↑ "Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021". legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 March 2022.
  12. ↑ "Local Elections SOPN Summary" . Retrieved 11 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "CARMARTHENSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL ELECTION OF County Councillors" (PDF). carmarthenshire.gov.wales. 6 April 2022. Retrieved 13 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "2022 local election results (Britain Elects aggregate)". Google Docs. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  15. ↑ Mosalski, Ruth; Hayward, Will (6 May 2022). "The full results from around Wales in the local elections 2022". Wales Online. Retrieved 6 August 2024.
  16. 1 2 "Local Elections 2022 in Wales". BBC News. BBC . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  17. 1 2 "Welsh election results 2022: Tories lose their only council". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  18. ↑ "The Wales local election results and reaction where you live". ITV News. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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