South Glamorgan County Council

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South Glamorgan County Council

Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg
Arms of the South Glamorgan County Council.svg
History
Founded1 April 1974
Disbanded31 March 1996
Preceded by Cardiff County Borough Council
Succeeded by Cardiff
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.

Contents

History

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

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 controlYears
Labour 1974–1977
Conservative 1977–1981
Labour 1981–1996

Leadership

The leaders of the council included:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Jack Brooks [7] Labour 19741977
Hugh Ferguson Jones [8] [9] Conservative 197715 Jun 1979
Bob Morgan [10] [11] Labour 1981May 1986
Jack Brooks [10] [12] Labour May 1986May 1992
Russell Goodway [12] [13] [14] Labour May 199231 Mar 1996

Emyr Currie-Jones was the initial Chairman of the Council from 1973 until 1975. [15]

Elections

Elections were held every four years: [6]

YearSeats Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats [a] Plaid Cymru OthersNotes
1973 804236002
1977 801564001
1981 804135310
1985 623418910New division boundaries.
1989 624013612
1993 624012811
  1. ↑ Includes Liberals and SDP pre-1988

Premises

The county council was initially headquartered in a building on Newport Road, Cardiff. [16] 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

Sources

Footnotes

  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. 1 2 "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "South Glamorgan" in search box to see specific results.)
  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. 1 2 Thomas, Michael (9 May 1986). "Council leader loses in shock move". South Wales Echo. p. 1. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  11. ↑ "The Reverend Bob Morgan". The Telegraph . London. 8 January 2012. Retrieved 2018-11-10.
  12. 1 2 Thomas, Michael (13 May 1992). "From numbers runner to number one". South Wales Echo. p. 13. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  13. ↑ 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.
  14. ↑ "Loyalty tips the balance". South Wales Echo. 19 April 1996. pp. 6–7. Retrieved 17 August 2025.
  15. ↑ "Obituary: Emyr Currie-Jones". South Wales Echo . 2 December 2008. Retrieved 2019-08-26.
  16. ↑ "Jack Brooks", South Wales Echo, 25 February 2005. Retrieved 2013-05-04.
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