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 won526316202
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 66Increase2.svg8Decrease2.svg 6
 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Andrew RT Davies 2016 (cropped).jpg
Jane-dodds (cropped).jpg
Blank portrait, male (rectangular).png
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.svg 86Increase2.svg10Increase2.svg7

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

Party [14] Votes(%)±Seats±Councils±
No overall control ---—8−1
Labour ---526+668+1
Plaid Cymru ---202−64+3
Independent ---316+80−2
Conservative ---111−860−1
Liberal Democrats ---69+1000
Green ---8+700
Post-election vacancy---20--

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. [14] The Liberal Democrats became the largest party in Powys council. [15] The Welsh Green Party gained 8 councillors across 7 councils. [14] Propel gained one councillor in Cardiff. [16]

Whilst Labour gained two councils and lost one, they gained 66 councillors across the country. [15]

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.

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The Welsh Conservatives 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, 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. They hold 14 of the 40 Welsh seats in the UK Parliament, and 16 of the 60 seats in the Senedd.

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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. 1 2 3 "Local Elections 2022 in Wales". BBC News. BBC . Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  15. 1 2 "Welsh election results 2022: Tories lose their only council". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  16. ↑ "The Wales local election results and reaction where you live". ITV News. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
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