1981 South Glamorgan County Council election

The third election to South Glamorgan County Council was held in May 1981. It was preceded by the 1977 election and followed by the 1985 election.

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Candidates

As in previous elections, Conservative and Labour candidates contested the vast majority of seats, with an increased number of Liberal candidates. There were a smaller number of Plaid Cymru and Ecology Party candidates and a few Independents.

Outcome

Having lost control of the authority in 1977, Labour regained control with sweeping gains across the wards. The Liberals also made some advances in central Cardiff.

Ward Results

Adamsdown (two seats)

Adamsdown 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Evans*	1,251
	Labour	Kenneth Hutchings	1,234
	Conservative	W. Lewis	344
	Conservative	T. Hobbs	314
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Barry, Baruc (one seat)

Barry, Baruc 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	E. Jones*	1,380
	Labour	C. Short	889
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Barry, Buttrills (one seat)

Barry, Buttrills 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	R. Lane	976
	Conservative	E. Evans*	626
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Barry, Cadoc (one seat)

Barry, Cadoc 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F. Cook	1,048
	Conservative	J. Whitchurch*	850
	Plaid Cymru	B. Greaves	80
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Barry, Castleland (one seat)

Barry, Castleland 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Sharp	1,012
	Conservative	K. Jones	431
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Barry, Court (two seats)

Barry, Court 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	S. James	1,319
	Labour	Mick Antoniw	1,198
	Conservative	M. Davies*	750
	Conservative	M. Walnycki*	632
	Plaid Cymru	R. Perriam	125
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Barry, Dyfan (two seats)

Barry, Dyfan 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	B. Murray	2,037
	Labour	C. Watkins*	1,984
	Conservative	J. Donovan	1,068
	Conservative	R. Gibbons	1.041
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Barry, Illtyd (one seat)

Barry, Castleland 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Tabernacle	1,088
	Conservative	G. Mackillican*	1,074
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Canton (two seats)

Canton 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Trickway	1,333
	Conservative	Bella Brown*	1,328
	Labour	T. Crews	1,236
	Conservative	Trevor C. Tyrrell*	1,113
	Liberal	A. Williams	299
	Liberal	P. Deogan	274
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cardiff Rural No.1 (one seat)

Cardiff Rural No.1 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Clarke	1,441
	Labour	B. Edwards	842
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Cardiff Rural No.3, Dinas Powys (two seats)

Cardiff Rural No.3, Dinas Powys 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Jones*	1,635
	Plaid Cymru	Chris Franks	1,537
	Conservative	A. Beavan	1,511
	Plaid Cymru	A. Roper	1,030
	Labour	T. Davies	788
	Liberal	J. Baker	392
	Liberal	S. Bakes	370
	Independent	T. Roberts	128
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru gain from Conservative		Swing

Cardiff Rural No.4, Wenvoe (one seat)

Cardiff Rural No.4, Wenvoe 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Rush*	Unopposed
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cardiff Rural No.5, Rhoose (one seat)

Cardiff Rural No.5, Rhoose 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	K. Bowles	1,133
	Labour	A. German	787
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cardiff South (two seats)

Cardiff South 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Peter Perkins	1,569
	Labour	D. Richards	1,527
	Conservative	M. Moorcroft	747
	Conservative	F. Arnold	694
	Liberal	J. Williams	152
	Liberal	J. Coley	142
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Cathays (three seats)

Cathays 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Matthews	2,110
	Liberal	G. Snell	2,107
	Liberal	David Rees	1,956
	Labour	T. Sweeney	1,243
	Labour	A. Thompson	1,186
	Labour	D. Francies	1,156
	Conservative	E. Chichister*	904
	Conservative	M. Adams	844
	Conservative	B. Jones	804
	Plaid Cymru	T. O'Neill	200
	Plaid Cymru	D. Tilley	173
	Plaid Cymru	R. Clancy	150
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

Central (two seats)

Central 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. Champion	780
	Labour	H. Rhoden	701
	Liberal	R. Hill	570
	Liberal	A. Miles	500
	Conservative	P. Lowes	446
	Conservative	C. Thomas*	434
	Ecology	K. Pearson	128
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Cowbridge No.1 (one seat)

Cowbridge No.1 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Thomas	1,787
	Labour	J. Jones	698
	Liberal	M. Weston	428
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cowbridge No.2 (two seats)

Cowbridge No.2 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Jones	1,632
	Conservative	J. George*	1,625
	Labour	G. Rees	1,180
	Independent	D. Hardie	938
	Labour	M. Pember	904
	Independent	C. Thomson	719
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Independent		Swing

Ely (four seats)

Ely 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert Morgan*	2,800
	Labour	H. Gough	2,607
	Labour	B. Phillips	2,480
	Labour	Emyr Currie-Jones	2,478
	Conservative	G. Derrick	1,023
	Conservative	R. Benson	1,016
	Conservative	J. Rushrod	1,010
	Conservative	S. Jose	997
	Ecology	G. Jones	720
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Gabalfa (three seats)

Gabalfa 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Davies	2,058
	Labour	A. Hearne	1,995
	Labour	A. Huish	1,925
	Conservative	T. Merridew*	1,393
	Conservative	C. Saunders*	1,371
	Conservative	V. Kempton	1,358
	Plaid Cymru	L. Evans	401
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Grangetown (two seats)

Grangetown 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Lydiard	1,679
	Labour	G. Gallagher	1,626
	Conservative	L. Quinn*	1,384
	Conservative	N. Leworthy	1,007
	Liberal	I. Taher	174
	Liberal	P. Verma	129
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Lisvane, Llanedeyrn and St Mellons (one seat)

Lisvane, Llanedeyrn and St Mellons 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Lysaght*	1,273
	Labour	S. Caeser	680
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llandaff (three seats)

Llandaff 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julius Hermer*	2,258
	Conservative	J. Donovan	2,230
	Conservative	M. Jones*	2,157
	Labour	G. Rhoden	1,010
	Labour	D. Jenkins	998
	Labour	W. Laing	948
	Plaid Cymru	G. Jones	508
	Plaid Cymru	J. Edwards	488
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llanishen (four seats)

Llanishen 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	T. Cronin*	3,351
	Conservative	F. Court	3,345
	Conservative	B. Rees*	3,335
	Conservative	G. Tatham*	3,286
	Labour	C. Jones	1,894
	Labour	R. Hughes	1,889
	Labour	D. Elwell	1,854
	Labour	E. Williams	1,776
	Ecology	M. Evans	887
	Plaid Cymru	D. Balch	457
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Penarth North/Central (one seats)

Penarth North/Central 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. Gray	843
	Conservative	P. Church	566
	Liberal	J. Janes	317
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Penarth South Ward (two seats)

Penarth South Ward 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Goddard*	1,525
	Conservative	P. Lloyd	1,495
	Labour	I. Boyce	433
	Labour	L. Barrett	418
	Liberal	A. Jones	397
	Liberal	M. Jones	350
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Penarth West (one seat)

Penarth West 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	S. Thomas*	1,499
	Labour	E. Tincknell	1,457
	Conservative	E. Lloyd*	1,429
	Labour	K. Nelson	1,415
	Liberal	E. Humphreys	680
	Plaid Cymru	A. Packer	279
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Penylan (five seats)

Penylan 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	C. Peterson*	5,136
	Conservative	Peter Meyer*	5,097
	Conservative	A. Thomas*	5,047
	Conservative	Stefan Terlezki*	5,040
	Conservative	M. Wigmore	4,924
	Liberal	D. Hill	3,722
	Liberal	P. Bramall	3,381
	Liberal	I. Foster	3,372
	Liberal	C, Mitchell	3,277
	Liberal	G. Sagoo	2,918
	Labour	C. Evans	2,186
	Labour	P. Malekin	2,065
	Labour	M. Phelps	2,041
	Labour	P. Williams	2,010
	Labour	D. Richards	1,998
	Plaid Cymru	A. Morgan	652
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Plas Mawr (four seats)

Former Labour MP Caerwyn Roderick was among the successful candidates in this ward. Former Penylan councilor Mary Hallinan sought to retain a seat for the Conservatives but was defeated.

Plas Mawr 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Longden	2,743
	Labour	J. Lewis	2,722
	Labour	Caerwyn Roderick	2,609
	Labour	G. Brooks	2,543
	Conservative	B. Hall*	1,595
	Conservative	H. Phillips	1,559
	Conservative	E. Clarke	1,498
	Conservative	Mary Hallinan°	1,494
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Plasnewydd (two seats)

Plasnewydd 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Olwen Watkin*	1,253
	Labour	F. Dobbs	1,188
	Conservative	S. James*	1,149
	Liberal	P. Jarman	1,049
	Labour	C. Richards	997
	Liberal	P. Davies	898
	Plaid Cymru	Owen John Thomas	291
	Plaid Cymru	G. Rees	181
	Communist	R. Macmillan	97
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Rhiwbina (three seats)

Rhiwbina 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	M. Davies*	2,929
	Conservative	Gareth Neale*	2,770
	Conservative	W. Bain*	2,727
	Liberal	S. Crossley	1,651
	Labour	P. MacCormack	970
	Labour	J. Cocks	967
	Labour	A. Davies	901
	Plaid Cymru	P. Richards	368
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Riverside (two seats)

Riverside 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jane Hutt	1,429
	Labour	D. Campbell	1,363
	Conservative	R. Souza*	980
	Conservative	F. Cooper	941
	Ecology	Peter Bridger	338
Turnout
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Roath (three seats)

Roath 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	I. Hermer*	2,193
	Conservative	F. McCarthy*	2,167
	Conservative	R. Richards*	2,156
	Labour	T. Tucker	976
	Labour	N. Davies	972
	Labour	A. Rannasut	877
	Liberal	M. Davies	792
	Plaid Cymru	B. Smith	249
	Plaid Cymru	D. Smith	224
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rumney (five seats)

Rumney 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Vita Jones	4,273
	Labour	W. Bowen	4,236
	Labour	F. Yeomans	4,077
	Labour	R. Morris	4,026
	Labour	A. Pithouse	4,021
	Conservative	S. Brown	2,019
	Conservative	I. Davis	1,924
	Conservative	N. Smith*	1,910
	Conservative	C. Nicholson*	1,901
	Conservative	M. Battistea	1,896
	Liberal	J. Cuff	888
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing

Splott (five seats)

Splott 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gordon Houlston*	1,811
	Labour	John Brooks*	1,734
	Labour	W. Kitson	1,654
	Conservative	F. Chichister	809
	Conservative	A. Hopkins	754
	Conservative	R. Jones	722
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Whitchurch (three seats)

Whitchurch 1981

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	David Purnell*	2,793
	Conservative	R. Evans*	2,733
	Conservative	W. Richards*	2,721
	Labour	C. Fennessy	1,607
	Labour	B. Bowler	1,591
	Labour	A. Parsons	1,486
	Plaid Cymru	I. Williams	461
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing