1955 Carmarthenshire County Council election

An election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in April 1955.^[1] It was preceded by the 1952 election and followed, by the 1958 election.

Overview of the result

After six years under Labour control, the election produced a very close result with 29 Labour candidates, 28 Independents and 2 Plaid Cymru candidates being returned after the contested elections.^[1] With the support of the two Plaid Cymru members, the Independents then proceeded to take seven of the eight aldermanic vacancies and to offer the other to the President of Plaid Cymru, Gwynfor Evans with the result that the Independent group regained control of the authority.^[2]

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Retiring aldermen

The aldermen who retired at the election were ...

A number of retiring councilors stood down to allow retiring aldermen to be returned unopposed. These included the members for Kidwelly, Llanelly Division 2, 6 and 7, Pontyberem and Westfa. Four of these members would not be returned to the new council as the aldermen were not re-elected. At Llansawel, Alderman David Thomas withdrew rather than face a contest.^[3]

Unopposed returns

39 members were returned unopposed, an increase of five compared with 1955.

Contested elections

20 seats were contested. Labour defeats at St Ishmaels and one of the Llanelli wards, to Independents, and at Ammanford, to Plaid Cymru, led to their losing their majority of elected councillors.

A number of retiring aldermen stood as candidates and were returned unopposed.

Summary of results

This section summarises the detailed results which are noted in the following sections.

This table summarises the result of the elections in all wards. 59 councillors were elected.

Carmarthesnhire County Council 1955: elected members
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour
	Plaid Cymru
	Independent

Carmarthenshire County Council 1955 : following election of new aldermen
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour
	Plaid Cymru
	Independent

Carmarthenshire County Council 1955 : following election of new aldermen and by-elections
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Labour
	Plaid Cymru
	Independent

Ward results

Abergwili

Abergwili 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William John Phillips	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Ammanford No.1

Ammanford No.1 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Haydn Lewis*	724
Ratepayers	David Howard Cooke	597
Labour hold		Swing

Ammanford No.2

Ammanford No.2 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Plaid Cymru	David Samuel Gwynfor Evans	715
Labour	Thomas Elias Evans*	684
Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Berwick

Berwick 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Isaac Daniel*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port East

Burry Port East 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Lewis*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port West

Burry Port West 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Labor Dennis*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Caio

Caio 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Division 1

Carmarthen Division 1 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George V. Davies*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Carmarthen Division 2

Carmarthen Division 2 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J.O. Morgans*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Division 3

Carmarthen Division 3 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	D. Denzil Harries	962
Labour	Ellis J. Powell	531
Independent hold		Swing

Cenarth

Cenarth 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.G. James Jones*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Cilycwm

Cilycwm 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.I. Lewis*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Conwil

Conwil 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.A. Phillips*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Cwmamman

Cwmamman 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Davies*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Felinfoel

Felinfoel 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Cledwyn Francis*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edgar S. Samuel*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Kidwelly

Kidwelly 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Amos Jones**	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Laugharne

Laugharne 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Tudor H. Fleming Williams	768
Independent	W.G. John*	636
Independent hold		Swing

Llanarthney

Llanarthney 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.M. Davies*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanboidy

Llanboidy 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Joshua Phillips*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandebie North

Llandebie North 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Morris*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandebie South

Llandebie South 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Samuel Roberts*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandilo Rural

Llandilo Rural 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Marlais Humphreys*	866
Independent	John Oswald Elfryn Thomas	468
Independent hold		Swing

Llandilo Urban

Llandilo Urban 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	James Morgan Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandovery

Llandovery 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	William J. Davies*
Independent	James James	247
Independent hold		Swing

Llandyssilio

Llandyssilio 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H.H. Harries*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanedy

Llanedy 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwyn Howells*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanegwad

Llanegwad 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Griffith Evans*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 1

Llanelly Division 1 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Zammit	1,521
Labour	Rev David Penry Jones*	888
Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanelly Division 2

Llanelly Division 2 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William T. Griffiths**	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 3

Llanelly Division 3 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mrs Claudia R. Rees*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 4

Llanelly Division 4 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mrs Charlotte Hopkins*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 5

Llanelly Division 5 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Sidney Lewis*	381
	Independent	William Gilbert Edmunds	328
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6

Llanelly Division 6 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Douglas Hughes**	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 7

Llanelly Division 7 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Llewellyn Evans**	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 8

Llanelly Division 8 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George M. McConkey	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 9

Llanelly Division 9 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Sidney Ivor Thomas*	789
Independent	Frederick Howells	724
Labour hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythick

Llanfihangel Aberbythych 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Thomas John Williams*	620
Labour	David Ivor James Evans	528
Independent hold		Swing

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth

Llanfihangel-ar-Arth 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Ivor Thomas Davies	463
Independent	William Harry	229
Independent	William Morgan Davies	227
Independent	Evan Philip Richards	175
Independent hold		Swing

Llangadog

Llangadog 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Richard Evans*	585
Independent	William Jones	484
Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llangeler

Llangeler 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Evans	unopposed
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llangendeirne

Llangendeirne 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rev R.G. James*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llangennech

Llangennech 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	John William Boyles*	911
Plaid Cymru	Trefor Beasley	352
Labour hold		Swing

Llangunnor

Llangunnor 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Dobson Phelps	916
Independent	Thomas Griffiths	155
Independent hold		Swing

Llanon

Llanon 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sidney Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llansawel

Llansawel 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Morgan	312
Independent	Daniel Williams*	267
Independent hold		Swing

Llanstephan

Llanstephan 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J.H. Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanybyther

Llanybyther 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Evans	829
Independent	Benjamin Edward Davies*	661
Independent hold		Swing

Myddfai

Myddfai 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Morgan Lewis Jones*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembrey

Pembrey 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Simon John Elwyn Samuel*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontyberem

Pontyberem 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	David John Jones**	1,895
Plaid Cymru	David Eirwyn Morgan	407
Labour hold		Swing

Quarter Bach

Quarter Bach 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Josiah Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Rhydcymerau

Rhydcymerau 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Arthur Evans*	362
Independent	Vincent Roy James	228
Independent hold		Swing

St Clears

St Clears 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.E. Williams*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

St Ishmaels

St Ishmaels 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Morgan Thomas Evans	763
Labour	Trevor Rhys Morris*	689
Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Trelech

Trelech 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Simon Owen Thomas*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Trimsaran

Trimsaran 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Samuel T. Hughes*	533
Independent Labour	William Daniel Evans	415
Independent Labour	William Williams	256
Labour hold		Swing

Westfa

Westfa 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Emrys Aubrey**	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Whitland

Whitland 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Hughes Mathias*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Election of aldermen

In addition to the 59 councillors the council consisted of 19 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the elections, seven of the ten aldermanic vacancies were taken by the Independents and an eighth by Gwynfor Evans of Plaid Cymru, whose two representatives aligned with the Independents to guarantee their majority.^[2]

J.M. Davies, Independent
Thomas Davies, Independent
Griffith Evans, Independent
Gwynfor R. Evans, Plaid Cymru
W.H. Mathias, Independent
J.O. Morgans, Independent
S.O. Thomas, Independent
T.J. Williams, Independent
Emrys Aubrey, Labour
W. Douglas Hughes, Labour

By-elections

Following the selection of aldermen the following by-elections were held.^[4]

Caio by-election

Caio by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Thomas Rees Griffiths	302
Independent	Thomas Davies	301
Labour	David John Jenkins	245
Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Division 2 by-election

Carmarthen Division 2 by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Mansel Thomas	762
Labour	John Brynmor Jones	530
Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo Urban by-election

Llandeilo Urban by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Marie Ann Lewis	590
Labour	John Oswald Elfryn Thomas	358
Independent hold		Swing

Llanegwad by-election

Llanegwad by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Thomas Llewellyn Griffiths	534
Independent	Henry Thomas	501
Independent hold		Swing

Llanelly Division 6 by-election

Llanelly Division 6 by-election 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.J. Davies*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfihangel Aberbythych by-election

Llanfihangel Aberbythych by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Ivor James Evans	638
Labour	Thomas Peregrine	438
Independent hold		Swing

Llangadog by-election

Llangadog by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Thomas Williams	561
Independent	William Jones	534
Independent gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Trelech by-election

Trelech by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Stephen Davies	377
Independent	David Trevor Davies	356
Independent	John William Bowen	286
Independent hold		Swing

Westfa by-election

Westfa by-election 1955
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.J.F. Thomas*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Whitland by-election

Whitland by-election 1955
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	John Ivor Davies	494
Independent	William Sandbrook Cole	492
Independent	William Stephen Richards	168
Independent hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b "County Council Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 8 April 1955.
^ ^a ^b "Independents Get Aldermanic Majority". Carmarthen Journal. 22 April 1955.
^ "County Council Nominations". Carmarthen Journal. 25 March 1955.
^ "County Council by-elections". Carmarthen Journal. 24 June 1955.

[CJ_8-4-55_CarmsRes-1] "County Council Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 8 April 1955.

[CJ_22-4-55_CarmsAldermen-2] "Independents Get Aldermanic Majority". Carmarthen Journal. 22 April 1955.

[CJ_25-3-55_Carms_noms-3] "County Council Nominations". Carmarthen Journal. 25 March 1955.

[CJ_24-6-55_Carms_by-els-4] "County Council by-elections". Carmarthen Journal. 24 June 1955.

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]