Carmarthenshire County Council


Carmarthenshire County Council is the local council for the county of Carmarthenshire, Wales, providing a range of services under the control of elected county councillors that include education, planning, transport, social services and public safety. The council is one of twenty-two unitary authorities that came into existence on 1 April 1996 under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1994. It took over local government functions previously provided by Carmarthen District, Dinefwr Borough, Llanelli Borough councils and the Carmarthenshire area of what was Dyfed County Council.
The council is based in County Hall in Carmarthen.

Antecedents

It is the second body of this name; the previous Carmarthenshire County Council was formed on 1 April 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888 and was abolished on 31 March 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972.
The first election to the original council were held in January 1889 and the majority of the seats were won by the Liberals. This pattern continued until the 1920s from which time most rural seats were held by Independents while the Labour Party dominated the industrial part of the county.

Organisation

The authority has adopted the Cabinet system of running the county, and since 2004 ran by the Independents and Labour groups. Currently there are 37 Plaid Cymru councillors, 19 Independents and 18 Labour. The Leader of the Council is Cllr Emlyn Dole. The Chief executive, Mark Vincent James, was awarded the CBE for services to Local Government in Wales in the 2012 New Year Honours. James was forced to step aside temporarily in 2014 after a criminal investigation was launched into his affairs.

Mark James

In 2013 Chief executive Mark James was sued for libel by Jacqui Thompson, a local blogger and trenchant critic of the council. He brought a counterclaim against Mrs Thompson; his legal action was funded by the council. Although he won his action, this indemnity was ruled unlawful by the Auditor General for Wales, on the grounds that councils cannot sue for libel nor indemnify others in private defamation actions. It also found that the payment of his pension contributions to him in cash was unlawful. In July 2013 Thompson initiated the process of appealing the ruling on a point of law. Local AM Peter Black commented that 'The way that the Council has handled this whole affair has been a public relations disaster from start to finish. These latest claims do not help.'
In February 2014, a criminal investigation was launched into these payments by Gloucestershire Constabulary: Mark James stepped aside for the duration of the investigation. The episode led to criticism of senior councillors, including the council leader, Kevin Madge, who had agreed these financial arrangements and supported James in his actions. Local politicians Rhodri Glyn Thomas and Jonathan Edwards both called for Mark James' full and final resignation, along with that of Kevin Madge. Madge survived a vote of no confidence by 41 votes to 28. However, the council accepted the findings of the Wales Audit Office on the illegality of the payments, and Madge admitted that the council's reputation had been damaged by the episode.
In 2019, Mark James announced his intention to retire as the Council's Chief Executive after 17 years in the post. Wendy Walters took over as Chief Executive in June 2019.

Change of leadership

Kevin Madge resigned as leader of the Council in May 2015 having lost the leadership of the Labour group. Two days later it was announced that Plaid Cymru would form a new coalition with the Independents.

Political makeup

Elections take place every four years. The last election was held on 4 May 2017.

Current composition

Historic results

The county is divided into 58 electoral wards returning 74 councillors. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities. Most communities in Carmarthenshire have a community council. For each ward, councillors are elected to sit on Carmarthenshire County Council. The following table lists council wards, community councils and associated geographical areas. Communities with their own community council are marked with a *.
WardCommunity CouncilCouncillors
Returned		Former district
council		Population
1AbergwiliAbergwili*, Llanllawddog*1Carmarthen2,271
2AmmanfordAmmanford Town* 1Dinefwr2,664
3BetwsBetws*1Dinefwr1,834
4BigynLlanelli Town* 2Llanelli6,347
5Burry PortCefn Sidan 2Llanelli4,209
6ByneaLlanelli Rural* 1Llanelli3,091
7Carmarthen Town NorthCarmarthen Town* 2Carmarthen5,291
8Carmarthen Town SouthCarmarthen Town* 2Carmarthen3,526
9Carmarthen Town WestCarmarthen Town* 2Carmarthen4,313
10CenarthCenarth*, Newcastle Emlyn*1Carmarthen1,995
11CilycwmCil-y-cwm*, Llansadwrn* and Llanwrda*1Dinefwr,
Carmarthen		1,446
12Cynwyl ElfedCynwyl Elfed*, Bronwydd*, Llanpumsaint*, and Newchurch and Merthyr*1Carmarthen2,743
13Cynwyl GaeoCynwyl Gaeo*, Llansawel* and Llanycrwys*1Dinefwr1,554
14DafenLlanelli Rural* 1Llanelli3,433
15ElliLlanelli Town* 1Llanelli3,156
16FelinfoelLlanelli Rural* 1Llanelli1,948
17GarnantCwmamman* 1Dinefwr1,965
18GlanammanCwmamman* 1Dinefwr2,261
19GlanymorLlanelli Town* 2Llanelli4,888
20GlynLlanelli Rural* 1Llanelli2,032
21GorslasGorslas*2Dinefwr3,742
22HendyLlanelli* 1Llanelli3,039
23HengoedLlanelli Rural* 2Llanelli3,829
24KidwellyKidwelly Town*1Llanelli3,829
25Laugharne TownshipLaugharne Town*, Eglwyscummin, Llanddowror* and Pendine*1Carmarthen2,924
26LlanboidyLlanboidy*, Cilymaenllwyd* and Llangynin*1Carmarthen1,982
27LlanddarogLlanddarog* and Llanarthney1Carmarthen1,833
28LlandeiloLlandeilo Town* and Dyffryn Cennen*1Dinefwr1,937
29LlandoveryLlandovery Town* and Llanfair-ar-y-bryn*1Dinefwr2,870
30LlandybieLlandybie* 2Dinefwr3,738
31LlanegwadLlanegwad*, Llanfihangel Rhos-y-Corn* and Llanfynydd*1Dinefwr,
Carmarthen		2,424
32Llanfihangel AberbythychLlanfihangel Aberbythych* and Llangathen*1Dinefwr1,716
33Llanfihangel-ar-ArthLlanfihangel-ar-Arth* and Llanllwni*Carmarthen2,727
34LlangadogLlangadog*, Llanddeusant* and Myddfai*1Dinefwr1,951
35LlangelerLlangeler*1Carmarthen3,222
36LlangennechLlangennech*2Llanelli4,510
37LlangunnorLlangunnor*1Carmarthen2,282
38LlangyndeyrnLlangyndeyrn*1Carmarthen2,953
39LlannonLlannon*2Llanelli4,999
40LlansteffanLlansteffan*, Llangain* and Llangynog*1Carmarthen2,209
41LlanybydderLlanybydder* and Pencarreg*1Carmarthen2,543
42LliediLlanelli Town* 2Llanelli5,036
43LlwynhendyLlanelli Rural* 2Llanelli4,276
44Manordeilo and SalemManordeilo and Salem*, and Talley*1Dinefwr2,121
45PembreyCefn Sidan * 2Llanelli3,374
46Pen-y-groesLlandybie 1Dinefwr2,429
47PontammanAmmanford* 1Dinefwr2,629
48PontyberemPontyberem*1Llanelli2,829
49Quarter BachQuarter Bach*1Dinefwr2,933
50SaronLlandybie* 2Dinefwr2,467
51St ClearsSt Clears Town*1Carmarthen2,820
52St. IshmaelLlandyfaelog* and St. Ishmael*1Carmarthen2,529
53Swiss ValleyLlanelli Rural* 1Llanelli2,434
54TrelechAbernant*, Llanwinio*, Meidrim* and Trelech*1Carmarthen2,092
55TrimsaranTrimsaran*1Llanelli2,533
56TycroesLlanedi* 1Llanelli2,156
57TyishaLlanelli* 2Llanelli3,995
58WhitlandWhitland Town* and Henllanfallteg1Carmarthen2,066