2017 Ceredigion County Council election - Wikipedia

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

2017 Ceredigion County Council election

← 2012 4 May 2017 2022 →
All 42 seats to Ceredigion County Council 22 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Ellen ap Gwynn Party Plaid Cymru Independent Leader's seat Ceulanamaesmawr Last election 19 seats, 39.2% 15 seats, 28.6% Seats before 19 14 Seats won 20 13 Seat change 1 1 Popular vote 8,554 7,509 Percentage 36.1% 32.7% Swing 3.1% 4.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Ceredig Davies Hag Harris Party Liberal Democrats Labour Leader's seat Aberystwyth, Central Lampeter Last election 7 seats, 25.4% 1 seat, 3.2% Seats before 7 1 Seats won 8 1 Seat change 1 Popular vote 5,406 1,545 Percentage 22.8% 6.5% Swing 2.6% 3.3%
Council control before election Ellen ap Gwynn Plaid Cymru & Independent coalition Council control after election Ellen ap Gwynn Plaid Cymru & Independent coalition

The 2017 election to Ceredigion County Council was held on 4 May 2017 when local elections took place across Wales. It was preceded by the 2012 election and followed by the 2022 election.

Plaid Cymru remained the largest party on 5 May 2017, but fell short of an overall majority with 19 councillors.^[1] However, James Wyn Reynolds Thomas (Plaid Cymru) was elected unopposed on 11 May 2017 for the Llandyfriog ward, bringing the number of Plaid councillors on the Council up to 20.^[2][3] Eight seats, out of the 42 available, had candidates elected unopposed.

Ceredigion local election result 2017

Party	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Plaid Cymru	20	+4	-3	+1	46.0	36.11	8,554
	Independent	13	+2	-4	-2	32.0	32.70	7,509
	Liberal Democrats	8	+1	0	+1	20.0	22.82	5,406
	Labour	1	0	0	0	2.0	6.52	1,545
	Conservative	0	0	0	0	0.0	1.02	241
	NHA	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.96	228
	Green	0	0	0	0	0.0	0.87	207
Total	42		23,690

The 2012 elections saw Plaid Cymru win 19 seats, independents 15 seats, Liberal Democrats 7 seats and the Labour Party one seat, leaving the council in no overall control, with Plaid Cymru three seats short of a majority. After the election the Independents agreed to work with Plaid Cymru, as did the sole Labour councillor, creating a coalition.

During the term Gethin James (Ind, Aberporth) joined UKIP but said that he would still sit in the Cabinet. This was strongly opposed by both the leader of the council Ellen ap Gwynn (Plaid, Ceulanamaesmawr) and by the leader of Plaid Cymru, Leanne Wood. He eventually resigned from his cabinet post and sat on the opposition benches with the Liberal Democrats; and lost his Aberporth seat in the 2017 election.

At the close of nominations on 4 April 2017, the numbers of candidates nominated were as follows: Plaid Cymru 35, Independents 27, Liberal Democrats 22, Labour Party 9, Green Party 5, Conservatives 3, National Health Action Party 1.^[4]

Asterisks denote incumbent Councillors seeking re-election. Vote share changes compared with corresponding 2012 election.

Cllr. Jones-Southgate was elected as a Plaid Cymru councillor for this ward in 2012 but subsequently became an Independent. She stood for the Liberal Democrats in the Llanfarian ward in 2008.

• The election in 2017 was a repeat of the 2012 elections (with both candidates being re-nominated)

• Cllr. Mark Cole announced his intention to stand down from the council at these elections on 4 April, the last day for nominations ^[5]

• This is a repeat of the 2012 election (with both parties re-nominating the same candidates)

• Cllr. ap Gwynn became leader of the council after the 2012 elections.

• Sonia Williams was the Liberal Democrat candidate in the 2012 elections.

Two candidates were nominated for this ward, Neil Flower (Liberal Democrat) and James Wyn Reynolds Thomas (Plaid Cymru). On 28 April 2017 it was announced that Neil Flower had died.^[6] Following normal convention the election in this ward was cancelled and a new election was due to be held on 8 June 2017.^{[7] [8]} However, James Wyn Reynolds Thomas was elected County Councillor for the ward without a contest.^[2]

Here, Keith Evans regained the seat he lost four year previously.

• Harry Hayfield was the Liberal Democrat candidate for this ward in the 2012 elections.

The winning candidate ran as an independent in 2012.

A by-election was held in this ward on 18 July 2019 following the death of Cllr. Paul James in a cycling accident. The result of the by-election was:^{[citation needed]}