Carmarthenshire County Council
| Carmarthenshire County Council Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Structure | |
|
28 / 74 | |
Others |
24 / 74 |
|
22 / 74 | |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2012 |
Carmarthenshire County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir Gaerfyrddin) is the local authority 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 (Wales) 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.
 | |
| Geography | |
| Area - Total - % Water |
Ranked 3rd 2,395 km² ? % |
|---|---|
| County Town | Carmarthen |
| Largest Town | Llanelli |
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-CMN |
| ONS code | 00NU (ONS) W06000010 (GSS) |
| Demographics | |
| Population: - Total (2011) - Density |
Ranked 4th 183,800 Ranked 18th 75 / km² |
| Ethnicity | 99.4% White |
| Welsh language - Any skills |
Ranked 3rd 63.6% |
| Politics | |
| Carmarthenshire County Council http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.uk/ | |
| Control | TBA (council NOC) |
| MPs | |
| AMs |
|
| MEPs | Wales |
The council is based in County Hall in Carmarthen. The County Hall was designed by Percy Thomas in 1935 but not completed until 1955. It replaced the Carmarthen Gaol built by John Nash on part of Carmarthen Castle's site.
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.[1] 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 28 Plaid Cymru councillors, 22 Independents, 22 Labour and 2 others. The Leader of the Council is Cllr Emlyn Dole (Plaid Cyrmu).[2] 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.[3][4]
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.[5] Although he won his action,[6] 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.[7][8] Thompson is in the process of appealing the ruling on a point of law.[9] 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.'[10]
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.[11][12] Local politicians Rhodri Glyn Thomas and Jonathan Edwards both called for Mark James' full and final resignation, along with that of Kevin Madge.[13] 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.[14]
Change of leadership
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.[15]
Political makeup
Elections take place every four years. The last election was held on 3 May 2012
Current composition
| Group affiliation[16] | Members | |
|---|---|---|
| Plaid Cymru | 29 | |
| Labour | 21 | |
| Others |
23 | |
| Total |
74 (1 vacant) | |
Historic results
| Year | Plaid Cymru | Labour | Liberal Democrats | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | 28 | 23 | 0 | 23 |
| 2008 | 31 | 12 | 1 | 30 |
| 2004 | 16 | 25 | 0 | 33 |
| 1999 | 16 | 27 | 0 | 31 |
Electoral divisions
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 *.
See also
- Carmarthenshire County Council elections, 1995
- Carmarthenshire County Council elections, 1999
- Carmarthenshire County Council elections, 2004
- Carmarthenshire County Council elections, 2008
- Carmarthenshire County Council election, 2012
References
- ↑ "County Councils. The Carmarthenshire Elections.". Carmarthen Journal. 1 February 1889. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ↑ http://www.carmarthenshire.gov.wales/home/council-democracy/committees-meetings/executive-board/
- ↑ Shipton, Martin (14 February 2014). "Council boss steps aside from post for police investigation". Western Mail (Wales Online). Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire council leadership no confidence vote lost". BBC News. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ "Blogger and Carmarthenshire council in High Court libel fight" BBC News 14 February
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire blogger loses libel case against council chief". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire blogger row: Council libel costs pledge 'unlawful'". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ↑ "Rotten Boroughs". Private Eye (1350). 4 October 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire blogger files appeal bid over High Court judgement". BBC News. Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ↑ Black, Peter. "Council critcised for 'unlawful' payments". Retrieved 4 October 2013.
- ↑ Shipton, Martin (14 February 2014). "Council boss steps aside from post for police investigation". Western Mail (Wales Online). Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ Lewis, Ian (14 February 2014). "Carmarthenshire Council chief executive Mark James steps down during police investigation". Carmarthen Journal. Archived from the original on 18 April 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire County Council chief Mark James must go - Jonathan". South Wales Guardian. 30 January 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ "Carmarthenshire council leadership no confidence vote lost". BBC News. 27 February 2014. Retrieved 17 April 2014.
- ↑ "New coalition takes over Carmarthenshire council". BBC Wales News. 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2015.
- ↑