The third election to West Glamorgan County Council was held in May 1981.[1] It was preceded by the 1977 election and followed by the 1985 election.
The Labour Party fielded candidates in every ward. A significant proportion of seats were contested by the Conservative Party and Plaid Cymru with fewer candidates fielded by the Liberal Party. A feature of the election was the number of Ratepayer candidates.
In the Neath area, Labour contested all thirteen seats, with Plaid Cymru running nine candidates.[2]
Labour retained their majority and regained some of the ground lost to Ratepayers four years earlier.