2022 City and County of Swansea Council election explained

Election Name:2022 City and County of Swansea Council election
Previous Election:2017
Next Election:2027
Seats For Election:All 75 seats in the City and County of Swansea Council
Turnout:36%
Noleader:yes
Party1:Labour
Colour1:
  1. E4003B
Percentage1:55%
Seats1:45
Last Election1:48
Party2:Liberal Democrats
Colour2:
  1. FAA61A
Percentage2:14%
Seats2:11
Last Election2:7
Party3:Conservative
Colour3:
  1. 0087DC
Percentage3:12%
Seats3:7
Last Election3:8
Party4:Independents
Colour4:
  1. DCDCDC
Percentage4:5%
Seats4:5
Last Election4:2
Party5:Uplands
Colour5:
  1. 000000
Percentage5:4%
Seats5:4
Last Election5:2
Party6:Independents@Swansea
Colour6:
  1. D971D4
Percentage6:1%
Seats6:2
Last Election6:3
Party7:Greens
Colour7:
  1. 6AB023
Percentage7:3%
Seats7:1
Last Election7:0
Party8:Plaid Cymru
Colour8:
  1. 005B54
Percentage8:4%
Seats8:0
Last Election8:0
Map:2022 City and County of Swansea Council election results.svg
Leader of the council
Before Election:Rob Stewart
Before Party:Labour
After Election:Rob Stewart
After Party:Labour
Majority Seats:38

The 2022 election to the City and County of Swansea Council took place on 5 May 2022 as part of the 2022 Welsh local elections. Seventy five seats were up for election across 32 wards. The previous full election took place in 2017.

Background

Ward changes

As the result of a ward boundary review, the number of wards were reduced from 36 to 32, but with the number of councillors increasing from 72 to 75, effective from the 2022 election. The changes were designed to make the ratio between councillors and voters more equal.[1] [2]

Fifteen ward boundaries would be unaffected though a significant number of wards were merged or amended. The Mawr ward ceased to exist, it's communities divied amongst neighbouring wards and a new ward of Pontlliw and Tircoed created. A Mumbles ward was created by merging the Newton and Oystermouth wards. A Llwchwr ward was created by merging Kingsbridge, Lower Loughor and Upper Loughor. A new Waterfront ward was created from parts of the Castle ward and St Thomas ward. A new Waunarlwydd ward was created from part of Cockett. Dunvant, Killay North and Killay South were merged to create a Dunvant and Killay ward. The Gorseinon and Penyrheol wards were combined to become Gorseinon and Penyrheol.

Results

Results
PartySeatsChange
Labour Party45 3
Liberal Democrats11 4
Conservative Party7 1
Independents5 3
Uplands Party4 2
Green Party1 1

Seventy five seats were up for election and the Labour Party held onto power, despite losing three seats overall. The Labour council leader, Rob Stewart, partly blamed the recent ward boundary changes for their losses.[3] In the Clydach ward, the Conservatives won a seat by eight votes, after two recounts. The Liberal Democrats gained four seats overall, while the council also gained its first ever Green Party councillor, in Mayals. The Uplands Party won an additional two seats off Labour in the Uplands ward, despite a candidate suffering a heart attack while out campaigning.[4]

Ward results

The following results were announced following the elections.[5]

Castle (four seats)

Hannah Lawson had been councillor for the ward, since replacing the late Sybil Crouch at a 2021 by-election.[6]

Clydach (three seats)

Brigitte Rowlands was the councillor for the Mawr ward, which was partly incorporated into Clydach in 2022.

Dunvant and Killay (three seats)

Ward formed by the merger of Dunvant, Killay North and Killay South wards. Gibbard was a sitting councillor for Dunvant, while Mary Jones and Jeff Jones were the sitting councillors in Killay North and Killay South respectively.

Gorseinon and Penyrheol (three seats)

Curtice and Stevens won the two seats in the Penyrheol ward at the previous 2017 election. Labour won the Gorseinon seat at the same election.

Gower (one seat)

Sitting member Richard Lewis had been elected as an Independent at the previous 2017 election.

Llwchwr (three seats)

Robert Smith was the councillor for the former ward of Upper Loughor.

Mumbles (three seats)

Will Thomas was councillor for the former Newton ward prior to the election.

Waunarlwydd (one seat)

Wendy Lewis was formerly a councillor for the Cockett ward, which until this election included Waunarlwydd.

West Cross (two seats)

* = sitting councillor in same ward prior to election

** = sitting councillor in a related former ward prior to election

Notes and References

  1. News: Richard Youle . Wales Online . Swansea is to have three more councillors next year as some boundaries change . 30 June 2021. 24 May 2022.
  2. News: Swansea Bay News . More councillors but fewer wards after council boundary changes in Swansea . 30 June 2021. 24 May 2022.
  3. News: Ruth Mosalski . Will Hayward . Richard Youle . Swansea local election result 2022: Labour holds onto power . en-GB . . 6 May 2022 . 2022-05-19.
  4. News: Richard Youle . A man who had a cardiac arrest while campaigning and needed eight injections to save his life has been elected . en-GB . Wales Online . 2022-05-19.
  5. Web site: Election results by wards - Local Government Elections - Thursday, 5 May 2022 . Swansea Council . 2022-05-28 .
  6. Web site: Castle Ward - Swansea . Local Elections Archive Project . 2022-05-28 .