See also: 1913–1939 Llanelly Borough Council elections.
The Municipal Borough of Llanelly was an urban district in Carmarthenshire between 1894 and 1913 when it received full borough status.
The first election was held in December 1894.[1]
At the second election in March 1896, only one ward was contested.[2] One of the sitting members was defeated.[3]
The third election was held in April 1897 and three of the retiring members lost their seats.[4] In Ward 3 it was suggested that denominational factors played a part as the two successful candidates were Baptists while he defeated candidates were Congregationalists.[5]
At the fourth election in April 1898, only one ward was contested as had happened two years previously.[6] In Ward 3, David Thomas narrowly failed to regain the seat he lost the previous year.[7]
At the fifth election in March 1899, only one Ward 2, where the two sitting members stood down, was contested.[8] The result in Ward 2 was decisive.[9]
The sixth election was held in April 1900 with two of the three seats being contested.[10] The local Trades and Labour Council ran a candidate, successfully, in Ward 2, although the candidacy was strongly opposed by the Llanelly Mercury, whose editor W.B. Jones had himself been mentioned as a possible labour candidate.[11]
At the seventh election in March 1901, two wards were contested, and in Ward 2, the editor of the Llanelly Mercury, whose candidacy had been canvassed the previous year, captured one of the seats.[12]
The eighth election, held in 1902, was the first occasion upon which all wards were uncontested.[13] W. Bramwell Jones was elected to the seat vacated by the death of John Allen Williams, editor of the Llanelly Guardian.
The ninth election, held in April 1903 saw a contest in one of the three wards.[14] Two retiring members, namely John Griffiths (Ward 1) and Jeremiah Williams (Ward 2), both died shortly before the election.[15] In Ward 3, the two official Liberal candidates prevailed.[16]
At the tenth election in 1904, there were contests in Wards 1 and 2. Ernest Trubshaw, a member since the beginning, did not seek re-election while D.R. Edmunds switched from Ward 1 to Ward 2, where the editor of the Mercury, W.B. Jons, lost his seat.[17] In Ward 3, John S. Tregoning jnr., a member of the council since its formation was one of two candidates returned unopposed.[18]
The eleventh election was held in 1905, with the members in two wards being returned unopposed.[19] In Ward 1, Joseph Maybery, a member of the Council since it was established, stood down at the last moment and the seat was won by a Trades and Labour Council candidate.[20]
The twelfth election, held in April 1906 saw contests in all three wards.[21]
The thirteenth elections saw contest in all wards and J.S. Tregoning, a member of the Council since its formation, lost his seat.[22]
The fourteenth election saw contests in two wards.[23]
The fifteenth election, held in April 1909 saw contests in Wards 2 and 3.[24] Two sitting members lost their seats.[25]
All three wards were contested, and a bitter fight in Ward One where it was claimed that William David had been subject to unfair criticisms..[26]
All three wards were contested. John Simlett held his seat for Labour in Ward one but the other Labour candidates were unsuccessful. The main surprise was the defeat of J. Walter Thomas in Ward Three.[27]
All three wards were contested and a heavy poll was expeted owing to workmen being on strike.[28] Five of the six members seeking re-election were successful.[29]
In the final election before the incorporation of Llanelli as a municipal borough, there were contested elections in Ward One, where there were three vacancies following the death of E.T. Jones, and in Ward Two. In Ward Three, Labour gained a seat unopposed after sitting member Charles Randall stood down.[30] The contested election saw the loss of one labour seat in Ward One.[31]