Mid Glamorgan County Council

Mid Glamorgan County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir Morgannwg Ganol) was the local authority administering the Welsh county of Mid Glamorgan between its creation in 1974 and its abolition in 1996.

Mid Glamorgan County Council

Cyngor Sir Morgannwg Ganol
Coat of arms of
Mid Glamorgan County Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Disbanded1 April 1996
Preceded byGlamorgan County Council (part)
Merthyr Tydfil CBC (1908-1974)
Succeeded by
Structure
Seats85 councillors (1974–1989)
74 councillors (1989–1995)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
First election
April 1973
Last election
May 1993
Next election
N/A
Meeting place
County Hall, Cathays Park, Cardiff

Background

Local government in England and Wales was reorganised following the Local Government Act 1972. The old administrative county of Glamorgan was subdivided, forming Mid Glamorgan, South Glamorgan and West Glamorgan, which came into existence on 1 April 1974. County Hall (now the Glamorgan Building) in Cathays Park, Cardiff had been the headquarters for Glamorgan County Council prior to 1974[1] and, although Cardiff was in South Glamorgan, not Mid Glamorgan, it was decided to use the Glamorgan Building as the new headquarters for Mid Glamorgan County Council.[2]

Mid Glamorgan was the largest and the poorest of the new county councils in Glamorgan. In 1974 it had a population of 531,847 and the council had a revenue expenditure of £60 million.[3]

Leadership

In 1974 the chairman, Councillor Philip Squire became leader of the new council. He had previously been a member of Glamorgan County Council since 1946.[3] The chief executive was solicitor, Tom Vivian Walters, who had worked for Glamorgan County Council since 1943.[3]

Squire continued as leader of the council for 15 years, until retiring in 1989 at the age of 83. Because of the dominance of the Labour Party on the council, it was sometimes referred to as a "Squirearchy".[4]

Elections

The first Mid Glamorgan Council elections took place in April 1973. Eighty-five county councillors were elected from sixty eight electoral wards (with 16 councillors in 14 wards being elected unopposed).[5]

Following The County of Mid Glamorgan (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1988 the number of wards were increased to 74, taking effect from the 1989 elections (and preparatory activity beforehand).[6] Each ward elected one councillor, totalling 74 (with fifteen wards electing councillors unopposed in 1989).[5]

Historic results
Lab Plaid Con Lib Comm Ind Other
1973 [5]62932233
1977 [5]481782154
1981 [5]63932143
1985 [5]68712142
Lab Plaid Con SLD Comm Ind Other
1989 [5]655-1-21
1993 [5]60101--3-

See also

References
  1. "Glamorgan County Council". Archives Hub. Retrieved 21 October 2019.
  2. "The Local Government Reorganisation (Wales) (Property etc.) Order 1996". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 8 March 1996. Retrieved 8 April 2019.
  3. "The Counties and Districts - Mid Glamorgan". Western Mail ("The New Wales" supplement). Wales. 22 March 1974. p. 10.
  4. Tony Heath (8 February 1996). "Obituary: Philip Squire". The Independent. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. "Mid Glamorgan County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Centre. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
  6. "The County of Mid Glamorgan (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1988". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. 2 March 1988. Retrieved 7 April 2019.
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