An election to the Carmarthenshire County Council was held in March 1928.[1] It was preceded by the 1925 election and followed by the 1931 election.
Overview of the result
The election saw the disappearance of the Conservative and Liberal parties from county elections in Carmarthenshire, and contests would henceforth be between Labour and the Independents. Labour did not make significant progress in 1928 and it was claimed that the party lacked the resources to make a significant challenge.[2]
Boundary changes
There were no boundary changes.
Candidates
Only 18 of the 53 divisions were contested, the same number as in 1925.[2]
Outcome
Most of the contested elections were in the eastern part of the county. Elsewhere, there were some contests where Independent candidates faced each other. Two such contests at Llanybydder and Rhydcymerau saw two Independents who were also brothers lose their seats.[1]
In the Llanelli area there were a number of closely fought contests between Independents and Labour candidates. In Llanelli Borough, Labor held their only seat but Indepdents held off challenges in the other wards. These included Ward 4, where W.T. Morris held his seat against Tom Charles by 46 votes, having lost his borough council seat to the same opponent two years previously. The Llanelly Star considered this to be a 'great persoanl victory' for Morris.[3]
In addition to the 53 councillors, the council consisted of 17 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the elections, the following eight aldermen were elected (with the number of votes in each case):
Thomas Morris
Thomas Thomas
W.J. Williams
Sir Dudley Drummond
Ben Evans
John Lewis
H.E. Blagdon-Richards
L.N. Powell
On behalf of the eastern members of the Council, Labour member D.B. Lewis of Llandybie protested against the re-election of aldermen who had not faced the electorate. However, he declared that on this occasion they had decided not to oppose the re-election of aldermen who had not been given advance notice.[4] This was not the first time this matter had been raised by Labour councillors.
References
^ ab"County Council Elections". Carmarthen Journal. 9 March 1928.
^ ab"Editorial". Carmarthen Journal. 2 March 1928.
