1937 Glamorgan County Council election

The sixteenth election to Glamorgan County Council, south Wales, took place in March 1937. It was preceded by the 1934 election and followed, due to the Second World War by the 1946 election.

Overview

Labour's comfortable majority on the council, including the aldermanic bench, remained unchanged.

Boundary changes

There were no boundary changes at this election.

Candidates

Many candidates were returned unopposed.^[1]

Contested elections

Labour contested almost every seat on the council, with a significant proportion of candidates returned unopposed.

Of the eleven aldermen retiring at the end of their sixth year term, the ten Labour aldermen all sought re-election while Rev D.H. Williams (Ind) stood down from the Council after over thirty years. Alderman Dorothy Rees (Lab), who was elected for three years to fill a vacancy in 1934, also sought re-election.

Outcome

Labour retained their majority, losing two seats but gaining three.^[2]

Results

Aberaman

Aberaman 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Florence Rose Davies**	*Unopposed*	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Labour hold

Aberavon

Aberavon 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Edward Lewis Hare*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon

Abercynon 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joseph Dicks**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare Town

Aberdare Town 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Alwyn John	1,292
	Labour	Tom Williams	977
	Independent	Henry Cohen	242
Majority			315
	Independent hold		Swing

Bargoed

Bargoed 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William John Kedward*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Barry

Dudley Howe had previously represented Cadoxton and gained the neighbouring Barry ward from Labour. However, Labour won Cadoxton for the first time against the new candidate.

Barry 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Dudley Thomas Howe*	2,304
	Labour	W. East*	2,004
Majority			300
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Barry Dock

Barry Dock 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Dorothy Rees**	1,965
	Independent	G. Edward Smith	1,762
Majority			203
	Labour hold		Swing

Blaengwawr

Blaengwawr 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William J. Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Bridgend

Bridgend 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William W. Phillips*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Briton Ferry

Briton Ferry 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Gethin*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cadoxton

Cadoxton 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Digby Smith	1,499
	Independent	A.L. Davies	1,158
Majority			341
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Caerphilly

Caerphilly 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Evan Phillips*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cilfynydd

Cilfynydd 1934
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Pearson*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc

Coedffranc 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	D.T. Jenkins	2,916
	Independent	Isaac David	1,798
Majority			1,118
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Cowbridge

Cowbridge 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	P. John Smith	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwm Aber

Cwm Aber 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rev David M. Jones*	Unopposed
Majority
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmavon

Cwmavon 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Jones Edwards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Cymmer

Cymmer 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John James Garwood*	1,167
	Independent	Evan Thomas	485
Majority			682
	Labour hold		Swing

Dinas Powys

Dinas Powys 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Ivor Broadbent Thomas*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Dulais Valley

Dulais Valley 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwilym Davies*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ferndale

Ferndale 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alfred Evans*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Gadlys

Gadlys 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Thomas Phillips*	1,802
	Labour	David Idris Bruton	796
Majority			1,006
	Independent hold		Swing

Garw Valley

Garw Valley 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Gunter*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Glyncorrwg

Glyncorrwg 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sir William Jenkins**	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Gower

Gower 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Fredrick William Davies	2,083
	Labour	Stanley Jones	1,480
Majority			603
	Independent hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Frank Loveday*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Hopkinstown

Hopkinstown 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	E.H. Fleming**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Kibbor

Kibbor 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Edgar L. Chappell	1,769
	Independent	John Kane	1,400
Majority			369
	Independent hold		Swing

Castell Coch

Castell Coch 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Sir Lewis Lougher*	1,458
	Labour	Edward Harry Follis	606
Majority			852
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo Talybont

Llandeilo Talybont 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Caradoc Jones**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanfabon

Llanfabon 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	William Bowen**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llwydcoed

Llwydcoed 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Martha Emma Jones*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llwynypia

Llwynypia 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Haines Rowlands*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Loughor

Loughor 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David John Davies	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon

Maesteg, Caerau and Nantyffyllon 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Evans**	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Maesteg, East and West

Maesteg East and West 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Tom Jenkins*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Mountain Ash

The sitting member, the Hon. John Bruce (Ind) stood down and Labour gained the seat without a contest.^[1]

Mountain Ash 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Justin Lewis	Unopposed
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Neath (North)

Neath (North) 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	David Griffith Davies*	1,336
	Labour	J.W. Morgan	1,042
Majority			294
	Independent hold		Swing

Neath (South)

Neath (South) 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles P. Huins	1,679
	Independent	Col. R.G. Llewellyn	912
Majority			767
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle

Newcastle 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Rev Horatio R. Protheroe*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Ogmore Valley

Ogmore Valley 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Frederick Arthur Llewellyn*	1,963
	Labour	Stanley James Moore	833
Majority			1,130
	Communist hold		Swing

Penarth North

Penarth North 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	H.J. Cook	1,001
	Independent	F.R. Cratchley	801
Majority			200
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Penarth South

Penarth South 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.B. Jones	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pencoed

Pencoed 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mervyn W. Paine*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Penrhiwceiber

Penrhiwceiber 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John William Bath*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentre

Pentre 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Tye Andrews*	1,609
	Communist	Abigail Evans	765
Majority			844
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontardawe

Pontardawe 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Daniel Davies**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontyclun

Pontyclun 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Johnson Miles*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot East

Port Talbot East 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Thomas**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot West

Port Talbot West 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Llewelyn David*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Porthcawl

Porthcawl 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.A. Howell*	Unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pontlottyn

Pontlottyn 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.A. Hancock*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontypridd Town

Pontypridd Town 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jesse Powderhill*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Penygraig

Penygraig 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Churchill*	2,148
	Independent	William John Gribble	981
Majority			1,267
	Labour hold		Swing

Porth

Porth 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	People's Candidate	Daniel Jones	1,067
	Labour	John Talfryn Llewellyn	1,008
Majority			59
	Independent hold		Swing

Swansea Valley

Swansea Valley 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Jenkins*	Unopposed	*N/A*	*N/A*
	Labour hold

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch

Tonyrefail and Gilfach Goch 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Thomas Rogers*	1,484
	Communist	David John Griffiths	711
	Independent	Harold Whitton Davies	584
	Independent	Evan Jones	97
Majority			773
	Labour hold		Swing

Trealaw

Trealaw 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Communist	Lewis Jones	1,945
	Labour	Richard Jones	1,315
Majority			630
	Communist hold		Swing

Treforest

Treforest 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Hopkin J. Smith	1,840
	Labour	Arthur James Chick*	1,836
Majority			4
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Treherbert

Treherbert 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	David Edward Williams*	2,856
	Independent	Edwin Jenkins	402
Majority			2,454
	Labour hold		Swing

Treorchy

Treorchy 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Hughes*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown

Tylorstown 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Lewis**	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Vale of Neath

Vale of Neath 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	William A. Betty*	2,557
	Plaid Cymru	Oliver J. Evans	1,083
	Independent	J.W. Davies	659
Majority			1,474
	Labour hold		Swing

Ynyshir

Ynyshir 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Walter Robins	1,192
	People's Candidate	Morgan Benjamin	1,177
Majority			15
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystalyfera

Ystalyfera 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Alice Williams*	2,051
	Plaid Cymru	Wynne Samuel	873
Majority			1,176
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystrad

Ystrad 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Walter Henry Winter*	1,235
	Communist	Edwin Brinley Roberts	881
	Independent	David Jenkins	871
Majority			354
	Labour hold		Swing

Election of Aldermen

In addition to the 66 councillors the council consisted of 22 county aldermen. Aldermen were elected by the council, and served a six-year term. Following the 1937 election, there were eleven Aldermanic vacancies, and the retiring aldermen were all re-elected.^[3]

The following retiring aldermen were re-elected:

William Bowen (Lab, Llanfabon)
David Daniel Davies (Lab, Pontardawe)
Rose Davies (Lab, Aberaman)
John Evans (Lab, Maesteg)
Johnson Dicks (Lab, Abercynon)
E.H. Fleming (Lab, Hopkinstown)
William Jenkins (Lab, Glyncorrwg)
Caradoc Jones (Lab, Llandeilo Talybont)
David Lewis (Lab, Tylorstown)
Dorothy Rees (Lab, Barry Dock)
John Thomas (Lab, Port Talbot)

By-elections

Eleven vacancies were caused by the election of aldermen.

Aberaman by-election

Aberaman by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Sydney Herbert Stephens*
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Barry Dock by-election

Labour lost the by-election held following the re-election of Dorothy Rees to the aldermanic bench.^[4] The Labour candidate had been elected following Rees's original election as alderman three years previously and at the recent election had unsuccessfully contested the neighbouring Barry ward.

Barry Dock by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	J. Edward Smith	2,080
	Labour	W. East*	1,783
Majority			297
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Glyncorrwg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Hopkinstown by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Llandeilo Talybont by-election

Llandeilo Talybont
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Llewellyn Davies	1,501
	Labour	J. Powell	1,378
Majority
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llanfabon by-election

Llanfabon by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Charles Herbert Davies	1,387
	Independent	Rev. Henry Withers	798
Majority			589
	Labour hold		Swing

Maesteg by-election


Party		Votes
	Labour
	Independent
Majority
	Labour gain from Independent	Swing

Pontardawe by-election

Pontardawe by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Charles Williams	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Port Talbot by-election

Joe Brown, former agent to Ramsay Macdonald when he was MP for Aberavon, failed to gain the Labour nomination and ran as an Independent.^[5]

Port Talbot by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Llewellyn Heycock	1,817
	Independent	Joseph A. Brown	1,248
Majority			569
	Labour hold		Swing

Tylorstown by-election

Tylorstown by-election 1937
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	John Mardy Evans*	1,977
	Communist	George Edward Maslin	584
	Independent	David John	284
Majority			1,393
	Labour hold		Swing

References

^ ^a ^b "Nominations for County Council Elections. Many Unopposed Returns in Glamorgan and Gwent". Western Mail. 16 February 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 4 April 2021.
^ "Glamorgan and Gwent Elections. Little Change in Position of Parties". Western Mail. 2 March 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 8 April 2021.
^ "County Councillors's Plea to Boycott "Western Mail"". Western Mail. 19 March 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 20 March 2021.
^ "County Council By-Elections". Western Mail. 20 April 1937. p. 10. Retrieved 20 April 2021.
^ "Councillor J.A. Brown Leaves Labour Party". Port Talbot Guardian. 14 April 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

Bibliography

Williams, Chris (1996). Democratic Rhondda: Politics and society 1885-1951. Cardiff: University of Wales Press.

[WM_16-2-37-1] "Nominations for County Council Elections. Many Unopposed Returns in Glamorgan and Gwent". Western Mail. 16 February 1937. p. 6. Retrieved 4 April 2021.

[WM_6-3-34-2] "Glamorgan and Gwent Elections. Little Change in Position of Parties". Western Mail. 2 March 1937. p. 5. Retrieved 8 April 2021.

[WM_19-3-37-3] "County Councillors's Plea to Boycott "Western Mail"". Western Mail. 19 March 1937. p. 12. Retrieved 20 March 2021.

[WM_20-4-37-4] "County Council By-Elections". Western Mail. 20 April 1937. p. 10. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

[PTG_14-4-37-5] "Councillor J.A. Brown Leaves Labour Party". Port Talbot Guardian. 14 April 1937. p. 1. Retrieved 20 April 2021.

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