1973 Dyfed County Council election

The first election to Dyfed County Council was held in April 1973.^[1] It was followed by the 1977 election. The vast majority of the councillors elected had been members of one of the three previous county authorities which were merged to create Dyfed, namely Cardiganshire, Carmarthenshire, and Pembrokeshire.

There were fifteen wards in Cardiganshire. Eight of these were won by Liberal candidates even though the parliamentary constituency was held by Labour since 1966.

A number of the elected councillors had served on the previous Cardiganshire County Council for many years, with John Rogers-Lewis and Morgan Davies having been members since 1937.

The first elections, in line with the traditional pattern of local government in west Wales, resulted in an Independent majority. These Independents were, by and large, genuinely unattached to any political grouping. Of the political parties, Labour comfortably had the largest number of seats but were to be consistently outvoted by the Independents.

In the urban part of Carmarthenshire the contests were, in the main, between Labour candidates and one other opponent. In the rural areas, however, several Independent members of the former Carmarthenshire County Council, including aldermen, fought each other. In several cases, once these initial contests had taken place, the Independent councillor was returned unopposed.

The most significant contest, which attracted press coverage, was at Llangadog (Llandeilo No. 6 Ward) where the President of Plaid Cymru, Gwynfor Evans, a member of Carmarthenshire Council since 1949 was defeated by an Independent. The results for Plaid Cymru were disappointing and their one success in Carmarthen Rural No. 7 (the Whitland area) was partly caused by the non-Plaid vote being split between two Independent candidates.

Aberaeon No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Evan Evans Williams	764	29.3
	Labour	John Austen Rees	734	28.2
	Independent	I. Jones	440	16.9
	Independent	B. Jones	388	14.9
	Independent	P. Hughes	281	10.8
Majority			30
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberaeon No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Edwardes Rogers-Lewis	711	33.4
	Independent	D. Evans	497	23.3
	Liberal	E. Jones	475	22.3
	Plaid Cymru	D. Jacob Davies	447	21.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Aberaeron No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Owen Williams*	1,599	74.2
	Independent	Edwin Pryce Jones	373	17.3
	Independent	P. Bryan	92	4.3
	Labour	J. Davies	91	4.2
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberystwyth No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Jones	1,018	53.2
	Plaid Cymru	J. Williams	550	27.7
	Independent	H. Owen	365	19.1
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Aberystwyth No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Gwendoline Calan Evans	485	45.7
	Labour	P. Davies	328	30.9
	Independent	E. Slater	248	23.4
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberystwyth No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ceredig Jones	497	35.7
	Independent	Mary Llewelfryn Davies	355	25.5
	Independent	A. Carr	255	18.3
	Labour	Graham Thomas Parry	228	16.4
	Independent	M. Hopkinson	59	4.2
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberystwyth Rural No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Gatty Pugh Lewis	933
	Labour	C. Marek	615	29.1
	Independent	D. Davies	562	26.6
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberystwyth Rural No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	J. Morgan	846	34.0
	Independent	William Thomas Kinsey Raw-Rees	728	29.3
	Labour	G. Jones	565	22.7
	Plaid Cymru	G. Owen	347	14.0
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Aberystwyth Rural No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Michael Hughes	723	35.8
	Plaid Cymru	A. Griffiths	654	32.4
	Liberal	Richard Ellis	641	31.8
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Cardigan 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Rowland Ll. Peregrine	945	49.4
	Labour	T. Lloyd	484	25.3
	Plaid Cymru	D. Williams	387	20.2
	Independent	A. Hallam	96	5.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Lampeter 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Jones	507	26.5
	Labour	J. Roberts	450	23.5
	Independent	Oliver Williams	400	20.9
	Liberal	J. Lewis	382	19.9
	Independent	D. Preece-Jones	95	5.0
	Independent	D. Davies	82	4.3
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Teifiside No.1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.G.E. Davies	1,848	80.0
	Independent	W. Jones	461	20.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Teifiside No.2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Hywel Heulyn Roberts	705	40.1
	Independent	M. Griffiths	600	34.1
	Independent	S. Idris Evans	322	18.3
	Labour	G. Hutton	132	7.5
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Teifiside No.3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	R.E. Morris	1,677	84.9
	Labour	A. Wormersley	299	15.1
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Tregaron 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	W. Morgan Davies*	1,601	68.3
	Labour	I. Davies	413	17.6
	Independent	D. Evans	331	14.1
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal win (new seat)

Ammanford No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Howard Cooke*	1,160	70.2
	Plaid Cymru	J.D. Davies	492	29.8
Majority			668	40.4
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Ammanford No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Myrddin Evans*	1,475	76.0
	Plaid Cymru	D.H. Davies	467	24.0
Majority			1,008	52.0
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Berwick 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Raglan Thomas*	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Burry Port East 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.Ll. Rosser	504	48.9
	Independent	G.E. Phillips	349	33.8
	Plaid Cymru	L. Thomas	178	17.3
Majority			155	15.1
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Burry Port West 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Eirwen Jones-Parry*	668	56.1
	Labour	Labor Dennis	362	30.4
	Plaid Cymru	R.J. Williams	161	13.5
Majority			306	25.7
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T. Idwal Jones*	1,043	46.1
	Independent	H. Dewi Evans	661	29.2
	Plaid Cymru	Huw Edwards	558	24.7
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Carmarthen No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ellis James Powell*	590	46.5
	Independent	T. Llewellyn Davies	427	33.6
	Liberal	Paula Yates	292	19.9
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Carmarthen No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Roy Nicholl*	1,078	60.5
	Plaid Cymru	E.J.E. Jones	355	19.9
	Labour	Anthony Earle	350	19.6
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayers	T. Austin Griffiths*	1,808	63.8
	Labour	Ryan Jones*	1,024	36.2
Majority
Turnout
	Ratepayers win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Gwynfor Charles	874	53.5
	Plaid Cymru	Handel Michael Ayres Williams	761	46.5
Majority			113
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 3

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E.T. Davies*	1,292	58.0
	Labour	R.B.J. Gough	434	19.5
	Independent	Ben Howell	278	12.5
	Independent	Mrs G.C. Phillips	225	10.1
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Arthur J. Harries*	1,235	73.6
	Independent	J.H. Davies*	444	26.4
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Dr William Edmund V.J. Davies*	1,779	60.0
	Independent	David Myrddin Jenkins*	1,185	40.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J.L. James*	1,041	35.9
	Independent	W.H. Phillips**	768	26.5
	Independent	T.S. Davies*	466	16.1
	Plaid Cymru	Denzil Protheroe	360	12.4
	Labour	John Russell Davies	262	9.0
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Carmarthen Rural No. 7

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	D. Aled Gwyn	1,032	38.1
	Independent	Daniel Clodwyn Thomas*	781	28.8
	Independent	E.J. Jenkins	703	26.0
	Independent	W.E. Thomas	104	3.8
	Labour	J. Jill	89	3.3
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru win (new seat)

Cwmamman

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. Walters*	1,122	71.0
	Independent Labour	K. Rees	458	29.0
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Felinfoel

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Cledwyn Francis*	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Hengoed

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Irwyn Phillips	920
	Labour	J.G. Thomas	576
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.J. Davies*	824
	Independent	W.D.R. Davies*	583
	Independent	D.W. Davies*	572
	Plaid Cymru	J.E. Davies	384
	Labour	R. Fearon-Jones	141
	Independent	James James**	135
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.T. Davies*	1,132
	Independent	D. Idris Davies*	545
	Plaid Cymru	D.A. James*	462
	Labour	Elfryn Thomas*	461
	Independent	D.A. Thomas	172
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 3

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	V.E.D. Price*	1,479
	Independent Socialist	Elwyn Rees Thomas	791
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Idris Evans*	1,412
	Plaid Cymru	W.P. Jones	910
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gerald J. Earl	1,492
	Labour	William Morris*	1,013
Majority			1,479
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llandeilo No. 6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E. George Morgan*	1,309
	Plaid Cymru	Gwynfor Richard Evans**	931
	Labour	Patrick J. Dobbs	426
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llanedi

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	T.E. Williams*	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Harry J. Richards*	944
	Labour	T. Glanville Williams	626
	Plaid Cymru	W.H. Davies	178
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brinley Owen*	734
	Liberal	Eileen Clarke	398
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 3

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grismond J. Williams*	718
	Liberal	W. Gibby	360
	Plaid Cymru	D.R.T. Thomas	208
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 4

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Mrs M. Joseph	643
	Plaid Cymru	E.E. Jones	469
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 5

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.J. Davies*	390
	Liberal	W.A. Tilleke	307
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 6

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harold J. Thomas	933
	Plaid Cymru	P. Davies	340
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llanelli No. 7

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George M. McConkey*	1,224
	Independent Labour	I.T. Roberts	940
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llangennech

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M.J. Thomas*	924
	Plaid Cymru	D.A. Rees	574
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Llannon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David William James*	1,788
	Plaid Cymru	A.D. Bowen	675
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Newcastle Emlyn No. 1

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.T. Enoch*	1,326
	Independent	G.E. Howell*	887
	Independent	D.G.J. Jones**	633
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Newcastle Emlyn No. 2

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Evans*	1,899
	Independent	D.M. Thomas*	690
	Independent	J.E. Davies*	441
	Labour	G.C. Price	276
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Pembrey

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	G.P. Evans*	1,137
	Plaid Cymru	F.D.E. Morgan	325
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Pontyberem

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Howard Jones*	1,977
	Plaid Cymru	Rev D.W. Williams	497
Majority
Turnout
	Labour win (new seat)

Trimsaran

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Samuel T. Hughes*	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Westfa

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.J. Franklin Thomas*	Unopposed
	Labour win (new seat)

Cemaes No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Jenkins	1,070	39.4
	Plaid Cymru	M. Phillips	749	27.6
	Independent	A. Rees	655	24.1
	Independent	N. Thomas	240	8.8
Majority				11.8
Turnout				70.7
	Independent win (new seat)

Cemaes No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.R. George	1,119	66.9
	Independent	J. Thomas	553	33.1
Majority				33.8
Turnout				71.7
	Independent win (new seat)

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Carey George	845	56.8
	Independent	D. Sayer	470	31.6
	Independent	F. Thomas	172	11.6
Majority				25.2
Turnout				53.6
	Independent win (new seat)

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Evans	604	43.9
	Labour	A. O'Brien	406	29.5
	Independent	G. Hughes	367	26.7
Majority				14.4
Turnout				56.9
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest No.1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.G. Parry	935	60.5
	Independent	C.M. Cole	476	30.8
	Labour	A. Kersey	135	8.7
Majority				29.7
Turnout				51.5
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.S. Grey	886	50.6
	Independent	T. Arran	575	32.9
	Independent	E. Williams	289	16.5
Majority				17.8
Turnout				45.8
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest Rural No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	A. Gray	1,154	53.9
	Independent	J. Martin	987	46.1
Majority				7.8
Turnout				71.8
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest Rural No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	O.C. John	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest Rural No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. James	982
	Independent	W. Evans	965
	Independent	W. Thomas	206
	Independent	Alwyn Cadwallader Luke	173
Majority
Turnout
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest Rural No. 4 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W. Philpin	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Haverfordwest Rural No. 5 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	H.W. Phillips	872	66.3
	Independent	G. Thorne	443	33.7
Majority				32.6
Turnout				46.1
	Independent win (new seat)

Milford Haven No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R. Yolland	1,089	73.3
	Labour	T.W.H. Byard	396	26.7
Majority				46.7
Turnout				49.0
	Independent win (new seat)

Milford Haven No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Basil Ralph Woodruff	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Milford Haven No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Mrs R. Keane	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Narberth No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas Elwyn John	1,311	55.3
	Independent	S. Harries	1,058	44.7
Majority				10.7
Turnout				57.2
	Independent win (new seat)

Narberth No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W. Harry	758	40.6
	Independent	C. Williams	757	40.5
	Independent	M. Phillips	353	18.9
Majority				0.1
Turnout				68.1
	Independent win (new seat)

Narberth No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David John Thomas	559	45.9
	Independent	J. Steadman	311	25.5
	Plaid Cymru	D. Edwards	253	20.8
	Independent	G. Davies	96	7.9
Majority				20.3
Turnout				76.9
	Independent win (new seat)

Neyland and Llanstadwell 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J. John	992	64.0
	Independent	W. Jacob	559	36.0
Majority				27.9
Turnout				62.7
	Labour win (new seat)

Pembroke No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	M. Mathias	409	27.3
	Independent	E. Morgan	376	25.1
	Independent	P. Peachey	255	17.0
	Labour	G. Prince-Harding	248	16.6
	Independent	G. Wheeler	208	13.9
Majority				2.2
Turnout				42.6
	Independent win (new seat)

Pembroke No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Williams	786	52.4
	Independent	A. Dureau	430	28.6
	Independent	W. Evans	285	19.0
Majority				23.7
Turnout				33.2
	Independent win (new seat)

Pembroke No. 3 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C.E. Nicholls	484	48.5
	Independent	E. Gibby	286	28.7
	Independent	C. Thomas	228	22.8
Majority				19.8
Turnout				33.2
	Labour win (new seat)

Pembroke Rural No. 1 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Rev G.R. Ball	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Pembroke Rural No. 2 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.G. Lawrence	717	53.0
	Independent	N. Hains	635	47.0
Majority				6.0
Turnout				52.2
	Independent win (new seat)

Tenby 1973

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D. Williams	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)