1891 Cardiff County Borough Council election

The 1891 Cardiff County Borough Council election was held on Monday 2 November 1890 to elect councillors to Cardiff County Borough Council in Cardiff, Wales. These were the third all-Cardiff elections since the creation of the county borough. The previous elections were in November 1890 and the next elections were in November 1892

The result of the election saw no overall change in composition of the council.

Background

Cardiff had become a county borough in April 1889. In July 1890 the town's ward boundaries were redrawn, increasing the number of electoral wards from five to ten. On 25 July the General Purposes Committee of the council had redistributed the existing councillors over the ten wards. Not all council seats were included in each contest, because the three councillors in each ward stood down for election in three-yearly rotation. [1]

Elections normally took place on 1 November each year. Because 1 November 1891 fell on a Sunday, the 1891 elections took place on 2 November.

The council consisted of 30 councillors who were elected by the town's voters and ten aldermen who were elected by the councillors.[2] Ten seats were up for election in November 1891.

Overview of the result

Contests took place in seven of the ten electoral wards, namely Canton, Cathays, Central, Grangetown, Riverside, Roath and South. In three wards - Adamsdown, Park and Splott - the (Liberal) councillors were elected unopposed.[3]

Prior to the election, three of the seven contested seats were held by the Liberal Party and four by the Conservatives. This remained the case after the results were announced. In comparison with 1890, the Liberals had an overall increase in votes of 299, in comparison with 127 for the Conservatives.[4]

The Conservatives concentrated their campaigning in the Central and South wards, though in the South ward the retiring Conservative councillor only won by one vote.[4]

Council composition

Following these elections, the council's Liberal majority remained, with 26 Liberal members, 13 Conservatives and one Liberal Unionist.[3]

Ward results

Adamsdown

Adamsdown ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal James Munn Unopposed
Liberal hold Swing

Canton

Canton ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal William Lewis * 592
Conservative R. Worthy Blake 503
Liberal hold Swing

Cathays

Cathays ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Henry White 569
Liberal Charles Merrett 511
Labour Alfred Good 306
Liberal hold Swing

Central

Central ward 1891 [3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative W. Evans 627
Liberal F. H. Jotham * 623
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

Grangetown

Grangetown ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Samuel A. Brain * 544
Lib-Lab John Gardner 286
Conservative hold Swing

Fireworks were let off after the result was announced, celebrating Brain's re-election.[4]

Park

Park ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Ebenezer Beavan * Unopposed
Liberal hold Swing

Riverside

Riverside ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Frank J. Beavan 767
Conservative Dr Morgan Williams 459
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

Beavan had previously lost his council seat in the South ward in November 1890.[4]

Roath

Roath ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Augustus Lewis 625
Conservative Mr Waring 510
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

South

South ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Thomas Morel * 529
Liberal Dr Alfred Rees 528
Conservative hold Swing

Morel, a ship owner, had been the sitting councillor for six years.[3] There was more than one recount and the results were not announced until 10 p.m. The winning candidate was not present at the count, being ill with pleurisy.[4]

Splott

Splott ward 1891
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Jacob Comley Unopposed
Liberal hold Swing

* = 'retiring' ward councillor for re-election

References

  1. "New Municipal Boundaries At Cardiff". The Western Mail. 6 August 1890. p. 7 via Welsh Newspapers Online.
  2. B. W. Row, F. G. Squire (1974), Cardiff 1889-1974 - The Story of the County Borough, The Corporation of Cardiff, City Hall, Cardiff, pp. 14–16
  3. "The Municipal Elections - Cardiff - Close Fighting". The Western Mail. 3 November 1891. p. 6 via Welsh Newspapers Online.
  4. "Municipal Elections - Polling Yesterday - Cardiff". South Wales Daily News. 3 November 1891. p. 5 via Welsh Newspapers Online.
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