The 1890 Cardiff County Borough Council election was held on Saturday 1 November 1890 to elect councillors to Cardiff County Borough Council in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

. These were the second all-Cardiff elections since the creation of the county borough. They were first to take place since the increase in number of electoral wards from four to ten.

Background

Cardiff had become a

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

on 1 April 1889 as a result of the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administrat ...

. With its municipal year running from November, the November 1889 elections were the first all-Cardiff elections in the town since becoming a county borough. 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. "The General Purposes Committee of the Cardiff Corporation sat yesterday for the purpose of re-distributing the seats of the council, consequent on the re-division of the borough into ten wards. It had been anticipated that a good deal of acrimony would be shown in this delicate task. The matter, however, passed off good humouredly." The November 1890 elections were the second all-Cardiff elections in the county borough. Not all council seats were up for election, because councillors stood down for election in three-yearly rotation. The next all-Cardiff election took place in November 1891. The council consisted of 30 councillors who were elected by the town's voters and ten

aldermen An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members the ...

who were elected by the councillors.

Overview of the result

Contests took place in all ten electoral wards, namely

Adamsdown Adamsdown ( cy, Waunadda or ) is an inner city area and community in the south of Cardiff, the capital city of Wales. Adamsdown is generally located between Newport Road, to the north and the mainline railway to the south. The area includes ...

, Canton,

Cathays Cathays ( ; Welsh: officially ''Cathays'' but also , 'the constant meadow') is a district and community in the centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. It is an old suburb of Cardiff established in 1875. It is very densely populated and contain ...

, Central, Grangetown, Park, Riverside,

Roath Roath ( cy, Y Rhath) is a district and community to the north-east of the city centre of Cardiff, capital of Wales. There is no community council for the area which is mostly covered by the Plasnewydd electoral ward, and stretches from Adamsdo ...

, South and

Splott Splott ( cy, Y Sblot) is a district and community in the south of the city of Cardiff, capital of Wales, just east of the city centre. It was built up in the late 19th century on the land of two farms of the same name: Upper Splott and Lower Spl ...

. One council seat was up for election in all wards except for Riverside, where two seats were up for election because of the recent death of a sitting councillor. Prior to the election, seven of the eleven seats were held by the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

and four by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

. The election resulted in the Liberals increasing their overall representation by one. The Liberals received 6,518 votes in comparison with 5,535 for the Conservative candidates. Notable defeats included Sir

Morgan Morgan Colonel Morgan Morgan (November 1, 1688 — November 17, 1766) was an American pioneer. He was thought to have founded the first permanent settlement in present-day West Virginia at Cool Spring Farm. Biography Early life Little direct evidence ...

in the Park ward, who lost to the Liberal candidate by 98 votes.

Council composition

Following these elections, the council's Liberal majority increased by two, with 25 Liberal members and 15 Conservatives.

Ward results

Adamsdown

Canton

Cathays

Central

Mr Proger had represented the ward for the previous 12 years.

Grangetown

John Jenkins, a shipwright and a nominee of Cardiff Trades Council, was declared to be the first genuine working man's representative elected to the council.

Park

Despite trailing by 100 votes after the first count, Sir Morgan Morgan's supporters demanded two recounts before conceding defeat.

Riverside (two seats)

An election was held on the same date, for the seat of Conservative councillor Smith, who had recently died.

Roath

South

Splott

* = 'retiring' ward councillor for re-election

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 1890, state=collapsed

Council elections in Cardiff 19th century in Cardiff