Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Cyngor Sir Dinas a Sir Caerdydd) is the governing body for
Cardiff
Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a ...
, one of the
Principal Areas of Wales. The principal area and its council were established in 1996 to replace the previous
Cardiff City Council which had been a lower-tier authority within
South Glamorgan. Cardiff Council consists of 79 councillors, representing 28 electoral wards.
Labour has held a majority of the seats on the council since 2012. The last election was in May 2022 and the next election is due in 2027.
History
Municipal life in Cardiff dates back to the 12th century, when Cardiff was granted
borough status by the
Earls of Gloucester. The offices of the mayor, aldermen, and common councillors developed during the Middle Ages. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under 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 administra ...
, Cardiff was considered large enough to run its own services and so it became 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 t ...
, independent from
Glamorgan County Council. The town of Cardiff was still considered the
county town of Glamorgan, with Glamorgan County Council building its headquarters there. Cardiff was one of only two county boroughs in Wales created in 1889, the other being
Swansea. (
Newport
Newport most commonly refers to:
*Newport, Wales
*Newport, Rhode Island, US
Newport or New Port may also refer to:
Places Asia
*Newport City, Metro Manila, a Philippine district in Pasay
Europe
Ireland
*Newport, County Mayo, a town on the ...
was later elevated to county borough status in 1891, followed by
Merthyr Tydfil
Merthyr Tydfil (; cy, Merthyr Tudful ) is the main town in Merthyr Tydfil County Borough, Wales, administered by Merthyr Tydfil County Borough Council. It is about north of Cardiff. Often called just Merthyr, it is said to be named after Ty ...
in 1908.) In 1905, Cardiff became a city, and thereafter
Cardiff County Borough Council
Cardiff County Borough Council, known as Cardiff City Council after Cardiff achieved city status in 1905, was the elected local authority that administered the town (later city) and county borough of Cardiff, Glamorgan, Wales between 1889 and 1 ...
was allowed to call itself Cardiff City Council.
In 1974 local government across Wales and England was restructured into a two-tier system under the
Local Government Act 1972
The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...
. Cardiff became a lower-tier
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...
council, called
Cardiff City Council, within the new county of
South Glamorgan. The
South Glamorgan County Council provided county-level services in the area.
Further local government restructuring in 1996 under the
Local Government (Wales) Act 1994 saw the city of Cardiff become a
unitary authority
A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governme ...
: the present Cardiff Council.
South Glamorgan County Council was abolished. Ahead of the reforms the county council had campaigned for a new "Greater Cardiff" authority to reflect the boundaries of South Glamorgan, but the Conservative government of the time decided to keep the
Vale of Glamorgan
The Vale of Glamorgan ( cy, Bro Morgannwg ), often referred to as The Vale, is a county borough in the south-east of Wales. It borders Bridgend County Borough to the west, Cardiff to the east, Rhondda Cynon Taf to the north, and the Bristol ...
(which covered a marginal Conservative parliamentary seat) separate from Cardiff.
The 1994 Act directed that the new council should be called "Cardiff County Council". The council's constitution calls it instead the "County Council of the City and County of Cardiff". For most purposes the council styles itself "Cardiff Council", except where the full legal name is required, when it uses the form from its constitution.
Political control
The first election to the reconstituted council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been held by the following parties:
Leadership
The role of Lord Mayor of Cardiff is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided instead by the
leader of the council
In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...
, although the two roles were temporarily combined between 1999 and 2003. The first leader following the 1996 reforms was
Russell Goodway, who had been the last leader of
South Glamorgan County Council. The leaders of Cardiff Council since 1996 have been:
At the age of 31, Huw Thomas became Wales' youngest council leader when he was elected in May 2017.
Current composition
As of 5 May 2022.
Party with majority control in bold.
Elections
Since 2012,
Cardiff Council elections have taken place every five years.
The council was run by a Labour majority administration between 1995 and 2004. The Liberal Democrats ran a minority administration from 2004, in coalition with Plaid Cymru.
Following the
2008 local elections in Cardiff there was still no party with an overall majority. The Lib Dems increased their total number of councillors to 35, forming an administration with Plaid Cymru, with
Rodney Berman
Rodney Simon Berman OBE is a Liberal Democrat politician, currently a councillor for the Penylan ward of Cardiff. He was formerly a councillor for Plasnewydd ward, and was also leader of Cardiff Council between 2004 and 2012.
Early life
Born ...
as leader of the Council. The
Conservatives replaced Labour as the official opposition. Labour suffered badly, losing 14 councillors. Plaid Cymru gained four councillors. Three independent councillors were elected; two former Conservatives who had left the group in 2006 being joined by an additional member.
In
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, the Labour Party took overall control of the council, and remained in overall control following the
2017
File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...
and
2022 elections.
Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.
Premises
The council's main offices are at
County Hall on Atlantic Wharf. It was built in 1987 as the headquarters of the former
South Glamorgan County Council. The council also uses the
City Hall
In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...
on Cathays Park in the city centre, built in 1906 for the former
Cardiff City Council. Full council meetings were held at County Hall prior to 2020, when the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...
required meetings to be held virtually. From the resumption of in-person meetings in May 2022, full council meetings have been held at City Hall.
Electoral wards
Since the 2022 elections, the unitary authority area has been divided into 28
electoral wards. Many of these wards are coterminous with
communities of the same name.
The following table lists council wards, communities and associated geographical areas. Communities with a
community council
A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain.
In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. ...
are indicated with an asterisk.
Arms
See also
*
City Hall, Cardiff
City Hall ( cy, Neuadd y ddinas) is a civic building in Cathays Park, Cardiff, Wales, UK. It serves as Cardiff's centre of local government. It was built as part of the Cathays Park civic centre development and opened in October 1906. Buil ...
*
County Hall, Cardiff
The County Hall ( cy, Neuadd y Sir) is a municipal building located beside the disused Bute East Dock in the Atlantic Wharf area of Butetown, Cardiff. Formerly the home of South Glamorgan County Council, it is now the headquarters of Cardiff C ...
*
Cardiff Bay
*
Flat Holm
References
External links
*
List of Mayors and other secular officials of Cardiff (British History Online)
{{Authority control
Politics of Cardiff
Local authorities of Wales
1996 establishments in Wales