Cardiff Council

Cardiff Council, formally the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff () is the local authority for Cardiff, 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, Cardiff was considered large enough to run its own services and so it became a county borough, 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 was later elevated to county borough status in 1891, followed by Merthyr Tydfil in 1908.) In 1905, Cardiff became a city, and thereafter Cardiff County Borough Council 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. Cardiff became a lower-tier district 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: 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 (which covered a marginal Conservative parliamentary seat) separate from Cardiff.Alan Hooper; John Punter (Eds.) Capital Cardiff 1975–2020: Regeneration, Competitiveness and the Urban Environment, page 34. University of Wales Press (2006), .

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. It initially operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it formally came into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows: (Put "Cardiff" in search box to see specific results.) Party in control Years 1996–2004 2004–2012 2012–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Cardiff is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided instead by the leader of the council, 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: Councillor Party From To Russell Goodway 1 April 1996 June 2004 Rodney Berman 1 July 2004 May 2012 Heather Joyce 17 May 2012 27 March 2014 Phil Bale 27 March 2014 May 2017 Huw Thomas 25 May 2017 10 May 2026 Chris Weaver 22 May 2026

At the age of 31, Huw Thomas became Wales' youngest council leader when he was elected in May 2017.

Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to October 2025, the composition of the council was: Party Councillors 53 9 9 2 1 1 1 4Total79 Of the independent councillors, two sit together as the "Cardiff Independent" group, and the other two (one being a Liberal Democrat currently suspended from the party) do not belong to any group. Common Ground is an alliance of Plaid Cymru and the Greens, with its councillors representing both parties as "Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Common Ground" (Plaid Cymru, Plaid Werdd, Tir Cyffredin). The Green Party won its first seat on the council in its own right (rather than as part of Common Ground) at a by-election for the Grangetown ward on 14 August 2025.

The next full council election is due in 2027.

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 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, the Labour Party took overall control of the council, and remained in overall control following the 2017 and 2022 elections.

YearSeatsLabourLiberal DemocratsConservativePlaid CymruIndependent / OtherNotes 1995 72 61 9 1 1 0 Labour majority control 1999 75 50 18 5 1 1 Labour majority control 2004 75 27 33 12 3 0 Lib Dem minority 2008 75 13 35 17 7 3 Lib Dem / Plaid Cymru coalition 2012 75 46 16 7 2 4 Labour majority control 2017 75 40 11 20 3 1 Labour majority control 2022 79 55 10 11 2 1 Labour majority control

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 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 required meetings to be held virtually. From the resumption of in-person meetings in May 2022, full council meetings were held at City Hall. City Hall closed for refurbishment in 2023 but is planned to be brought back into use as the council's meeting place once the work is complete, although this may not be until 2026.

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 are indicated with an asterisk.

Ward CommunitiesOther geographic areas1AdamsdownAdamsdown2ButetownButetownAtlantic Wharf, Cardiff Bay, Cardiff city centre (part), Tiger Bay, Flatholm3CaerauCaerauCulverhouse Cross4CantonCantonLeckwith, Victoria Park5CathaysCathays and CastleBlackweir, Cardiff city centre (Castle), Cathays, Cathays Park, Maindy6CyncoedCyncoedRoath Park, Lakeside7ElyElyCulverhouse Cross, Michaelston-super-Ely8FairwaterFairwaterPentrebane9GabalfaGabalfaMynachdy, Maindy, Heath10GrangetownGrangetownCardiff Bay (part), Saltmead, International Sports Village11HeathHeathBirchgrove12Lisvane and ThornhillLisvane* and ThornhillCefn Onn13LlandaffLlandaffDanescourt14Llandaff NorthLlandaff NorthHailey Park, Lydstep Park, Mynachdy, Gabalfa15LlanishenLlanishen16LlanrumneyLlanrumney17PentwynPentwyn and Llanedeyrn (since 2016)18Pentyrch andSt FagansPentyrch* and St Fagans*Capel Llanilltern, Coedbychan, Creigiau, Gwaelod-y-Garth, Rhydlafar19PenylanPenylan20PlasnewyddRoath Cardiff city centre (part)21Pontprennau andOld St MellonsOld St. Mellons* and PontprennauLlanedeyrn Village22RadyrRadyr & Morganstown*Morganstown, Radyr23RhiwbinaRhiwbinaPantmawr, Rhydwaedlyd, Wenallt24RiversideRiverside and PontcannaPart of Cardiff city centre, Llandaff Fields, Sophia Gardens25RumneyRumney26SplottSplott and TremorfaPengam Green27TrowbridgeTrowbridgeSt Mellons estate, Cefn Mably, Wentloog28Whitchurch & TongwynlaisTongwynlais* and WhitchurchBlaengwynlais, Bwlch-y-cwm, Coedcefngarw, Coryton, Cwmnofydd, Graig-goch, Llandaff North

Arms

Cardiff Council

Bron en licentie