2017 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election

The 2017 Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council election took place on Thursday 4 May 2017 to elect members of Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council in Wales. This was the same day as other 2017 United Kingdom local elections. The previous full council election took place on 3 May 2012 and the next full election took place in 2022.

Election result

Seventy four council seats across fifty two electoral wards were up for election.^[1] Labour remained in control of the council, though lost thirteen seats overall, while Plaid Cymru doubled their numbers to eighteen.^[2] Labour council leader Andrew Morgan described the result as "a reasonably good outcome considering the circumstances we have been facing", while Plaid Cymru group leader Pauline Jarman said she was "slightly disappointed".^[3] A "shock" result was the election of a councillor from new party, The Cynon Valley Party, to the Penrhiwceiber ward.^[3]

Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council Election 2017 ^[4]^[5]
	Seats	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
Labour	46^[a]	-13	62.2	46.0	46,266^[a]	-8.6
Plaid Cymru	18	+9	24.3	28.6	28,788	+0.7
Independent	4	0	5.4	8.3	8,335	-1.0
Conservative	4	+3	5.4	9.3	9,364	+6.7
Cynon Valley	1	+1	1.4	4.8	4,855	New
Liberal Democrats	1	0	1.4	1.3	1,344	-2.3
UKIP	0	0	0.0	0.6	647	+0.3
Green	0	0	0.0	0.1	134	-0.6
TUSC	0	0	0.0	0.1	63	-0.4
Socialist Labour	0	0	0.0	N/A	0	-0.5

^[a] - includes one councillor and 888 votes for the Labour and Co-operative parties

Ward results

Aberaman North (2 seats)

Aberaman North 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Linda De Vet*	671
	Labour	Sheryl Evans	646
	Cynon Valley	Andrew Chainey	512
	Plaid Cymru	Laura Owen	357
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberaman South (2 seats)

Aberaman South 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Tina Williams*	759
	Labour	Anita Calvert*	727
	Plaid Cymru	Julie Williams	315
	Cynon Valley	Steven David Hughes	300
	Plaid Cymru	Diane Summerhays	246
	UKIP	Lea Dempsey	118
	UKIP	Craig Resoli	80
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Abercynon (2 seats)

Abercynon 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Rhys Lewis*	850
	Labour	Elaine George	775
	Cynon Valley	Phil Williams	295
	Plaid Cymru	Clayton Francis Jones	178
	Conservative	Christine Ceaton	159
	UKIP	Ian Andrew McLean	143
	Green	John Matthews	134
	UKIP	Paul Simon Browne	98
	Conservative	Thomas Pinder	84
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare East (2 seats)

Aberdare East 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Steve Bradwick*	1,158
	Labour	Mike Forey*	917
	Cynon Valley	Ray Dally	627
	Cynon Valley	Graham Marsh	586
	Plaid Cymru	David Alun Walters	363
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberdare West / Llwydcoed (3 seats)

Aberdare West 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ann Crimmings*	1,300
	Labour	Gareth Jones	981
	Labour	Sharon Rees*	957
	Cynon Valley	Andrew Thomas	819
	Plaid Cymru	John Daniel	738
	Plaid Cymru	Liz Walters	692
	Plaid Cymru	Spencer Jones	634
	Conservative	Steve Williams	628
	Conservative	Sian Heart	483
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Beddau (1 seat)

Beddau 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Richard Yeo*	516
	Conservative	Sam Trask	409
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Brynna (1 seat)

Brynna 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Roger Kenneth Turner	686
	Plaid Cymru	David John Evans	654
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Church Village (1 seat)

Church Village 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Graham Stacey*	722
	Conservative	Nick Tizard-Lee	468
	Plaid Cymru	Ioan Rhys Bellin	312
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Cilfynydd (1 seat)

Cilfynydd 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Stephen Belzak	392
	Labour	Barrie Morgan*	293
	Independent	Stephen Powell	65
	Plaid Cymru	Jason Mark Johnson	57
Turnout
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Cwm Clydach (1 seat)

Cwm Clydach 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Mark Alan Norris*	358
	Plaid Cymru	Heidi Whitter	243
	Liberal Democrats	Karen Roberts	109
	UKIP	Edwin John Allen	45
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Cwmbach (1 seat)

Cwmbach 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jeffrey Alan Elliot*	564
	Cynon Valley	Gordon Brian Sullivan	403
	Plaid Cymru	Ann Jenkins	389
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Cymmer (2 seats)

Cymmer 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Gareth Caple	879
	Labour	Margaret Tegg*	725
	Plaid Cymru	Nicole Griffiths	512
	Plaid Cymru	Mark Stevenson	379
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Ferndale (2 seats)

Ferndale 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Susan Morgans	817
	Independent	Phil Howe*	583
	Plaid Cymru	Andrea Jean Jones	513
	Labour	Annette Davies*	498
	Plaid Cymru	Anna Jones	497
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Independent hold		Swing

Gilfach Goch (1 seat)

Gilfach Goch 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Aurfron Roberts*	711
	Conservative	Emyr Wilkinson	82
	Liberal Democrats	Gerald Leslie Francis	69
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Glyncoch (1 seat)

Glyncoch 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Doug Williams*	340
	Plaid Cymru	Amanda Jane Ellis	169
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Graig (1 seat)

Graig 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jayne Brencher	319
	Independent	Bob Fox	244
	Plaid Cymru	Richard Lindsay Martin	66
	Liberal Democrats	Amanda Jane Jones	31
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Hawthorn (1 seat)

Hawthorn 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Martin Fidler Jones	654
	Independent	Cathy Lisles	421
	Conservative	Donald Rees	87
	Plaid Cymru	Bob Humphreys	81
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Hirwaun (1 seat)

Hirwaun 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Karen Morgan	723
	Labour	Richard Jones	347
	UKIP	Andrew Abraham	128
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llanharan (1 seat)

Llanharan 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Geraint Edward Hopkins*	608
	Plaid Cymru	Kathryn Elizabeth Germain	280
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanharry (1 seat)

Llanharry 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Wayne Owen	914
	Labour	Barry Stephens*	452
Turnout
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Llantrisant Town (1 seat)

Llantrisant Town 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Glynne Holmes*	625
	Conservative	Adam Robinson	526
	Plaid Cymru	Gwen Eluned	262
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Llantwit Fardre (2 seats)

Llantwit Fardre 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Joel James*	1,311
	Conservative	Mike Diamond	1,022
	Labour	Jacqui Bunnage*	421
	Labour	Bern Channon	330
	Independent	Jools Jones	249
	Plaid Cymru	Steven Thomas Owen	223
	Plaid Cymru	Gwion Eirian Rea	221
	Independent	Jonathan Bishop	100
Turnout
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Llwyn-y-pia (1 seat)

Llwyn-y-pia 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Wendy Lewis	261
	Independent	Jeffrey Gregory	221
	Plaid Cymru	Geoff Glyndwr Rees	181
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Maerdy (1 seats)

Maerdy 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jack Harries	576
	Plaid Cymru	Hayley Harries	337
	UKIP	Janet Kenrick	35
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Mountain Ash East (1 seat)

Mountain Ash East 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Pauline Jarman*	488
	Cynon Valley	Steve Carter	263
	Labour	Jackie Fox	240
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Mountain Ash West (2 seats)

Mountain Ash West 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Andrew Morgan*	781
	Labour	Wendy Treeby	589
	Cynon Valley	Kelvyn Bevan	299
	Plaid Cymru	Nicola Benney	276
	Plaid Cymru	Danny Allen	251
	TUSC	Mia Hollsing	63
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Penrhiwceiber (2 seats)

Penrhiwceiber 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Adam Fox*	792
	Cynon Valley	Gavin Williams	751
	Labour	Jane Ward*	648
	Plaid Cymru	Ieuan Benney	371
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Cynon Valley gain from Labour		Swing

Pentre (2 seats)

Pentre 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Shelley Rebecca Rees-Owen*	1,150
	Plaid Cymru	Maureen Owen Weaver*	963
	Labour	Ian David Jenkins	744
	Labour	Buffy Williams	690
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Pen-Y-Graig (2 seats)

Pen-Y-Graig 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Joshua Rhys Davies	555
	Plaid Cymru	John Lewis Cullwick	549
	Labour	Ken Privett*	474
	Labour	Christina Sian Slade	367
	Independent	Shawn Anthony Stevens	214
	Independent	Philip Jones	144
	Independent	Anita Lewis	133
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Pen-Y-Waun (1 seat)

Pen-Y-Waun 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Helen Boggis*	269
	Plaid Cymru	Paul James	212
	Independent	Ted Edwards	178
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Pont-Y-Clun (2 seats)

Pont-Y-Clun 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Conservative	Kate Libby Jones	1,413
	Labour	Margaret Griffiths*	1,236
	Labour	Paul Griffiths*	1226
	Plaid Cymru	Carole Ann Willis	733
Turnout
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontypridd Town (1 seat)

Pontypridd Town 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Heledd Fychan	505
	Labour	Steve Carter*	324
	Conservative	Cheryl Angela Lavington	145
	Liberal Democrats	David Richard Payne	87
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Porth (2 seats)

Porth 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Julie Williams	899
	Plaid Cymru	Alun Cox	851
	Labour	Margaret Davies*	656
	Labour	Graham Smith*	574
	Conservative	Ken Williams	216
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Rhigos (1 seat)

Rhigos 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Graham Thomas	442
	Plaid Cymru	Ashley James Wakeling	125
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Rhondda (2 seats)

Rhondda 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Tina Leyshon	558
	Labour	Rob Smith	554
	Plaid Cymru	Geraint Huw DAY	333
	Plaid Cymru	Daniel Fraser Thomas	266
	Liberal Democrats	Steve Alan Duggan	221
	Conservative	Brian James	193
	Conservative	Gareth Fairclough	164
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Rhydfelen Central / Ilan (1 seat)

Rhydfelen Central / Ilan 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Maureen Webber	627
	Conservative	Rachhpal Randhawa	128
	Plaid Cymru	Chad Anthony Rickard	124
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Taffs Well (1 seat)

Taffs Well 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Jill Bonetto	593
	Plaid Cymru	Christopher Edwards	362
	Conservative	Sep Bristo	240
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Talbot Green (1 seat)

Talbot Green 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Stephen Mark Powell	361
	Independent	Paul Baccara	323
	Conservative	Paul Thomas	128
	Plaid Cymru	David Rhys Roberts	75
Turnout
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Ton-Teg (2 seats)

Ton-Teg 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Lyndon Walker	1,030
	Conservative	Lewis Hooper	611
	Independent	Clive Johnson	527
	Labour	Ray Butler	415
	Labour	Jean Hutchinson	394
	Plaid Cymru	Tony Hallett	226
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing

Tonypandy (1 seat)

Tonypandy 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Gareth Wyn Hughes	420
	Plaid Cymru	Wendy Allsop	301
	Independent	Philip Stephen Rowlands	224
	Independent	David Roberts	150
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Tonyrefail East (2 seats)

Tonyrefail East 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Dan Owen-Jones	818
	Plaid Cymru	Danny Grehan	755
	Independent	Paul Wasley	596
	Labour	Eudine Hanagan	572
	Conservative	Sheila Khalil	104
	Conservative	Victor Lloyd-Nesling	82
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

Tonyrefail West (1 seat)

Tonyrefail West 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Alexandra Davies-Jones	759
	Plaid Cymru	Gregory Morgan Powell	368
	Conservative	Andrew Williams-Jones	188
	Independent	Karen Webb	148
	Independent	Stephen John Clee	99
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Trallwng (1 seat)

Trallwng 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Powell	719	60.8
	Labour	Allen William Bevan	369	31.2
	Conservative	Philip Sullivan	93	7.8
Turnout			1,181
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing

Trealaw (1 seat)

Trealaw 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Joy Rosser	657
	Plaid Cymru	Barbara Evans	445
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Treforest (1 seat)

Treforest 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Steve Powderhill	413
	Plaid Cymru	Danny White	86
	Conservative	Ann-Marie Mason	75
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Treherbert (2 seats)

Treherbert 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Will Jones	1,212
	Plaid Cymru	Geraint Rhys Davies	1,192
	Labour	Scott Emanuel	890
	Labour	Anne Louise Morris	683
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Treorchy (3 seats)

Treorchy 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Alison Chapman	1,399
	Plaid Cymru	Sera Evans-Fear	1,365
	Plaid Cymru	Emyr John Webster	1,286
	Independent	Bob Harris	1,012
	Labour	Margaret Evans	726
	Labour	Gwilym Lewis	653
	Labour	David Morris	638
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Tylorstown (2 seats)

Tylorstown 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Robert Bevan	856
	Labour	Mark Adams	703
	Plaid Cymru	Christine Betteney	244
	Plaid Cymru	Lee Cole	174
	Independent	Stephen Wilshire	433
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Tyn-Y-Nant (1 seat)

Tyn-Y-Nant 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Clayton Willis	557
	Conservative	Craig Ford	215
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Ynyshir (1 seat)

Ynyshir 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Labour	Ryan EVANS	414
	Plaid Cymru	Darren MACEY	692
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

Ynysybwl (1 seat)

Ynysybwl 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Daniel Anthony BAISH	510
	Conservative	Rhys LEWIS	110
	Labour	Sue PICKERING	719
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Ystrad (2 seats)

Ystrad 2017
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Plaid Cymru	Larraine JONES	945
	Labour	Dilys JOUVENAT	650
	Plaid Cymru	Elyn STEPHENS	667
	Labour	Malcolm John WATTS	660
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing
	Plaid Cymru gain from Labour		Swing

By-elections between 2017 and 2022

Rhondda (2019)

A by-election took place on 4 July 2019 after the death of Labour councillor, Robert Smith. The turnout was 28%.^[6]

Rhondda 2019
	Candidate	Votes
Plaid Cymru	Eleri Griffiths	404
Labour	Loretta Tomkinson	266
Conservative	Alexander Davies	145
Liberal Democrats	Karen Roberts	127
Communist	Adrian Dumphy	18

Ynyshir (2019)

A by-election took place on 5 December 2019 after Plaid Cymru councillor, Darren Macey, resigned his seat because of a conflict of interest with his new job for RCT Sporting Heroes. The seat was won by Labour.^[7]

Ynyshir 2019
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Julie Edwards	407
	Plaid Cymru	Adrian Parry	331

Llantwit Fardre (2021)

A by-election took place on 6 May 2021 after a Conservative councillor, Mike Diamond, resigned his seat for personal reasons.^[8]

Llantwit Fardre 2021 ^[9]
	Candidate	Votes
Conservative	Sam Trask	1,011
Labour	Graham Colk	656
Plaid Cymru	Ioan Bellin	464
Independent	James Huw Williams	162
Independent	Nick Tizzard-Lee	80
Liberal Democrats	David Payne	73

Penrhiwceiber (2021)

A by-election took place on 6 May 2021 to fill a vacancy after Cynon Valley Party councillor, Gavin Williams, was removed from his position after being absent from council meetings for more than six months. Williams stood as an Independent at the by-election.^[10]

Penrhiwceiber 2021
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Ross Williams	954
Independent	Gavin Williams*	384
Plaid Cymru	Daniel Allen	194

Tyn-y-nant (2021)

A by-election took place on 22 July 2021 following the death of long-standing Labour councillor, Clayton Willis.^[11]

Tyn-y-nant 2021 ^[12]
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Julie Barton	411
Conservative	Rob Green	62
Plaid Cymru	Ioan Bellin	35

References

^ Thomas Deacon (5 May 2017). "Live results from Rhondda Cynon Taf as Labour hold the council". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ "Labour keeps control of Cardiff despite losing seats". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ ^a ^b Thomas Deacon (5 May 2017). "Labour clings on to power as Plaid Cymru surge isn't enough to win power in Rhondda Cynon Taf". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ "County Borough Council Elections 2017". Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Retrieved 11 April 2018.
^ Rhondda Cyon Taff County Borough Council Election Results 1995–2012, The Election Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 2022-06-24
^ Anthony Lewis (4 July 2019). "Plaid's Eleri Griffiths wins Rhondda ward by-election in Rhondda Cynon Taf from Labour". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "By-election win for Labour". South Wales Echo. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2022 – via PressReader.
^ Anthony Lewis (29 April 2021). "Six candidates contest Llantwit Fardre by-election". Wales News Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "Llantwit Fardre ward by election". Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Anthony Lewis (12 May 2021). "Labour wins Penrhiwceiber council by-election". Wales News Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ Anthony Lewis (16 July 2021). "The three candidates standing to represent Tyn y Nant ward on RCT Council". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.
^ "By-election in Tyn-y-Nant ward". Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[1] Thomas Deacon (5 May 2017). "Live results from Rhondda Cynon Taf as Labour hold the council". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[2] "Labour keeps control of Cardiff despite losing seats". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[labourclingson-3] Thomas Deacon (5 May 2017). "Labour clings on to power as Plaid Cymru surge isn't enough to win power in Rhondda Cynon Taf". Wales Online. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[4] "County Borough Council Elections 2017". Rhondda Cynon Taf Council. Retrieved 11 April 2018.

[5] Rhondda Cyon Taff County Borough Council Election Results 1995–2012, The Election Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 2022-06-24

[6] Anthony Lewis (4 July 2019). "Plaid's Eleri Griffiths wins Rhondda ward by-election in Rhondda Cynon Taf from Labour". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[7] "By-election win for Labour". South Wales Echo. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2022 – via PressReader.

[8] Anthony Lewis (29 April 2021). "Six candidates contest Llantwit Fardre by-election". Wales News Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[9] "Llantwit Fardre ward by election". Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[10] Anthony Lewis (12 May 2021). "Labour wins Penrhiwceiber council by-election". Wales News Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[11] Anthony Lewis (16 July 2021). "The three candidates standing to represent Tyn y Nant ward on RCT Council". Wales Online. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

[12] "By-election in Tyn-y-Nant ward". Rhondda Cynon Taf County Borough Council. Retrieved 24 June 2022.

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