# South Glamorgan County Council

South Glamorgan County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996.

## History

Local government in England and Wales was reorganised in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The old administrative county of Glamorgan was divided into three new counties and Glamorgan County Council was abolished. The new county of South Glamorgan was created covering the former county borough of Cardiff, (which had been independent from Glamorgan County Council), together with the southern parts of Glamorgan and the parish of St Mellons from Monmouthshire. South Glamorgan County Council came into existence on 1 April 1974. There were two lower-tier district councils within South Glamorgan: Cardiff City Council (later Cardiff Council) and the Vale of Glamorgan Borough Council (later the Vale of Glamorgan Council).
Ahead of the 1970 general election, the Labour Party, had proposed splitting Glamorgan into two counties, East and West. However, the Conservative Party prevailed at the election and proceeded to divide the county into three, hoping South Glamorgan would become a Conservative-controlled administration.
South Glamorgan County Council was abolished in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. Its functions passed to the two district councils of Cardiff and the Vale of Glamorgan, which became unitary authorities.

## Political control

The first election to the county council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Despite the intentions of the Conservatives who created South Glamorgan, the Labour Party gained a majority of the seats on the council at the first election. Labour held the council from 1974 to 1977 and from 1981 to 1996, with the Conservatives holding power for the four intervening years.
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1974–1977 |
| Conservative | 1977–1981 |
| Labour | 1981–1996 |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council included:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Jack Brooks | Labour | 1974 | 1977 |
| Hugh Ferguson Jones | Conservative | 1977 | 15 Jun 1979 |
| Bob Morgan | Labour | 1981 | 1989 |
| Jack Brooks | Labour | 1989 | 1992 |
| Russell Goodway | Labour | 1992 | 1996 |
Emyr Currie-Jones was the initial Chairman of the Council from 1973 until 1975.

## Elections

Elections were held every four years:
| Year | Seats | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Plaid Cymru | Others | Notes |
| 1973 | 80 | 42 | 36 | 0 | 0 | 2 | |
| 1977 | 80 | 15 | 64 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 1981 | 80 | 41 | 35 | 3 | 1 | 0 | |
| 1985 | 62 | 34 | 18 | 9 | 1 | 0 | New division boundaries. |
| 1989 | 62 | 40 | 13 | 6 | 1 | 2 | |
| 1993 | 62 | 40 | 12 | 8 | 1 | 1 | |
* ↑ Includes Liberals and SDP pre-1988

## Premises

The county council was initially headquartered in a building on Newport Road, Cardiff. In 1986 the council moved to a purpose-built County Hall at Atlantic Wharf in Cardiff. Since the county council's abolition in 1996, County Hall has been used as offices by Cardiff Council.