# 2012 Welsh local elections

The 2012 Welsh local elections took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of all twenty-two local authorities in Wales. They were held alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. The previous elections were held in 2008.
The Labour Party made gains at the expense of the other three major parties and of independents. Labour won majority control of ten councils—up eight from the 2008 local elections—while two remained under the control of independents and nine councils had no overall control.
The Welsh Government announced that elections for Anglesey council would be postponed to May 2013.

## Results

| Party | Votes | % | +/- | Councils | +/- | Seats | +/- |
| Labour | 304,466 | 35.6% | 8.6% | 10 | 8 | 577 | 237 |
| Independent | 201,110 | 23.5% | 1.5% | 2 | 1 | 286 | 25 |
| Plaid Cymru | 134,201 | 15.7% | 1.0% | 0 | | 158 | 40 |
| Conservative | 108,580 | 12.7% | 3.2% | 0 | 2 | 105 | 68 |
| Liberal Democrats | 68,619 | 8.0% | 5.2% | 0 | | 72 | 92 |
| Green | 10,310 | 1.2% | 0.5% | 0 | | 0 | |
| UKIP | 2,552 | 0.3% | 0.1% | 0 | | 2 | 2 |
| Other | 25,542 | 3.0% | 1.3% | 0 | | 25 | 15 |
| No overall control | n/a | n/a | n/a | 9 | 5 | n/a | n/a |
For comparative purposes, the table above shows changes since 2008 excluding Anglesey, which was not up for election.

## Councils

| Council | 2008 result | 2012 result | Details |
| Blaenau Gwent | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Bridgend | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Caerphilly | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Cardiff | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Carmarthenshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Ceredigion | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Conwy | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Denbighshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Flintshire | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Gwynedd | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |
| Merthyr Tydfil | Independent | Labour gain | Details |
| Monmouthshire | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Neath Port Talbot | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Newport | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Pembrokeshire | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Powys | Independent | Independent hold | Details |
| Rhondda Cynon Taff | Labour | Labour hold | Details |
| Swansea | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Torfaen | No overall control | Labour gain | Details |
| Vale of Glamorgan | Conservative | No overall control gain | Details |
| Wrexham | No overall control | No overall control hold | Details |

### Isle of Anglesey

Elections to the Isle of Anglesey County Council were postponed for a year, to May 2013, because of a review of electoral arrangements for the island. The result of the postponed election saw the Independents lose their majority, with Plaid Cymru hoping to form a coalition with Labour.

## Opinion polling

| Date(s) conducted | Polling organisation/client | Sample size | Lab | Con | PC | Lib Dem | Others | Lead |
| 3 May 2012 | 2012 Welsh local elections | 853,593 | 36.0% | 12.8% | 15.8% | 8.1% | 27.3% | 20.2% |
| 12-16 Apr 2012 | YouGov | 1039 | 48% | 17% | 14% | 7% | 14% | 31% |
| 1 May 2008 | 2008 Welsh local elections | 950,216 | 27.0% | 15.9% | 16.7% | 13.2% | 28.2% | 11.1% |