Unitary Authority of Merthyr Tydfil elections from 1995 to 2017

Summary

A total of 11 Unitary Authority Wards held elections in Merthyr Tydfil between 1995 and 2017. The database holds elections for 6 separate years over the 23 year period. Merthyr Tydfil held whole council elections once every four years. This can create a situation where an unhappy electorate can replace an entire council in a single election. As a result, these councils can appear to be more volatile than those with partial council elections.

Participation

Average participation in Merthyr Tydfil over the 23 years was 42.73%. This was 2.83 percentage points higher than the average for all Unitary Authority Councils holding elections in the same year (39.90%). Turnout was higher than the average for Unitary Authority councils in 1999 when it was 12.20 percentage points higher. Turnout was lower than the average for Unitary Authority councils in 2004 when it was 3.42 percentage points lower.

The Party System

This section examines the party system in Merthyr Tydfil that existed in terms of number of seats won by each group in each election. In the analysis below, a party is considered to have won an election for the authority if it wins more seats than any other group. The extent to which a single party group wins all of the elections during the period is a measure of the dominance of a single party.

Labour candidates won more seats than the other candidates in over half of elections held between 1995 and 2017. These candidates won the most seats in 4 of the 6 elections held. After Labour candidates, the next most successful group over the 23 years were Independent candidates. These candidates won the most seats in 2 of the 6 elections held.

Number of Years Party Won Most Seats

Party Winning Most Seats by Year