1970 Neath Rural District Council election

An election to the Neath Rural District Council in West Glamorgan, Wales was held on 7 May 1970.^[1] It was preceded by the 1967 election, and was the last election to the authority as the Rural District Council was abolished at the 1974 re-organization of local government in Wales

Overview of the results

The election was held shortly before the 197 General Election, which Labour was at the time tipped to win. A Plaid Cymru challenge did not materialize.

Candidates

At these final elections to the RDC, the profile of candidates was similar to three years previously with a number of long-serving Labour councillors again returned unopposed.^[2] While the Communist Party contested Seven Sisters, there was no candidate in their former stronghold of Onllwyn. At Rhigos, Independent councillor Henry Walters was returned unopposed as a Labour councillor.

Outcome

Independents gained two seats at the expense of Labour while losing another two, resulting in an unchanged representation overall.

Ward results

Baglan Higher (one seat)

Baglan Higher 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Lilian Jones*	143
Independent	Jephtha Emanuel Ioan Johns	42
Labour hold		Swing

Blaengwrach (two seats)

Blaengwrach 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Clifford Graham Jones*	Unopposed
Independent	David Emanuel Thomas*	Unopposed
Independent hold		Swing
Independent hold		Swing

Blaenrhonddan, Bryncoch Ward (one seat)

Blaenrhonddan, Bryncoch Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Royston Jones*	1,236
Plaid Cymru	David Huw John	460
Labour hold		Swing

Blaenrhonddan, Cadoxton Ward (one seat)

Blaenrhonddan, Cadoxton Ward 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David John Davies*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Blaenrhonddan, Cilfrew Ward (one seat)

Blaenrhonddan, Cilfrew Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Thomas Edward Rees	197
Labour	Eric Royle Fletcher	175
Independent	Brian Parry Wolfe	46
Independent gain from		Swing

Clyne (one seats)

Clyne 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Merfyn Jeffreys*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc, South Ward (one seat)

Coedffranc, South Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Thomas L. Thomas*	609
Independent	Ashley Clifford Tremaine Hames	128
Independent	Ronald James	128
Communist	Glaslyn Morgan	84
Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc, East Central (one seat)

Coedffranc East Central 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Martin Thomas*	521
Labour	Dudley Florance	202
Independent hold		Swing

Coedffranc North Ward (one seat)

Coedffranc North Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Wilfred Edgar Jones*	547
Independent	John Alfred Frederick Wilsher	460
Labour hold		Swing

Coedffranc West Ward (one seat)

Coedffranc West Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Eric Vernon Matthews*	312
Labour	Leslie Ball	170
Independent hold		Swing

Coedffranc West Central (one seat)

Coedffranc West Central 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	William David*	521
Labour	Arthur Williams	142
Independent hold		Swing

Dyffryn Clydach (two seats)

Dyffryn Clydach 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Dewi Thomas*	625
Labour	Norman Richard Thomas	567
Independent	Idris Roy Rowlands	421
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Dulais Higher, Crynant Ward (one seat)

Dulais Higher, Crynant Ward 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Emlyn Davies*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Dulais Higher, Onllwyn Ward (one seat)

Dulais Higher, Onllwyn Ward 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Richards*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Dulais Higher, Seven Sisters Ward (two seats)

Dulais Higher, Seven Sisters Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Arthur Williams*	712
Labour	Richard Davies*	690
Communist	Chris Evans	349
Communist	Lynwood Morgan	238
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Dulais Lower (one seat)

Dulais Lower 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Myrddin Morris*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Michaelstone Higher (one seat)

Michaelstone Higher 1970
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gwilym Thomas Morgan*	Unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Neath Higher (three seats)

Neath Higher 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	Lewis Cynlais Adams*	1,204
Labour	Robert Henry Dyer*	857
Labour	Benjamin Thomas	712
Labour	Annie Jeffreys	607
Plaid Cymru	Thomas Penry Evans	543
Independent	Doris Mary Morris	351
Independent hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing
Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Neath Lower (one seat)

Neath Lower 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Independent	David Haydn Evans	92
Labour	Gildas Thomas	78
Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Resolven, Resolven Ward (two seats)

Resolven, Resolven Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	William John Powell*	816
Labour	Melvin Dilkes	641
Plaid Cymru	Arthur David Griffiths	275
Plaid Cymru	John Harris	253
Labour hold		Swing
Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Resolven, Rhigos Ward (two seats)

Resolven, Rhigos Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Henry Walters	Unopposed
Labour	Iorwerth Williams*	Unopposed
Labour gain from Independent		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

Resolven, Tonna Ward (two seats)

Resolven, Tonna Ward 1970
	Candidate	Votes
Labour	Catherine Hopkins*	Unopposed
Labour	Idris Thomas*	Unopposed
Labour hold		Swing
Labour hold		Swing

References

^ "Labour Retains Grip". Neath Guardian. 7 May 1970. p. 7. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
^ "Contests in 13 out of 22 Neath Rural Wards". Neath Guardian. 23 April 1970. p. 2. Retrieved 28 January 2023.

[NG_7-5-70_results-1] "Labour Retains Grip". Neath Guardian. 7 May 1970. p. 7. Retrieved 26 January 2023.

[NG_23-4-70-2] "Contests in 13 out of 22 Neath Rural Wards". Neath Guardian. 23 April 1970. p. 2. Retrieved 28 January 2023.

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