The fourth election to Dyfed County Council was held in May 1985.^[1] It was preceded by the 1981 election and followed by the 1989 election. Once again, there were a number of unopposed returns, particularly in rural parts of the county.^[2]

Overview

The Independents remained the largest party but lost ground to Labour.

Ward Results (Cardiganshire)

Aberaeron No.1

Aberaeon No.1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	John Austen Rees	1,314	55.9
	Liberal	Evan Evans Williams*	1,036	44.1
Majority				11.8
Turnout
	Independent gain from Liberal		Swing

Aberaeron No. 2

Aberaeon No.2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Liberal	William Ainsleigh Jones*	1,668
	Independent	M.J. Pattenden	176
Majority
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Aberaeron No.3

Aberaeron No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Plaid Cymru	John Rheinallt Evans	831	52.6
	Independent	M.D. Skyme	608	38.5
	Conservative	J.R. Scott	141	8.9
Majority				14.1
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru gain from Liberal		Swing

Aberystwyth No.1

Aberystwyth No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	Griffith Eric Hughes*	1,011	57.2
	Independent	Owen Henry Jones	757	42.8
Majority				14.4
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Aberystwyth No.2

Aberystwyth No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Ceredig Jones	419	43.5	-1.3
	Labour	Peter James Goodman*	354	40.1	-9.6
	Plaid Cymru	Gareth Butler	219	21.9	+6.8
	Green	Brian Kingzett	42	4.0	+4.0
Majority				6.2
Turnout
	Liberal gain from Labour		Swing

Aberystwyth No. 3

Aberystwyth No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Griffiths Evans*	957	79.7	+24.7
	Green	C.G.B. Simpson	244	20.3	+20.3
Majority				59.4
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No. 1

Aberystwyth Rural No. 1 1981
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	John Gatty P. Lewis*	1,097	65.1
	Independent	Ll.D. Jones	588	34.9
Majority				30.2
Turnout
	Liberal hold		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No.2

Aberystwyth Rural No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Richard Wynn Cowell*	832	45.7
	Plaid Cymru	Marian Eluned Jenkins	508	27.9
	Labour	Howard Williams	482	26.5
Majority				17.8
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Aberystwyth Rural No.3

Aberystwyth Rural No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Griffith Gwynfor Jones*	1,062	43.8	-18.2
	Liberal	Peredur Wynne Eklund	978	40.4	+40.4
	Labour	C. Stevens	382	15.8
Majority
Turnout
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Cardigan

Cardigan 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Alban Dewi Lewis*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Lampeter

Lampeter 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Robert George Harris*	Unopposed
	Labour hold

Teifiside No.1

Teifiside No.1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.G.E. Davies*	Unopposed
	Independent hold

Teifiside No.2

Teifiside No.2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	Hywel Heulyn Roberts*	874
	Alliance (SDP)	W.M. Jones	417
Majority
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Teifiside No.3

Teifiside No.3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	R.E. Morris*	Unopposed
	Liberal hold

Tregaron

Tregaron 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	William Gethin Bennett	1,266
	Liberal	M.J. Morgan	966
Majority
Turnout
	Independent gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

Ward Results (Carmarthenshire)

Ammanford No. 1

Ammanford No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Howard Cooke*	714	56.1	-12.0
	Plaid Cymru	M. James	558	43.9	+12.0
Majority				12.2	-24.0
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

Ammanford No.2

Ammanford No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Myrddin Evans*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Berwick

Berwick 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Eunydd Ashley Brynmor Thomas	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port East

Burry Port East 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Thomas Elwyn Marks	513	56.9	+0.7
	Plaid Cymru	E.J. McKibbin	389	43.1	+34.3
Majority				13.8	-19.4
Turnout				35.6	-10.1
	Labour hold		Swing

Burry Port West

Burry Port West 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Bryan Joseph Rayner*	617	54.4	+10.1
	Independent	Hugh Jones-Parry	339	29.9
	Plaid Cymru	D. Williams	178	15.7	+3.2
Majority				24.5	+23.4
Turnout				52.7	+3.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Carmarthen No. 1

The Liberal candidate had won the seat from Labour at a by-election

Carmarthen No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Kenneth Bryan Maynard	1,295	52.3	-2.0
	Liberal	Harry M. Lloyd*	1,112	47.3
Majority				5.0
Turnout
	Labour gain from Liberal		Swing

Carmarthen No. 2

Carmarthen No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Elfed Thomas*	540	43.5	+5.7
	Labour	Peter Short	447	36.0	-0.1
	Conservative	Robert Smith Jones	220	20.5	+12.5
Majority				7.5	+5.8
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen No. 3

Carmarthen No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Roy Nicholl*	838	53.1	-15.5
	Labour	D.F. Dale-Jones	741	46.9	+15.5
Majority				6.2	-31.0
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No.1

Carmarthen Rural No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Ratepayer	William J. Wyn Evans*	1,112	39.9	-13.5
	Labour	Terry Davies	978	35.1	-11.5
	Independent	V. Thomas	400	14.4	+14.4
	Plaid Cymru	John Gareth James	294	10.6	+10.6
Majority				4.8	-2.0
Turnout
	Ratepayer hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No.2

Carmarthen Rural No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Philip Ian Evans*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 3

Carmarthen Rural No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	E.T. Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 4

Carmarthen Rural No. 4 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. Arthur J. Harries*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 5

Carmarthen Rural No. 5 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Dr William Edmund V.J. Davies*	1,436	59.0	-22.6
	Independent	C.P. Higginson	997	41.0
Majority				18.0	-45.0
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 6

Carmarthen Rural No. 6 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J.L. James*	1,411	59.8	-30.7
	Alliance (SDP)	Pamela Ann Palmer	491	20.8	+20.8
	Independent	Lyn Luke ap Trin Davies	456	19.3
Majority				39.0	-42.0
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Carmarthen Rural No. 7

Carmarthen Rural No. 7 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	John Gibbin	1,750	82.9
	Labour	D.K. Jenkins	362	17.1	+17.1
Majority				65.8
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Cwmamman

The sitting member was deselected by the Labour Party but chose to contest the seat again.

Cwmamman 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Labour	W.J. Davies*	857	42.0	+42.0
	Labour	S. Williams	625	30.6	-29.7
	Plaid Cymru	John Edwin Lewis	558	27.4	-12.3
Majority				11.4
Turnout
	Independent Labour gain from Labour		Swing

Felinfoel

Felinfoel 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Arthur Cledwyn Francis*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Hengoed

Hengoed 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Irwyn Phillips*	858	71.6	-1.8
	Labour	H. Palmer	340	28.4	+1.8
Majority				43.2	-3.6
Turnout				56.3	-10.9
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.1

Llandeilo No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W.D.R. Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.2

Llandeilo No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.T. Davies*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.3

Llandeilo No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	V.E.D. Price*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.4

Llandeilo No. 4 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Ken Williams*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.5

Llandeilo No. 5 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Gerald J. Earl*	1,233	50.8	-21.8
	Labour	D. Phillips	1,193	49.2	+21.8
Majority			40	1.6	-43.5
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Llandeilo No.6

Llandeilo No. 6 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance (Liberal)	W.R. Price	688	28.0	+28.0
	Independent	Gwyn Jones*	631	25.7
	Plaid Cymru	D. Richards	486	19.8	+19.8
	Independent	T. Davies	457	18.6	+18.6
	Conservative	K. Mitchell	198	8.0	+8.0
Majority				2.3
Turnout
	Alliance gain from Independent		Swing

Llanedi

Llanedi 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	I.L. Foulkes*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.1

Llanelli No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Harry J. Richards*	850	58.9	+2.6
	Labour	E. Davies	594	41.1	-2.6
Majority				17.8
Turnout				37.8	-5.8
	Independent hold		Swing

Llanelli No.2

Llanelli No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Brinley Owen*	531	64.9	+9.8
	Alliance (SDP)	R.C. Rosser	287	35.1	+35.1
Majority				29.8	-2.5
Turnout				38.3	-12.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No. 3

Llanelli No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Grismond J. Williams*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.4

Llanelli No. 4 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Martin Philip Morris*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.5

Llanelli No. 5 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David Charles Prothero*	343	66.0	-15.8
	Alliance (SDP)	E. Jones	177	34.0	+34.0
Majority				32.0	-31.8
Turnout				43.4	-3.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No. 6

Llanelli No. 6 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	J.G. Hill	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanelli No.7

Llanelli No. 7 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gerald Frederick Meyler	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Llangennech

Llangennech 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Hywel Teifi Edwards*	823	75.9	+18.0
	Green	Caroline Cooke	261	24.1	+24.1
Majority				51.8	+36.1
Turnout				40.9	-12.9
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Llan-non

Llannon 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	George Malcolm Davies	848	47.3
	Independent	Philip Brinley Davies	568	31.7
	Plaid Cymru	Dorian Castagna-Davies	375	20.9	+20.9
Majority				15.6	-16.7
Turnout				42.8	-9.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Newcastle Emlyn No.1

Newcastle Emlyn No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	William Michael Davies	1,215	54.8
	Independent	Lyndon Lloyd Jones	1,019	45.2
Majority				9.6
Turnout
	Independent gain from Labour		Swing

Newcastle Emlyn No.2

The Alliance candidate had stood for Labour at the two previous elections.

Newcastle Emlyn No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Evans*	1,961	70.5	-10.6
	Alliance (SDP)	Peter Appleton Wilde	820	29.5	+29.5
Majority				41.0	-21.2
Turnout
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembrey

Pembrey 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Hugh Samuel Peregrine*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pontyberem

Pontyberem 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Howard Jones*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Trimsaran

Trimsaran 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. Deasy	599	54.1	-21.8
	Plaid Cymru	I. Beynon	444	40.1	+22.2
	Alliance (SDP)	V. Bevan	65	5.9	+5.9
Majority				14.0	-44.0
Turnout				57.9	-6.0
	Labour hold		Swing

Westfa

Westfa 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D.R. Griffiths*	775	66.8	+8.2
	Plaid Cymru	Dyfrig Thomas	385	33.2	-8.2
Majority				33.6	+16.4
Turnout				35.2	-4.8
	Labour hold		Swing

Ward Results (Pembrokeshire)

Cemaes No. 1

Cemaes No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Halket Jones	1,501	68.5	+2.9
	Conservative	S.H.H. Davies	487	22.2	-12.2
	Alliance (SDP)	C. Lovegrove	204	9.3	+9.3
Majority				46.3	+15.0
Turnout				51.1	-7.7
	Independent hold		Swing

Cemaes No. 2

Cemaes No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.R. George*	1,084	85.4	-2.0
	Green	Marilyn Smith	186	14.6	+14.6
Majority				70.8	-4.2
Turnout				48.3	-21.7
	Independent hold		Swing

Cemaes No. 3

Cemaes No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David John Thomas*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 1

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	J.P.A. Maddocks*	unopposed
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 2

The sitting member was elected as an Independent in 1981

Fishguard and Goodwick No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Lloyd Evans	1,193	79.4
	Liberal	H. Williams*	309	20.6
Majority				58.8
Turnout				58.5	+11.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest No.1

Haverfordwest No.1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Thomas G. Parry*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest No. 2

Haverfordwest No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D.S. Grey*	611	50.5	+7.3
	Independent	W.W. Ladd	600	49.5	+19.1
Majority				1.0	-11.9
Turnout				30.1	-8.9
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 1

Haverfordwest Rural No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	David Gareth Beechey Lloyd*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 2

Haverfordwest Rural No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	William Henry Hitchings	724	37.8
	Independent	George Charles Grey	443	23.2
	Independent	J.R. Lewis	271	14.2
	Labour	W. Stocker	252	13.2
	Independent	James Lester Brock	223	11.7
Majority				14.6
Turnout				53.8
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 3

Haverfordwest Rural No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	J. James*	1,100	72.5	-1.8
	Independent	J. Roberts	418	27.5
Majority				45.0	-3.8
Turnout				38.6	-8.4
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 4

Haverfordwest Rural No. 4 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	T.R.L. Martin*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Haverfordwest Rural No. 5

Haverfordwest Rural No. 5 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	H.W. Phillips*	818	52.3
	Independent	A.J. Webb	746	47.7
Majority				4.6
Turnout				44.0
	Independent hold		Swing

Milford Haven No. 1

Milford Haven No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	J. Sizer	645	35.4
	Independent	E.G. Setterfield	501	27.5
	Independent	T.W.H. Byard*	268	14.7
	Conservative	S.J. Cole	261	14.3
	Independent	William John Kenneth Williams	145	8.0
Majority				7.9
Turnout				50.6
	Liberal gain from Independent		Swing

Milford Haven No. 2

Milford Haven No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Basil Ralph Woodruff*	884	50.5	-0.2
	Labour	Alun Emanuel Byrne	747	47.7	-6.6
	Independent	V.H. Buckley	118	6.7	+6.7
Majority				7.8	+6.4
Turnout				45.0	-8.6
	Independent hold		Swing

Milford Haven No. 3

Milford Haven No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David John Adams*	585	48.6	-15.5
	Independent	W.J. Owston	491	40.8
	Plaid Cymru	D. Hibley-Williams	128	10.6	+10.6
Majority				7.8	-20.3
Turnout				41.5	-2.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Narberth No. 1

Narberth No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Thomas Elwyn John*	1,183	53.7
	Independent	G.C. Rowe	1,019	46.3
Majority				7.4
Turnout				38.3
	Independent hold		Swing

Narberth No. 2

Narberth No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Joan Asby	866	56.7	+16.6
	Independent	C.W. Johnson	660	43.3
Majority				13.4
Turnout				45.4	-6.9
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Neyland and Llanstadwell

Neyland and Llanstadwell 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W.G.H. James*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pembroke No. 1

Pembroke No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	F.H. Levesley	917	52.1	+5.8
	Independent	M. Mathias*	843	47.9	-5.8
Majority				4.2
Turnout				43.3	+2.7
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pembroke No. 2

Pembroke No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	I.E. Morgan	1,033	69.4	+13.3
	Independent	E. Reed	455	30.6
Majority				38.8	+26.6
Turnout				35.1	+3.5
	Labour gain from Independent		Swing

Pembroke No. 3

Pembroke No. 3 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Nicholas Richard Ainger*	unopposed
	Labour hold		Swing

Pembroke Rural No. 1

Pembroke Rural No. 1 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Rev G.R. Ball*	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

Pembroke Rural No. 2

Pembroke Rural No. 2 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Norman Richard Parry	654	54.5	+6.5
	Independent	D.R. Pennington	546	45.5
Majority				9.0
Turnout				37.4	-5.8
	Independent hold		Swing

Tenby

Tenby 1985
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Alliance (SDP)	John Pullin	606	38.1
	Independent	C.J. Evans	504	31.7
	Labour	N.R. Spence	352	22.1
	Independent	W. Lawrence	128	8.1
Majority				6.4
Turnout				43.8
	SDP gain from Independent		Swing

References

^ "Dyfed County Council Election Results 1973-1993" (PDF). The Elections Cente, Plymouth University. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
^ "Labour's four-square cheer". Western Mail. 4 May 1983.

v t e Council elections in the preserved county of Dyfed
Carmarthenshire County Council	1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022
Ceredigion County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022
Pembrokeshire County Council	1995 1999 2004 2008 2012 2017 2022
Dyfed County Council	1973 1977 1981 1985 1989 1993 Abolished
Carmarthen District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
Ceredigion District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
Dinefwr Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
Llanelli Borough Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
Preseli Pembrokeshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished
South Pembrokeshire District Council	1973 1976 1979 1983 1987 1991 Abolished

v t e (1984 ←) 1985 United Kingdom local elections (→ 1986)
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Sui generis	Isles of Scilly