Local government of Powys, Wales
Powys County Council (Welsh: Cyngor Sir Powys) is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells.
Political makeup
All up elections took place every four years, between 1995 and 2012, when then council moved along with the rest of Wales to a five year cycle.
The first election was held in 1995 and the most recent was on 4 May 2017.
Throughout its modern existence Powys County Council has been led by non-aligned Independent councillors. In the run up to the May 2008 elections the majority Independent councillors were divided into a (ruling) Powys Independent Group and a smaller Montgomeryshire Independent Group.[1] The non-political party position of the council was broken in April 2006 when the Labour councillors formed an official political group.[1]
Current composition
Following the 2017 local elections a governing coalition was formed by the independent councillors and the Welsh Conservatives. Rosemarie Harris was elected as the first female leader of the council.[2] After the 2022 local elections, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest group followed by independents.[3]
Historic results
| Year
|
Independent
|
Labour
|
Conservative
|
Liberal Democrat
|
Plaid Cymru
|
Green
|
Notes
|
| 2022
|
17
|
9
|
14
|
24
|
3
|
1
|
Seats reduced from 73 to 68. Control TBC
|
| 2017
|
30
|
7
|
19
|
13
|
2
|
1
|
Independent-Conservative coalition
|
| 2012
|
48
|
6
|
10
|
9
|
0
|
0
|
Independent majority controlled
|
| 2008
|
45
|
4
|
9
|
15
|
0
|
0
|
Independent majority controlled
|
| 2004
|
54
|
4
|
0
|
15
|
0
|
0
|
Independent majority controlled
|
| 1999
|
57
|
6
|
0
|
10
|
0
|
0
|
Independent majority controlled
|
| 1995
|
62
|
10
|
3
|
8
|
1
|
0
|
Independent majority controlled
|
Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in Notes column.
Electoral wards
Powys is administered by Powys County Council and has 68 elected councillors representing 60 council wards. Although it is a unitary authority, the highway functions of the council, along with the allocation of small grants, are delegated to the three Shire Committees. Brecknockshire has 24 councillors, Radnorshire has 15 and Montgomeryshire has 34.[6]
Local elections take place every five years. Some of the electoral wards are coterminous with communities (parishes) of the same name. There are 112 communities in the principal area. Nearly all communities have a local community council.
The following table lists the council wards, the political group representing them, and the communities they cover. Communities with a community council are indicated with a '*':
