Cenarth (electoral ward)

Cenarth () is an electoral ward, representing the communities of Newcastle Emlyn and Cenarth, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is strangely named Cenarth, rather than Newcastle Emlyn as Newcastle Emlyn has the larger population. A similar ward for local elections prior to 1987 was named Newcastle Emlyn.

Profile

In 2014, the Cenarth electoral ward had an electorate of xx. The total population was xx, of whom very few were born in Wales. Few of the population were able to speak Welsh.

Current Representation

The Cenarth Ward is a single-member ward for the purposes of Carmarthenshire County Council elections. Since 2012 it has been represented by Plaid Cymru councillor Hazel Evans.

Recent history

The first election to the new unitary Carmarthenshire County Council took place in 1995. An Independent candidate was returned unopposed.

Cenarth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Alan Wyndham Jones	unopposed
	Independent hold		Swing

In 1999 the seat was captured by Plaid Cymru.

Cenarth 1999

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	John David George Crossley	434
	Independent	Trevor Glyn Bryant	342
	Independent	Alan Wyndham Jones*	292
Majority			92
	Plaid Cymru gain from Independent		Swing

In 2004 the sitting Plaid Cymru councillor contested the neighbouring Llangeler Ward and Cenarth was won by an Independent. The sitting Plaid Cymru councillor, John Crossley, chose to contest Llangeler and the party did not field a candidate, leading to the loss of the seat to the Independents.

Cenarth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Haydn Jones	368
	Independent	Thomas Hesford	350
	Independent	Peter Lewis	155
	Labour	Michael Barron	155
Majority			18
	Independent gain from Plaid Cymru		Swing

In 2008, the seat was held by the sitting member.

Cenarth 2008

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	William Haydn Jones*	653
	Plaid Cymru	Susan Jones	190
Majority			463
	Independent hold		Swing

By the 2012 Haydn Jones had died and the seat was won at a by-election by Plaid Cymru. Plaid held the seat at the following election by a large majority. Hazel Evans had captured the seat in a by-election following the death of the previous Independent member, Haydn Jones.

Cenarth 2012

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Plaid Cymru	Hazel Anna Louise Evans*	670
	Conservative	Henrietta Elizabeth Hensher	97
Majority			573
	Plaid Cymru hold		Swing

History

County Council Elections

An area roughly equating to the current ward elected a member to Carmarthenshire County Council from 1889 until its abolition in 1974. The ward was known as Newcastle Emlyn.

With the formation of Dyfed County Council, Cenarth and Newcastle Emlyn were part of the Carmarthen Rural No.6 Ward. This ward was renamed Llangeler in 1989. This ward was considerably included the current Llangeler Ward.

When the unitary Carmarthenshire County Council was formed in 1995 a ward based on similar boundaries to those in existence between 1889 and 1974 was re-established.

District Council Elections

From 1973 until 1996, Cenarth formed an electoral ward for the purposes of elections to Carmarthen District Council. This ward was known as Newcastle Emlyn until 1987.

External links

• "Cenarth Ward: Electoral Division Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 25 September 2014.