Carmarthenshire County Council

The administrative county of Carmarthen and the first Carmarthenshire County Council was established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888. The first elections were held in January 1889. The council was headquartered in Llandovery until it moved to Carmarthen in 1907. Construction of a new County Hall started in 1939 but, due to the World War, was not completed until 1955. The elections were: • 1889 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1892 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1895 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1898 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1901 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1904 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1907 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1910 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1913 Carmarthenshire County Council election • 1946 Carmarthenshire County Council election The county council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, with the creation of Dyfed. A new unitary authority of Carmarthenshire was later established, as a result of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, which came into force on 1 April 1996. The council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at Carmarthen Guildhall (then also known as the Shire Hall). By 1895 the council had adopted the pattern of holding meetings in rotation at Carmarthen, Llandeilo and Llanelli, and the council's clerk was based in Llandovery. Construction of a new County Hall in Carmarthen started in 1939 but, due to the Second World War, was not completed until 1955. The Liberals continued to dominate the council until the 1920s, from which time most rural seats were held by independents, while the Labour Party dominated the industrial part of the county. The original Carmarthenshire County Council was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, with the area becoming part of the county of Dyfed, which also covered the former counties of Pembrokeshire and Cardiganshire. From 1974 until 1996 the area of the former county of Carmarthenshire was split into the three districts of Carmarthen, Dinefwr, and Llanelli, with Dyfed County Council providing county-level services. In 1996 the councils established in 1974 were all abolished under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994, and Carmarthenshire County Council was re-established as a unitary authority for the area. == Political control ==

Plaid Cymru won a majority of the council's seats at the 2022 election but lost its majority following a defection in May 2024, since when the council has been under no overall control. The first election to the re-established council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows: Leadership The leaders of the council since 1996 have been: The council's chief executive since 2019 has been Wendy Walters. She succeeded Mark James, who had held the post for 17 years. Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to August 2025, the composition of the council was: Of the independent councillors, 12 sit together as the "Independent Group" and the other six are unaffiliated to any group. The council's cabinet is made up of Plaid Cymru and Independent Group councillors. The next election is due in 2027. ==Elections==

Elections take place every five years. The last election was held on 5 May 2022. Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in Notes column. ==Electoral divisions==

The county is divided into 51 electoral wards returning 75 councillors. In July 2021 Welsh Government accepted a number of ward change proposals by the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales, the changes gave a better parity of representation. Thirty-four wards remained unchanged. Most of these wards are coterminous with communities. Most communities in Carmarthenshire have a community council. For each ward, councillors are elected to sit on Carmarthenshire County Council. The following table lists council wards, community councils and associated geographical areas. Communities with their own community council are marked with a *. ==Premises==

The council meets and has its main offices at County Hall in Carmarthen, which had been completed in 1955 for the original Carmarthenshire County Council, and served as the headquarters of Dyfed County Council between 1974 and 1996. The council has customer service centres in Ammanford, Carmarthen and Llanelli. ==Arms==

{{Infobox COA wide ==References==