Bigyn (electoral ward)

Bigyn is an electoral ward, representing part of the community of Llanelli, Carmarthenshire, Wales. It is a three-member ward for the purposes of elections to Carmarthenshire County Council, with the number of councillors being increased from two to three for the elections held in May 2022.

Profile

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In 2014, the Bigyn electoral ward had an electorate of 4,931.[1] The total population was 6,750, of whom 83% were born in Wales. 23.0% of the population were able to speak Welsh.[1]

Current Representation

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The Bigyn Ward is a three-member ward for the purposes of Carmarthenshire County Council elections. Since 2022 it has been represented by Independent Michael Cranham and Labour Party councillors Janet Williams and Philip Warlow.[2]

Carmarthen County Council elections

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The first election to the new unitary Carmarthenshire County Council took place in 1995. Bigyn Ward had three seats, all of which were won by the Labour Party. Martin Morris, the sitting member for the ward on Dyfed County Council, was elected alongside Sandra Cooke and David Prothero, a former county councillor. Three sitting members of Llanelli Borough Council were unsuccessful.

Bigyn 1995
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Martin Philip Morris+ 1,090
Labour Sandra Melita Cooke 924
Labour David Charles Prothero 902
Independent William J Marks* 693
Liberal Democrats Margaret N Burree* 676
Independent Richard Ivor John* 531
Labour gain from Independent Swing
Labour gain from Liberal Democrats Swing
Labour gain from Independent Swing

At the 1999, the boundaries remained unchanged but the number of seats were reduced from three to two. Martin Morros contested the Tyisha Ward, where he was successful, allowing his two colleagues to be returned for Bigyn.

Bigyn 1999
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sandra Melita Cooke* 1,172
Labour David Charles Prothero* 1,077
Liberal Democrats Margaret Eileen Evans 856
Liberal Democrats Peter Buckley Jones 724
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

Labour again held both seats in 2004.

Bigyn
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Sandra Melita Cooke* 728
Labour David Charles Prothero* 631
Plaid Cymru Michael Burns 495
Independent Brian Davies 410
Independent Lawrence Jenkins 351
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

In 2008, Labour fared badly in the Llanelli area as a whole and lost both seats in Bigyn to Plaid Cymru.

Bigyn 2008
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Plaid Cymru Michael Burns 740
Plaid Cymru Dyfrig Thomas 729
Labour Sandra Melita Cooke* 603
Labour David Charles Prothero* 476
Independent Brian Davies 230
Independent Peter William Dunkley 210
Independent Lawrence Jenkins 202
Independent Dai Rees 84
Plaid Cymru gain from Labour Swing
Plaid Cymru gain from Labour Swing

In 2012, Labour, having held all seats in Bigyn from 1995 until 2008, regained both on a low turnout. Eryl Morgan was previously county councillor for Hengoed.

Bigyn 2012
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Eryl Morgan 609
Labour Jeff Edmunds 565
Plaid Cymru Michael Burns* 523
Plaid Cymru Dyfrig Thomas* 518
Independent Nigel Bevan 401
People First Stephen Bowen 287
Turnout 33.3
Labour gain from Plaid Cymru Swing
Labour gain from Plaid Cymru Swing
Bigyn 2017
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Jeff Edmunds 610 20
Labour Eryl Morgan 575 19
Independent Terry Morris 428 14
Independent Nigel Bevan 414 13
Plaid Cymru Michael Burns 333 11
Plaid Cymru Kathryn Lodge 304 10
Conservative Robert Thomas 236 8
Independent Stephen Bowen 181 6
Turnout 3081 35.48
Labour hold Swing
Labour hold Swing

In May 2022, Independent Michael Cranham and Labour's Janet Williams came first and second. The third place vote was tied, on 596 votes, between the other two Labour candidates Philip Warlow and David Darkin. The winner was decided by the toss of a coin, with Warlow guessing correctly.[2]

Earlier History

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County Council Elections

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The long-standing ward boundaries in Llanelli were redrawn in the 1980s to create five new wards, namely Bigyn, Elli, Glanymor, Lliedi and Tyisha. Each of these wards returned a member to Dyfed County Council in 1989 and 1993.

When the current Carmarthenshire County Council was formed in 1995, the Bigyn Wards remained unchanged and initially returned three members to the new authority. This was reduced to two members in 1999.

District Council Elections

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From 1987, Bigyn formed an electoral ward for the purposes of elections to Llanelli Borough Council. Bigyn returned three members.

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  • "Bigyn Ward: Electoral Division Profile" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2014.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Bigyn Ward: Electoral Division Profile" (PDF). Carmarthenshire County Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 December 2014. Retrieved 15 September 2014.
  2. ^ a b Robert Dalling (6 May 2022). "The full election result for Carmarthenshire as Plaid remains the largest party despite leader losing seat". Wales Online. Retrieved 17 July 2022.