1987 Cardiff City Council election

The 1987 Cardiff City Council election was held on Thursday 7 May 1987 to the district council known as Cardiff City Council, in Cardiff, South Glamorgan, Wales. It took place on the same day as other district council elections in Wales and England. The Conservative Party lost control of the council, though the Labour Party were unable to regain an overall majority.^[1]

The previous Cardiff City Council election took place in 1983 and the next full elections took place in 1991.^[2]

Overview

Prior to the elections the Conservatives had a majority of three on the council. National opinion polls showed Labour was gaining in popularity, particularly on local issues. In Cardiff the Conservatives were also facing a challenge from the SDP-Liberal Alliance.^[3]

All 65 council seats were up for election, in 26 electoral wards. The Conservatives lost ten seats overall, while Labour increased their representation by one. The Alliance won nine additional seats, particularly in the centre of the city, within the boundaries of the Cardiff Central constituency.^[1] Labour became the largest party, though four short of having a majority. The Labour group leader, John Reynolds, pledged to run a minority administration.^[1] A coalition was later agreed between Labour, the Conservatives and the Alliance, with Alliance leader Mike German serving as co-leader alongside Labour's Alun Michael from 1987 until 1991.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]

Prominent councillors who lost their seats included former Lord Mayor, Olwen Watkin; the council's finance chairman, Roy Hennessy; and Tony John, chairman of Cardiff Bus.^[1] In the Gabalfa ward a police investigation was launched into alleged voting irregularities after the winning Labour councillor, David Hutchinson, had increased his majority to four times more than his 1983 result.^[9]

Cardiff Council election result 1987^[2]
	Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes	+/−
Labour	29	1	0	+1	44.6
Conservative	24	0	-10	-10	36.9
Alliance	12	9	0	+9	18.5
Green	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0
Plaid Cymru	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0
Communist	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0
Independent Socialist	0	0	0	±0.0	0.0	81	N/A

Ward Results

Contests were held in all twenty-six wards:^[2]^(a)^[10]^(b)

Adamsdown (2 seats)

Adamsdown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jon Owen Jones	1,196	57.6	+4.2
	Labour	W. Herbert *	1,188
	Alliance	P. Callaghan	407	19.6	+9.3
	Conservative	D. Munton	372	17.9	−5.4
	Conservative	J. Munton	350
	Alliance	J. Berkoles	327
	Plaid Cymru	Sian Edwards	102	4.9	+0.3
Turnout				36.8	+6.2
Registered electors			5,637
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Butetown (1 seat)

Butetown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Gaynor Legall*	700	66.4	−11.2
	Conservative	W. Dickens	269	25.5	+3.1
	Alliance	J. Smith	85	8.1	N/A
Turnout				43.3	+7.6
Registered electors			2,432
	Labour hold		Swing

Caerau (2 seats)

Caerau^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	W. Carling	1,633	46.9	−7.7
	Labour	David Seligman *	1,502
	Alliance	Jacqui Gasson	1,136	32.6	+19.0
	Alliance	J. Williams	980
	Conservative	C. Trigg	593	17.0	−7.6
	Conservative	R. Trigg	587
	Green	G. Jones	119	3.4	−3.9
Turnout				46.3	+10.6
Registered electors			7,516
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Canton (3 seats)

Canton^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	D. Davey *	2,248	39.4	−11.4
	Conservative	Trevor C. Tyrrell *	2,235
	Conservative	I. Jones	2,203
	Labour	G. Williams	2,005	35.2	+2.3
	Labour	J. Southern	1,948
	Labour	R. Hughes	1,885
	Alliance	A. Wigley	827	14.5	+2.5
	Alliance	V. Fox	826
	Alliance	J. Denny	824
	Green	Vivien Turner	384	6.7	N/A
	Plaid Cymru	C. ap Henri	240	4.2	−0.1
Turnout				54.3	+6.8
Registered electors			10,505
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Cathays (3 seats)

Cathays^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Michael German *	1,992	37.6	+0.7
	Labour	Derek Allinson *	1,984	36.9	+4.5
	Alliance	Fred Hornblow *	1,887
	Labour	A. Baker	1,687
	Alliance	M. Sparkes	1,684
	Labour	C. Champion	1,683
	Conservative	N. Hutton	866	16.4	−4.0
	Conservative	E. Morgan	779
	Conservative	S. Phillips	749
	Green	C. von Rhuland	314	5.9	+1.1
	Plaid Cymru	R. Adlam	168	3.2	−2.3
	Plaid Cymru	M. Williams	152
	Plaid Cymru	B. Smith	148
Turnout				51.2	+5.5
Registered electors			10,342
	Alliance hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Alliance hold		Swing

Cyncoed (3 seats)

Cyncoed^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Jenny Randerson *	3,055	50.7	+22.9
	Alliance	N. Lewis	2,797
	Alliance	T. Pickets	2,708
	Conservative	Roy Hennesey *	2,629	43.5	+18.6
	Conservative	Anthony John *	2,518
	Conservative	L. Jones	2,458
	Labour	G. Jenkins	347	5.8	−4.3
	Labour	L. Davis	303
	Labour	H. Ernest	299
Turnout				69.7	+14.1
Registered electors			8,641
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing

Ely (3 seats)

Ely^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	A. Buttle *	2,361	58.8	+11.1
	Labour	M. Buttle *	2,316
	Labour	Charlie Gale *	2,207
	Conservative	A. Clark	842	21.0	−12.1
	Conservative	J. Courtis	819
	Alliance	C. Howe	810	20.2	N/A
	Alliance	N. Reid	791
	Conservative	A. Mullins	788
	Alliance	M. Arcos	762
Turnout				37.0	+8.2
Registered electors			10,848
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Fairwater (3 seats)

Fairwater^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Maxwell Phillips *	2,224	40.1	−6.8
	Labour	T. Ward *	2,161
	Labour	D. Evans *	2,086
	Alliance	M. Davies	1,608	29.0	N/A
	Conservative	C. Ward	1,522	27.4	−5.7
	Conservative	K. Gillard	1,433
	Conservative	D. Norman	1,405
	Alliance	J. Duffield	866
	Alliance	J. Sully	802
	Plaid Cymru	P. Keelan	199	3.6	N/A
Turnout				54.0	+15.3
Registered electors			10,274
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Gabalfa (1 seat)

Gabalfa^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	C. David Hutchinson *	1,296	51.7	+11.7
	Conservative	R. Bevan	574	22.9	−4.2
	Alliance	V. Pearcey	565	22.5	−10.4
	Green	N. Thorne	71	2.8	N/A
Turnout				52.7	+3.7
Registered electors			4,759
	Labour hold		Swing

Grangetown (3 seats)

Grangetown^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	John Smith *	2,213	47.4	−5.5
	Labour	Joan Gallagher	2,144
	Labour	Lynda Thorne	2,110
	Conservative	J. O'Reilly *	1,885	40.4	−6.7
	Conservative	L. Quinn	1,741
	Conservative	F. Arnold	1,574
	Alliance	D. Lewis	568	12.2	N/A
	Alliance	M. Jones	541
	Alliance	P. Verma	529
Turnout				50.7	+5.0
Registered electors			9,201
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Heath (3 seats)

Heath^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	R. Watkiss *	2,757	53.0	−4.4
	Conservative	C. Milsom *	2,747
	Conservative	T. Merridew *	2,655
	Alliance	P. Capron	1,211	23.3	+6.7
	Alliance	W. Monkley	1,188
	Alliance	E. Fitzgerald-Kuhl	1,103
	Labour	F. Hughes	816	15.7	+1.5
	Labour	P. Hambleton	806
	Labour	E. Scheeres	751
	Green	M. Evans	421	8.1	+1.1
Turnout				55.5	+2.6
Registered electors			9,736
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Lisvane and St Mellons (1 seat)

Lisvane and St Mellons^[2]^(b)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	J. Richards	1,328	56.9	−14.6
	Alliance	E. Richards	807	34.6	+18.5
	Labour	M. Walsh	197	8.4	−4.0
Turnout				49.0	+15.1
Registered electors			4,762
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llandaff (2 seats)

Llandaff^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Julius Hermer *	1,906	50.4	−6.6
	Conservative	M. Jones *	1,846
	Alliance	D. Marshall	1,108	29.3	+15.4
	Alliance	W. Slack	1,037
	Labour	C. Bettinson	836	13.3	+2.1
	Labour	N. Couper	775
	Plaid Cymru	G. Jones	267	7.1	−1.5
Turnout				56.0	+8.4
Registered electors			6,753
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llandaff North (2 seats)

Llandaff North^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Flynn *	1,616	56.0	+11.3
	Labour	E. Matthewson *	1,484
	Conservative	J. Marshall	679	23.5	−1.1
	Conservative	K. Gunney	678
	Alliance	E. Chamberlain	468	16.2	−12.6
	Alliance	G. Hallett	435
	Green	R. Rendell	123	4.3	N/A
Turnout				47.3	−10.5
Registered electors			6,103
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Llanishen (3 seats)

Llanishen^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	P. Tatham	2,308	40.0	−5.3
	Conservative	A. Gretton	2,272
	Conservative	A. Thomas *	2,228
	Labour	C. Davies	1,758	30.5	−5.2
	Alliance	W. Matthews	1,706	29.6	+13.6
	Labour	B. Jones	1,665
	Labour	W. Laing	1,662
	Alliance	E. Warlow	1,662
	Alliance	A. Capron	1,661
Turnout				53.6	+8.3
Registered electors			10,762
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Llanrumney (3 seats)

Llanrumney^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	M. Llewellyn *	2,184	51.3	+6.5
	Labour	John Phillips *	2,029
	Labour	John Reynolds *	2,001
	Alliance	E. Morgan	1,085	25.5	−5.1
	Alliance	H. Coughlan	1,062
	Alliance	S. Chamberlain	1,046
	Conservative	S. Woods	887	23.2	−1.4
	Conservative	M. Glover	877
	Conservative	A. McCarthy	856
Turnout				45.8	+0.1
Registered electors			9,286
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Pentwyn (3 seats)

Pentwyn^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	T. Briley	1,755	36.8	+12.2
	Alliance	K. Holman	1,717
	Alliance	P. Ribton	1,686
	Conservative	M. Newman *	1,474	30.9	−11.1
	Conservative	R. Lewis *	1,469
	Conservative	W. Pursey	1,416
	Labour	S. Melia	1,310	27.5	+0.6
	Labour	G. Mawn	1,284
	Labour	M. Peterson	1,266
	Plaid Cymru	A. Morgan	148	3.1	−3.4
	Plaid Cymru	D. Balch	108
	Plaid Cymru	R. Williams	98
	Independent Socialist	P. Jones	81	1.7	N/A
Turnout				40.7	+4.9
Registered electors			11,725
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing

Plasnewydd (4 seats)

Plasnewydd^[2]^(c)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	Georgette O. J. German *	2,377	36.4	+6.7
	Alliance	G. Harris	1,904
	Labour	P. Armitage	1,766	27.0	+1.5
	Alliance	Freda Salway	1,757
	Labour	E. Screen	1,718
	Alliance	G. Wooley	1,685
	Labour	P. Mitchell	1,631
	Labour	D. Thornton	1,591
	Conservative	Olwen Watkin *	1,569	24.0	−12.4
	Conservative	S. James *	1,472
	Conservative	D. Evans	1,374
	Conservative	T. Harris	1,209
	Green	P. Taylor	456	7.0	+2.4
	Plaid Cymru	N. ap Glyn	208	3.2	+0.1
	Plaid Cymru	D. Bevan	203
	Communist	R. Macmillan	156	2.4	+1.2
	Communist	R. Spencer	125
Turnout				56.9	+6.0
Registered electors			12,063
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Labour gain from Conservative		Swing
	Alliance hold		Swing

Radyr & St Fagans (1 seat)

Radyr & St Fagans^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	L. Clarke *	1,342	51.6	−3.5
	Alliance	P. Robinson	956	36.8	+3.3
	Labour	R. Hughes	303	11.6	+0.2
Turnout				67.1	+12.8
Registered electors			3,877
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rhiwbina (3 seats)

Rhiwbina^[2]^(d)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Gareth Neale *	2,955	50.6	−7.6
	Conservative	K. Heselton	2,846
	Conservative	Jeffrey Sainsbury *	2,769
	Alliance	H. Haines	1,624	27.8	+4.1
	Alliance	J. Brent	1,623
	Alliance	G. Power	1,605
	Labour	S. Williams	744	12.7	−1.5
	Labour	D. Bethel	729
	Labour	R. Hill	688
	Green	G. Unwin	522	8.9	N/A
Turnout				62.1	+3.6
Registered electors			9,418
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Riverside (3 seats)

Riverside^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jane Davidson	2,274	47.6	+4.2
	Labour	Sue Essex *	2,144
	Labour	J. Wilson	1,912
	Conservative	S. Clarke	1,124	23.5	−9.7
	Conservative	R. Griffiths	1,119
	Conservative	A. Renwick	1,093
	Alliance	E. Lawrie	579	12.1	−3.2
	Alliance	L. Keward	562
	Alliance	J. Bayley	549
	Green	S. Scanlon	471	9.9	+1.8
	Plaid Cymru	N. Hodges	327	6.8	N/A
Turnout				50.7	+9.0
Registered electors			9,419
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Roath (3 seats)

Roath^[2]^[10]^(e)
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Alliance	C. Kelloway	2,229	43.4	+22.7
	Conservative	G. Brinks *	2,176	42.4	−17.8
	Conservative	D. Williams	2,115
	Conservative	B. Hill	2,099
	Alliance	S. Soffa	2,015
	Alliance	V. Lane	2,004
	Labour	D. Parsons	728	15.2	−0.9
	Labour	N. Butler	714
	Labour	M. Harries	678
Turnout				72.4	+30.3
Registered electors			9,872
	Alliance gain from Conservative		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Rumney (2 seats)

Rumney^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	B. Joslyn *	1,742	47.7	−5.7
	Conservative	G. Lowder	1,641
	Labour	D. Bevan	1,489	40.8	+5.0
	Labour	M. Payne	1,346
	Alliance	D. Walker	420	11.5	+0.7
	Alliance	C. Al-Ubaidi	361
Turnout				54.4	+7.5
Registered electors			6,710
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

Splott (2 seats)

Splott^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Geoffrey Mungham	2,373	62.7	+7.7
	Labour	D. Ormonde	2,369
	Conservative	A. Fox	842	22.2	−2.0
	Conservative	G. Porter	779
	Alliance	S. Ahmad	289	7.6	−0.2
	Alliance	C. Minor	287
	Plaid Cymru	E. Jones	282	7.4	+4.4
Turnout				47.6	+5.0
Registered electors			7,957
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Trowbridge (2 seats)

Trowbridge^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. English *	1,628	62.7	−14.5
	Labour	Alun Michael *	1,614
	Conservative	J. McCarthy	603	23.2	−0.6
	Conservative	W. Sellwood	534
	Alliance	M. Morgan	364	14.0	N/A
	Alliance	J. Cuff	343
Turnout				30.8	+13.3
Registered electors			8,425
	Labour hold		Swing
	Labour hold		Swing

Whitchurch & Tongwynlais (4 seats)

Whitchurch & Tongwynlais^[2]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	W. Griffiths *	3,142	44.8	−9.9
	Conservative	Brian Griffiths *	2,929
	Conservative	Timothy Davies *	2,911
	Conservative	Victor Riley *	2,664
	Labour	D. Hutchinson	2,040	29.1	+6.3
	Labour	T. James	2,034
	Labour	R. Morrisey	1,866
	Alliance	T. Jenkins	1,830	26.1	+8.1
	Labour	A. Paskell	1,819
	Alliance	M. Jones	1,817
	Alliance	R. Haines	1,728
	Alliance	R. Phillips	1,650
Turnout				60.3	+5.7
Registered electors			11,623
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing
	Conservative hold		Swing

(a) Elections Centre source also indicates whether candidate is female; compares the percentage vote of the lead candidate for each party in the ward
(b) South Wales Echo source also indicates 'retiring' ward councillors. It fails to include the Lisvane & St Mellons ward results.
(c) South Wales Echo lists Plasnewydd candidates G. Harris as Alliance and D. Evans as Conservative (which gives 4 candidates for each of these parties). Vote percentages shown reflect this.
(d) The Elections Centre source muddles the Conservative J. Sainsbury and Green Party's G. Unwin.
(e) The Elections Centre source wrongly identifies the Alliance candidate S. Soffa as a Liberal. Vote percentages shown correct this.

* pre-existing 'retiring' ward councillors at this election

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Michael Thomas (8 May 1987). "Tories lose city control, but council hung". South Wales Echo. pp. 1–2.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Cardiff Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 30 May 2019.
^ "Labour hopes of taking Cardiff boosted by poll". South Wales Echo. 7 May 1987. pp. 1–2.
^ "CV: Michael German". BBC News. 6 April 1999. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ "Lib-Dem's Mike German to step down in October". Wales Online. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ Povey, Tomos (10 July 2019). "Lord Mike German and wife Veronica look back on their political achievements". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ Nelson, Dean; Smith, Andy; Fraser, Douglas (9 May 1999). "Labour mauled by the beast of nationalism". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ "Michael keeps his options open". BBC News. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
^ "Probe after city poll". South Wales Echo. 8 May 1987. p. 1.
^ ^a ^b "Overnight local election results - Cardiff City Council". South Wales Echo. 8 May 1987. p. 8.

[SWE_tories_lose_city-1] Michael Thomas (8 May 1987). "Tories lose city control, but council hung". South Wales Echo. pp. 1–2.

[Elections_Centre-2] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w ^x ^y ^z ^aa ^ab ^ac "Cardiff Welsh District Council Election Results 1973-1991" (PDF). The Elections Centre (Plymouth University). Retrieved 30 May 2019.

[3] "Labour hopes of taking Cardiff boosted by poll". South Wales Echo. 7 May 1987. pp. 1–2.

[:0-4] "CV: Michael German". BBC News. 6 April 1999. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

[:1-5] "Lib-Dem's Mike German to step down in October". Wales Online. 8 May 2008. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

[:3-6] Povey, Tomos (10 July 2019). "Lord Mike German and wife Veronica look back on their political achievements". South Wales Argus. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

[7] Nelson, Dean; Smith, Andy; Fraser, Douglas (9 May 1999). "Labour mauled by the beast of nationalism". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

[8] "Michael keeps his options open". BBC News. 9 May 1999. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

[9] "Probe after city poll". South Wales Echo. 8 May 1987. p. 1.

[SWE_overnight_results-10] "Overnight local election results - Cardiff City Council". South Wales Echo. 8 May 1987. p. 8.

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