# 2022 Cardiff Council election
The 2022 Cardiff Council election was an all-out local government election held on Thursday 5 May 2022 to elect all 79 members of Cardiff Council, the unitary authority governing Cardiff, Wales. It returned Welsh Labour with a large majority under the multi-seat bloc vote system used in Welsh local elections, with the count concluding on Friday 6 May 2022.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Date | Thursday 5 May 2022; count concluded Friday 6 May 2022[1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0) • [2](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html) |
| Seats contested | All 79 seats across 28 electoral wards, each ward electing 2, 3, or 4 councillors[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022) • [4](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes) |
| Winner | Welsh Labour, 55 seats per the council's count announcement (54 on the council's party-results page)[2](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html) • [1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0) |
| Other parties | Welsh Conservatives 10, Welsh Liberal Democrats 10, Plaid Cymru/Green Party/Common Ground 2, Propel 1, Ceidwadwyr Cymreig 1[1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0) |
| Turnout | 39.1%, with 102,828 votes cast[2](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html) |
| Vote-to-seat gap | Labour won 47.5% of votes but 69.6% of seats; Plaid Cymru's 17.1% of votes returned 2 seats[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022) |
| Next scheduled election | 2027, on the five-year Cardiff local election cycle[4](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes) |
## Electoral setting
Cardiff Council's 79 members represent 28 electoral wards, each returning between two and four councillors; the candidates with the most votes in each ward take the seats[4](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes). [Local government](https://www.edgepedia.org/local-government) elections in Cardiff are held every five years, so the 2022 cohort's seats were next due for election in 2027[4](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes). Because the wards are multi-seat, voters could cast as many votes as there were seats, up to four in the largest wards[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022). The party with the most elected members forms the council's Cabinet, which decides local services, budgets, and policy areas such as social services, education, and waste collection[4](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes).
## Results
The count concluded on Friday 6 May 2022. The council's newsroom announcement gave Welsh Labour 55 of the 79 seats, the Welsh Conservative Party 10, the Welsh Liberal Democrats 10, the [Plaid Cymru](https://www.edgepedia.org/plaid-cymru), Green Party, Common Ground alliance 2, Propel 1, and Ceidwadwyr Cymreig (Welsh Conservatives) 1[2](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html). The council's own party-results page lists Labour at 54 seats with 47% of votes, a one-seat difference from the newsroom total that the published sources do not reconcile[1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0). Turnout was 39.1% on 102,828 votes cast[2](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html).
**Party detail.** The Plaid Cymru, Green Party, Common Ground alliance (Plaid Cymru, Plaid Werdd, Tir Cyffredin) ran joint candidates across the city and won 2 seats on 17% of the vote[1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0). Parties that contested but won no seats included the Welsh Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition, independents, the Sovereign Party, the Woman's Equality Party Wales, Volt UK, the [Communist Party of Britain](https://www.edgepedia.org/communist-party-of-britain), and Freedom Alliance[1](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0).
**Ward examples.** In the 3-seat Canton ward, Labour's Stephen Cunnah (2,761 votes), Susan Elsmore (2,629), and Jasmin Chowdhury (2,462) took all three seats, while the three [Common Ground](https://www.edgepedia.org/common-ground) candidates, led by Eleri Lewis on 2,408 votes, missed out[5](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=212). In the 4-seat Cathays ward Labour won all four seats, with Ali Ahmed top on 1,940 votes[6](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=213). In the 2-seat Caerau ward Labour's Peter Bradbury (1,608) and Elaine Simmons (1,309) were elected with 40% and 33% of votes respectively[7](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=211&LLL=0). Gabalfa was one of the wards Labour did not carry: Liberal Democrats Rhys Taylor (1,082) and Ashley Wood (967) beat Labour's Claire O'Shea (821) and Leo Holmes (719)[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022).
## Proportionality
An audit of the result describes the overall vote-to-seat distortion as severe. Aggregating candidate votes by party across the 28 wards, Labour's 137,286 votes (47.5%) translated into 55 seats, 69.6% of the council, about 17 seats more than a proportional allocation of the same votes would have given; the Conservatives' 19.2% of votes returned 11 seats against a proportional 15; and Plaid Cymru's 49,320 votes (17.1%) returned only 2 seats against a proportional 14[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022). The audit counts 17 seats, 21.5% of the total, as unfairly awarded relative to the proportional quota[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022).
The multi-seat bloc vote amplifies this effect. In a 2-seat ward a party needs roughly a third of voters to win both seats, and in several wards the lowest-elected candidate cleared the quota by wide margins, such as Caerau at 65.4% and Splott at 69.8%[3](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022).
## Aftermath and later composition
Labour formed the administration with a large majority. The composition shifted over the term through departures and changes of allegiance. A revised political balance report listed the council as Labour 50, Liberal Democrat 10, Conservative 9, Plaid Cymru/Green Party 3, Cardiff Independents 2, and 5 non-grouped members, including councillors sitting as independents, one for Propel, and one for [Reform UK](https://www.edgepedia.org/reform-uk)[8](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s91981/Revised%20Political%20Balance%20and%20Appointments%20to%20Committees.pdf). A later report recorded Labour at 49 of 78 sitting members after a Splott resignation effective 9 May 2026, with a by-election planned for July 2026[9](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s93858/Item%2011%20cover%20report.pdf).
## References
1. [Cardiff Council Elections 2022, election results by party, Cardiff Council ModernGov](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=66&LLL=0&RPID=0)
2. [Local Government Election Results 2022, Cardiff, Cardiff Council Newsroom](https://cardiffnewsroom.co.uk/releases/c25/29005.html)
3. [Cardiff 2022, election results audit, electionresults.uk](https://electionresults.uk/councils/cardiff/2022)
4. [Types of elections, Cardiff Council](https://cardiff.gov.uk/electiontypes)
5. [Election results for Canton, 5 May 2022, Cardiff Council ModernGov](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=212)
6. [Election results for Cathays, 5 May 2022, Cardiff Council ModernGov](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=213)
7. [Election results for Caerau, 5 May 2022, Cardiff Council ModernGov](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=211&LLL=0)
8. [Revised Political Balance and Appointments to Committees, Cardiff Council](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s91981/Revised%20Political%20Balance%20and%20Appointments%20to%20Committees.pdf)
9. [Cardiff Council committee report on vacancy and political balance](https://cardiff.moderngov.co.uk/documents/s93858/Item%2011%20cover%20report.pdf)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Politics and government › Elections and representation › Elections and referendums › United Kingdom election events › UK local and council elections › Welsh local elections*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 19, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license