Canton is the name of an electoral ward in the west of the city of

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

, which covers part of its namesake

community A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village, ...

, Canton. The ward elects three county councillors to the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff.

Description and history

As far back as the late 19th-century Canton was a ward to Cardiff Town Council., and has served as a ward through various local government reorganisations and boundary changes. The current Canton ward is bordered to the north by the Pencisely Road, to the west by the

River Ely The River Ely ( cy, Afon Elái) is in South Wales flowing generally southeast, from Tonyrefail to Cardiff. The river is about long. The Ely's numerous sources lie in the mountains to the south of Tonypandy, near the town of Tonyrefail, ri ...

and stretching as far south as

Leckwith Leckwith ( cy, Lecwydd) is a small village in the Vale of Glamorgan, just west of Cardiff. Historically, the parish of Leckwith also included land on the east side of the river Ely that is now part of Cardiff itself. This area is also commonly kn ...

and the

Cardiff City Stadium The Cardiff City Stadium ( cy, Stadiwm Dinas Caerdydd) is a stadium in the Leckwith area of Cardiff, Wales. It is the home of Cardiff City Football Club and the Wales national football team. Following expansion of the Ninian Stand in July 2 ...

. It is separated from the Riverside ward to the east by Llandaff Road. The Canton ward boundaries are not aligned with the historical district of Canton, with a large section of Canton's main commercial thoroughfare Cowbridge Road East is in the Riverside ward. According to the 2011 census the population of the ward was 14,304. In recent history Canton has been represented by the Labour Party. Councillors have included future Westminster MP, Kevin Brennan (1991-2001) and future

South Glamorgan County Council South Glamorgan County Council ( cy, Cyngor Sir De Morgannwg) was the local government authority that administered the county of South Glamorgan, Wales from its creation in 1974 until its abolition in 1996. History Local government in England and ...

leader

Russell Goodway Russell Vivian Goodway (born 23 December 1955) is a Welsh Labour Party councillor for Ely, Cardiff; and the former Lord Mayor of Cardiff and former CEO of Cardiff Chamber of Commerce. He was Britain's youngest council leader when he led South G ...

(1985-1991). Fellow Canton councillor David Thomas became Brennan's election agent during the 2001 General Election and subsequently became the MP's caseworker.

Cardiff Council elections

The Canton ward has elected three Labour councillors at every election to the new Cardiff

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

since 1995. At the May 2017 elections Susan Elsmore, Stephen Cunnah and Ramesh Patel were elected. Cllr Patel had been a Canton councillor since a by-election on 1 June 2001. He had been responsible for leisure, culture and sport in Cardiff since 2013. * = sitting councillor prior to the election

2014 by-election

Labour councillor (since 2008) Cerys Furlong resigned in December 2013 because of difficulties balancing her council work with her main job and her family. A by-election took place on 20 February 2014, with the Labour candidate Susan Elsmore coming top of the poll, with

Plaid Cymru Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom. Plaid wa ...

in second place.

Cardiff City Council elections

Prior to 1995 Canton was an electoral ward to Cardiff City Council (a district council of

South Glamorgan , Government= South Glamorgan County Council , Status= Non-metropolitan county (1974–1996) Preserved county (1996–) , Start= 1974 , End= 1996 , Arms= , HQ= ...

). The ward elected three city councillors. All three city councillors were from the Conservative Party, from 1976 until being replaced by the Labour Party at the 1991 election.

South Glamorgan Council elections

Prior to 1995 Canton was a ward to

. Two county councillors were elected at the 1973, 1977 and 1981 elections (both

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

until 1981). From 1985 the ward elected a single councillor. Labour's

was the representative until the 1991 election (when he became councillor for the Glan Ely ward).

Cardiff County Borough Council

Canton has been an electoral ward in Cardiff since the 19th-century, to Cardiff Borough Council and (between 1889 and 1974) Cardiff County Borough Council. At the final elections of the county borough on 7 May 1970, Canton's Conservative councillor Trevor Tyrrell successfully held his seat with a 382 majority over the Labour candidate. At the first full elections to Cardiff County Borough Council on 1 November 1889, Canton was one of only two wards to hold a contest. The two sitting

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. __TOC__ Active liberal parties This is a li ...

councillors retained the seat with a healthy majority, against what the local newspaper described as a "so-called Independent" candidate. * Ward 'retiring' councillor

References

{{coord, 51.48, -3.21, display=title Canton, Cardiff Cardiff electoral wards Electoral wards of South Glamorgan