| Fairwater ward | |
|---|---|
| Electoral ward | |
 Location of Fairwater ward withinCardiff | |
| Population | 12,981 (2011 census)[1] |
| Community | |
| Principal area | |
| Country | Wales |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Post town | CARDIFF |
| Postcode district | CF5 |
| Dialling code | +44-29 |
| UK Parliament | |
| Senedd Cymru – Welsh Parliament | |
| Councillors | 3 |
Fairwater is anelectoral ward in the west ofCardiff, capital city ofWales. It coversFairwater andPentrebane on the outskirts of the urban area.
The Fairwater ward is bordered to the west byPentyrch and St Fagans, to the east byLlandaff and to the south by theEly ward.
Fairwater has elected three councillors toCardiff Council since 1995, being represented by theLabour Party until May 2008 when all three seats were taken byPlaid Cymru.[2]
Plaid Cymru (Fairwater and Pentrebane Voice) and Labour (Fairwater and Pentrebane Fightback) have both issued local campaigning newsletters containing allegations and counter-allegations against one another.[3] These have included accusations that Cllr Michael Michael, a hairdresser, was profiting from a council leased building[4] and allegations about Cllr McEvoy's expenses.[3]
During the 2008 election campaign former MPRod Richards, who lived in Fairwater, was arrested after assaulting a fellowConservative Party campaigner.[5]
Plaid lost a seat in May 2012[6] but regained it in 2017. Ward representatives have included Labour councillor Michael Michael, who was deputy leader of the Cardiff Council until 2008[7] and Plaid Cymru'sNeil McEvoy, who was deputy leader of the council from 2008 to 2012. McEvoy had previously been a Labour Party councillor for theRiverside ward in the city and was also elected as a Plaid CymruAssembly Member in the Wales Government in 2016.[8] McEvoy was expelled from Plaid Cymru in 2018 and the remaining two councillors resigned the Plaid Cymru party whip in October 2019 in protest at the treatment of McEvoy. They remained as independent councillors.[9]
McEoy retained his seat in 2022, this time standing for thePropel party.[10]
| Representation 1995 – date[2] | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Labour | Plaid Cymru | Other | |||
| 2022 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2019 | - | - | 3 | |||
| 2018 | - | 2 | 1 | |||
| 2017 | - | 3 | - | |||
| 2012 | 1 | 2 | - | |||
| 2008 | - | 3 | - | |||
| 2004 | 3 | - | - | |||
| 1999 | 3 | - | - | |||
| 1995 | 3 | - | - | |||
Attention was on the Fairwater ward in May 2022, with Neil McEvoy's new political party, Propel, hoping to win the seats previously won by his former party, Plaid Cymru.[11] Plaid stood under the new coalition name of Common Ground. Whist McEvoy retained his seat,[10] the other two seats were won by Labour.[12]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Claudia BOES | 1,543 | 14.2 | N/A | |
| Propel | Neil McEVOY * | 1,478 | 13.6 | N/A | |
| Labour | Saleh AHMED | 1,455 | 13.4 | N/A | |
| Propel | Lisa FORD * | 1,318 | 12.1 | N/A | |
| Labour | Lorna STABLER | 1,300 | 12.0 | N/A | |
| Propel | Keith PARRY * | 1,185 | 10.9 | N/A | |
| Common Ground | Neil ROBERTS | 436 | 4.0 | N/A | |
| Conservative | David ADAMS | 417 | 3.8 | N/A | |
| Common Ground | Philip CROXALL | 383 | 3.5 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Natalie MATTHEWS | 383 | 3.5 | N/A | |
| Common Ground | Erik WILLIAMS | 344 | 3.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Clive WILLIAMS | 343 | 3.2 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Eleri KIBALE | 150 | 1.4 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Mark REES | 126 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Turnout | 10,861 | N/A | |||
| Registered electors | 9,919 | ||||
| Labourgain fromPlaid Cymru | Swing | ||||
| Propelgain fromPlaid Cymru | Swing | ||||
| Labourgain fromPlaid Cymru | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plaid Cymru | Neil McEVOY * | 2,414 | |||
| Plaid Cymru | Lisa FORD * | 2,349 | |||
| Plaid Cymru | Keith PARRY | 2,017 | |||
| Labour | Paul MITCHELL * | 1,160 | |||
| Labour | John BAYLISS | 1,101 | |||
| Labour | Irene HUMPHREYS | 1,039 | |||
| Conservative | John WILLIAMS | 535 | |||
| Conservative | Alan HILL | 533 | |||
| Conservative | Ronald MICHAELIS | 450 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Eleri RANDERSON | 203 | |||
| Green | Phillip CROXALL | 190 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Mark REES | 92 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Oliver TOWNSEND | 92 | |||
| TUSC | Ross SAUNDERS | 73 | |||
| Turnout | 44.5% | ||||
*= sitting councillor prior to the election