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Road bridge at CilfrewPhoto: Alan Hughes · CC BY-SA 2.0
Town Hall & politics · Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

No party holds a majority on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

Cilfrew is run by Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. No party holds a majority on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council. Its MP is Carolyn Harris (Labour), member for Neath and Swansea East.

Council tax 2026–27

£2,541

Band D, a year, the middle band every council sets its tax from.

Where it goes →
Band D council tax
£2,541
2026–27, a year · council average
Ward councillors
1
1 ward · Neath Port Talbot
MP
Carolyn Harris
Labour · Neath and Swansea East
Turnout, July 2024
53%
Neath and Swansea East · Wales 56%
What stands out · In brief

How Cilfrew’s politics has changed since 2021

No majority on Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council

Labour, the largest group, holds 26 of its 57 seats as elected, 3 short of the 29 needed. Independents hold 16, Plaid Cymru 11, the Liberal Democrats 3 and the Greens 1. Who’s in charge ↓

Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results since May 2021, the UK Parliament Members API and Welsh Government council tax.

Who’s in charge

No party has a majority

Seats by party as elected. A party needs 29 of Neath Port Talbot’s 57 seats to run the council alone.

Council · 57 councillorsNeath Port Talbot County Borough CouncilNo overall control
GreenLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLabourLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratLiberal DemocratPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruPlaid CymruIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependentIndependent57seats
  • Labour26
  • Independent16
  • Plaid Cymru11
  • Liberal Democrat3
  • Green1

Latest election: May 2022.

GreenLabourLiberal DemocratPlaid CymruIndependent

Seats are counted from election results: each ward’s most recent winners until its seats are filled. Councillors who have since changed party or resigned aren’t reflected, and which parties lead the council, and who is leader, comes from the council itself.

Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), elections since May 2021; seats per ward from its EveryElection.

Who runs Cilfrew

The councils that run Cilfrew

One council runs every main service in a Welsh county or county borough.

County or county borough councilNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council

Every main council service: schools, social care, roads, bins, planning, housing and libraries.

Website ↗

Who to ask

Bins and recyclingNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Planning applicationsNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Council housing and homelessnessNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Council tax billsNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Parks and leisure centresNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Potholes, roads and streetlightsNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Schools and school placesNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Adult and children’s social careNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
LibrariesNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Tips and recycling centresNeath Port Talbot County Borough Council
Police priorities and budgetSouth Wales Police police and crime commissioner

From GOV.UK’s “Understand how your council works”: here one council runs every main service.

Every part of Wales is in a community; many have a community or town council, which the county council lists. Cilfrew’s communities: Blaenhonddan.

Councils from ONS lookups (wards and councils May 2026, parishes 2025), names and websites from GOV.UK’s local council finder; parish councils from MHCLG’s 2026–27 list of precepting parishes.

Who represents Cilfrew

From the council to Westminster

Every elected tier that speaks for Cilfrew, from the most recent elections.

  1. 1
    Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council1 ward · 1 councillor
    Caroline Challinor Lewis
  2. 2
    Police and crime commissionerSouth Wales Police · elected May 2024
    Emma Wools
  3. 3
    SeneddBrycheiniog Tawe Nedd · 6 members
    Jane DoddsSioned Ann WilliamsJames Oswald David EvansRebeca PhillipsIain Charles McIntoshDavid Terence Mills
  4. 4
    House of CommonsNeath and Swansea East
LabourLiberal DemocratReform UKPlaid CymruIndependent

Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own. Tap an MP’s name for their contact page on parliament.uk.

Councillors

1 councillor for 1 ward

Wards with at least 2% of the town’s residents, or half their own inside it. Each shows who won its most recent elections, newest first, until its seats are filled.

Aberdulais
2,178 residents · 92% in Cilfrew
  • Caroline Challinor LewisIndependent · May 2022
Independent
Show as a table
WardSeatsElectedWhen
Aberdulaismostly in Cilfrew · 2,178 residents1 seat · May 20221
Caroline Challinor Lewis
May 2022

Councillors can resign, change party or sit as independents between elections; a by-election winner replaces someone not named here. Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council’s website lists who sits now.

Results from Democracy Club’s candidates database (CC BY 4.0; elections since May 2021) and ward seats from its EveryElection, matched to ONS wards (May 2026) and county divisions (May 2025).

Local elections

Neath Port Talbot council election, May 2022

Results in the wards that make up Cilfrew, as declared. Percentages are of votes cast for candidates in each ward; where a ward elects several councillors, each voter has that many votes.

Seats won in Cilfrew’s wards1 seat · 5 May 2022
Independent1

1 ward voted. Every seat in the town’s wards was up.

Next elections

No election is scheduled yet for Cilfrew’s wards in Democracy Club’s list. Councils publish a notice of election about five weeks before polling day.

Who can I vote for? ↗
Aberdulais5 May 2022
Caroline Challinor Lewis ElectedIndependent50.4%
Ricky PriceLabour35.5%
Lee Michael Bromham-NicholsPlaid Cymru14.1%

740 votes for candidates

LabourPlaid CymruIndependent

Candidates and results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), from councils’ declared results; polling dates from Democracy Club’s EveryElection.

Parliament

Cilfrew is in Neath and Swansea East constituency

The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result (it reaches beyond Cilfrew).

Neath and Swansea East · general election4 July 2024
Carolyn Harris ElectedLabour41.8%
Dai RichardsReform UK25.3%
Andrew JenkinsPlaid Cymru13.3%
Samantha ChohanConservative9.4%
Helen ClarkeLiberal Democrat5.8%
Jan DowdenGreen4.3%

40,137 votes for candidates · majority 6,627

MP for Neath and Swansea East

Carolyn Harris

Labour, MP since 7 May 2015.

53%

turnout in July 2024: 40,137 votes from 76,291 registered voters. Wales: 56%.

Majority 6,627 of 40,137 votes (16.5%): the 14th-narrowest of 32 in Wales.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenPlaid Cymru

MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.

Senedd Cymru

Members of the Senedd for Cilfrew

Wales’s parliament: health, education, local government and transport in Wales. Elected 7 May 2026 under the new system of 16 six-member constituencies.

Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd7 May 2026
Reform UK3 members elected3 of 6
Plaid Cymru2 members elected2 of 6
Liberal Democrat1 member elected1 of 6

Votes are cast for party lists; seats go to lists in proportion (the D’Hondt method). Bars show seats won: list vote totals aren’t in the data yet.

6 members of the Senedd
Jane DoddsSioned Ann WilliamsJames Oswald David EvansRebeca PhillipsIain Charles McIntoshDavid Terence Mills

All of Cilfrew is in Brycheiniog Tawe Nedd.

LabourConservativeLiberal DemocratReform UKGreenPlaid CymruIndependentOther parties

Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0). Constituencies from ONS (Senedd constituencies 2026).

Council money

Cilfrew’s Band D council tax is £2,541 a year

Where a Band D bill goes, what it has cost over the years, and what the councils plan to spend per resident.

COUNCIL TAXBand D · 2026–27 · the average Band D home in Neath Port Talbot
Community councilsaverage across Neath Port Talbot£63.37
Neath Port Talbot County Borough Councilcounty or county borough£2,072.88
South Wales Police and Crime Commissionerpolice£405.14
A year£2,541.39
Bills by band run from 6/9 of Band D (Band A) to 18/9 (Band H) and 21/9 (Band I) in Wales. Discounts and support reduce many bills.

Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council sets £2,072.88 of a Band D bill (82%); the rest goes to community councils and the South Wales Police and Crime Commissioner.

Your bill by band

Band A 6/9£1,694
Band B 7/9£1,977
Band C 8/9£2,259
Band D 9/9£2,541
Band E 11/9£3,106
Band F 13/9£3,671
Band G 15/9£4,236
Band H 18/9£5,083
Band I 21/9£5,930

The average Band D home in Neath Port Talbot, 2026–27, before discounts. The Valuation Office Agency’s band search gives any home’s band.

Council budget per resident
£3,715
Neath Port Talbot, 2026–27
West Glamorgan councils
£3,502
per resident
Wales
£3,367
per resident

Revenue budgets 2026–27 including schools (Wales has no academies), Welsh Government; per resident on the Welsh Government’s population. Police and fire are budgeted separately.

Band D: Welsh Government, Council tax levels April 2026 to March 2027.

Get involved

Having a say in how Cilfrew is run

Register to vote

It takes about five minutes online; the deadline is 12 working days before a poll.

gov.uk ↗
Contact your councillors or MP

Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors and its MP.

WriteToThem ↗
Report a pothole or a broken streetlight

GOV.UK sends the report to the council that looks after the road.

gov.uk ↗
Watch or speak at a council meeting

Council and committee meetings are open to the public, with agendas and minutes online.

neath-porttalbot.gov.uk ↗
Comment on a planning application

Anyone can comment while an application is open for consultation.

neath-porttalbot.gov.uk ↗
Stand for election

The rules, nomination papers and guidance for council candidates.

Electoral Commission ↗

Questions about how Cilfrew is run

Who is the MP for Cilfrew?

Carolyn Harris (Labour) is the MP for Neath and Swansea East, which covers Cilfrew.

How many councillors does Cilfrew have?

1 ward councillors represent Cilfrew’s 1 ward.

When are the next elections in Cilfrew?

No election is scheduled yet in Democracy Club’s list for Cilfrew’s wards. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029; the next Senedd election is due in May 2030.

How much is council tax in Cilfrew?

Band D council tax in Cilfrew is £2,541 for 2026–27 (the council average). Your bill depends on your home’s band, from A (6/9 of Band D) to H (18/9).

Who controls Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council?

No party has a majority. As elected, Labour 26 · Independent 16 · Plaid Cymru 11 · Liberal Democrat 3 · Green 1 of 57 seats; a majority needs 29. The council’s website lists who leads it now.

Who won the 2022 council election in Cilfrew?

In Cilfrew’s wards on 5 May 2022, Independent 1 of the 1 seats up. Independents had the largest share of votes, 50.4%.

Sources: ONS ward, county division, parish, constituency and Senedd constituency lookups (Census 2021 output areas; Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates (CC BY 4.0) and EveryElection · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Welsh Government council tax levels and revenue budgets 2026–27 (OGL v3.0). Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.