Previewing the Penderry, Swansea by-election of 27th April 2023
“All the right votes, but not necessarily in the right order”
Just one by-election on 27th April 2023:
Penderry
Swansea council, Glamorgan; caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Hazel Morris.
In England, it’s the week before the ordinary local elections. But Wales isn’t joining in the local election fun this year: the next scheduled elections here are in May 2024, when the country’s four Police and Crime Commissioners will come up for re-election. All of Welsh local government was up for re-election in May 2022, so the current Swansea council is coming to the end of its first year in office.
Before that first anniversary, we have a by-election to bring you in Penderry ward. This lies on the northern edge of Swansea’s built-up area, and it’s based on the residential Penlan area and the council estate of Blaen-y-Maes. The ward is located on high ground, with good views towards the city centre and Swansea Bay to the south.
It’s clear from the 2022 census return that Penderry is one of the most working-class parts of Swansea. The ward makes the top 100 in England and Wales on a number of statistics: semi-routine occupations (18.9%), those working in sales and customer service (13.1%), those working in “caring, leisure and other service occupations” (16.6%), long-term sickness or disability (12.8%), residents with no qualifications (33.6%) and social renting (55.7% of households). The proportion employed in the wholesale and retail sector (22.6%) was just outside the England and Wales top 100 but was the second-highest figure for any ward in Wales. In fact, on one measure Penderry outranks all other wards in England and Wales: 73 of the ward’s households, or 1.5% of the total, were living rent-free.
The area has a couple of interesting connections with music. Penlan gives its name to a hymn tune, sometimes sung to words beginning “In heavenly love abiding”. Just within the ward boundary is Mynyddbach Chapel, the final resting place of the poet Daniel James, or Gwyrosydd to give him his bardic name. James worked in Swansea’s steel industry, as did his fellow poet Landore John Hughes; and in the 1890s they collaborated on a new Welsh-language song, with James writing the lyrics and Hughes the music. It was intended as a hymn, but it’s become a firm favourite among Welsh football and rugby fans — despite the fact that its English translation, which I give here for the benefit of those who know not Cymraeg, has never really caught on. I speak, of course, of the beautiful Calon Lân.
Modern residents of Penderry ward who are living the simple life with pure hearts — or not, as the case may be — tend to put their cross(es) against the Labour candidate(s) when election time comes around. Penderry is a safe Labour ward within the safe-Labour parliamentary seat of Swansea East, and it’s part of the Labour majority on Swansea council. At the last Welsh local elections in 2022 Labour polled 79% of the vote here; their slate of three was opposed only by a single Conservative candidate, meaning that Labour were guaranteed two of Penderry ward’s three seats before a vote was cast.
This by-election is to replace Labour councillor Hazel Morris, who has stood down from the council after 15 years’ service: she was first elected in 2008. Defending the seat for Labour is Mair Baker, who is involved with a community organisation in Blaen-y-Maes. On a ballot paper with rather more choice for the electors than last time, Baker is opposed by Jake Harry for the Conservatives, Dan Burton for the Lib Dems, Craig Davies for the Greens and Ioan Gruffydd-Warlow for Plaid Cymru.
Westminster and Senedd constituency: Swansea East
ONS Travel to Work Area: Swansea
Postcode district: SA5
Mair Baker (Lab)
Dan Burton (LD)
Craig Davies (Grn)
Ioan Gruffydd-Warlow (PC)
Jake Harry (C)
May 2022 result Lab 1022/1019/967 C 269
Previous results in detail
If you enjoyed these previews, there are many more like them — going back to 2016 — in the Andrew’s Previews books, which are available to buy now (link). You can also support future previews by donating to the Local Elections Archive Project (link).
Andrew Teale
