The Pentwyn ward elected three councillors to Cardiff Council in 1995 and has elected four councillors since 1999. It has been represented by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats, with the Liberal Democrats dominating the ward since 2004.[2] Councillor Judith Woodman, who won her Pentwyn seat at a 2003 by-election and had been deputy leader of the council and leader of the Liberal Democrat group, stood down at the May 2017 election.[3]
A by-election was triggered in 2003 following the resignation of Liberal Democrat councillor, Bill Cookson, whose job had taken him away from Cardiff.[6] The by-election took place on 11 September[6] and was seen as a 'dry-run' for the council-wide elections due to take place the following year.[7] Labour council leader Russell Goodway was increasingly unpopular and his administration was facing a challenge from the Liberal Democrats. The Labour candidate in the by-election, Luke Holland, had resigned his job to stand in the election and described himself as "the Labour Party candidate, not the Russell Goodway candidate".[7] The Labour Party also faced a challenge from the left, with the Welsh Socialist Alliance fielding the secretary of the South Wales Fire Brigades Union as a candidate.[7]
The resulting "disastrous showing" for Labour and the "landslide" victory for the Liberal Democrats led to a local vote of 'no confidence' in Cllr Goodway, with a further vote of no confidence discussed by the county Labour Party in October.[8]
Cardiff City Council
Between 1983 and 1996 Pentwyn elected three councillors to Cardiff City Council. In 1983 the ward elected three Conservative Party councillors, in 1987 the ward elected three Liberal Alliance representatives and, in 1991, all three councillors were from the Labour Party.[4]
