Carmarthen Borough Council was a Welsh municipal body created by the 1835 Municipal Corporations Act which, at that time, replaced the ancient borough that had existed since medieval times. The Council consisted of 24 members, eighteen of whom were elected councillors and the remaining six were aldermen. Councillors were elected on a triennial cycle, with a third of councillors retiring each year. Aldermen were elected for a six-year term, normally from within the council membership although retiring aldermen were often re-elected without facing a contest.
Prior to the First World War, municipal elections had occasionally been fought on a party basis but there was also a strong tradition of electing independent candidates.
The first municipal after the conclusion of the Great War saw a number of retiring members opposed by Trades and Labour Council candidates and also Ex-Servicemen. The two groups had formed an electoral pact to fight the election but that fell apart a month before the contest.[1] Nevertheless, representatives of both groups were successful at the expense of retiring members.[2]
The second municipal post-war contest was fought on party lines with supporters of the Lloyd George Coalition opposed by Labour candidates. In addition to the six councillors, three aldermen also retired, and this led to the defeat of the long-servong Walter Spurrell.[3]
Following the election of aldermen, by-elections were held. Walter Spurrell, rejected by the electors at the triennial election, was returned but retiring alderman W. Dunn Williams (who had not stood at the triennial election, was not returned.
Coalition supporters dominated the election with the Labour candidates and an Indepdnent elected as an Ex-Servicemen in 1919 all defeated.[5] Ironically, the election was fought against the backdrop of the General Election which was called after the Conservatives withdrew support from Lloyd George.