1973 South Glamorgan County Council election

Conservative and Labour candidates contested the vast majority of seats. In contrast there were relatively few Liberal and Plaid Cymru candidates. In Cardiff, many members of the previous County Borough Council sought election to both the new South Glamorgan authority and the new Cardiff City Council (where the elections were held a few weeks later).

Glamorgan was the only county to be divided as a result of local government re-organization in England and Wales from 1 April 1974. Previous proposals proposed by the Labour Party had envisaged a division into two new counties, East and West. However, the Conservatives favoured the creation of South Glamorgan given that they entertained hopes of winning control.^{[citation needed]}

The first elections were in May 1973 and councillors would act in a shadow capacity for the next 11 months, setting up the various functions, until the new council came into effect.^[2] Labour won a small majority (though subsequently allocated themselves 15 of the 20 seats on the steering committee),^[3] largely as a result of winning most of the seats in Cardiff and also in the port of Barry.