Cardiff Council elections take place for the whole council every five years, to Cardiff Council (officially the County Council of the City and County of Cardiff) in south Wales. It came into being as a unitary authority on 1 April 1996, after the passing of the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. In 2014 the National Assembly for Wales deferred all local elections in Wales to 2017. The council is composed of 75 councillors.
Between 1974 and 1996 Cardiff Council was a district council of South Glamorgan (the city also electing councillors to the county council). Prior to 1974 Cardiff Council governed a county borough, separate from the county of Glamorgan.
Since the current council was established as a unitary authority in 1995, political control has been held by the following parties:
The leaders of Cardiff Council since 1996 have been:
The by-election was called following the election of Cllr. Julie Morgan as the Member for the Parliamentary constituency of Cardiff North.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Jenny Randerson.
The by-election was called following the election of Cllr. Kevin Brennan as the Member for the Parliamentary constituency of Cardiff West.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Bill Cookson.
There were no by-elections.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Simon Roberts.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Gwenllian Lansdown.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Phil Hawkins for personal reasons.
A by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Luke Holland following accusations of non-attendance at council meetings. He stated that he planned to move to London.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour Councillor Cerys Furlong on 30 December 2013.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Siobhan Corria for personal reasons.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour Councillor Craig Williams, following his election as MP for Cardiff North.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Cecilia Love for family reasons.
The by-election was caused by the death of Labour councillor Mohammed Javed.
The by-election was caused by the death of Labour councillor Chris Lomax.
The by-election was caused by the death of Labour councillor Jim Murphy on 1 December 2018.
The by-election was caused by the death of Liberal Democrat Councillor Wendy Congreve on 14 May 2019.
The by-election was caused by the death of Conservative councillor Tim Davies on 4 June 2019.
The by-election was caused by the resignation of Labour councillor Phil Bale in Autumn 2019.
The by-election was called following the resignation of Cllr. Fenella Bowden who resigned for health reasons.
The by-election was caused by the death of Labour councillor Abdul Sattar on 15 February 2024.
Green and Plaid Cymru vote share changes compared to Common Ground's 2022 result.
Labour councillor Heather Joyce had resigned for health reasons after representing Llanrumney for 17 years.
A by-election was called following the stepping down of Labour councillor, Sara Robinson.