Camden London Borough Council | |
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![]() Council logo | |
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Jenny Rowlands since March 2019 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 55 councillors |
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Political groups |
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Length of term | Whole council elected every four years |
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
Meeting place | |
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Camden Town Hall, Judd Street, London, WC1H 9JE | |
Website | |
www |
Camden London Borough Council, also known as Camden Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council meets at Camden Town Hall and has its main offices at 5 Pancras Square.
The London Borough of Camden and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. [3] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the councils of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hampstead, Holborn and St Pancras. [4] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished. [4]
The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Camden", but it styles itself Camden Council. [5]
From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Camden) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. [6] Camden became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. [7]
Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions. [8]
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. [9] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health. [10]
The council licenses street trading throughout the borough, including the following markets: [11]
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010.
The first election to the council was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: [12] [13]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1965–1968 | |
Conservative | 1968–1971 | |
Labour | 1971–2006 | |
No overall control | 2006–2010 | |
Labour | 2010–present |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Camden. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been: [14] [15]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Charlie Ratchford | Labour | 1965 | 1968 | |
Geoffrey Finsberg | Conservative | 1968 | 1970 | |
Martin Morton | Conservative | 1970 | 1971 | |
Millie Miller | Labour | 1971 | 1973 | |
Frank Dobson | Labour | 1973 | 1975 | |
Roy Shaw | Labour | 1975 | 1982 | |
Phil Turner | Labour | 1982 | 1986 | |
Tony Dykes | Labour | 1986 | 1990 | |
Julie Fitzgerald | Labour | 1990 | 1993 | |
Richard Arthur | Labour | 1993 | 17 May 2000 | |
Jane Roberts | Labour | 17 May 2000 | 7 Nov 2005 | |
Raj Chada | Labour | 8 Nov 2005 | 7 May 2006 | |
Keith Moffitt | Liberal Democrats | 24 May 2006 | May 2010 | |
Nash Ali | Labour | 26 May 2010 | 9 May 2012 | |
Sarah Hayward | Labour | 16 May 2012 | 17 May 2017 | |
Georgia Gould* | Labour | 17 May 2017 | 11 July 2024 | |
Richard Olszewski | Labour | 22 July 2024 | Present |
*Councillor Pat Callaghan took on the role of Acting Leader during Gould's maternity leave from September 2023 until early 2024 and then again during July 2024 following Gould's resignation upon being elected as an MP. [16]
Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections up to May 2024, the composition of the council was as follows: [17] [18]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 46 | |
Liberal Democrats | 5 | |
Conservative | 3 | |
Green | 1 | |
Total | 55 |
The next election is due in May 2026.
The council meets at Camden Town Hall on Judd Street, which was completed in 1937 for the old St Pancras Borough Council, originally being known as St Pancras Town Hall. [19] The council's main offices are at 5 Pancras Square, which was purpose-built for the council as part of the regeneration of the King's Cross area, being completed in 2014. [20]
Prior to 2014 the council's main offices were at the Town Hall Annexe, which had been completed in 1977 at the corner of Argyle Street and Euston Road, immediately east of the Town Hall. [21] The Town Hall Annexe was subsequently converted into a hotel. [22]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [23]
The wards are: [24]
In 2012 it was reported that Camden Council was one of several local authorities to have been banned from accessing information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services." [25]
Following Freedom of Information requests in 2020, it was discovered that only 16% of Camden's employees live within the borough, [26] and that many of its employees live as far afield as Scotland and Northern Ireland. [27]
It was also discovered that senior employees were more likely to live further away from Camden, with a spokesperson saying that finding employees with specialised skillsets near to the borough was 'almost impossible'. Camden stated in response that all their staff are provided with one day's extra leave for volunteering, with a 'focus on Camden'. [27]
Statistics also showed that only a single employee lived in Camden's three Central London wards, despite comprising almost a quarter of the borough's size and population. [26]
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