City of Lincoln Council

Last updated
City of Lincoln Council
City of Lincoln Council.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Bill Mara,
Conservative
since 13 May 2025 [1]
Naomi Tweddle,
Labour
since 14 May 2024
Angela Andrews
since September 2014 [2]
Structure
Seats33 councillors
Lincoln2025.svg
Political groups
Administration
  Labour (22)
Other parties
  Liberal Democrats (6)
  Conservative (5)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
 2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Guildhall and Stonebow, Lincoln.jpg
Guildhall, Saltergate, Lincoln, LN1 1DH
Website
www.lincoln.gov.uk

City of Lincoln Council is the local authority for the city of Lincoln, in Lincolnshire, England. Lincoln has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a non-metropolitan district council. It meets at the Guildhall and has its main offices at Lincoln City Hall. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.

Contents

History

Lincoln was an ancient borough, which also held city status from 1072 when the Diocese of Lincoln was established. [3] The borough's earliest known charters were issued by Henry II (reigned 1154–1189). [4] The city was given the right to appoint its own sheriffs in 1409, making it a county corporate, removing it from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Lincolnshire and the Lindsey quarter sessions. [5]

The borough was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. [6] It was then governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Citizens of the City of Lincoln", generally known as the corporation or city council. [7] When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 to take over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions, Lincoln was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services. Lincoln was therefore made a county borough, independent from the new Lindsey County Council. [8]

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Lincoln was reconstituted to become a non-metropolitan district, altering its powers and responsibilities but keeping the same area and name. The separate county councils which had existed for each of the Parts of Lincolnshire were also amalgamated to create a single Lincolnshire County Council for the first time, with responsibility for county-level services in the city of Lincoln too. [9]

Governance

City of Lincoln Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council. There are no civil parishes in the city, which is an unparished area. [10] [11]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: [12] [13]

Party in controlYears
Democratic Labour 1974–1978
No overall control 1978–1979
Conservative 1979–1982
Labour 1982–2007
Conservative 2007–2010
No overall control 2010–2011
Labour 2011–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Lincoln is now largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Fred Allen [14] [15] Democratic Labour 1 Apr 1974May 1975
Jean Bates [15] [16] Democratic Labour May 19753 Oct 1978
Cecil Robinson [17] [18] Conservative 3 Oct 1978May 1979
Jim Sullivan [19] [20] Conservative May 1979May 1982
Peter Archer [20] [21] Labour May 1982May 1984
Derek Miller [21] [22] Labour May 1984May 1993
Chris Meanwell [23] Labour May 1993May 1995
Roland Hurst [23] [24] Labour May 1995May 1999
Ric Metcalfe [25] [26] Labour 18 May 1999May 2007
Eddie Strengiel [27] [28] [29] Conservative 22 May 2007May 2008
Darren Grice [30] [31] Conservative 20 May 2008May 2011
Ric Metcalfe [32] [26] Labour 24 May 2011May 2024
Naomi Tweddle [33] [34] Labour Co-op 14 May 2024

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and a subsequent by-election in April 2025, the composition of the council was: [35]

PartyCouncillors
Labour 22
Liberal Democrats 6
Conservative 5
Total33

The next election is due in 2026. [36]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016 the council has comprised 33 councillors representing 11 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four year term of office. Lincolnshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no city council elections. [37]

Premises

City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln, LN1 1DD: Council's main offices Lincoln City Hall - geograph.org.uk - 108761.jpg
City Hall, Beaumont Fee, Lincoln, LN1 1DD: Council's main offices

Council meetings are held at the Guildhall on Saltergate; the current building was completed c. 1520 on a site which had been used as a guildhall since 1237, having been created from part of one of the gates in the city wall. [38] [39] [40] [41]

The council's main offices are at City Hall on Beaumont Fee, which was built in 1973 and formally opened on 16 March 1974. [42]

References

  1. ↑ "Council minutes, 13 May 2025". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  2. ↑ "Lincoln council appoints new chief executive". ITV News. 6 July 2015. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
  3. ↑ Naldrett, Peter (2024). Bright Lights, Big Cities. Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 225. ISBN   9781844866625 . Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  4. ↑ Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4. 1835. p. 2345. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Hill, Francis (1965). Medieval Lincoln. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 279. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  6. ↑ Municipal Corporations Act. 1835. p. 460. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  7. ↑ "No. 32413". The London Gazette . 5 August 1921. p. 6213.
  8. ↑ "Relationships and changes Lincoln MB/CB through time". A Vision of Britain through Time . Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". legislation.gov.uk . Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  11. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 21 September 2023.
  12. ↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Lincoln" in search box to see specific results.)
  13. ↑ "Lincoln". BBC News Online. 2009-04-19. Retrieved 2010-05-07.
  14. ↑ "City Council's new contracts 'won't be upheld'". Lincolnshire Echo. 30 January 1974. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  15. 1 2 "Woman leader for city council". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 1 March 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  16. ↑ "Tories take over – and get warning from Dem-Labs". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 4 October 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  17. ↑ "Fireworks City Council meeting". Lincolnshire Echo. 3 October 1978. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  18. ↑ "City Council leader not to stand". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 27 March 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  19. ↑ "Tories draw up 'Better Lincoln' plan". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 10 May 1979. p. 1. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  20. 1 2 "Lincoln's rulers decide future". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 7 May 1982. p. 1. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  21. 1 2 "New leader ready for a tough year". Lincolnshire Echo. 7 May 1984. p. 5. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  22. ↑ "Leader retires". Lincoln Target. 13 May 1993. p. 9. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  23. 1 2 "Leader goes in Labour Party's shake-up". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 9 May 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  24. ↑ "A beacon for Britain". Lincolnshire Echo. 10 May 1999. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  25. ↑ "New boss for City Council". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 10 May 1999. p. 12. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  26. 1 2 Mann, Sebastian (17 January 2024). "City of Lincoln Council leader Ric Metcalfe to step down after 42 years". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  27. ↑ "Council minutes, 22 May 2007" (PDF). City of Lincoln Council. pp. 8–9. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  28. ↑ "Flood worries over housing plan". BBC News. 15 January 2008. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  29. ↑ "Council minutes, 8 May 2008". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  30. ↑ "Council minutes, 20 May 2008" (PDF). City of Lincoln Council. pp. 22–23. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  31. ↑ Ionescu, Daniel (6 May 2011). "Lincoln Labour takes City Hall by storm". The Lincolnite. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  32. ↑ "Council minutes, 24 May 2011". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  33. ↑ Griffin, Joe (7 May 2024). "Naomi Tweddle chosen as next City of Lincoln Council leader following Ric Metcalfe's retirement". Lincolnshire Live. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  34. ↑ "Council minutes, 14 May 2024". City of Lincoln Council. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  35. ↑ "RETURNING OFFICER'S DECLARATION OF RESULT". City of Lincoln Council.
  36. ↑ "Lincoln". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  37. ↑ "The Lincoln (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2015/1461
  38. ↑ Historic England. "Stonebow and Guildhall, Lincoln (1388605)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  39. ↑ "The Stonebow and Guildhall" (PDF). Lincolnshire Museums. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
  40. ↑ Antram, N.; Pevsner, N.; J., Harris (1989). The Buildings of England: Lincolnshire. Yale University Press. p. 503. ISBN   978-0300096200.
  41. ↑ "Famous Lincoln landmark wins prestigious award". Lincolnshire Live. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 31 August 2022.
  42. ↑ "City Hall opened - and relic saved". Lincolnshire Echo. Lincoln. 18 March 1974. p. 7. Retrieved 26 November 2023.
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