Hertfordshire County Council

Last updated

Hertfordshire County Council
Arms of Hertfordshire County Council.svg
Hertfordshire County Council.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Terry Douris,
Conservative
since 23 May 2023 [1] [2]
Richard Roberts,
Conservative [3]
since 25 May 2021
Chief Executive (interim)
Scott Crudgington
since 1 April 2024 [4]
Structure
Seats78 councillors
United Kingdom Hertfordshire County Council 2021.svg
Political groups
Administration (45)
  Conservative (45)
Other parties (33)
  Liberal Democrat (24)
  Labour (7)
  Green (1)
  Independent (1)
Joint committees
 East of England Local Government Association
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 6 May 2021
Next election
 1 May 2025
Meeting place
County Hall, Hertford.jpg
County Hall, Pegs Lane, Hertford, SG13 8DQ
Website
www.hertfordshire.gov.uk

Hertfordshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Hertfordshire, in England. The council was created in 1889. It is responsible for a wide range of public services in the county, including social care, transport, education, and the Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service. The Conservatives have held a majority of the seats on the council since 1999. The council is based at County Hall in Hertford.

Contents

History

Elected county councils were created under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions that had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions.

Shire Hall, Hertford: Council's first meeting place Shire Hall, Hertford, March 2024.jpg
Shire Hall, Hertford: Council's first meeting place

The first elections were held in January 1889, and the council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first meeting at Shire Hall, Hertford, the courthouse (built 1771) which had served as the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. [5] The first chairman of the council was Francis Cowper, 7th Earl Cowper, who was also a Liberal member of the House of Lords. [6]

Local government across England and Wales was reformed in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, establishing a system of upper-tier county councils and lower-tier district councils. The 1972 Act classed Hertfordshire as a non-metropolitan county, which determined the division of responsibilities between the county council and the ten district councils which were created in Hertfordshire. [7]

Governance

The council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the county's ten district councils. Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government for their areas. [8]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 1999.

Political control of the county council since 1974 has been as follows: [9]

Party in controlYears
No overall control 1974–1977
Conservative 1977–1985
No overall control 1985–1989
Conservative 1989–1993
No overall control 1993–1999
Conservative 1999–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1995 have been: [10]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
John Metcalf Labour 1995Jun 1999
Robert Ellis Conservative 15 Jun 199921 Mar 2006
David Beatty Conservative 28 Mar 200626 Sep 2007
Robert Gordon Conservative 9 Oct 20076 Oct 2017
David Williams Conservative 21 Nov 20179 May 2021
Richard Roberts Conservative 25 May 2021

Composition

After the 2021 election and by-elections up to December 2023, the composition of the council was: [11]

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 45
Liberal Democrats 24
Labour 7
Green 1
Independent 1
Total:78

The independent and Green councillors sit together as a group. [12] The next election is due in 2025.

Premises

The council is based at County Hall on Pegs Lane in Hertford, lying to the south-west of the town centre. The building was completed in 1939; there was no opening ceremony due to the outbreak of the Second World War. [13]

Elections

Elections are held every four years, interspersed by three years of elections to the ten district councils in the county. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, there have been 78 electoral divisions electing one councillor each. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertfordshire</span> County of England

Hertfordshire is a ceremonial county in the East of England and one of the home counties. It borders Bedfordshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south and Buckinghamshire to the west. The largest settlement is Watford, and the county town is Hertford.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welwyn Hatfield</span> District in Hertfordshire, England

Welwyn Hatfield is a local government district with borough status in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Welwyn Garden City. The borough borders Hertsmere, St Albans, North Hertfordshire, East Hertfordshire, Broxbourne, and the London Borough of Enfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of St Albans</span> Local authority district in England

St Albans, also known as the City and District of St Albans, is a local government district with city status in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in St Albans, the largest settlement in the district. The district also includes the town of Harpenden and several villages. The district borders North Hertfordshire, Welwyn Hatfield, Hertsmere, Watford, Three Rivers, Dacorum, and Central Bedfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertford</span> Town in Hertfordshire, England

Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bishop's Stortford</span> Commuter town in Hertfordshire, England

Bishop's Stortford is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district, in the county of Hertfordshire, England. It is in the London commuter belt, near the border with Essex, just west of the M11 motorway and Stansted Airport, 22 miles north-east of Central London and 34 minutes away by rail from Liverpool Street station. The town had an estimated population of 41,088 in 2020. The district of East Hertfordshire, where the town centre is located, was ranked as the best place to live in the UK by the Halifax Quality of Life annual survey in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Hertfordshire</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

East Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Hertford, the county town of Hertfordshire. The largest town in the district is Bishop's Stortford, and the other main towns are Ware, Buntingford and Sawbridgeworth. At the 2011 Census, the population of the district was 137,687. By area it is the largest of the ten local government districts in Hertfordshire. The district borders North Hertfordshire, Stevenage, Welwyn Hatfield and Broxbourne in Hertfordshire, and Epping Forest, Harlow and Uttlesford in Essex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Hertfordshire</span> UK local government district

North Hertfordshire is one of ten local government districts in the county of Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Letchworth Garden City and the largest town is Hitchin. The district also includes the towns of Baldock and Royston and numerous villages and surrounding rural areas. Part of the district lies within the Chiltern Hills, a designated Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dacorum</span> Local government district in England

Dacorum is a local government district with borough status in Hertfordshire, England. The council is based in Hemel Hempstead. The borough also includes the towns of Berkhamsted and Tring and surrounding villages. The borough had a population of 155,081 in 2021. Dacorum was created in 1974 and is named after the ancient hundred of Dacorum which had covered a similar area. The borough of Dacorum is the westernmost of Hertfordshire's ten districts. It borders St Albans, Three Rivers, Buckinghamshire and Central Bedfordshire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sawbridgeworth</span> Town in Hertfordshire, England

Sawbridgeworth is a town and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, close to the border with Essex. It is 12 miles (19 km) east of Hertford and 9 miles (14 km) north of Epping. It is the northernmost part of the Greater London Built-up Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Three Rivers District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Three Rivers is a local government district in south-west Hertfordshire, England. Its council is based in Rickmansworth. The district borders Hertsmere, Watford, St Albans, Dacorum, Buckinghamshire, and the London boroughs of Hillingdon and Harrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertford and Stortford (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1983 onwards

Hertford and Stortford is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament by Josh Dean of the Labour Party since 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North East Hertfordshire (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

North East Hertfordshire is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2024 by Chris Hinchliff of the Labour Party.

East Hertfordshire District Council is elected every four years.

Hertford was the name of a parliamentary constituency in Hertfordshire, which elected Members of Parliament (MPs) from 1298 until 1974.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service</span> Fire and rescue service in southern England

Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hertfordshire, England. HFRS covers an area of 1,514 square miles (3,920 km2) and a population of 1.19 million.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nottinghamshire County Council</span> The upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England

Nottinghamshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Nottinghamshire in England. It consists of 66 county councillors, elected from 56 electoral divisions every four years. The most recent election was held in 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County Hall, Hertford</span> County building in Hertford, Hertfordshire, England

The County Hall is a municipal building complex in Pegs Lane, Hertford, Hertfordshire. The building, which is the headquarters of Hertfordshire County Council, is a Grade II* listed building.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2021 Hertfordshire County Council election</span> 2021 UK local government election

Elections to Hertfordshire County Council took place on 6 May 2021 alongside other local elections in the United Kingdom. All 78 seats to the council were elected.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 East Hertfordshire District Council election</span>

The 2023 East Hertfordshire District Council election took place on 4 May 2023 to elect members of East Hertfordshire District Council in Hertfordshire, England. This was on the same day as other local elections.

References

  1. ↑ Day, Christopher (2 June 2023). "Herts County Council: New chairman and changes to cabinet". The Comet. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. ↑ Price, Deborah (22 May 2024). "Hemel councillor re-elected as Herts County Council chairman after 'great year' in charge". Hemel Today. Retrieved 23 May 2024.
  3. ↑ Corr, Sinead (25 May 2021). "New leader of Herts County Council sets out four-year agenda". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  4. ↑ Corr, Sinead (16 February 2024). "Herts County Council: Search begins for new chief executive after Owen Mapley quits". Bishop's Stortford Independent. Retrieved 11 May 2024.
  5. ↑ Historic England. "Shire Hall, 15 Fore Street (Grade I) (1268930)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  6. ↑ "Hertfordshire County Council". Hertfordshire Mercury. Hertford. 6 April 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  7. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 65, retrieved 11 May 2023
  8. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 27 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  10. ↑ "Council minutes". Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 1 June 2022.
  11. ↑ "Hertfordshire County Council". BBC News . Retrieved 1 July 2021.
  12. ↑ "Hertfordshire's County Councillors by political grouping". Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 15 December 2023.
  13. ↑ Historic England. "County Hall Including Terraces and Fountain, Hertford (1268807)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 August 2019.
  14. ↑ "The Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2015/1873, retrieved 11 May 2023
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