Hertfordshire County Council

Hertfordshire County Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan county
Leadership
Chair	Laurence Brass, Liberal Democrat since 20 May 2025 [1]
Leader	Steve Jarvis, Liberal Democrat since 20 May 2025 [2]
Chief Executive	Angie Ridgwell since September 2024 [3]
Structure
Seats	78 councillors
Political groups	Administration (32)   Liberal Democrat (32) Opposition (46)   Conservative (22)   Reform UK (14)   Green (5)   Labour (4)   Independent (1)
Joint committees	East of England Local Government Association
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	1 May 2025
Next election	TBC
Meeting place
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 Liberal Democrats have held a plurality of the seats on the council since May 2025, and currently run the council as a minority administration. ^[4] The council is based at County Hall in Hertford.

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

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 no overall control since the 2025 election, with the Liberal Democrats the largest party and running the council as a minority administration. ^[4]

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

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1977
	Conservative	1977–1985
	No overall control	1985–1989
	Conservative	1989–1993
	No overall control	1993–1999
	Conservative	1999–2025
	No overall control	2025–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1995 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
John Metcalf [10]		Labour	1995	15 Jun 1999
Robert Ellis [10] [11]		Conservative	15 Jun 1999	21 Mar 2006
David Beatty [12] [13]		Conservative	28 Mar 2006	26 Sep 2007
Robert Gordon [14] [15]		Conservative	9 Oct 2007	6 Oct 2017
David Williams [16] [17]		Conservative	21 Nov 2017	25 May 2021
Richard Roberts [18] [19]		Conservative	25 May 2021	20 May 2025
Steve Jarvis [2] [4]		Liberal Democrats	20 May 2025

Composition

After the 2025 election and changes of allegiance ^[20] up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: ^{[21] [22] [23]}

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	32
	Conservative	22
	Reform UK	14
	Green	5
	Labour	4
	Independent	1
Total:		78

Premises

Robertson House, Six Hills Way, Stevenage, SG1 2FQ: Council's offices in Stevenage.

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. ^[24] The council also has offices in Stevenage, Hemel Hempstead, and Welwyn Garden City. ^[25]

Elections

Main article: Hertfordshire County Council 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. ^[26]

References

1. "Hertfordshire County Council elects new Chairman". Hertfordshire County Council. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
2. "New County Council Leader and Cabinet appointed". Hertfordshire County Council. 20 May 2025. Retrieved 20 May 2025.
3. "New Hertfordshire County Council Chief Executive appointed". Hertfordshire County Council. 25 June 2024. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
4. Parry, Louise (22 May 2025). "Liberal Democrats to run council following win". BBC News . Retrieved 24 May 2025.
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. University of Exeter. Retrieved 5 March 2025. (Put "Hertfordshire" in search box to see specific results.)
10. "Tories celebrate regaining power at County Hall". Cheshunt and Waltham Mercury. 18 June 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
11. "Council leader dies". The Comet. 23 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
12. "New leader picked after death of county leader". Local Government Chronicle. 31 March 2006. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
13. "Council leader stands down". Watford Observer. 26 September 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
14. "Robert Gordon set to lead council". Watford Observer. 3 October 2007. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
15. Elvery, Martin (7 October 2017). "Tributes to Robert Gordon leader of Hertfordshire County Council who has passed away unexpectedly". Herts Advertiser. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
16. "Council minutes, 21 November 2017" (PDF). Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
17. Price, Deborah (10 May 2021). "Hertfordshire County Council election results 2021: Conservatives keep control of county council - but lose their leader". Hemel Today. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
18. "Council minutes, 25 May 2021" (PDF). Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
19. Gordon-Farleigh, Neve (2 May 2025). "Conservatives lose 26-year control of county council". BBC News. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
20. Price, Deborah (21 May 2025). "Labour county councillor joins Liberal Democrats three weeks after election". The Comet. Retrieved 26 May 2025.
21. "Hertfordshire County Council". BBC News . Retrieved 1 July 2021.
22. "Hertfordshire's County Councillors by Party". Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 19 February 2025.
23. "Hertfordshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
24. Historic England. "County Hall Including Terraces and Fountain, Hertford (1268807)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 13 August 2019.
25. "Our offices". Hertfordshire County Council. Retrieved 27 March 2025.
26. "The Hertfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2015/1873, retrieved 11 May 2023

External links

• England portal

• Official Hertfordshire County Council website
• Official Hertfordshire County Council careers website