Merton London Borough Council

Merton London Borough Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type	London Borough
Leadership
Mayor	Slawek Szczepanski, Labour since 22 May 2024 [1]
Leader	Ross Garrod, Labour since 25 May 2022
Chief Executive	Hannah Doody since July 2021 [2]
Structure
Seats	57 councillors
Political groups	Administration (30)   Labour (30) Other parties (27)   Liberal Democrats (17)   Conservative (7)   Merton Park RA (2)   Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Civic Centre, London Road, Morden, SM4 5DX
Website
www.merton.gov.uk

Merton London Borough Council, which styles itself Merton Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Merton in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014. The council is based at Merton Civic Centre in Morden.

History

The London Borough of Merton 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 municipal boroughs of Mitcham and Wimbledon and the urban district of Merton and Morden. ^[4] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. ^[5]

The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Merton", but it styles itself Merton Council. ^[6]

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 Merton) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Merton has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. ^[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]

Powers and functions

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]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: ^{[11] [12] [13]}

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1965–1968
	Conservative	1968–1971
	Labour	1971–1974
	Conservative	1974–1989
	No overall control	1989–1990
	Labour	1990–2006
	No overall control	2006–2014
	Labour	2014–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Merton is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been: ^{[14] [15]}

Councillor	Party		From	To
Vincent Talbot		Conservative	1965	1971
Dennis Hempstead		Labour	1971	1974
Vincent Talbot		Conservative	1974	1975
Allan Jones		Conservative	1975	1980
Harry Cowd		Conservative	1980	1988
John Elvidge		Conservative	1988	1990
Geoffrey Smith		Labour	1990	1991
Tony Colman		Labour	1991	1997
Mike Brunt		Labour	1997	1999
Philip Jones		Labour	1999	2000
Peter Holt		Labour	2000	25 Apr 2001
Andrew Judge		Labour	25 Apr 2001	24 May 2006
David Williams		Conservative	24 May 2006	26 May 2010
Stephen Alambritis		Labour	26 May 2010	18 Nov 2020
Mark Allison		Labour	18 Nov 2020	8 May 2022
Ross Garrod		Labour	25 May 2022

Composition

Following the 2022 election and a change of allegiance in January 2024, ^[16] the composition of the council was:

Party		Councillors
	Labour	30
	Liberal Democrats	17
	Conservative	7
	Merton Park Ward Residents Association	2
	Independent	1
Total		57

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

See also: Merton London Borough Council elections

A map showing the wards of Merton 2022 onwards

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 57 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. ^[17]

The political voting patterns in Merton broadly follow the geographical divide between Merton's two UK Parliament constituencies. The eastern Mitcham and Morden constituency, which is held by Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh, contains ten wards and has only elected Labour councillors since 2014, with the exception of a single Conservative councillor elected in Lower Morden in 2022. ^[18]

The western Wimbledon constituency, which is held by Liberal Democrats MP Paul Kohler, contains ten wards with 27 councillors, 17 of which are currently Liberal Democrats. Since 1990, the ward of Merton Park has only ever returned councillors for Merton Park Ward Residents Association. ^[19] The most recent elections in 2022 saw the Liberal Democrats replace the Conservatives as the main opposition on Merton Council, winning 17 seats across the Wimbledon wards. They won all council seats in four of the wards, while another four wards were split between the Liberal Democrats and either the Conservatives or Labour. The only ward completely held by the Conservatives is Village, while Labour maintains only a single councillor in each of the Abbey and Wandle wards. ^[20]

Premises

The council is based at Merton Civic Centre on London Road in Morden. The building began as a 15-storey office block that was privately built as 'Crown House', opening in 1962. ^[21] The council moved into the building in 1985, having previously been based at Wimbledon Town Hall. ^[22] A three-storey extension in front of the older building was completed in 1990, including the council chamber. ^{[23] [24]}

Mayors

At the annual council meeting, a mayor is elected to serve for a year. At the same time, the council elects a deputy mayor. Since 1978, each mayor must also be an elected councillor.

The mayor also acts as the ceremonial and civic head of the borough during his/her year of office, including chairing council meetings. The post is non-political, although they do get an additional casting vote in the event of a tie. Each year the mayor also chooses two charities which will benefit from a series of fundraising events throughout the mayoral year.

The following have served as mayor since the formation of the borough in 1965: ^[25]

• 1965–66 Cyril Marsh
• 1966–67 Cyril Black
• 1967–68 George Pearce
• 1968–69 Norman Clarke
• 1969–70 Philip Corbishley
• 1970–71 Alf Leivers
• 1971–72 Jim Coombes
• 1972–73 Jim Brown
• 1973–74 Vera Bonner
• 1974–75 Bernard Clifford
• 1975–76 Norman Healey
• 1976–77 John Watson
• 1977–78 Peter Kenyon
• 1978–79 George Watt
• 1979–80 Ron Haddow
• 1980–81 Tom Bull
• 1981–82 Vincent Talbot
• 1982–83 Rothesay Mackenzie
• 1983–84 Frank Meakings
• 1984–85 Tony Nicholson
• 1985–86 Diana Harris
• 1986–87 Dennis Taylor
• 1987–88 Harold Turner
• 1988–89 Allan Jones
• 1989–90 Barry Edwards
• 1990–91 Joe Abrams
• 1991–92 Peter McCabe
• 1992–93 Slim Flegg
• 1993–94 Marie-Louise de Villiers
• 1994–95 Malcolm Searle
• 1995–96 Bridget Smith
• 1996–97 Slim Flegg
• 1997–98 Sheila Knight
• 1998–99 Linda Kirby
• 1999–2000 Joyce Paton
• 2000–01 Ian Munn
• 2001–02 Stuart Pickover
• 2002–03 Edith Macauley
• 2003–04 Maxi Martin
• 2004–05 Margaret Brierly
• 2005–06 Judy Saunders
• 2006–07 Geraldine Stanford
• 2007–08 John Dehaney
• 2008–09 Martin Whelton
• 2009–10 Nick Draper
• 2010–11 Oonagh Moulton
• 2011–12 Gilli Lewis-Lavender
• 2012–13 David Williams
• 2013–14 Krystal Miller
• 2014–15 Agatha Akyigyina
• 2015–16 David Chung
• 2016–17 Brenda Fraser
• 2017–18 Marsie Skeete
• 2018–19 Mary Curtin
• 2019–20 Janice Howard
• 2020–21 Sally Kenny
• 2021–22 Mike Brunt
• 2022–23 Joan Henry
• 2023–24 Gill Manly
• 2024–Present Slawek Szczepanski

References

1. "First Polish-born Mayor of Merton, Councillor Slawek Szczepanski, champions community unity". Merton Council. 23 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
2. O'Connor, Tara (4 May 2021). "A new chief executive has been appointed to lead Merton Council". My London. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
3. "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
4. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN   0901050679.
5. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN   0901050679.
6. "European Database of Asylum Law" . Retrieved 25 April 2024.
7. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
8. Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN   978-0714648590.
9. "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
10. "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
11. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
12. "London Borough Council Elections" (PDF). London Datastore. London County Council. Retrieved 29 March 2015.
13. "Local elections: Merton". BBC News Online . Retrieved 11 September 2009.
14. "Council minutes". Merton Council. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
15. "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
16. Mendonça, Susana; Kelly, James W. (27 January 2024). "Merton Labour councillor quits over Israel-Gaza posts". BBC News. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
17. "The London Borough of Merton (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2020/1382, retrieved 25 April 2024
18. "Councillors". Merton Council. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
19. "Merton Park Ward Residents Association". www.mertonpark.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2017.
20. Services, CS-Democracy (5 May 2022). "Councillors". democracy.merton.gov.uk.
21. "Merton Civic Centre". Emporis. Archived from the original on 5 December 2020. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
22. London's Town Halls. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1998. p. 155. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
23. "Merton Civic Centre, showing the new library and office extension". Merton Photo Archive. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
24. "London Road: Building Crown House, Morden". Merton Photo Archive. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
25. "London Borough of Merton, Past Mayors of Merton". Merton.gov.uk. 23 May 2011. Retrieved 9 August 2011.