Oxfordshire County Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Martin Reeves since March 2023 [2] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 63 councillors |
Political groups | Administration (24)
Opposition (39)
|
Length of term | 4 years |
Elections | |
First past the post | |
Last election | 6 May 2021 |
Next election | May 2025 |
Motto | |
Sapere aude (Dare to be wise) [3] | |
Meeting place | |
County Hall, New Road, Oxford, OX1 1ND | |
Website | |
www |
Oxfordshire County Council is the county council (upper-tier local authority) for the non-metropolitan county of Oxfordshire in the South East of England. Established in 1889, it is an elected body responsible for most strategic local government services in the county.
Oxfordshire County Council provides a wide range of services, including education (schools, libraries and youth services), social services, public health, highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, consumer protection and town and country planning for matters to do with minerals, waste, highways and education. [4] This makes it one of the largest employers in Oxfordshire, with a gross expenditure budget of £856.2 million in 2021–22. [5] [6]
County councils were first introduced in England and Wales with full powers from 1 April 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions until then carried out by the unelected quarter sessions. [7] The areas they covered were termed administrative counties and were not in all cases identical to the traditional shire counties.
The first elections to the new county council were held in January 1889. At the first meeting, several aldermen were elected.
Schools (both primary and secondary) were added to the County Council's responsibilities in 1902, and until the 1990s it was also responsible for operating Colleges of Further Education.
Oxfordshire County Council has seen a changing pattern of lower-tier authorities existing alongside it within its area, responsible for more local services, such as housing and waste collection. Until 1974, the county had a large number of urban district and rural district councils. In 1974, local government was reorganised in England and Wales generally under the Local Government Act 1972, and Oxfordshire was enlarged to take in areas previously in Berkshire. Within its new area, dozens of former urban and rural districts were amalgamated into five non-metropolitan districts: Oxford, Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire.
The first election to the reconstituted county council following the Local Government Act 1972 was held in 1973. It operated as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since then has been as follows: [8]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 1974–1985 | |
No overall control | 1985–2005 | |
Conservative | 2005–2013 | |
No overall control | 2013–present |
The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: [9]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Keith Mitchell | Conservative | 2001 | 15 May 2012 | |
Ian Hudspeth | Conservative | 15 May 2012 | 9 May 2021 | |
Liz Leffman | Liberal Democrats | 18 May 2021 |
As of September 2023, the sitting administration is Liberal Democrat/Green, after the Labour Party left the coalition. [10] The council's full composition is as follows:
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 21* | |
Liberal Democrats | 21 | |
Labour | 14* | |
Green Party | 3 | |
Henley Residents Group | 1 | |
Independent | 3 |
*In the election for the seat of Banbury Ruscote, the Conservative candidate's vote count was erroneously reversed with the winning Labour candidate's, such that the Conservative candidate was declared elected. This would have left the Conservatives on 22 seats, and Labour on 15. A legal challenge was launched by Labour and the result corrected to a Labour win. [11] [12]
At the 2021 election, the Conservative Party lost seats primarily at the expense of Liberal Democrat gains, including the Conservative leader Ian Hudspeth, who had served as leader since May 2012 and a councillor since 2005. [13] This was their worst performance in Oxfordshire since the modern council's inception in 1973. Likewise, this was the highest number of seats the Liberal Democrats had held on this council. [14] Liberal Democrat and Green councillors currently form a joint group known as the Liberal Democrat Green Alliance. [15]
Since 1889, members have been elected for a term of office, with elections held all together (initially every three years, later every four years) by the "first past the post" system. Until the 1970s, the elected members chose aldermen, whose term of office was for six years, and who once appointed were also voting members of the council. This form of membership was ended by the Local Government Act 1972, so that after 1974 only honorary (that is, non-voting) aldermen could be appointed. [16]
In 2021, the Liberal Democrat/Green/Labour administration moved a motion at Full Council to serve only plant-based (vegan) meals at all council-catered events and meetings, and vegan school meals in primary schools two days a week as part of its climate change action policy. [24] The move was unsuccessfully fought by the Conservative opposition. This policy was controversial and drew protests from livestock farmers and TV presenter Jeremy Clarkson, who owns a farm in the county. [25] [26] As a result of the controversy, when the motion came to the council's Cabinet for ratification in March 2022, the proposals were scaled back to cover just seven council meetings and school meals only one day a week. [27] In November 2022, the Conservatives unsuccessfully sought to cancel vegan meals at council-catered events, which cost £6,000 annually and are purchased from a Kidlington business which sources food from Woodstock. [28]
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link)In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom, no overall control is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, analogous to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for election in the 2019 local elections, 73 resulted in a NOC administration. In the 2021 election, 14 resulted in no overall control. The term can still be used for several other countries, such as for two local councils of Malta and the General Assembly of Budapest in Hungary.
Wiltshire Council, known between 1889 and 2009 as Wiltshire County Council, is a unitary authority which governs the district of Wiltshire, which covers the majority of the ceremonial county of the same name in South West England. The council has been controlled by the Conservative Party since 2000, and has its headquarters at County Hall in Trowbridge.
The 1997 Prime Minister's Resignation Honours were officially announced in two supplements to The London Gazette of 1 August 1997 and marked the May 1997 resignation of the Prime Minister, John Major.
The 2008 Henley by-election to elect a member of the House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008. In order to resign from being an MP, Johnson accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead on 4 June 2008.
This article documents the strengths of political parties in the 317 local authorities of England, 32 local authorities of Scotland, 22 principal councils of Wales and 11 local councils of Northern Ireland.
The 2000 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 4 May 2000 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party gained overall control of the council from no overall control.
The 2002 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 2 May 2002 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. The whole council was up for election with boundary changes since the last election in 2000. The Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2003 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 1 May 2003 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2004 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 10 June 2004 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2006 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 4 May 2006 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2007 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 3 May 2007 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2008 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 1 May 2008 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2010 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 6 May 2010 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2011 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 5 May 2011 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2012 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2014 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 22 May 2014 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2015 West Oxfordshire District Council election took place on 22 May 2015 to elect members of West Oxfordshire District Council in Oxfordshire, England. One third of the council was up for election and the Conservative Party stayed in overall control of the council.
The 2019 European Parliament election for the election of the delegation from the United Kingdom was held on May 23, 2019. These were the last elections to the European Parliament to be held before Brexit.
The 2021 Oxfordshire County Council election took place on 6 May 2021 alongside the other local elections. All 63 seats of the Oxfordshire County Council were contested. The council is composed of 61 divisions, each electing either one or two councillors, all elected by FPTP.
In the politics of England, a Liberal Democrat–Green Party alliance is an ad-hoc arrangement between candidates and elected representatives from the Liberal Democrats and Green Party to form a joint group on elected bodies or to field joint lists or candidates in elections.