Waltham Forest London Borough Council

Waltham Forest London Borough Council
Waltham Forest London Borough Council
	Coat of arms
	Council logo
Type
Type	London Borough Council of the London Borough of Waltham Forest
History
Founded	1 April 1965
Preceded by	Chingford Borough Council ; Leyton Borough Council ; Walthamstow Borough Council
Leadership
Mayor of Waltham Forest	Elizabeth Baptiste, Labour ; since 22 April 2021
Leader of the Council	Grace Williams, Labour ; since 2 September 2021
Chief executive	Martin Esom ; since October 2010
Structure
Seats	60 councillors
Political groups	Administration (47) Labour (47); Opposition (13) Conservative (13);
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
First election	7 May 1964
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	2 May 2024
Motto
	"Fellowship is Life"
Meeting place
	Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London E17 4SU
Website
	www.walthamforest.gov.uk
Constitution
	Constitution

Last updated October 30, 2022

Waltham Forest London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England which has existed since the London Government Act 1963 was commenced in 1965, replacing three local authorities: Chingford Borough Council, Leyton Borough Council and Walthamstow Borough Council. It is one of London's 32 borough councils, divided into 20 wards and elects 60 councillors.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Waltham Forest on 1 April 1965. Waltham Forest replaced Chingford Borough Council, Leyton Borough Council and Walthamstow Borough Council.^[3]

It was envisaged that through the London Government Act 1963 Waltham Forest as a London local authority would share power with 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 local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Waltham Forest London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. 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.^[4]

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.^[5] 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.^[6]

Political control

Since the first election to the council in 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Party in control	Years
Labour	1964 - 1968
Conservative	1968 - 1971
Labour	1971 - 1994
No overall control	1994 - 1998
Labour	1998 - 2002
No overall control	2002 - 2010
Labour	2010–present

Summary results of elections

Summary of the council composition after each council election, click on the year for full details of each election.

Year					Notes
Year	Labour	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Independent	Notes
1964	33	3	0	9
1968	4	44	0	0
1971	39	9	0	0
1974	36	12	0	0
1978	36	21	0	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 11.^[7]
1982	26	25	6	0
1986	31	16	10	0
1990	30	16	11	0
1994	27	16	14	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.^{[n 1]}^{[n 2]}
1998	30	15	12	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.^{[n 3]}
2002	29	18	13	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 3.^[8]
2006	26	15	19	0
2010	36	18	6	0
2014	44	16	0	0
2018	46	14	0	0
2022	47	13	0	0

By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections.

By-election	Date
Leytonstone	15 October 1992	Labour	Labour
Wood Street	1 May 1997	Liberal Democrats	Labour
Leytonstone	1 October 1998	Labour	Labour
Forest	15 May 2003	Labour	Liberal Democrats
William Morris	4 September 2003	Labour	Liberal Democrats
Valley	28 October 2004	Conservative	Conservative
Hoe Street	18 November 2004	Labour	Labour
Leytonstone	14 July 2005	Labour	Labour
Chingford Green	26 April 2007	Conservative	Conservative
Leyton	14 February 2008	Labour	Liberal Democrats
Forest	5 June 2008	Liberal Democrats	Liberal Democrats
Valley	6 November 2008	Conservative	Conservative
Hale End & Highams Park	4 December 2008	Liberal Democrats	Liberal Democrats
Larkswood	19 March 2009	Conservative	Conservative
Larkswood	12 July 2012	Conservative	Conservative
William Morris	29 June 2017	Labour	Labour

Notes

↑ The Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
↑ The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1993
↑ The Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993

Related Research Articles

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Walthamstow was a local government district in southwest Essex, England from 1873 to 1965, around the town of Walthamstow. It was within the London suburbs, forming part of the London postal district and Metropolitan Police District. Its former area now corresponds to the central part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest in Greater London.

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Wandsworth London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Wandsworth in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Wandsworth is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. After the May 2022 election, 35 of these councillors were Labour and 22 were Conservatives, with 1 independent. The Conservatives had an overall majority on the council since 1978, until Labour won control in the 2022 election.

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References

↑ "Election Results 2022". Waltham Forest London Borough Council.
↑ "Civic Heraldry Of England And Wales - Greater London Region". Civicheraldry.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-12.
↑ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
↑ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
↑ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
↑ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
↑ "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
↑ "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 2002" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

External links

Official website

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[8] The Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993

[9] The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1993

[10] The Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993

[1] "Election Results 2022". Waltham Forest London Borough Council.

[2] "Civic Heraldry Of England And Wales - Greater London Region". Civicheraldry.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-04-12.

[3] Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.

[4] Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.

[5] "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.

[6] "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.

[London_1978_election-7] "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

[London_2002_election-11] "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 2002" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

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v t e Local authorities in London
Regional	Greater London Authority
City of London	Corporation of London Inner Temple Middle Temple
London borough councils	Barking and Dagenham Barnet Bexley Brent Bromley Camden Croydon Ealing Enfield Greenwich Hackney Hammersmith and Fulham Haringey Harrow Havering Hillingdon Hounslow Islington Kensington and Chelsea Kingston upon Thames Lambeth Lewisham Merton Newham Redbridge Richmond upon Thames Southwark Sutton Tower Hamlets Waltham Forest Wandsworth Westminster