Westminster City Council

Last updated

Westminster City Council
City of westminster logo.svg
Type
Type
Leadership
Robert Rigby,
Conservative
since 15 May 2024 [1]
Adam Hug,
Labour
since 18 May 2022 [2]
Stuart Love
since January 2018 [3]
Structure
Seats54 councillors
Westminster City Council 2022.svg
Political groups
Administration (30)
  Labour (30)
Opposition (24)
  Conservative (24)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 5 May 2022
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Westminster Council House.jpg
Westminster Council House, 97–113 Marylebone Road, London, NW1 5PT
Website
www.westminster.gov.uk

Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Full council meetings are generally held at Westminster Council House, also known as Marylebone Town Hall, and the council has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street.

Contents

History

Whilst an important centre of royal authority from Saxon times, Westminster was not formally incorporated as a borough for local government purposes until 1900. However, it was declared a city in 1540. [4]

From 1856 the area of the modern borough was within the area governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards. One such district was initially called the Westminster District, which was renamed the St Margaret and St John Combined Vestry in 1887. [5] In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, including Westminster (which inherited Westminster's city status), [6] Paddington and St Marylebone, each with a borough council. [7]

The larger London borough called the City of Westminster and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. [8] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the metropolitan borough councils of Westminster, Paddington and St Marylebone. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished. [9] [10] In 1966 the city was granted the dignity of having a lord mayor. [11]

The council's full legal name is "The Lord Mayor and Citizens of the City of Westminster", but it is generally known as Westminster City Council. [12]

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 Westminster) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. [13] Westminster became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved. [14]

In the late 1980s, the under the leadership of Conservative councillor Shirley Porter, the council was involved in the homes for votes scandal. In marginal wards, the council moved the homeless elsewhere, and sold council homes to groups who were more likely to vote Conservative. On investigation, the policy was ruled to be illegal, and it was revealed that some of the homeless had been rehoused in condemned accommodation. After leaving office, Porter was found guilty of wilful misconduct and ordered to repay £36.1 million; a payment of £12.3 million was eventually accepted. [15] [16] [17]

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. [18]

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. [19] 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. [20]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2022. Prior to that the council had been under Conservative majority control since the creation of the current authority in 1965. [21]

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: [22]

Party in controlYears
Conservative 1965–2022
Labour 2022–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Westminster is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been: [23] [24]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Gordon Pirie [25] Conservative 19651969
Arthur Barrett Conservative 19691972
Guy Cubitt Conservative 19721976
David Cobbold Conservative 19761983
Shirley Porter Conservative 19831991
David Weeks [26] Conservative 199113 Jul 1993
Miles Young [27] Conservative 29 Jul 19931995
Melvyn Caplan Conservative 19952000
Simon Milton Conservative 2000Jun 2008
Colin Barrow Conservative 18 Jun 20087 Mar 2012
Philippa Roe Conservative 7 Mar 201225 Jan 2017
Nickie Aiken Conservative 25 Jan 201722 Jan 2020
Rachael Robathan Conservative 22 Jan 202018 May 2022
Adam Hug Labour 18 May 2022

Composition

Following the 2022 election the composition of the council was:

PartyCouncillors
Labour 31
Conservative 23
Total54

The next election is due in 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years. [28]

Premises

Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP: Council's main offices since 1966 Westminster City Hall, June 2024.jpg
Westminster City Hall, 64 Victoria Street, London, SW1E 6QP: Council's main offices since 1966

The council has its main offices at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street in the Victoria area. It was designed by Burnet Tait & Partners on a speculative basis, and completed in 1966. [29] Full council meetings are held in the council chamber of Marylebone Town Hall on Marylebone Road, built in 1920 for the former Metropolitan Borough of St Marylebone, one of the council's predecessors. [30]

Notable councillors

See also

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References

  1. ↑ "New Lord Mayor of Westminster elected". Westminster City Council. Retrieved 26 May 2024.
  2. ↑ "Council minutes, 18 May 2022" (PDF). Westminster City Council. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  3. ↑ "Westminster names new chief". The MJ. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  4. ↑ Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857: Volume 7. London: Institute of Historical Research. 1992. pp. 65–67. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  5. ↑ Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)
  6. ↑ "No. 27242". The London Gazette . 30 October 1900. p. 6613.
  7. ↑ London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)
  8. ↑ "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
  9. ↑ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN   0901050679.
  10. ↑ "Grant of title of city: London Borough of Westminster, 1964". The National Archives. Retrieved 1 May 2024.
  11. ↑ "No. 43921". The London Gazette . 11 March 1966. p. 2704.
  12. ↑ "Central London Forward Joint Venture Agreement" (PDF). City of London Corporation. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  13. ↑ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  14. ↑ Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40)
  15. ↑ All facts below are taken from the description of facts as printed in the decision of the Judicial Appealate Committee of the House of Lords of the Westminster Parliament in Porter v Magill [2002] 2 AC 357, and are repeated here under absolute privilege
  16. ↑ Rosenberg, Jonathan (1998). Against the odds. London: WECH. ISBN   0-9533073-0-1.
  17. ↑ Magill, John (3 February 2004). "WESTMINSTER CITY COUNCIL BUILDING STABLE COMMUNITIES REPORT IN THE PUBLIC INTEREST". The Guardian. London.
  18. ↑ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN   978-0714648590.
  19. ↑ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  21. ↑ Neary, Hannah (6 May 2022). "Westminster local election results 2022: Tories lose council to Labour for first time ever". My London. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  22. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  23. ↑ "Council minutes". Westminster City Council. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  24. ↑ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  25. ↑ "Group Captain Sir Gordon Pirie". The Telegraph. 14 August 2003. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
  26. ↑ Power, Lynn (15 July 1993). "Weeks' End". Westminster and Pimlico News. p. 1. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  27. ↑ "Young wins". Westminster and Pimlico News. 29 July 1993. p. 3. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  28. ↑ "The City of Westminster (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2020/1224, retrieved 30 April 2024
  29. ↑ "Westminster City Hall". Open House London. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  30. ↑ Hosken, Andrew (2007). Nothing Like a Dame: The Scandals of Shirley Porter. Granta Books. p. 31. ISBN   978-1862079229.
  31. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 Boothroyd, David. "Members of Westminster City Council". Westminster City Council Election Results. Archived from the original on 8 November 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2022.
  32. ↑ "Cities of London and Westminster - General election results 2024". BBC News . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Neale Coleman, the new member of Jeremy Corbyn's inner circle". BBC News . 17 September 2015. Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  34. ↑ "Crown Office". The Gazette . Retrieved 19 August 2024.
  35. ↑ "May, His Honour Sir Richard (George), (12 Nov. 1938–1 July 2004), a Judge of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, 1997–2004". WHO'S WHO & WHO WAS WHO . 2007. doi:10.1093/ww/9780199540884.013.u27081. ISBN   978-0-19-954089-1 . Retrieved 11 August 2022.
  36. ↑ Colombeau, Joseph. "London Borough Council Elections 3 May 2018" (PDF). Elections - London Datastore. Greater London Authority . Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  37. 1 2 "Macclesfield - General Election 2024". Sky News . Retrieved 8 July 2024.
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