Wokingham Borough Council

Wokingham Borough Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Mayor	Adrian Mather, Liberal Democrats since 23 May 2024 [1]
Leader	Stephen Conway, Liberal Democrats since 18 May 2023
Chief Executive	Susan Parsonage since March 2019
Structure
Seats	54 councillors
Political groups	Administration (27)   Liberal Democrats (27) Other parties (27)   Conservative (19)   Labour (8)
Length of term	Third of council elected three years out of four
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1BN
Website
www.wokingham.gov.uk

Results map of the 2022 election

Wokingham Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. Since 1998 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.

The council has been under no overall control since 2022. Following the 2024 election a minority Liberal Democrat administration formed to run the council. It is based at the Civic Offices on Shute End in the town of Wokingham.

History

The town of Wokingham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1885. ^{[2] [3]} The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, merging with the surrounding Wokingham Rural District to become a new non-metropolitan district called Wokingham. ^{[4] [5]}

Until 1998 Wokingham was a lower-tier district council, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services to the area. The county council was abolished in 1998 and Wokingham became a unitary authority, taking over the county council's functions in the area. ^[6] The council was awarded borough status in 2007, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. ^[7]

Political control

Since 2022 the council has been under no overall control. Following the 2022 election a Liberal Democrat-led coalition with Labour and the independent councillors formed to run the council. ^[8] Following the 2024 election the Liberal Democrats had exactly half the council's seats and formed a minority administration. ^[9]

The first elections to Wokingham District Council were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows: ^{[10] [11]}

Lower-tier non-metropolitan district

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1976
	Conservative	1976–1995
	No overall control	1995–1996
	Liberal Democrats	1996–1997
	Conservative	1997–1998

Unitary authority

Party in control		Years
	Conservative	1998–2000
	No overall control	2000–2002
	Conservative	2002–2022
	No overall control	2022–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wokingham, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Simon Etheridge [12]		Conservative	1995	1996
Alan Spratling [13]		Liberal Democrats	1996	1997
Simon Etheridge [14] [15]		Conservative	1997	Sep 1999
Perry Lewis [16]		Conservative	Sep 1999	2000
Alan Spratling [13]		Liberal Democrats	2000	2002
Frank Browne [17]		Conservative	2002	4 May 2008
David Lee [18]		Conservative	22 May 2008	12 Jun 2014
Keith Baker [19]		Conservative	12 Jun 2014	18 May 2017
Charlotte Haitham-Taylor [20]		Conservative	18 May 2017	22 Nov 2018
Julian McGhee-Sumner [21]		Conservative	14 Dec 2018	5 May 2019
John Halsall [22]		Conservative	22 May 2019	19 May 2022
Clive Jones [23]		Liberal Democrats	19 May 2022	18 May 2023
Stephen Conway [24]		Liberal Democrats	18 May 2023	Present

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the council composition was: ^[25]

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	27
	Conservative	19
	Labour	8
Total		54

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Main article: Wokingham Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2024 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office. ^[26]

Premises

The council's main offices are the Civic Offices at Shute End in Wokingham. The building began as a house, built c. 1870 as the rectory for nearby St Paul's Church. It was purchased by Wokingham Rural District Council in 1939 and converted to become their offices. The building passed to the new Wokingham District Council when local government was reorganised in 1974. A large extension was added to the west of the original house in 1988. ^[27]

References

1. Batt, Andrew (29 May 2024). "New Borough Mayor elected". Wokingham Today. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
2. "Wokingham New Charter of Incorporation". Reading Mercury. 10 October 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
3. "Wokingham Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
6. "The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1996/1879, retrieved 31 May 2023
7. Davidson, Gemma (22 March 2017). "Mayors gather for Wokingham borough's 10th birthday". Wokingham Today. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
8. "New Wokingham Borough Council leader promises his 'very best' - Wokingham.Today". 19 May 2022.
9. Boothroyd, David (24 May 2024). "Kirklees leader defection". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
10. "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Wokingham" in search box to see specific results.)
11. "Wokingham". BBC News Online . 19 April 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
12. "Young right winger is new Tory leader". Wokingham Times. 15 June 1995. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
13. "Obituary: Alan Spratling". Reading Chronicle. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
14. "Redwood to stand for leadership". Reading Evening Post. 6 May 1997. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
15. "Council leader quits in bid to become MP". Reading Evening Post. 7 September 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
16. Hutchins, Lisa (13 September 1999). "Tories pick deputy to be new leader". Reading Evening Post. p. 7. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
17. "Council minutes, 27 March 2008" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
18. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 22 May 2008" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
19. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 12 June 2014" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
20. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 18 May 2017" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
21. "Council minutes, 14 December 2018". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
22. "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 22 May 2019". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
23. "Lib Dem-led coalition set to run Wokingham Borough Council". BBC News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
24. "Council minutes, 18 May 2023" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
25. "Your Councillors by Party". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
26. "The Wokingham (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2023/1271, retrieved 30 May 2024
27. "New Civic Offices". Reading Evening News. 6 October 1988. p. 26. Retrieved 12 February 2023.