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Luton Borough Council
Luton Council's logo
Council logo[1]
Type
Type
Leadership
Tahmina Saleem,
Labour
since 21 May 2024[2]
Hazel Simmons,
Labour
since 22 May 2007
Robin Porter
since 6 May 2019[3]
Structure
Seats48 councillors[4]
Political groups
Administration (29)
  Labour (29)
Other parties (19)
  Liberal Democrats (15)
  Conservative (3)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Luton Town Hall
Town Hall, George Street, Luton, LU1 2BQ
Website
www.luton.gov.uk Edit this at Wikidata

Luton Borough Council, also known as Luton Council, is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton has had an elected local authority since 1850, which has been reformed several times. Since 1997 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 Labour majority control since 2007. It is based at Luton Town Hall.

History

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Luton's first elected local authority was a local board established in 1850, prior to which the town had been administered by the parish vestry.[5] The town became a municipal borough in 1876 governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Luton', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[6]

In 1964 the borough was elevated to county borough status, which saw the council take over county-level functions from Bedfordshire County Council.[7]

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district.[8][9] Between 1974 and 1997 Luton was a lower-tier district council, with Bedfordshire County Council again providing county-level services to the town.

In 1997, Luton Borough Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Bedfordshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Luton covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the borough council to the powers it had held when Luton was a county borough prior to 1974.[10] Luton remains part of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[11]

Governance

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Luton Borough Council provides all local government services in the area. As a unitary authority it provides both county-level and district-level services. There are no civil parishes in the borough.[12]

Political control

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Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[13][14]

Lower-tier non-metropolitan district

Party in control Years
Labour 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1991
Labour 1991–1997

Unitary authority

Party in control Years
Labour 1997–2003
No overall control 2003–2007
Labour 2007–present

Leadership

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The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Luton, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1976 have been:[15]

Councillor Party From To
Viv Dunnington Conservative 1976 1991
Roy Davis Labour 1991 20 May 1999
Bill McKenzie Labour 20 May 1999 22 May 2003
David Franks Liberal Democrats 22 May 2003 22 May 2007
Hazel Simmons Labour 22 May 2007

Composition

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Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to March 2024, the composition of the council was:[16][17][18]

Party Councillors
Labour 29
Liberal Democrats 15
Conservative 3
Independent 1
Total: 48

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

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Main article: Luton Borough Council elections

Elections are held every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 there have been 48 councillors elected from 20 wards.[19]

Wards

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Premises

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The council is based at Luton Town Hall at the head of George Street, the town centre's main street. The current building was completed in 1936, replacing an earlier town hall of 1847 on the same site. The earlier building had been destroyed in a fire in 1919 in the town's "Peace Riot" which followed the formal proclamation of peace at the end of the First World War.[20]

NHS

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In July 2017 it decided to merge its health commissioning budget with the local Clinical Commissioning Group, establishing an integrated commissioning committee. It is one of the first areas which the NHS has designated an Accountable care system.[21]

Arms

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Coat of arms of Luton Borough Council
Notes
Originally granted on 25 July 1876, transferred by order in council on 21 May 1974.
Crest
On a wreath of the colours upon a mount Vert a cubit Arm in bend vested Azure cuff Argent the hand proper holding seven ears of wheat Or.[22]
Escutcheon
Quarterly Gules and Azure on a cross Argent between a garb in the first quarter a bee-hive in the second a rose slipped and leaved in the third and a thistle also slipped and leaved in the fourth all proper a bee volant of the last.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "A fresh and modern brand for Luton" (PDF). luton.gov.uk. Luton Council.
  2. ^ Duncan, Euan (22 May 2024). "Luton's new mayor says she's looking forward to meeting more of the town's "wonderful community" and championing young people". Luton Today. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  3. ^ "Meet Luton's chief executive and corporate directors". Luton Borough Council. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  4. ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections".
  5. ^ "No. 21106". The London Gazette. 21 June 1850. p. 1745.
  6. ^ "The incorporation of Luton". Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire News. Luton. 4 March 1876. p. 8. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Luton Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
  8. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  9. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973". Legislation.gov.uk. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  10. ^ "The Bedfordshire (Borough of Luton) (Structural Change) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1776, retrieved 30 May 2024
  11. ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23 (sch. 1), retrieved 29 May 2024
  12. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  13. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  14. ^ "Luton". BBC News Online. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2013.
  15. ^ "Council minutes". Luton Borough Council. Retrieved 26 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Luton election result". BBC News. Retrieved 11 May 2023.
  17. ^ Duncan, Euan (10 October 2023). "Luton councillor who quit Labour party joins Conservatives". Luton Today. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  18. ^ Duncan, Euan (14 March 2024). "Former Labour deputy leader of Luton Borough Council becomes interim leader of Conservative group". Luton Today. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  19. ^ "The Luton (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/824, retrieved 6 May 2023
  20. ^ Historic England. "Luton Town Hall (1376193)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 April 2020.
  21. ^ "CCG and council to merge commissioning budgets". Health Service Journal. 13 July 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  22. ^ "East of England Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 9 March 2021.
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