Westminster City Council
Westminster City Council Westminster London Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Leader of the Council | Cllr Rachael Robathan, Conservative since 22 January 2020 |
Lord Mayor | Cllr Jonathan Glanz, Conservative since May 2020 |
Chief executive | Stuart Love since 17 January 2018 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 60 councillors |
 | |
Political groups | Majority Party (41)
Opposition (19)
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 3 May 2018 |
Next election | May 2022 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Westminster City Hall | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council and is entitled to be known as a city council, which is a rare distinction in the United Kingdom. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 41 Conservative Party members and 19 Labour Party members.[1] The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Paddington Metropolitan Borough Council, St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council and Westminster Borough Council. The present-day city council provides some shared services with Hammersmith and Fulham, and with Kensington and Chelsea.
History[edit]
There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Westminster 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 City of Westminster on 1 April 1965. Westminster City Council replaced Paddington Metropolitan Borough Council, St Marylebone Metropolitan Borough Council and the Westminster City Council which had responsibility for the earlier, smaller City of Westminster. All three had been created in 1900, with Paddington and St Marylebone replacing the parish vestries incorporated by the Metropolis Management Act 1855. Westminster itself has a more convoluted history and the metropolitan borough council established in 1900 had replaced the Vestry of the Parish of St George Hanover Square, the Vestry of the Parish of St Martin in the Fields, the Strand District Board of Works, the Westminster District Board of Works and the Vestry of the Parish of Westminster St James.[2]
It was envisaged, in accordance with the London Government Act 1963, that Westminster 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. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Westminster City Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Westminster became an education authority in 1990. 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.[3]
Powers and functions[edit]
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation. Westminster has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications and it is responsible for housing, waste collection, and environmental health. It is a local education authority responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. The council shares responsibility with the Greater London Authority for strategic policies including housing, planning and the environment.[4]
Finances[edit]
Westminster City Council is the billing authority for Council Tax, and collects precepts on behalf of the Mayor's Office for Policing and Crime, the London Fire and Emergency Planning Authority, the Greater London Authority and Transport for London.[5]
Buildings[edit]
The Council is usually based at Westminster City Hall on Victoria Street in Victoria. The City Hall was designed by Burnet Tait & Partners on a speculative basis, and completed in 1966.[6]
Summary results of elections[edit]
| Overall control | Conservative | Labour | Residents | |
| 2018 | Conservative | 41 | 19 | - |
| 2014 | Conservative | 44 | 16 | - |
| 2010 | Conservative | 48 | 12 | - |
| 2006 | Conservative | 48 | 12 | - |
| 2002 | Conservative | 48 | 12 | - |
| 1998 | Conservative | 47 | 13 | - |
| 1994 | Conservative | 45 | 15 | - |
| 1990 | Conservative | 45 | 15 | - |
| 1986 | Conservative | 32 | 27 | 1 |
| 1982 | Conservative | 43 | 16 | 1 |
| 1978 | Conservative | 39 | 19 | 2 |
| 1974 | Conservative | 37 | 23 | - |
| 1971 | Conservative | 37 | 23 | - |
| 1968 | Conservative | 55 | 5 | - |
| 1964 | Conservative | 41 | 19 | - |
Leaders[edit]
- 1964–1965 David Cobbold
- 1965–1969 Gordon Pirie
- 1969–1972 A.C. Barrett
- 1972–1976 Hugh (Guy) Cubitt
- 1976–1983 David Cobbold
- 1983–1991 Dame Shirley Porter, Lady Porter
- 1991–1993 David Weeks
- 1993–1995 Miles Young
- 1995–2000 Melvyn Caplan
- 2000–2008 Sir Simon Milton
- 2008–2012 Colin Barrow
- 2012–2017 Philippa Roe, Baroness Couttie
- 2017–2020 Nickie Aiken MP
- 2020–present Rachael Robathan [7]
Lord Mayors of Westminster[edit]
| Year | Name | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1965 | Sir Charles Norton | 2nd term. First Lord Mayor. |
| 1966 | Anthony L. Burton | |
| 1966 | Arthur C. Barrett | |
| 1967 | Christopher Anthony Prendergast | |
| 1968 | Leonard Pearl | |
| 1970 | Brian Fitzgerald-Moore | 2nd term |
| 1971 | John Wells | |
| 1972 | John E. Guest | |
| 1973 | David Neville Cobbold | 2nd term |
| 1974 | Group Captain Gordon Pirie | 2nd term |
| 1975 | Councillor Roger M. Dawe | |
| 1976 | Jack Gillett | |
| 1977 | Hugh Cubitt | |
| 1978 | Wing Commander William Henry Kearney | |
| 1979 | Reginald Forrester | |
| 1980 | Donald du Parc Braham | |
| 1981 | G. I. Harley | |
| 1982 | Thomas Whipham | |
| 1983 | Phoebette Sitwell | |
| 1984 | John Bull | |
| 1985 | Roger Bramble | |
| 1986 | Mrs Terence Mallinson | |
| 1987 | Kevin Gardner | |
| 1988 | Elizabeth Flach | |
| 1989 | Simon Mabey | |
| 1990 | Dr David Avery | |
| 1991 | Dame Shirley Porter | |
| 1992 | Dr Cyril Nemeth | |
| 1993 | Jenny Bianco | |
| 1994 | Angela Hooper | |
| 1995 | Alan Bradley | |
| 1996 | Robert Davis | |
| 1997 | Ronald Raymond-Cox | |
| 1998 | David Harvey | |
| 1999 | Alex Segal | |
| 2000 | Michael Brahams | |
| 2001 | Harvey Marshall | |
| 2002 | Frances Blois | |
| 2003 | Jan Prendergast | |
| 2004 | Catherine Longworth | |
| 2005 | Tim Joiner | |
| 2006 | Alexander Nicoll | |
| 2007 | Carolyn Keen | |
| 2008 | Louise Hyams | |
| 2009 | Duncan Sandys | |
| 2010 | Judith Warner | |
| 2011 | Susie Burbridge | |
| 2012 | Angela Harvey | |
| 2013 | Sarah Richardson | |
| 2014 | Audrey Lewis | |
| 2015 | Lady Flight | |
| 2016 | Steve Summers | |
| 2017 | Ian Adams | |
| 2018 | Lindsey Hall | |
| 2019 | Ruth Bush | First Lord Mayor elected from the minority party |
| 2020 | Jonathan Glanz[8] |
See also[edit]
- Homes for votes scandal
- Westminster cemeteries scandal
- 2014 Westminster City Council election
- 2010 Westminster City Council election
References[edit]
- ^ Your Councillors at westminster.gov.uk
- ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. 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.
- ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Westminster City Hall". Open House London. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
- ^ "New Leader of Westminster City Council elected". City of Westminster. 22 January 2020.
- ^ "City of Westminster elects new Lord Mayor". Westminster City Council. 21 May 2020.
