Camden London Borough Council

Camden London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Camden in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Camden is divided into 18 wards, each electing three councillors.

Camden London Borough Council
Whole council elected every four years
Type
Type	London borough council of the London Borough of Camden
Leadership
Mayor of Camden	Cllr Maryam Eslamdoust, Labour since 15 May 2019
Leader of the Council	Cllr Georgia Gould, Labour since May 2017
Leader of the Opposition	Cllr Oliver Cooper, Conservative since May 2018
Chief executive	Jenny Rowlands since March 2019
Structure
Seats	54 councillors in 18 wards
Political groups	Majority Party (43)      Labour (43) Opposition (15)      Conservative (7)      Liberal Democrat (3)      Green (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	3 May 2018
Next election	May 2022
Meeting place
Camden Town Hall, Judd Street
Website
www.camden.gov.uk

Following the 2018 election Camden London Borough Council comprises 43 Labour Party councillors, 7 Conservative Party councillors, 3 Liberal Democrat councillors and one for the Green Party.

The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council, Holborn Metropolitan Borough Council and St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Camden 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 Camden on 1 April 1965. Camden London Borough Council replaced Hampstead Metropolitan Borough Council, Holborn Metropolitan Borough Council and St Pancras Metropolitan Borough Council. All three had been created in 1900, in Hamptead and St Pancras the borough councils replaced the parish vestries, and in Holborn the metropolitan borough council replaced the Holborn District Board of Works and the St Giles District Board of Works.[1]

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Camden 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 Camden London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Camden 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.[2]

In 2012 it was revealed that Camden local authority has been permanently banned from accessing information from the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency. This information is normally made available to local authorities for purposes such as enforcing parking fines, but access can be withdrawn if they are found to be mis-using the service. The Big Brother Watch organisation, which obtained the information about the ban under a Freedom of Information request, claimed that "the public are right to be worried that their privacy is at risk across a range of government services."[3]

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation. Camden 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, 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

Camden London Borough Council is the billing authority for Council Tax, and collects a 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]

Wards

A map showing the wards of Camden since 2002

Since May 2002 the electoral wards in Camden are Belsize, Bloomsbury, Camden Town with Primrose Hill, Cantelowes, Fortune Green, Frognal and Fitzjohns, Gospel Oak, Hampstead Town, Haverstock, Highgate, Holborn and Covent Garden, Kentish Town, Kilburn, King's Cross, Regent's Park, St Pancras and Somers Town, Swiss Cottage and West Hampstead.[6]

Summary results of elections

Since 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:[7]

Party in control	Years
Labour	1964–1968
Conservative	1968–1971
Labour	1971–2006
No overall control Liberal Democrats-Conservative minority	2006–2010
Labour	2010–present

List of Leaders

Leaders of the Council Leader Party Years Charlie Ratchford Labour 1965–1968 Geoffrey Finsberg Conservatives 1968–1970 Martin Morton Conservatives 1970–1971 Millie Miller Labour 1971–1973 Frank Dobson Labour 1973–1975 Roy Shaw Labour 1975–1982 Phil Turner Labour 1982–1986 Tony Dykes Labour 1986–1990 Julie Fitzgerald Labour 1990–1993 Richard Arthur Labour 1993–2000 Jane Roberts Labour 2000–2005 Raj Chada Labour 2005–2006 Keith Moffitt Liberal Democrats 2006–2010 Nasim Ali Labour 2010–2012 Sarah Hayward Labour 2012–2017 Georgia Gould Labour 2017–present

Leaders of the Opposition Leader Party Years Leslie Room Conservatives 1965–1966 Geoffrey Finsberg Conservatives 1966–1968 Charlie Ratchford Labour 1968–1969 Millie Miller Labour 1969–1971 Martin Morton Conservatives 1971–1974 Alan Greengross Conservatives 1974–1979 Julian Tobin Conservatives 1979–1981 Tony Kerpel Conservatives 1981–1985 Stephen Moon Conservatives 1985–1987 Peter Skolar Conservatives 1987–1900 Judith Barnes Conservatives 1990–1998 Pamela Chesters Conservatives 1998–2000 Piers Wauchope Conservatives 2000–2006 Anna Stewart Labour 2006–2009 Nasim Ali Labour 2009–2010 Keith Moffitt Liberal Democrats 2010–2014 Claire-Louise Leyland Conservatives 2014–2018 Gio Spinella Conservatives 2018 Oliver Cooper Conservatives 2018–present day

Chief Executives / Clerks Chief Executive Years Brian Wilson 1965–1977 Frank Nickson 1977–1990 Jeremy Smith 1990–1995 Steve Bundred 1995–2003 Moira Gibb 2003–2011 Mike Cooke 2011–2019 Jenny Rowlands 2019–present day

References

1. Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
2. Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
3. DVLA bans councils from database over abuses, BBC News, 8 December 2012, retrieved 9 December 2012
4. "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
5. "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
6. "Camden government Web site, election results with list of wards". Archived from the original on 2012-06-03. Retrieved 2012-10-31.
7. "Camden". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 2010-05-08.

External links

• Official website