Local government in Northampton
Northampton Borough Council is the borough council and non-metropolitan district responsible for local government in the large town of Northampton in England. The leader and cabinet model of decision-making has been adopted by the council. It consists of 45 councillors, representing 33 wards in the town, overseen by a mayor, leader and cabinet. It is currently controlled by the Conservative Party and is currently led by Jonathan Nunn. The main council building is Northampton Guildhall.
Northampton Borough Council | |
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Type | |
Type | Non-metropolitan district council of Northampton |
Leadership | |
Leader | |
Deputy Leader | |
Mayor | |
Deputy Mayor | |
Structure | |
Seats | 45 |
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Political groups | Conservative Party (25) Labour Party (16) Liberal Democrats (3) |
Elections | |
Last election | 7 May 2015 |
Meeting place | |
Website | |
www.northampton.gov.uk |
History
Northampton was granted its first town charter in 1189 by King Richard I and was permitted the appointment of a mayor in 1215 by King John. Northampton first existed as an ancient borough in medieval Britain before being one of the 178 boroughs to be reformed under the Municipal Corporations Act in 1835. Under the Local Government Act, it was then recognised as a county borough of 6 wards from 1898, 9 wards from 1900 and 12 wards from 1911.[1] Northampton was granted modern borough status in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as Northampton Borough Council, a non-metropolitan district council under Northamptonshire County Council.[2][3]
Northampton is now the most populous urban district in England not to be administered as a unitary authority, a status it failed to obtain in the 1990s local government reform.[4] During the Local Government Commission for England (1992), Northampton was rejected from becoming a unitary authority because it was decided that "the separation of Northampton from its county would have a significant and detrimental effect."[5][6][7] The government announced its acceptance of these recommendations in March 1996.[8] In 2000, Northampton applied unsuccessfully for city status, held to celebrate the new millennium.
In March 2018, an independent report commissioned by the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire. These changes would see the existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place.[9] One authority would consist of the existing districts of Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire and the other authority would consist of Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts.[10]
Governance
The leader and cabinet model of decision-making, adopted by the borough council under the Local Government Act 2000, is similar to national government. The council appoints the Leader (usually a member of the group with the political majority) and he or she appoints up to five other councillors to serve on the cabinet. The cabinet members assume responsibility for different key areas of local governance including environment; community engagement; housing; planning, regeneration and enterprise; and finance.
The full council meets various times a year. The full council set the annual budget and the council's overall policies. It also has responsibility for amendments to the council's constitution and is responsible for appointing the leader, the executive, and the committees of the council.
Cabinet members
Title | Cabinet member |
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Leader of the Council | Jonathan Nunn |
Deputy Leader of the Council | Phil Larratt |
Cabinet Member for Community Engagement | Anna King |
Cabinet Member for Environment | Mike Hallam |
Cabinet Member for Finance | Brandon Eldred |
Cabinet Member for Housing | Stephen Hibbert |
Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Enterprise | Tim Hadland |
Cabinet Member for Planning | James Hill |
Political control
Political control of the non-metropolitan district has been held by the following groups:
Election | Party | |
---|---|---|
1973 | Labour | |
1976 | Conservative | |
1979 | Conservative | |
1983 | No overall control Con largest single party | |
1987 | Conservative | |
1991 | No overall control | |
1995 | Labour | |
1999 | Labour | |
2003 | No overall control Con largest single party | |
2007 | Liberal Democrats | |
2011 | Conservative | |
2015 | Conservative |
The council comprises 45 councillors who represent the borough. Each councillor typically serves for a four-year term, representing an electoral ward. Each ward elects between one and three councillors by the first past the post system of election.[11] The current composition of the borough council, following the 2015 election, and subsequent by-elections, is 25 Conservative councillors, 16 Labour councillor, 3 Liberal Democrat councillors and 1 independent councillor.[12]
Ward | Councillor(s) | Political control | |
---|---|---|---|
Abington | Tony Ansell (Con) Zoe Smith (Lab) | No overall control | |
Billing | Andrew Kilbride Christopher Malpas | Conservative | |
Boothville | Jamie Lane | Conservative | |
Brookside | Clement Chunga | Labour | |
Castle | Muna Cali Enam Haque Danielle Stone | Labour | |
Delapre and Briar Hill | Graham Walker (Con) Emma Roberts (Lab) Julie Davenport (Ind) | No overall control | |
East Hunsbury | Brandon Eldred Phil Larratt | Conservative | |
Eastfield | Elizabeth Gowen | Labour | |
Headlands | Arthur McCutcheon | Labour | |
Kings Heath | Terrie Eales | Labour | |
Kingsley | Cathrine Margaret Russell | Labour | |
Kingsthorpe | Sally Beardsworth | Liberal Democrat | |
Nene Valley | Luke Greystone Jonathan Nunn | Conservative | |
New Duston | Matthew Golby John Caswell | Conservative | |
Obelisk | Samuel Shaw | Conservative | |
Old Duston | Timothy Hadland Suresh Patel | Conservative | |
Park | Mary Markham | Conservative | |
Parklands | Mike Hallam | Conservative | |
Phippsville | Anna King | Conservative | |
Rectory Farm | James Hill | Conservative | |
Riverside | Stephen Hibbert | Conservative | |
Rushmills | Penny Flavell | Conservative | |
Semilong | Les Marriott | Labour | |
Spencer | Gareth Eales | Labour | |
Spring Park | Mohammed Azizur Rahman | Conservative | |
St David's | Naz Choudary | Labour | |
St James | Rufia Ashraf | Labour | |
Sunnyside | Nilesh Parekh | Conservative | |
Talavera | Janice Duffy (Lab) Dennis Meredith (LD) | No overall control | |
Trinity | Jane Birch | Labour | |
Upton | Alan Bottwood Brian Sargeant | Conservative | |
West Hunsbury | Brian Oldham | Conservaitve | |
Westone | Brian Markham | Liberal Democrat |
See also
- List of Mayors of Northampton
- Northamptonshire Credit Union
References
- "British History".
- "District Councils and Boroughs". Hansard 1803–2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
- "Table III(a)". Local Government in England and wales. a Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. pp. 15–109. ISBN 0117508470.
- "City winners named". BBC News. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
- Meikle, James (27 September 1995). "Councils fight on for unitary status: Three authorities miss out on all-purpose target". The Guardian.
- Schoon, Nicholas (20 December 1995). "Nine cities 'need greater powers'". The Independent.
- LGCE. Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of: Basildon & Thurrock, Blackburn & Blackpool, Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe, Dartford & Gravesham, Gillingham & Rochester Upon Medway, Exeter, Gloucester, Halton & Warrington, Huntingdonshire & Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Spelthorne and the Wrekin. December 1995.
- https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld199596/ldhansrd/vo960314/text/60314w01.htm
|chapter-url=
missing title (help). Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Lords. 14 March 1996. col. WA71–WA74. - "Troubled council 'should be scrapped'". BBC News. 15 March 2018.
- "Northamptonshire County Council 'should be split up', finds damning report".
- "Legislation.gov.uk".
- https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-47967416