Local government in Northampton

Northampton Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district council of Northampton
Leadership
Leader	Mary Markham, Conservative Since 2015
Deputy Leader	Jonathan Nunn, Conservative Since 2016
Mayor	Christopher Malpas, Conservative Since 2016
Deputy Mayor	Gareth Eales, Labour Since 2016
Structure
Seats	45
Political groups	Conservative Party (26)      Labour Party (17)      Liberal Democrats (2)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	7 May 2015
Meeting place
The Guildhall, St. Giles Square, Northampton
Website
www.northampton.gov.uk

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 has been led by Mary Markham since her election on 7 May 2015. The main council building is Northampton Guildhall.

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.

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
Leader of the Council	Mary Markham
Deputy Leader of the Council	Jonathan Nunn
Cabinet Member for Community Engagement	Anna King
Cabinet Member for Environment	Alan Bottwood
Cabinet Member for Finance	Brandon Eldred
Cabinet Member for Housing	Stephen Hibbert
Cabinet Member for Regeneration and Enterprise	Tim Hadland
Cabinet Member for Community Safety	Mike Hallam

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.^[9] The current composition of the borough council, following the 2015 election, and subsequent by-elections, is 25 Conservative councillors, 17 Labour councillors, and 3 Liberal Democrat councillors. The next election will take place in May 2019.

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) Vicky Culbard (Lab)	No overall control
	East Hunsbury	Brandon Eldred Phil Larratt	Conservative
	Eastfield	Elizabeth Gowen	Labour
	Headlands	Arthur Philip McCutcheon	Labour
	Kings Heath	Terrie Eales	Labour
	Kingsley	Cathrine Margaret Russell	Labour
	Kingsthorpe	Sally Beardsworth	Liberal Democrat
	Nene Valley	Michael Hill 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

1. "British History".
2. "District Councils and Boroughs". Hansard 1803–2005. Parliament of the United Kingdom. 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
3. "Table III(a)". Local Government in England and wales. a Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. pp. 15–109. ISBN 0117508470.
4. "City winners named". BBC News. 18 December 2000. Retrieved 2 April 2008.
5. Meikle, James (27 September 1995). "Councils fight on for unitary status: Three authorities miss out on all-purpose target". The Guardian.
6. Schoon, Nicholas (20 December 1995). "Nine cities 'need greater powers'". The Independent.
7. 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.
8. http://www.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.
9. "Legislation.gov.uk".