Waltham Forest London Borough Council

Waltham Forest London Borough Council
Coat of Arms
Council logo
Type
Type	London Borough Council of the London Borough of Waltham Forest
History
Founded	01 April 1965
Preceded by	Chingford Borough Council Leyton Borough Council Walthamstow Borough Council
Leadership
Leader	Cllr Chris Robbins, Labour Since 2009
Mayor	Cllr Peter Herrington (non-executive), Conservative Since 2016
Leader of the Opposition	Cllr Matt Davis, Conservative Since 2007
Structure
Seats	60 councillors
Political groups	Labour Conservative
Labour	43 / 60
Conservatives	16 / 60
Independent	1 / 60
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
First election	7 May 1964
Last election	22 May 2014[1]
Next election	3 May 2018
Motto
"Fellowship is Life" [2]
Meeting place
Waltham Forest Town Hall, Forest Road, Walthamstow, London E17 4SU
Website
www.walthamforest.gov.uk
Constitution
Constitution

Waltham Forest London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Waltham Forest in London, England. It is one of 32 London borough councils of the United Kingdom capital. Waltham Forest is divided into 20 wards and elects 60 councillors. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced three local authorities: Chingford Borough Council, Leyton Borough Council and Walthamstow Borough Council.

History

A map showing the wards of Waltham Forest since 2002

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the 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 Waltham Forest on 1 April 1965. Waltham Forest replaced Chingford Borough Council, Leyton Borough Council and Walthamstow Borough Council.

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Waltham Forest 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. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Waltham Forest London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. 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.

Finances

Waltham Forest 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.

Political control

Since the first election to the council in 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Party in control	Years
Labour	1964 - 1968
Conservative	1968 - 1971
Labour	1971 - 1994
No overall control	1994 - 1998
Labour	1998 - 2002
No overall control	2002 - 2010
Labour	2010–present

Summary results of elections

Summary of the council composition after each council election, click on the year for full details of each election.

Year	Labour	Conservative	Liberal Democrats	Independent	Notes
1964	33	3	0	9
1968	4	44	0	0
1971	39	9	0	0
1974	36	12	0	0
1978	36	21	0	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 11.[3]
1982	26	25	6	0
1986	31	16	10	0
1990	30	16	11	0
1994	27	16	14	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.[n 1][n 2]
1998	30	15	12	0	Boundary changes took place but the number of seats remained the same.[n 3]
2002	29	18	13	0	Boundary changes increased the number of seats by 3.[4]
2006	26	15	19	0
2010	36	18	6	0
2014	44	16	0	0

By-elections occur when seats become vacant between council elections. Below is a summary of recent by-elections.

By-election	Date	Incumbent party		Winning party
Leytonstone	15 October 1992		Labour		Labour
Wood Street	1 May 1997		Liberal Democrat		Labour
Leytonstone	1 October 1998		Labour		Labour
Forest	15 May 2003		Labour		Liberal Democrat
William Morris	4 September 2003		Labour		Liberal Democrat
Valley	28 October 2004		Conservative		Conservative
Hoe Street	18 November 2004		Labour		Labour
Leytonstone	14 July 2005		Labour		Labour
Chingford Green	26 April 2007		Conservative		Conservative
Leyton	14 February 2008		Labour		Liberal Democrat
Forest	5 June 2008		Liberal Democrat		Liberal Democrat
Valley	6 November 2008		Conservative		Conservative
Hale End & Highams Park	4 December 2008		Liberal Democrat		Liberal Democrat
Larkswood	19 March 2009		Conservative		Conservative
Larkswood	12 July 2012		Conservative		Conservative

References

1. http://democracy.walthamforest.gov.uk/mgElectionResults.aspx?ID=26&RPID=4462067?utm_source=roll-gal&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=homepage-track
2. http://www.civicheraldry.co.uk/great_london.html
3. "London Borough Council Elections 4 May 1978" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Council. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
4. "London Borough Council Elections 2 May 2002" (PDF). London Datastore. Greater London Authority. Retrieved 25 February 2015.

1. The Essex and Greater London (County and London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993
2. The East London Boroughs (London Borough Boundaries) (No. 2) Order 1993
3. The Redbridge and Waltham Forest (London Borough Boundaries) Order 1993