Northamptonshire County Council

Northamptonshire County Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan county council of Northamptonshire
Leadership
Leader	N/A, Conservative Since 2005
Deputy Leader	Heather Smith, Conservative Since 2013
Structure
Seats	57
Political groups	Conservative Party (36)      Labour Party (13)      Liberal Democrats (6)      UK Independence Party (3)      Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2 May 2013
Next election	May 2017
Website
www.northamptonshire.gov.uk

Northamptonshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire in England. It was originally formed in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888. The county is divided into 57 electoral divisions, which return a total of 57 councillors. The council has been controlled by the Conservative Party since 2005. The leader of the county council is currently Jim Harker, who was elected to the post in May 2005. The headquarters of the council is County Hall in Northampton.

As a non-metropolitan county council, the council is responsible for education, social services, libraries, main roads, public transport policy and fire services, trading standards, waste disposal and strategic planning.

History

Northamptonshire County Council was first formed in 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888, covering the whole of Northamptonshire. This arrangement changed a little in 1974 when, following the Local Government Act 1972, a newly constituted Northamptonshire County Council was formed for the non-metropolitan county of Northamptonshire. The first elections to the new authority were in April 1973, and the council took office on 1 April 1974.

From its recreation in 1974, the county council has administered the entire county of Northamptonshire. During 1990s local government reform, Northampton tried to obtain unitary authority status, but failed.^[1] Northamptonshire now has three tiers of local government: the county council, 4 borough councils (Corby, Kettering, Northampton, Wellingborough), 3 district councils (Daventry, East Northamptonshire, South Northamptonshire) and over 250 parish councils.

Governance

Northamptonshire County Council has operated executive arrangements in the form of a Leader and Cabinet system since 2001. In December 2008 the council chose to adopt the revised Executive Leader and Cabinet arrangement.

The Council is currently composed of 57 councillors each representing a single-member division. Elections are held every four years and the next election will take place in 2017.

Cabinet

Northamptonshire County Council's cabinet is composed of seven Conservative councilors and the Conservative Leader of the council. Cabinet members work closely with the directors and professional officers of the council to ensure the successful implementation of the decisions they make.^[2]

Districts and Boroughs

Northamptonshire has three tiers of local government: the county council, 4 borough councils, 3 district councils, and over 200 parish councils. In urban areas the work of the parish council is likely to be undertaken by the county or district council. The seven district councils in Northamptonshire are:

• Corby Borough Council
• Daventry District Council
• East Northamptonshire District Council
• Kettering Borough Council
• Northampton Borough Council
• South Northamptonshire District Council
• Borough Council of Wellingborough

These district councils are responsible for local planning and building control, local roads, council housing, environmental health, markets and fairs, refuse collection and recycling, cemeteries and crematoria, leisure services, parks, and tourism.

Political control

Political control of the non-metropolitan county has been held by the following groups:

The council comprises 57 councillors who represent the county. Each councillor typically serves for a four-year term, representing an electoral ward. Each ward elects one councillor by the first past the post system of election. The current composition of the county council, following the 2013 election, is 36 Conservative councillors, 13 Labour councillors, 6 Liberal Democrat councillors, 3 UKIP councillors and 1 independent councillor. The next election will take place in May 2017.

See also

• Northamptonshire County Council election, 2005, 2009, 2013

References