Borough of Boston | |
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 Shown within theceremonial county ofLincolnshire | |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Constituent country | England |
| Region | East Midlands |
| Administrative county | Lincolnshire |
| Admin. HQ | Boston |
| Government | |
| • Type | Boston Borough Council |
| • MP: | Richard Tice |
| Area | |
• Total | 141 sq mi (364 km2) |
| • Rank | 97th |
| Population (2024) | |
• Total | 64,637 |
| • Rank | Ranked 285th |
| • Density | 460/sq mi (178/km2) |
| Ethnicity(2021) | |
| • Ethnic groups | |
| Religion(2021) | |
| • Religion | List
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| Time zone | UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
| ONS code | 32UB (ONS) E07000136 (GSS) |
TheBorough of Boston is alocal government district withborough status inLincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town ofBoston. The borough also includes numerous villages in the surrounding rural area includingWyberton,Sutterton,Algakirk andHubberts Bridge. As well asKirton, the only other town in the borough.
The borough bordersSouth Holland to the south,North Kesteven to the west, andEast Lindsey to the north. To the east, it has a coast ontothe Wash.
The town ofBoston had been incorporated as anancient borough in 1545.[2] It was reformed to become amunicipal borough in 1836.[3]
The modern borough was created on 1 April 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, by merging the municipal borough of Boston withBoston Rural District.[4] The new district was named Boston after its only town.[5] Boston's borough status passed to the enlarged district from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Boston's series of mayors dating back to 1545.[6] The borough covers the northern part ofHolland, one of the three traditionalParts of Lincolnshire. Holland had been anadministrative county between 1889 and 1974.
In 2020 the council agreed to share its management and other staff with neighbouring East Lindsey District Council.[7] South Holland District Council joined the partnership in 2021, which is now described as the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership".[8]
Boston Borough Council | |
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 30 councillors |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston, PE21 8QR | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Boston Borough Council providesdistrict-level services.County-level services are provided byLincolnshire County Council. Much of the borough is covered bycivil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[10][11]
At the2023 election, a majority of the seats were won by local party theBoston Independents. In July 2025, most of the party's members left to form a new Progressive Independent group, which subsequently formed a coalition with the 20-20 Independent group and the Conservatives to run the council, led by Dale Broughton of the Progressive Independent group, formerly deputy leader of the Boston Independents.[12]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[13][14]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–2007 | |
| Boston Bypass Independents | 2007–2011 | |
| Conservative | 2011–2015 | |
| No overall control | 2015–2019 | |
| Conservative | 2019–2020 | |
| No overall control | 2020–2023 | |
| Boston Independent | 2023–2025 | |
| Independent | 2025–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Boston. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 2000 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joyce Dobson[15][16] | Conservative | Nov 2000 | 2006 | |
| Mary Wright[17][18] | Conservative | 18 May 2006 | May 2007 | |
| Richard Austin[18][19][20] | Boston Bypass Independents | 24 May 2007 | May 2011 | |
| Peter Bedford[21][22] | Conservative | 25 May 2011 | 15 May 2017 | |
| Michael Cooper[23][24] | Conservative | 15 May 2017 | 15 Jul 2019 | |
| Aaron Spencer[24][25][26] | Conservative | 15 Jul 2019 | 20 Jan 2020 | |
| Paul Skinner[26][27] | Conservative | 3 Feb 2020 | May 2023 | |
| Anne Dorrian[28][12] | Boston Independents | 22 May 2023 | 20 Jul 2025 | |
| Dale Broughton[12] | Independent | 20 Jul 2025 | ||
Following the2023 election,[29] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2025 the composition of the council was:[30]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Independent | 20 | |
| Conservative | 5 | |
| Boston Independents | 3 | |
| Blue Revolution | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | |
| Reform | 1 | |
| Total | 30 | |
Fourteen of the independent councillors sit together as the "Progressive Independent" group. The Liberal Democrat, Blue Revolution councillor and five of the independent councillors sit together as the "20-20 Independent Group". The other independent does not belong to a group.[31] The council is administered by a coalition of the Progressive Independents, 20-20 Independent group and the Conservatives. The next election is due in 2027.[32]
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 30councillors representing 15wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[33] A map of the wards is available,[34] as is a map showing theLocal Government Boundary Commission for England's final recommendations for ward boundaries, October 2012.[35]
The wards, and their numbers of councillors, are:[33]
The council is based at theMunicipal Buildings on West Street in Boston.[36] The building was built in 1902 for the old borough council to the designs of architect James Rowell.[37]
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Much of the borough is covered bycivil parishes, the exception being the pre-1974 municipal borough of Boston, which is anunparished area. The parishes are:[38]
On 23 June 2016 the Borough of Boston voted in theUK-wide Referendum on membership of theEuropean Union (EU) under the provisions of theEuropean Union Referendum Act 2015. In a turnout of 77%, over 75% voted to leave the EU, the highest leave majority of the 382 UK voting areas.[39] The local MPMatt Warman, a Conservative, had campaigned for a "Remain" vote.[40]
| United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016 Borough of Boston | |||
| Choice | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leave the European Union | 22,974 | 75.56% | |
| Remain a member of the European Union | 7,430 | 24.44% | |
| Valid votes | 30,404 | 99.96% | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 12 | 0.04% | |
| Total votes | 30,416 | 100.00% | |
| Registered voters and turnout | 39,963 | 77.27% | |
| Leave: 22,974(75.6%) | Remain: 7,430 (24.4%) | ||
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The following people and military units have received theFreedom of the Borough of Boston.
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| National | |
| Other | |
