Leicester City Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Alison Greenhill since 1 March 2021[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 1 executive mayor 54 councillors[3] |
 | |
Political groups |
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Length of term | Executive mayor elected every four years Whole council elected every four years |
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large | |
| First-past-the-post voting | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Town Hall, Town Hall Square, Leicester, LE1 9BG | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Leicester City Council is thelocal authority for the city ofLeicester, in theceremonial county ofLeicestershire, England. Leicester has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been aunitary authority, being adistrict council which also performs the functions of acounty council; it is independent fromLeicestershire County Council.
The council consists of 54 councillors, overseen by adirectly elected mayor. The council also appoints a ceremonialLord Mayor who chairs council meetings; the directly elected mayor is termed the City Mayor to distinguish the post from the Lord Mayor. The council has been underLabour majority control since 2007, and the City Mayor has been SirPeter Soulsby since 2011.
The council meets atLeicester Town Hall and has its main offices atCity Hall on Charles Street.
The council traces its roots to theCorporation of Leicester, and before then to theMerchant Gild and thePortmanmoot. The Portmanmoot consisted of 24Jurats, elected from theburgesses (members of the Gild Merchant, orfreemen), along with two bailiffs, and a clerk. It appears to have existed before theNorman Conquest in 1066. In 1209, the lead member of the Portmanmoot, the Alderman, became known as a mayor. The Gild Merchant and the Moot overlapped in membership and had probably become effectively merged in the 14th century. Membership of the Twenty-Four appears to have been byco-option, chosen by themselves.
Traditionally, the general populace attended some meetings of the Moot and Guild, but this was restricted to burgesses in 1467. Later, in 1489, this changed to a system where the Mayor and the Twenty-Four chose Forty-Eight burgesses to represent the others, and the Twenty-Four and the Forty-Eight would govern jointly.
After doubts as to the ability of the Moot and Gild to hold property arose in the 16th century, the corporation was formed, replacing the Gild and Portmanmoot, in 1589. A second charter was granted in 1599, reconfirming this, toThe Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Leicester. The 24 Jurats became known as theAldermen of the corporation, and the 48 other Burgesses as theCommon Council. The members of the Corporation chose the burgesses to send to theHouse of Commons.
Leicester was reformed to become amunicipal borough in 1836 under theMunicipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs across the country were governed. The borough was then led by a corporate body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Leicester", which was generally known as the corporation or town council.[4] The previous system of co-option for members of the council was replaced with elections by rate-payers. This led to a prolonged spell ofLiberal control of the council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Leicester was considered large enough for its existing corporation to provide county-level services, and so it was made acounty borough, independent fromLeicestershire County Council.[5]
In 1919 Leicester was awardedcity status, after which the corporation was formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Leicester", also known as the city council. In 1928 the council was given the right to appoint aLord Mayor.[6]
The city boundaries were enlarged on a number of occasions as the urban area grew, notably in 1935 and 1966.[7] The corporation was replaced in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972, with the modern Leicester City Council, anon-metropolitan district council. This was a lower tier district-level authority, with county-level services being provided to the city by Leicestershire County Council for the first time. Leicester kept the same boundaries (which had last been adjusted in 1969) at the time of the 1974 reforms.[8]
In 1997, Leicester City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Leicestershire County Council as part of the1990s UK local government reforms. The way this change was implemented was to create a newnon-metropolitan county of Leicester covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Leicester was a county borough prior to 1974.[9]
In 2011, following a referendum, the position of directly elected mayor was created to provide political leadership for the council. The directly elected mayor is called the City Mayor to distinguish the post from the continuing position of Lord Mayor. The Lord Mayor acts as a ceremonial figurehead for the city and chairs council meetings, with the position usually being held by a different councillor each year.
As a unitary authority, Leicester City Council provides bothcounty-level anddistrict-level services. Some services are provided via joint committees with other councils, notably theLeicestershire Fire and Rescue Service andLeicestershire Constabulary, which are run byjoint boards of the city council with Leicestershire County Council andRutland County Council. There are nocivil parishes in the city.[10]
The council has been underLabour majority control since 2007.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[11][12]
Non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 | |
| Labour | 1979–1997 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1997–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2007 | |
| Labour | 2007–present | |
Political leadership is provided by the directly electedMayor of Leicester. The separate post ofLord Mayor is the council's ceremonial figurehead and chairs full council meetings. Prior to 2011 political leadership was provided by theleader of the council. The leaders from 1974 to 2011 were:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Marshall[13][14] | Labour | 1 Apr 1974 | Oct 1974 | |
| Ken Middleton[14][15] | Labour | Oct 1974 | May 1976 | |
| Michael Cufflin[16][17] | Conservative | May 1976 | May 1979 | |
| Ken Middleton[18][19] | Labour | May 1979 | Nov 1981 | |
| Peter Soulsby[20] | Labour | 1981 | Apr 1994 | |
| Stewart Foster[21][22] | Labour | Apr 1994 | 29 Nov 1995 | |
| Peter Soulsby[23][24] | Labour | Dec 1995 | 1999 | |
| Ross Willmott[25] | Labour | 1999 | May 2003 | |
| Roger Blackmore[26][27] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2003 | 25 Nov 2004 | |
| Ross Willmott[28][29] | Labour | 25 Nov 2004 | 19 May 2005 | |
| Roger Blackmore[30] | Liberal Democrats | 19 May 2005 | May 2007 | |
| Ross Willmott[31][32] | Labour | 17 May 2007 | 25 Mar 2010 | |
| Veejay Patel[32] | Labour | 25 Mar 2010 | May 2011 | |
Since 2011, the directly elected mayor has been:
| Mayor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Peter Soulsby | Labour | 9 May 2011 | ||
Following the2023 election,[33] and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council, excluding the City Mayor's seat, was:[34]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 31 | |
| Conservative | 15 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | |
| Green | 3 | |
| One Leicester | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 54 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[34]
The council has its main offices at City Hall on Charles Street, which was built in 1938, previously being called Municipal Buildings and Attenborough House until it was renamed City Hall in 2014.[35]
Council meetings are held atLeicester Town Hall on Town Hall Square, which was completed in 1876.[36]
Between 1975 and 2014 the council had its main offices at theNew Walk Centre, which has since been demolished.
Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 54councillors representing 21wards with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years, with the election for the mayor and council being held together.[37]
The wards are:[38]
| Ward | Councillors | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Abbey | 3 | fromAbbey Park up toStocking Farm andMowmacre Hill |
| Aylestone | 2 | Aylestone Village, Gilmorton estate, part of Aylestone Park, Aylestone Meadows, one side of Saffron Lane from the Porkpie roundabout to Knighton Lane and Aylestone Road/Lutterworth Road from Grace Road to the county border at Glen Parva. |
| Beaumont Leys | 3 | |
| Belgrave | 3 | most of the Belgrave area |
| Braunstone Park & Rowley Fields | 3 | including most ofBraunstone |
| Castle | 3 | city centre,Southfields,Clarendon Park |
| Evington | 3 | |
| Eyres Monsell | 2 | |
| Fosse | 2 | |
| Humberstone & Hamilton | 3 | includingNether Hall |
| Knighton | 3 | |
| North Evington | 3 | |
| Rushey Mead | 3 | Includes parts of the Belgrave area includingAgar Street. |
| Saffron | 2 | |
| Spinney Hills | 2 | including parts ofHighfields |
| Stoneygate | 3 | also including parts ofHighfields |
| Thurncourt | 2 | TheThurnby Lodge estate |
| Troon | 2 | TheNorthfields estate, parts of the formerCharnwood ward and a small part of the Rushey Mead area |
| Westcotes | 2 | |
| Western | 3 | TheNew Parks estate |
| Wycliffe | 2 | St Matthew's estate and part of Highfields |
A new set of wards and ward boundaries came into effect for the 7 May 2015 council elections. Wards that previously existed and were abolished areCharnwood,Coleman,Freeman,Latimer,New Parks andWestern Park.
The previous ward boundaries were adopted for the 2003 local elections.[39] Prior to this, there had been 28 wards, each electing 2 members. Wards that had existed and been abolished wereCrown Hills,East Knighton,Mowmacre,North Braunstone,Rowley Fields,Saffron,St Augustine's,West Humberstone,West Knighton andWycliffe.
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