Luton Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 Council logo[1] | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Chief Executive (interim) | Mark Fowler since 4 April 2025[3] |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 48 councillors[4] |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Town Hall, George Street, Luton, LU1 2BQ | |
| Website | |
www | |
Luton Borough Council, also known asLuton Council, is thelocal authority ofLuton, in theceremonial county ofBedfordshire, England. Luton has had an elected local authority since 1850, which has been reformed several times. Since 1997 the council has been aunitary authority, being adistrict council which also performs the functions of acounty council.
The council has been underLabour majority control since 2007. It is based atLuton Town Hall.
Luton's first elected local authority was alocal board established in 1850, prior to which the town had been administered by the parishvestry.[5] The town became amunicipal borough in 1876 governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Luton', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[6]
In 1964 the borough was elevated tocounty borough status, which saw the council take over county-level functions fromBedfordshire County Council.[7]
On 1 April 1974, under theLocal Government Act 1972, the county borough was reconstituted as anon-metropolitan district.[8][9] Between 1974 and 1997 Luton was a lower-tier district council, with Bedfordshire County Council again providing county-level services to the town.
In 1997, Luton Borough Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Bedfordshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a newnon-metropolitan county of Luton covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore restored the borough council to the powers it had held when Luton was a county borough prior to 1974.[10] Luton remains part of theceremonial county of Bedfordshire for the purposes oflieutenancy.[11]
Luton Borough Council provides all local government services in the area. As a unitary authority it provides bothcounty-level anddistrict-level services. There are nocivil parishes in the borough.[12]
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[13][14]
Lower-tier non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1976 | |
| Conservative | 1976–1991 | |
| Labour | 1991–1997 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1997–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–2007 | |
| Labour | 2007–present | |
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Luton, with political leadership instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1976 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Viv Dunington[15][16] | Conservative | 1976 | May 1991 | |
| Roy Davis[17][18] | Labour | May 1991 | May 1999 | |
| Bill McKenzie[18][19] | Labour | May 1999 | May 2003 | |
| David Franks[20][21] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2003 | May 2007 | |
| Hazel Simmons[22] | Labour | 22 May 2007 | ||
Following the2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to March 2024, the composition of the council was:[23][24][25]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 29 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 15 | |
| Conservative | 3 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total: | 48 | |
The next election is due in 2027.[26]
Elections are held every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 there have been 48councillors elected from 20wards.[27]
The council is based atLuton Town Hall at the head of George Street, the town centre's main street. The current building was completed in 1936, replacing an earlier town hall of 1847 on the same site. The earlier building had been destroyed in a fire in 1919 in the town's "Peace Riot" which followed the formal proclamation of peace at the end of theFirst World War.[28]
In July 2017 it decided to merge its health commissioning budget with the localClinical Commissioning Group, establishing an integrated commissioning committee. It is one of the first areas which the NHS has designated anAccountable care system.[29]
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| International | |
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| National | |
