Merton London Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Hannah Doody since July 2021[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 57 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Civic Centre, London Road,Morden, SM4 5DX | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Merton London Borough Council, which styles itselfMerton Council, is the local authority for theLondon Borough of Merton inGreater London, England. The council has been underLabour majority control since 2014. The council is based atMerton Civic Centre inMorden.
The London Borough of Merton and its council were created under theLondon Government Act 1963, with the first election heldin 1964.[3] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the councils of themunicipal boroughs ofMitcham andWimbledon and theurban district ofMerton and Morden.[4] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.[5]
The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Merton", but it styles itself Merton Council.[6]
From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by theGreater 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 boroughs (including Merton) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As anouter London borough council Merton has been alocal education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[7]
Since 2000 theGreater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within theEnglish local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.[8]
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as abilling authority also collects precepts forGreater London Authority functions and business rates.[9] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is alocal education authority and is also responsible forcouncil housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.[10]
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.
The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:[11][12][13]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1965–1968 | |
| Conservative | 1968–1971 | |
| Labour | 1971–1974 | |
| Conservative | 1974–1989 | |
| No overall control | 1989–1990 | |
| Labour | 1990–2006 | |
| No overall control | 2006–2014 | |
| Labour | 2014–present | |
The role ofMayor of Merton is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:[14]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Vincent Talbot | Conservative | 1965 | 1971 | |
| Dennis Hempstead | Labour | 1971 | 1974 | |
| Vincent Talbot | Conservative | 1974 | 1975 | |
| Allan Jones | Conservative | 1975 | 1980 | |
| Harry Cowd | Conservative | 1980 | 1988 | |
| John Elvidge | Conservative | 1988 | 1990 | |
| Geoffrey Smith | Labour | 1990 | 1991 | |
| Tony Colman | Labour | 1991 | 1997 | |
| Mike Brunt | Labour | 1997 | 1999 | |
| Philip Jones | Labour | 1999 | 2000 | |
| Peter Holt[15] | Labour | 2000 | 2001 | |
| Andrew Judge[16] | Labour | 25 Apr 2001 | May 2006 | |
| David Williams[17][18] | Conservative | 24 May 2006 | May 2010 | |
| Stephen Alambritis[19][20] | Labour | 26 May 2010 | 18 Nov 2020 | |
| Mark Allison[21][22] | Labour | 18 Nov 2020 | May 2022 | |
| Ross Garrod[23] | Labour | 25 May 2022 | ||
Following the2022 election and a change of allegiance in January 2024,[24] the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 30 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 17 | |
| Conservative | 7 | |
| Merton Park Ward Residents Association | 2 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Total | 57 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.[25]
Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 57councillors representing 20wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[26]
The political voting patterns in Merton broadly follow the geographical divide between Merton's two UK Parliament constituencies. The easternMitcham and Morden constituency, which is held by Labour MPSiobhain McDonagh, contains ten wards and has only elected Labour councillors since 2014, with the exception of a single Conservative councillor elected in Lower Morden in 2022.[27]
The westernWimbledon constituency, which is held byLiberal Democrats MPPaul Kohler, contains ten wards with 27 councillors, 17 of which are currently Liberal Democrats. Since 1990, the ward of Merton Park has only ever returned councillors forMerton Park Ward Residents Association.[28] The most recent elections in 2022 saw the Liberal Democrats replace the Conservatives as the main opposition on Merton Council, winning 17 seats across the Wimbledon wards. They won all council seats in four of the wards, while another four wards were split between the Liberal Democrats and either the Conservatives or Labour. The only ward completely held by the Conservatives is Village, while Labour maintains only a single councillor in each of the Abbey and Wandle wards.[29]
The council is based at Merton Civic Centre on London Road in Morden. The building began as a 15-storey office block that was privately built as 'Crown House', opening in 1962.[30] The council moved into the building in 1985, having previously been based atWimbledon Town Hall.[31] A three-storey extension in front of the older building was completed in 1990, including the council chamber.[32][33]
At the annual council meeting, a mayor is elected to serve for a year. At the same time, the council elects a deputy mayor. Since 1978, each mayor must also be an elected councillor.
The mayor also acts as the ceremonial and civic head of the borough during his/her year of office, including chairing council meetings. The post is non-political, although they do get an additional casting vote in the event of a tie. Each year the mayor also chooses two charities which will benefit from a series of fundraising events throughout the mayoral year.
The following have served as mayor since the formation of the borough in 1965:[34]
Historically, Merton Council had a youth forum. In 2007, Merton Council replaced its youth forum with Merton Youth Parliament, an electedyouth parliament made up of local young people, after it was voted for in an online referendum.[35][36] Members of Merton Youth Parliament are aged 11 to 19, or 11 to 25 if they have a disability orspecial needs, and live or study in the borough.[37] All secondary schools and colleges in the borough are entitled to have four members elected to the youth parliament.[36]
Merton Youth Parliament elects a representative to theLondon Youth Assembly.[38]