Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mike Jackson since 2022[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 54 councillors[4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| York House,Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW13AA | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council,also known asRichmond upon Thames Council,LBRUTorRichmond Council,is the local authority for theLondon Borough of Richmond upon ThamesinGreater London,England. It is aLondon borough council,one of 32 inLondon.The council has been underLiberal Democratmajority control since 2018. Although the borough is named afterRichmond,the council meets atYork HouseinTwickenham,and has its main offices in the adjoining Civic Centre.
History
[edit]The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and its council were created under theLondon Government Act 1963,with the first election heldin 1964.[5]For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being themunicipal boroughcouncils ofBarnes,Richmond,andTwickenham.The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.[6]
The council's full legal name is the "Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames".[7]
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 Richmond upon Thames) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As anouter Londonborough council Richmond upon Thames has been alocal education authoritysince 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[8]
Since 2000 theGreater London Authorityhas taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within theEnglish local government systemthe council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.[9]
Since 2016 the council has shared a chief executive and other staff with neighbouringWandsworth Council.[3]
Powers and functions
[edit]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 authorityalso collects precepts forGreater London Authorityfunctions and business rates.[10]It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is alocal education authorityand is also responsible forcouncil housing,social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.[11]
Political composition
[edit]The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018.
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:[12]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1965–1982 | |
| No overall control | 1982–1983 | |
| Alliance | 1983–1988 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1988–2002 | |
| Conservative | 2002–2006 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2006–2010 | |
| Conservative | 2010–2018 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2018–present | |
Leadership
[edit]The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Richmond. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council.The leaders since 1965 have been:[13][14]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Hall | Conservative | 1965 | 1978 | |
| John Barker | Conservative | 1978 | 1980 | |
| Keith Morell | Conservative | 1980 | 1983 | |
| David Williams | Liberal | 1983 | 3 Mar 1988 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 Mar 1988 | 22 May 2001 | ||
| Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2001 | 13 May 2002 | |
| Tony Arbour | Conservative | 13 May 2002 | 16 May 2006 | |
| Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 2006 | 9 May 2010 | |
| Nicholas True | Conservative | 25 May 2010 | 4 Jul 2017 | |
| Paul Hodgins | Conservative | 4 Jul 2017 | 22 May 2018 | |
| Gareth Roberts | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2018 | ||
Composition
[edit]Following the2022 electionand by-elections in January 2024, the composition of the council was:[15][16]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 49 | |
| Green | 5 | |
| Total | 54 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.
Elections
[edit]Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 54councillorsrepresenting 18wards,with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[17]
Premises
[edit]The council meets at York House, a large 17th century house in the centre of Twickenham.[18]The house had been bought in 1923 by the old Twickenham Urban District Council (predecessor of Twickenham Borough Council) and converted to become its headquarters.[19]In 1990 the council moved its main offices to a new purpose-built Civic Centre at 44 York Street, immediately west of York House.[20]The Civic Centre was partly built behind the retained Victorian façade of a parade of shops at the corner of York Street and Church Street.[21]
Notable former councillors
[edit]- Tony Arbour,councillor forHampton Wickward1968–1986 and 1994–2018, and Leader of the Council 2002–2006
- David Blomfield,councillor forKewward 1971–1978 and 1979–1986.[22]As leader of theLiberalgroup he was Leader of the Opposition on the Council in 1978.[23]
- Ian Dalziel,councillor forBarnesward 1978–1979
- Dee Doocey,councillor forHamptonward[24]1986–1994 and chair of the council's Housing Committee[25]
- Sally Hamwee,councillor for Palewell ward 1978–1998[26]
- Stephen Knight,councillor forTeddingtonward 2006–2018 and Leader of the Opposition on the Council 2010–2015
- Serge Lourie,councillor for Kew ward 1982–2010; Leader of the Council 2001–2002 and 2006–2010[27]
- Tania Mathias,councillor forHampton Wickward 2010–2015
- Bill Newton Dunn,councillor for South Richmond Ward 2018–2022 and previously a Member of the European Parliament
- Geoff Pope,councillor for South Twickenham ward, mayor 1989–1990 and chair of the Council's Social Services Committee
- Tim Razzall,councillor forMortlakeward 1974–1998. During that time he served as chair of the Council's Policy and Resources Committee for 13 years and as deputy leader 1983–1996. He was succeeded in both roles by Serge Lourie.
- Jenny Tonge,councillor for Kew ward 1981–1990 and chair of the Council's Social Services Committee
- Nicholas True,councillor forEast Sheenward 1986–2017 and Leader of the Council 2010–2017[28]
- SirDavid Williams,councillor for Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside ward 1974–2014[29]and Leader of the Council 1983–2001[30]
- Gareth Roberts,Leader of the Council since 2018.[31]
- Aphra Brandreth,former councillor forBarnesward 2018-2022, elected as MP forChester South and Eddisburyin 2024[32]
References
[edit]- ^"New Mayor to raise money for Richmond Borough Mind and Home-Start RKH".Richmond upon Thames Council.15 May 2024.Retrieved25 May2024.
- ^"Local Election – Thursday, 3 May 2018".2018 Council Election results.London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.3 May 2018.Retrieved4 May2018.
- ^ab"Wandsworth and Richmond Councils choose new Chief Executive".Wandsworth Council.Retrieved26 April2024.
- ^"Your Councillors".London Borough of Richmond upon Thames.Retrieved27 January2018.
- ^"London Government Act 1963",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,1978 c. 33,retrieved16 May2024
- ^Youngs, Frederic (1979).Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England.Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society.ISBN0901050679.
- ^"Unilateral undertaking template".Richmond Council.Retrieved27 April2024.
- ^"Local Government Act 1985",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,1985 c. 51,retrieved5 April2024
- ^Leach, Steve (1998).Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath.Routledge. p. 107.ISBN978-0714648590.
- ^"Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities".Council Tax Rates.Retrieved8 April2020.
- ^"Local Plan Responses – within and outside London".Mayor of London. 12 November 2015.Retrieved9 April2020.
- ^"Compositions calculator".The Elections Centre.4 March 2016.Retrieved3 March2023.
- ^"Council minutes".Richmond upon Thames Council.Retrieved6 July2022.
- ^"London Boroughs Political Almanac".London Councils.Retrieved5 July2022.
- ^Uyal, Berk (6 May 2022)."Richmond local election results 2022: Liberal Democrats hold".Richmond and Twickenham Times.London. p. 1.Retrieved8 May2022.
- ^Burford, Rachael (19 January 2024)."London by-elections: Tories 'wiped out in their former heartlands' but Labour suffer blow in Hackney".The Standard.Retrieved27 April2024.
- ^"The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (Electoral Changes) Order 2020",legislation.gov.uk,The National Archives,SI 2020/1230,retrieved27 April2024
- ^Historic England."York House, garden walls wrought iron gates and boundary walls along Sion Road on the east side and Riverside on the south (Grade II*) (1263365)".National Heritage List for England.Retrieved27 April2024.
- ^Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1993).The London Encyclopaedia.London: PaperMac. p. 1004.ISBN0333576888.OCLC28963301.
- ^"Richmond Council office moves update".Richmond Informer.13 April 1990. p. 18.Retrieved27 April2024.
- ^"Bank backs civic centre: Work starts soon on council offices".Richmond Informer.18 June 1987. p. 1.Retrieved27 April2024.
- ^Grossman, Wendy(22 August 2016)."David Blomfield obituary".The Guardian.Retrieved16 July2017.
- ^Tonge, Jenny(Autumn 2016)."Tribute to David Blomfield MBE"(PDF).TheKew SocietyNewsletter.Retrieved16 July2017.
- ^Fleming, Christine (10 January 2011)."Former Hampton councillor Dee Doocey welcomed into House of Lords".Richmond and Twickenham Times.Retrieved24 March2019.
- ^"Dee Doocey".Liberal Democrats (UK).Retrieved24 May2019.
- ^"Sally Hamwee".Liberal Democrats (UK).Retrieved24 May2019.
- ^Wickham, Chris (14 May 2010)."Ex-Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie loses seat after 28 years".Richmond and Twickenham Times.Retrieved24 March2019.
- ^"Cllr Nicholas True, Leader of Richmond Council, has announced he will step down".Richmond and Twickenham Times.23 June 2017.Retrieved24 March2019.
- ^Razzall, Tim(2014).Chance Encounters: Tales from a Varied Life.Biteback Publishing.ISBN978-1-84954-820-5.
- ^Welch, Ben (3 March 2017)."Borough's longest-serving council leader and 'towering figure' of local politics to be awarded freedom of Richmond".Richmond and Twickenham Times.Retrieved25 May2019.
- ^"Meet the Leader with Gareth Roberts".Cratus Group.13 July 2023.Retrieved7 May2024.
- ^"Gyles Brandreth's daughter Aphra follows father's footsteps to represent Chester for Conservatives".Granada Reports.ITV News.5 July 2024.Retrieved6 July2024.
