Islington Council
Coat of arms
Islington Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor of Islington
Gary Heather
Leader of the Council
Kaya Comer-Schwartz, Labour
since 20 May 2021
Deputy Leader
Diarmaid Ward, Labour
Leader of the Opposition
Acting Head of Paid Service
Stephen Biggs
since July 2023
Structure
Seats51 councillors
Political groups
Administration (48)
  Labour (48)
Other parties (3)
  Green (3)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
2026
Meeting place
Islington Town Hall
Website
www.islington.gov.uk

Islington London Borough Council serves as the local authority for the London Borough of Islington located in Greater London, England. This council was established under the London Government Act 1963 and took over the roles of two previous local authorities: Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Council and Islington Metropolitan Borough Council.

As a London borough council, it is one of the 32 councils within the capital city of London in the United Kingdom. Islington is subdivided into 17 wards, each responsible for electing three councillors.[1] Following the May 2022 elections, Islington Council comprises 48 Labour Party councillors and 3 Green Party councillors.[2] Among these 51 councillors, Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz holds the position of the council's Leader, while Councillor Marian Spall serves as the Mayor.[3][4]

History

A map showing the wards of Islington since 2002

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Islington area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Islington on 1 April 1965. The present Islington Borough Council replaced Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Council and Islington Metropolitan Borough Council. Both were created in 1900, in Islington the borough council replaced the parish vestry. Finsbury had a more convoluted history with the metropolitan borough council replacing the Vestry of the Parish of St Luke, the Vestry of the Parish of Clerkenwell and the Holborn District Board of Works (for Glasshouse Yard and St Sepulchre).[5]

It was envisaged that through the London Government Act 1963 Islington as a London local authority would share power with the Greater 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 local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Islington Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. Islington became an education authority in 1990. Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.[6]

Powers and functions

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 a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.[7] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.[8]

Politics

Islington Council is elected every four years, with 48 councillors being elected from 16 wards. From 1964 to 1998, Labour controlled the council, apart from a 3-year period of Conservative control from 1968 to 1971, and a brief period of SDP control between 1981 and 1982, following the defection of Labour councillors together with MP Michael O'Halloran. The Liberal Democrats then had a majority from 1999 to the 2006 election, but continued to run the council as a minority administration until 2010 when Labour won a majority. In 2013, Labour won a seat from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election, and one Liberal Democrat councillor resigned the whip to sit as an independent, leaving the political composition of the council as 36 Labour, 11 Liberal Democrat and 1 Independent.[9] As of the 2022 election the council is composed of the following councillors:[2]

Party Councillors
Labour 48
Green Party 3
Total 51

In November 2020, former mayor Rakhia Ismail, who was originally elected as a Labour councillor for Holloway ward, defected to the Conservative Party, giving the party their first representation on the council since 1994.[10]

In May 2021, Kaya Comer-Schwartz was elected unopposed as Leader of the council, replacing Richard Watts.[11]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Ward boundary changes 2022 | Islington Council
  2. 1 2 "Your Councillors". Islington Council. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  3. ↑ "Councillor Kaya Comer-Schwartz". Islington Council. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. ↑ "The Mayor of Islington". Islington Council. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ↑ "Finsbury CP through time: Census tables with data for the Parish-level Unit, A Vision of Britain through Time". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  6. ↑ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
  7. ↑ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Polls triumphs raise hopes of 2014 Labour landslide | Islington Tribune". Archived from the original on 13 March 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2014.
  10. ↑ Bartholomew, Emma (9 November 2020). "'I'm really lucky to be working with Shaun': Islington's former Labour mayor Rakhia Ismail defects to the Tories". Islington Gazette. Retrieved 11 November 2020.
  11. ↑ Batholomew, Emma (20 May 2021). "Cllr Kaya Comer-Schwartz takes over as leader of Islington Council". Islington Gazette.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.