Leicester City Council

History

The council traces its roots to the Corporation of Leicester, and before then to the Merchant Gild and the Portmanmoot. The Portmanmoot consisted of 24 Jurats, elected from the burgesses (members of the Gild Merchant, or freemen), along with two bailiffs, and a clerk. It appears to have existed before the Norman 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 by co-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, to The Mayor, Bailiffs and Burgesses of the Borough of Leicester. The 24 Jurats became known as the Aldermen of the corporation, and the 48 other Burgesses as the Common Council. The members of the Corporation chose the burgesses to send to the House of Commons.

Leicester was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal 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. The previous system of co-option for members of the council was replaced with elections by rate-payers. This led to a prolonged spell of Liberal 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 a county borough, independent from Leicestershire County Council.

In 1919 Leicester was awarded city 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 a Lord Mayor.

The city boundaries were enlarged on a number of occasions as the urban area grew, notably in 1935 and 1966. The corporation was replaced in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, with the modern Leicester City Council, a non-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.

In 1997, Leicester City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Leicestershire County Council as part of the 1990s UK local government reforms. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-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.

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.

Governance

As a unitary authority, Leicester City Council provides both county-level and district-level services. Some services are provided via joint committees with other councils, notably the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Constabulary, which are run by joint boards of the city council with Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council. There are no civil parishes in the city.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2007.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:

Non-metropolitan district

Unitary authority

Leadership

Political leadership is provided by the directly elected Mayor of Leicester. The separate post of Lord Mayor is the council's ceremonial figurehead and chairs full council meetings. Prior to 2011 political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1974 to 2011 were:

Since 2011, the directly elected mayor has been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council, excluding the City Mayor's seat, was:

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

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.

Council meetings are held at Leicester Town Hall on Town Hall Square, which was completed in 1876.

Between 1975 and 2014 the council had its main offices at the New Walk Centre, which has since been demolished.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 21 wards 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.

The wards are:

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 are Charnwood, Coleman, Freeman, Latimer, New Parks and Western Park.

The previous ward boundaries were adopted for the 2003 local elections. Prior to this, there had been 28 wards, each electing 2 members. Wards that had existed and been abolished were Crown Hills, East Knighton, Mowmacre, North Braunstone, Rowley Fields, Saffron, St Augustine's, West Humberstone, West Knighton and Wycliffe.

Coat of arms

References

References

1. (22 May 2025). "New lord mayor confirmed for Leicester". Leicester Gazette.
2. "Leicester City Council announces new chief operating officer".
3. "Open Council Data UK – compositions councillors parties wards elections".
4. [[Municipal Corporations Act 1835]]
5. [[Local Government Act 1888]]
6. {{London Gazette. (20 June 1928)
7. "Leicester Municipal Borough / County Borough". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1996)
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11. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
12. "Leicester". [[BBC News]].
13. (9 June 1973). "City Labour group pick their leader". Leicester Mercury.
14. (30 October 1974). "MP continues as member of council". Leicester Mercury.
15. (11 May 1976). "Leader declares war on Tories". Leicester Mercury.
16. (8 May 1976). "Veterans come back as Tories pick their committee leaders". Leicester Mercury.
17. (5 May 1979). "City elections leave Labour with 31 seats". Leicester Mercury.
18. (22 May 1979). "City Council will resist pressure to sell houses". Leicester Mercury.
19. (12 March 1982). "Political era ends". Leicester Mercury.
20. (28 April 1994). "Highs and lows of life in council hot seat". Leicester Mercury.
21. (28 April 1994). "New leader's 'bread and butter' pledge". Leicester Mercury.
22. (29 November 1995). "'I Quit'". Leicester Mercury.
23. (13 December 1995). "Soulsby is back as city council leader". Leicester Mercury.
24. (7 January 1999). "Roll of honour". Oadby & Wigston Mail.
25. (1 July 1999). "Inquiry set to delay stadium opening". Ashby Mail.
26. "Council minutes, 22 May 2003".
27. (26 November 2004). "Labour snatches council control". BBC News.
28. "Council minutes, 25 November 2004".
29. (20 May 2005). "Alliance returns to city chamber". BBC News.
30. "Council minutes, 19 May 2005".
31. "Council minutes, 17 May 2007".
32. "Council minutes, 25 March 2010".
33. (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian.
34. "Leicester". Thorncliffe.
35. (2023). "Local Heritage Asset Register". Leicester City Council.
36. {{National Heritage List for England
37. {{cite legislation UK. (2014)
38. Local Government Boundary Commission for England. "Leicester (Electoral Changes) Order 2014".
39. Local Government Boundary Commission for England. "Electoral review of Leicester 2002".
40. "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England.