Cambridge City Council

Cambridge City Council is the local authority for the city of Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Cambridgeshire, England.

This article is about the city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. For other uses, see Cambridge City Council (disambiguation).

Cambridge City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Jenny Gawthrope Wood,
Labour
since 25 May 2023
Mike Davey,
Labour
since 25 May 2023
Robert Pollock
since April 2021[1]
Structure
Seats42 councillors[2]
Political groups
Administration
  Labour (26)
Opposition
  Liberal Democrats (10)
  Green Party (4)
  Conservative (1)
  Independent (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2024
Meeting place
The Guildhall, Market Square, Cambridge, CB2 3QJ
Website
www.cambridge.gov.uk

History

Cambridge was an ancient borough. It was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207 which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The earliest recorded mayor was Harvey FitzEustace, who served in 1213.[3] The borough of Cambridge was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how borough councils (also known as town councils or corporations) operated across the country.[4]

Cambridge was granted city status on 21 March 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance, and economic success, allowing the council to call itself Cambridge City Council.[5]

The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Cambridge as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974; it kept the same boundaries and its city status, but there were changes to the council's responsibilities.[6]

The city of Cambridge is completely encircled by the neighbouring district of South Cambridgeshire. The two authorities work together on some projects, such as the Greater Cambridge Local Plan.[7] Since 2017 the city has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly-elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.[8]

Governance

Cambridge City Council provides district-level services, including parks and open spaces, waste collection, council housing and town planning. The Council also organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Cambridge Folk Festival and a programme of free summer entertainment entitled Summer in the City. County-level services are provided by Cambridgeshire County Council.[9] There are no civil parishes in Cambridge; the entire district is an unparished area.[10]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.

The first elections to the city council as reformed under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[11]

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–1976
Conservative1976–1979
No overall control1979–1986
Labour1986–1987
No overall control1987–1988
Labour1988–1992
No overall control1992–1996
Labour1996–1998
No overall control1998–2000
Liberal Democrats2000–2012
No overall control2012–2014
Labour2014–present

Leadership
See also: List of mayors of Cambridge

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cambridge. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:[12]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
David Howarth Liberal Democrats200017 Jul 2003
Ian Nimmo-Smith Liberal Democrats17 Jul 200327 May 2010
Sian Reid Liberal Democrats27 May 201024 May 2012
Tim Bick Liberal Democrats24 May 201212 Jun 2014
Lewis Herbert Labour12 Jun 201430 Nov 2021
Anna Smith Labour30 Nov 202125 May 2023
Mike Davey Labour25 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and one subsequent by-election in July 2023,[13] the composition of the council was:

Party Councillors
Labour 26
Liberal Democrats 10
Green 4
Conservative 1
Independent 1
Total 42

The next election is due in 2024.

Premises

The council meets at the Guildhall, on the south side of Market Square in the centre of Cambridge. The building was purpose-built for the old borough council and completed in 1939.[14] The council also has offices at Mandela House at 4 Regent Street.[15]

Elections
See also: Cambridge City Council elections

For electoral purposes, the city is divided into 14 wards: Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, King's Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith's, Romsey, Trumpington, and West Chesterton. There are 42 city councillors with three elected in each ward.

Elections for a third of the seats take place three out of every four years. Cambridgeshire County Council elections take place in the 4th year. Due to boundary changes[16] there was an "all up" (all Councillors are up for election) election in 2021, on the same day as other local elections.

Banner of Arms flag used by Cambridge City Council at Cambridge Guildhall
Flag used by Cambridge City Council

See also

Notes
  1. Veale, Andy (19 December 2020). "Former civil servant Robert Pollock appointed as city council's new chief executive". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  2. "Control of the Council". Cambridge City Council. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  3. "Ceremonial maces, 1207 charter and the city's coat of arms". Cambridge City Council.
  4. "Cambridge Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  5. "No. 39201". The London Gazette. 13 April 1951. p. 2067.
  6. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. "Greater Cambridge Local Plan". Greater Cambridge Shared Planning. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  8. "The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority Order 2017", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2017/251, retrieved 13 June 2023
  9. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  10. "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  11. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
  12. "Council minutes". Cambridge City Council. Retrieved 27 May 2022.
  13. Brackley, Paul (5 July 2023). "Conservatives win first seat on Cambridge City Council with King's Hedges by-election victory for Delowar Hossain". Cambridge Independent. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  14. Historic England, "Guildhall (1268372)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 4 January 2018
  15. "Council offices". Cambridge City Council. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  16. "Ward boundary review". Cambridge City Council.

References
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