Derby City Council

Derby City Council is the local authority for Derby, a unitary authority with city status in the East Midlands region of England.

Derby City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Derby City Council Corporate Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Alan Graves,
Reform Derby
since 24 May 2023
Baggy Shanker,
Labour
since 24 May 2023[1]
Paul Simpson
since January 2020[2]
Structure
Seats51 councillors
Political groups
Administration (23)
  Labour (23)
Other parties (28)
  Conservative (15)
  Reform Derby (6)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
  Independent (3)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
6 May 2027
Motto
Industria, Virtus, et Fortitudo
Translation: Diligence, Courage, Strength
Meeting place
Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1 2FS
Website
www.derby.gov.uk

As a unitary authority, Derby City Council is responsible for all services within its boundary and is therefore distinct from the two-tier system of local government that exists in the surrounding county of Derbyshire. Outside the city, responsibility is shared between Derbyshire County Council and various district or borough councils.

History

The town of Derby had been an ancient borough, with borough charters dating back to 1154.[3] It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, governed by a corporate body called "the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Derby", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Derby was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from the surrounding Derbyshire County Council.[4]

In 1974 Derby was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972; it kept the same boundaries but became a lower-tier district council with Derbyshire County Council providing county-level services to the town for the first time.[5] Derby retained its borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Derby's series of mayors dating back to 1638.[6] The borough of Derby was awarded city status on 7 June 1977, allowing the council to change its name to Derby City Council.[7]

Derby became a unitary authority on 1 April 1997, regaining its independence from Derbyshire County Council.[8] The city remains party of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[9]

Governance

Derby City Council provides all local government services in the area. As a unitary authority it provides both county-level and district-level services. There are no civil parishes in Derby, which is an unparished area.[10]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2018. The council has been run by a Labour minority administration since the 2023 election.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[11][12][13]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–1976
Conservative1976–1979
Labour1979–1988
Conservative1988–1991
No overall control1991–1994
Labour1994–1997

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
Labour1997–2003
No overall control2003–2005
Labour2005–2006
No overall control2006–2012
Labour2012–2018
No overall control2018–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Derby is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:[14]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Chris Williamson Labourpre-200221 May 2003
Maurice Burgess[15] Liberal Democrats21 May 200320 Jul 2005
Chris Williamson Labour20 Jul 200521 May 2008
Hilary Jones Liberal Democrats21 May 200826 May 2010
Harvey Jennings Conservative26 May 201025 May 2011
Philip Hickson Conservative25 May 201123 May 2012
Paul Bayliss Labour23 May 201211 Jun 2014
Ranjit Banwait Labour11 Jun 20146 May 2018
Chris Poulter Conservative23 May 201824 May 2023
Baggy Shanker Labour24 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:[16]

Party Councillors
Labour 23
Conservative 15
Reform UK 6
Liberal Democrats 4
Independent 3
Total 51

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at the Council House on Corporation Street, which was purpose-built for the council. Construction began in 1938 but was interrupted by the Second World War, with the building eventually being completed in 1949.[17]

Elections
See also: Derby City Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 51 councillors, representing 18 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[18]

Arms
Coat of arms of Derby City Council
Notes
Granted 12 May 1939[19]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours a ram passant Proper collared Or between two sprigs of broom also Proper.
Escutcheon
Argent on a mount Vert within park palings a buck lodged between two oak trees fructed Proper.
Supporters
On either side a buck charged on the shoulder with a sprig of broom Proper.
Motto
Industria Virtus Et Fortitudo (Diligence Courage And Strength)

References
  1. "Derby City Council elections 2023".
  2. Hawley, Zena (31 March 2020). "New council chief executive says leading Derby is 'surreal'". Derbyshire Live. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  3. Lambert, Tim. "A History of Derby". Local Histories. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  4. "Derby Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 4 December 2021.
  7. "No. 47246". The London Gazette. 14 June 1977. p. 7656.
  8. "The Derbyshire (City of Derby)(Structural Change) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1773, retrieved 28 July 2023
  9. "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 28 July 2023
  10. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  11. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 26 May 2023.
  12. "Derby". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  13. "Labour wins city council control". BBC News Online. 15 July 2005. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
  14. "Council minutes". Derby City Council. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  15. "Ex-Derby council boss jailed for child sex attack". BBC News. 12 August 2011. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  16. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
  17. "Looking back on the many buildings Derby's councils have called home". Derby Telegraph. 21 September 2018. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. "The Derby (Electoral Changes) Order 2023", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2023/201, retrieved 28 July 2023
  19. "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
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