Rutland County Council

Rutland County Council is the local authority for the unitary authority of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current council was created in April 1997. The population of the council's area at the 2011 census was 37,369.[1]

Rutland County Council
Rutland County Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1997[lower-alpha 1]
Preceded byRutland District Council
Leicestershire County Council
Leadership
Chairman
Andrew Brown, Independent
since 22 May 2023
Leader
Gale Waller, Liberal Democrats
since 22 May 2023
Chief executive
Mark Andrews
since 30 April 2021
Structure
Seats27 councillors
Rutland County Council composition
Political groups
Administration (12)
  Liberal Democrat (11)
  Green (1)
Other parties (15)
  Independent (6)
  Conservative (6)
  Labour (2)
  Non-aligned (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
May 2027
Meeting place
Catmose House, Oakham
Website
www.rutland.gov.uk

As a unitary authority, the council is responsible for almost all local services in Rutland, with the exception of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Police, which are run by joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.

History

First incarnation

Rutland County Council was first established in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888 and ended in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, when Rutland was reconstituted as a district of Leicestershire.[2]

Second incarnation

The new unitary authority is seen as a re-creation of the original Rutland County Council. The Local Government Commission for England in 1994 recommended that Rutland District (and Leicester City) should become unitaries and leave the two-tier Leicestershire.[3] Rutland unitary authority came into existence on 1 April 1997.[4]

Formally it is a unitary district with the full legal title of Rutland County Council District Council,[5] caused by a renaming of the District of Rutland using powers under section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972 at a special meeting of the council held on 1 April 1997. Although, as with other unitary councils, the council is technically a non-metropolitan district council, section 8 of the Leicestershire (City of Leicester and District of Rutland) (Structural Change) Order 1996[4] created a county covering the same area as the District of Rutland, and further provided that there would be no council for the County of Rutland.

Composition

The council consists of 27 councillors, representing fifteen electoral wards of the county. It has all-out elections on a four-year cycle and follows a district pattern, with elections held in May 2007,[6] May 2011, 2015 and 2019.

The ceremonial head of the council is the chairman, and the executive follows the leader-and-cabinet model.

The parties represented on the council following the elections on 4 May 2023 are the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives, Labour and the Greens.

Cabinet

The Cabinet prepares Council policies and budgets and is responsible for most day-to-day decision making. The Cabinet also provides leadership and accountability for the local community. Each of the Cabinet Members are responsible for a specified policy area.

The Cabinet works to a Forward Plan that sets out matters which the Leader of the Council believes will be the subject of a key decision to be taken by the Cabinet.[7]

Following the 2023 council elections, the Liberal Democrats emerged as the largest party and subsequently formed an executive led by Gale Waller.[8][9] Between May 2022 and May 2023, the council was led by a cabinet of Conservatives and independents following the collapse of the previous Conservative minority administration in May 2022.[10]

The Cabinet comprises the Leader of the Council plus up to five elected Councillors, as of May 2023 these consist of:[11][12]

  • Gale Waller - Leader of the Council
  • Andrew Johnson - Deputy Leader and Portfolio Holder for Resources
  • Paul Browne - Portfolio Holder for Planning and Property
  • Diane Ellison - Portfolio Holder for Adult Care and Health
  • Christine Wise - Portfolio Holder for Highways, Transport and the Environment
  • Raymond Payne - Portfolio Holder for Children’s Services

Members by party
Main articles: Rutland County Council elections and 2023 Rutland County Council election
Political group Councillors[13][14]
2015 election 2019 election 2023 election
Conservative 16 15 6
Independent 8 8 7
Liberal Democrats 2 3 11
Green 1 1
Labour 2
Total 26 27 27

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1995 have been as follows:[15]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Eddie Martin[16][lower-alpha 2] Independent15 May 19952 Apr 1997
Kim Lee[17] Liberal Democrats12 May 1997May 1999
Edward Baines[18] Independent24 May 19992003
Roger Begy[19] Conservative20031 Feb 2016
Terry King[20] Conservative22 Feb 2016Jan 2017
Tony Mathias[21] Conservative26 Jan 20178 Jan 2018
Oliver Hemsley[22] Conservative5 Feb 20189 May 2022
Lucy Stephenson Conservative9 May 202222 May 2023
Gale Waller[23] Liberal Democrats 22 May 2023Incumbent

Wards
Current ward boundaries

The county is divided into electoral wards, returning one, two or three councillors. The previous wards were adopted for the 2003 local elections but amended before the 2019 elections.

WardCouncillorsDescription
Braunston & Belton1Parishes of Ayston, Belton, Braunston, Brooke, Leighfield, Preston, Ridlington and Wardley
Cottesmore2Parishes of Barrow, Cottesmore, Market Overton and Teigh
Exton1Parishes of Ashwell, Burley, Egleton, Exton, Hambleton, Horn and Whitwell
Greetham1Parishes of Clipsham, Greetham, Pickworth, Stretton and Thistleton
Ketton2Parishes of Barrowden, Ketton, Tinwell and Tixover
Langham1Parish of Langham
Lyddington1Parishes of Bisbrooke, Caldecott, Glaston, Lyddington, Seaton, Stoke Dry and Thorpe by Water
Martinsthorpe1Parishes of Gunthorpe, Lyndon, Manton, Martinsthorpe, Morcott, Pilton and Wing
Normanton2Parishes of Edith Weston, Empingham, Normanton, North Luffenham, South Luffenham
Oakham North East2Oakham northwest of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway
Oakham North West2Oakham north of Braunston Road and west of the railway, and the parish of Barleythorpe
Oakham South East2Oakham southeast of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway
Oakham South West2Oakham south of Braunston Road and west of the railway
Ryhall & Casterton2Parishes of Essendine, Great Casterton, Little Casterton, Ryhall and Tickencote
Uppingham3Parishes of Uppingham and Beaumont Chase
Whissendine1Parish of Whissendine
Parliamentary constituency Ward Councillor Party Term of office
Rutland and Melton
constituency		 Barleythorpe David Blanksby Independent 2019–23
Sue Webb Independent 2019-23
Braunston & Martinsthorpe Edward Baines Conservative 2019–23
William Cross Conservative 2019-23
Cottesmore Samantha Harvey Conservative 2019-23
Abigail McCartney Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Exton June Fox Conservative 2016–23
Greetham Nick Begy Conservative 2019-23
Ketton Gordon Brown Conservative 2019-23
Karen Payne Conservative 2019–23
Langham Oliver Hemsley Conservative 2019-23
Lyddington Andrew Brown Independent 2019-23
Normanton Kenneth Bool Conservative 2019-23
Gale Waller Liberal Democrats 2019-23
Oakham North East Jeff Dale Independent 2019–23
Alan Walters Independent 2019-23[24]
Oakham North West Paul Ainsley Conservative 2019–23
Leah Toseland Labour 2021-23[25]
Oakham South Joanna Burrows Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Paul Browne Liberal Democrats 2022-23
Ray Payne Liberal Democrats 2022-23
Ryhall and Casterton Richard Coleman Conservative 2019-23
David Wilby Conservative 2019-23
Uppingham Stephen Lambert Liberal Democrats 2022-23
Marc Oxley Independent 2019-23
Lucy Stephenson Conservative 2019–23
Whissendine Rosemary Powell Independent 2019-23

2016 EU Referendum
See also: Results of the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum

On 23 June 2016 Rutland voted in only the third major UK-wide referendum on the issue of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union in the 2016 EU Referendum under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 where voters were asked to decide on the question “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union” by voting for either “Remain a member of the European Union” or “Leave the European Union”. The county produced one of the narrowest results in the country by voting to “Leave the European Union” by a majority of just 260 votes. The result went against the views of the local MP Alan Duncan who had campaigned for a "Remain" vote.

The result was declared in Oakham early on 24 June 2016 by the Counting Officer, Helen Briggs.

United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, 2016
Rutland
Choice Votes  %
Leave the European Union 11,61350.57%
Remain a member of the European Union 11,35349.43%
Valid votes 22,96699.92%
Invalid or blank votes 180.08%
Total votes 22,984100.00%
Registered voters and turnout 29,39078.20%
Rutland referendum result (without spoiled ballots):
Leave:
11,613 (50.6%)		 Remain:
11,353 (49.4%)
▲

Arms
Coat of arms of Rutland County Council
Notes
First granted to Rutland County Council on 1 May 1950. Used by Rutland District Council from 31 March 1974 to 1 April 1997.[26]
Crest
On a wreath of the colours in front of a horseshoe an acorn Or leaved and slipped Proper.
Escutcheon
Vert semée of acorns a horseshoe Or.
Motto
Multum In Parvo (Much In Little)

See also

Notes
  1. District council gained county functions.
  2. Initially appointed as "co-ordinator", but title changed to "leader" later that year.

References
  1. "Unitary Authority population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
  2. "Rutland's History Headlines". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
  3. LGCE Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Leicestershire. December 1994.
  4. The Leicestershire (City of Leicester and District of Rutland) (Structural Change) Order 1996 SI 1996/507
  5. "Rutland County Council – Constitution of the Council". January 2021.
  6. 2007 Local Election results for RCC
  7. "Rutland Council Leader confirms details of new alliance Cabinet". 18 May 2022.
  8. "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet". Oakham Nub News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  9. "Council leaders elected after election changes". BBC News. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  10. "New leader for council after former Conservative quits". 9 May 2022.
  11. "Rutland County Council appoints new Chairman, Leader and Cabinet". Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  12. "Annual Council meeting places elected members into key roles | Rutland County Council". www.rutland.gov.uk. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  13. "Local election results 2015 in full". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  14. "Your Councillors by Party". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  15. "Council minutes". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  16. "Two faces at the top for new-look council". Rutland Times. Oakham. 19 May 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  17. "New chief". Rutland Times. Oakham. 2 May 1997. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  18. "Councillors appointed". Rutland Times. Oakham. 28 May 1999. p. 7. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  19. "Tributes paid to 'outstanding public servant' Roger Begy". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  20. Scholes, Andrea (30 November 2018). "Tributes paid to Terry King who ably served Rutland for 18 years". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  21. "Council leader Tony Mathias resigns". Rutland County Council. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  22. Parker, Tim; Noble, Samantha (6 May 2022). "Rutland Conservative council leader leaves party". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
  23. "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet". Oakham Nub News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
  24. "Councillor quits Tory party on election night". 5 November 2021.
  25. "Rutland county council - Election of councillors for the Oakham North West Ward - Declaration of result of poll" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2021. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
  26. "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 8 March 2021.
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