Leeds Corporation

Leeds (often spelt Leedes) was a manor and then a town, receiving a charter from King Charles I as a 'Free Borough' in 1626 giving it powers of self-government, leading to the formation of the Leeds Corporation to administer it.^[1][2] The leader was initially an alderman, the first holder being Sir John Savile.^[3] A second charter, in 1661 from King Charles II, granted the title of mayor to Thomas Danby,^[3]

Leeds was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs were governed across the country. The ruling body was then formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Leeds", generally known as the corporation or town council.^[4][1] When elected county councils were created in 1889 Leeds was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it became a county borough, independent from the new West Riding County Council. Leeds became a city in 1893, after which the corporation was also known as the city council. In 1897 the mayoralty was raised to a Lord Mayor.

Leeds City Council

The modern city council was established in 1974, with the first elections being held in advance in 1973. Under the Local Government Act 1972, the area of the County Borough of Leeds was combined with those of the Municipal Borough of Morley, the Municipal Borough of Pudsey, Aireborough Urban District, Horsforth Urban District, Otley Urban District, Garforth Urban District, Rothwell Urban District and parts of Tadcaster Rural District, Wetherby Rural District and Wharfedale Rural District from the West Riding. The new Leeds district was one of five metropolitan districts in West Yorkshire. It was granted a borough and city status to become the City of Leeds.

Until 1986 the city council was a second-tier authority, with West Yorkshire County Council providing many key services. However, the metropolitan county councils were abolished under the Local Government Act 1985 and the council took responsibility for all former County Council functions except policing, fire services and public transport which continue to be run on a joint basis by councillors from the former boroughs of West Yorkshire County Council.

Education Leeds

Education Leeds was set up in 2001 as a non-profit making company wholly owned by Leeds City Council to provide education support services for the council.^[6] For its first five years it operated as a public-private partnership between the Council and Capita. The senior councillors of the council's executive board voted in March 2010 to stop using Education Leeds to provide services from 31 March 2011,^[7] thereby effectively causing it to cease operation.

Housing

Until 1 October 2013, Leeds City Council's housing stock was managed and operated by three Arms Length Management Organisations (ALMOs) since 2007. They were wholly owned by the council but operated as autonomous and self-governing organisations. The ALMOs, which are arranged on a regional basis were:

• East North East Homes^[8]
• West North West Homes^[9]
• Aire Valley Homes^[10]

As of 1 October 2013, the ALMOs returned to Leeds City Council and all management of council housing stock became the responsibility of Housing Leeds. At this point, the ALMOs ceased to exist.

Management of more than 2000 homes in Belle Isle is carried out by Belle Isle Tenant Management Organisation, the largest tenant management organisation in the UK outside London.^[11]

Leeds Museums & Galleries

Leeds Museums & Galleries is a museum service run by Leeds City Council.^[12]

Established in 1821, it is the largest local authority-run museum service in England, with one of the larger and more significant multidisciplinary collections in the UK, looking after 1.3 million objects.^[13] The service is run and primarily funded by Leeds City Council (LCC), and plays a significant role in shaping the cultural life of the city, but as a leading museum service it has a regional and national reputation and role. In 2012 the organisation achieved Major Partner Museum status from Arts Council England, which brought significant additional funding and further national prominence and expectation.^[14]

The service has at times run major events across the city, with visitors numbering in the millions, such as the 2014-19 Legacies of War Project, which examined how Leeds was affected by the First World War,^[15] and developed teaching materials for schools.^[16]

Leeds Museums & Galleries is made up of nine different sites: Leeds Art Gallery, Leeds City Museum, Kirkstall Abbey, Abbey House Museum, Leeds Industrial Museum at Armley Mills, Thwaite Mills, Lotherton Hall, Temple Newsam and Leeds Discovery Centre.

Waste disposal and recycling

The city operates waste disposal and recycling facilities in Kirkstall, Meanwood, Middleton, Otley, Pudsey, Seacroft, Wetherby (Thorp Arch) and Yeadon.^[17]

West Yorkshire Joint Services

West Yorkshire Joint Services provides services for the five district local authorities in West Yorkshire (Leeds, Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees and Wakefield) in the areas of archaeology, archives, ecology, materials testing, public analyst, and trading standards.^[18]

Overview and scrutiny

The executive and workings of the council are overseen by six scrutiny boards. These panels involve councillors from all parties and some independent members. Scrutiny boards are able to review decisions taken by the executive or by officers of the council and to refer them for further consideration.

Regulatory

The licensing committee of the council is drawn from councillors from all parties and is responsible for entertainment, refreshment, personal and premises licences established under the Licensing Act 2003. Three plans panels are responsible for determining planning applications which have not been delegated to officers for decision, such as large or controversial applications or those in which a councillor or officer has a personal interest.

Community committees

Ten community committees are responsible for managing certain area-specific budgets and responsibilities, such as community centres and CCTV, in partnership with local communities. Committees also exert considerable influence over other areas of local interest such as street-cleansing and community policing.

Leaders and political control since 1945

Elected Mayor

On 3 May 2012 a referendum was held to determine whether or not to replace the current leadership arrangements with a directly elected mayor.

The question that was asked in the referendum was set by central government, and was:^[49]

How would you like Leeds City Council to be run?

• By a leader who is an elected councillor chosen by a vote of the other elected councillors. This is how the council is run now.

Or

• By a mayor who is elected by voters. This would be a change from how the council is run now.

The proposal for an elected mayor was opposed by the leaders of the four largest groups on the council. It was supported by Leeds Conservative MPs Stuart Andrew (Pudsey) and Alec Shelbrooke (Elmet and Rothwell).

The referendum results showed a rejection of the proposal for a directly elected mayor, with 63% (107,910) voting to keep the status quo.^[50]