Rutland_County_Council
Rutland County Council
Unitary authority of local government in the district and county of Rutland
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 | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mark Andrews since 30 April 2021 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 27 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
| Catmose House, Catmos Street, Oakham, LE15 6HP | |
| Website | |
| www | |
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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.
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]
Between 1974 and 1997 there was a Rutland District Council covering the area of the pre-1974 county, which was based at the old county council's offices at Catmose House. Leicestershire County Council provided county-level functions in Rutland during this period.
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.
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
|
1 2 11 6 7 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eddie Martin[16][lower-alpha 1] | Independent | 15 May 1995 | 2 Apr 1997 | |
| Kim Lee[17] | Liberal Democrats | 12 May 1997 | May 1999 | |
| Edward Baines[18] | Independent | 24 May 1999 | 2003 | |
| Roger Begy[19] | Conservative | 2003 | 1 Feb 2016 | |
| Terry King[20] | Conservative | 22 Feb 2016 | Jan 2017 | |
| Tony Mathias[21] | Conservative | 26 Jan 2017 | 8 Jan 2018 | |
| Oliver Hemsley[22] | Conservative | 5 Feb 2018 | 9 May 2022 | |
| Lucy Stephenson | Conservative | 9 May 2022 | 22 May 2023 | |
| Gale Waller[23] | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2023 | Incumbent | |
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.
| Ward | Councillors | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Braunston & Belton | 1 | Parishes of Ayston, Belton, Braunston, Brooke, Leighfield, Preston, Ridlington and Wardley |
| Cottesmore | 2 | Parishes of Barrow, Cottesmore, Market Overton and Teigh |
| Exton | 1 | Parishes of Ashwell, Burley, Egleton, Exton, Hambleton, Horn and Whitwell |
| Greetham | 1 | Parishes of Clipsham, Greetham, Pickworth, Stretton and Thistleton |
| Ketton | 2 | Parishes of Barrowden, Ketton, Tinwell and Tixover |
| Langham | 1 | Parish of Langham |
| Lyddington | 1 | Parishes of Bisbrooke, Caldecott, Glaston, Lyddington, Seaton, Stoke Dry and Thorpe by Water |
| Martinsthorpe | 1 | Parishes of Gunthorpe, Lyndon, Manton, Martinsthorpe, Morcott, Pilton and Wing |
| Normanton | 2 | Parishes of Edith Weston, Empingham, Normanton, North Luffenham, South Luffenham |
| Oakham North East | 2 | Oakham northwest of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway |
| Oakham North West | 2 | Oakham north of Braunston Road and west of the railway, and the parish of Barleythorpe |
| Oakham South East | 2 | Oakham southeast of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway |
| Oakham South West | 2 | Oakham south of Braunston Road and west of the railway |
| Ryhall & Casterton | 2 | Parishes of Essendine, Great Casterton, Little Casterton, Ryhall and Tickencote |
| Uppingham | 3 | Parishes of Uppingham and Beaumont Chase |
| Whissendine | 1 | Parish 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 | ||
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 | 11,613 | 50.57% | |
| Remain a member of the European Union | 11,353 | 49.43% | |
| Valid votes | 22,966 | 99.92% | |
| Invalid or blank votes | 18 | 0.08% | |
| Total votes | 22,984 | 100.00% | |
| Registered voters and turnout | 29,390 | 78.20% | |
| Leave: 11,613 (50.6%) |
Remain: 11,353 (49.4%) | ||
| ▲ | |||
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- "Unitary Authority population 2011". Neighbourhood Statistics. Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 23 June 2016.
- "Rutland's History Headlines". BBC. Retrieved 28 September 2019.
- LGCE Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Leicestershire. December 1994.
- "Rutland County Council – Constitution of the Council". January 2021.
- "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet". Oakham Nub News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Council leaders elected after election changes". BBC News. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Rutland County Council appoints new Chairman, Leader and Cabinet". Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Annual Council meeting places elected members into key roles | Rutland County Council". www.rutland.gov.uk. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Local election results 2015 in full". The Guardian. Guardian News and Media Limited. 15 May 2015. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- "Your Councillors by Party". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- "Council minutes". Rutland County Council. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Two faces at the top for new-look council". Rutland Times. Oakham. 19 May 1995. p. 3. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "New chief". Rutland Times. Oakham. 2 May 1997. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Councillors appointed". Rutland Times. Oakham. 28 May 1999. p. 7. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Tributes paid to 'outstanding public servant' Roger Begy". Rutland and Stamford Mercury. 1 February 2016. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- 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.
- "Council leader Tony Mathias resigns". Rutland County Council. 8 January 2018. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- Parker, Tim; Noble, Samantha (6 May 2022). "Rutland Conservative council leader leaves party". BBC News. Retrieved 21 June 2022.
- "Lib Dems dominate new Rutland Council Cabinet". Oakham Nub News. 22 May 2023. Retrieved 2 June 2023.
- "Councillor quits Tory party on election night". 5 November 2021.
- "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.
- "East Midlands Region". Civic Heraldry of England. Retrieved 8 March 2021.