Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council, also known as Richmond upon Thames Council, LBRUT or Richmond Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018. Although the borough is named after Richmond, the council meets at York House in Twickenham, and has its main offices in the adjoining Civic Centre.
Richmond upon Thames London Borough Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Mike Jackson since 2022[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 54 councillors[4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| York House, Richmond Road, Twickenham, TW1 3AA | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
editThe London Borough of Richmond upon Thames and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.[5] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the municipal borough councils of Barnes, Richmond, and Twickenham. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.[6]
The council's full legal name is the "Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames".[7]
From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Richmond upon Thames) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Richmond upon Thames has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[8]
Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.[9]
Since 2016 the council has shared a chief executive and other staff with neighbouring Wandsworth Council.[3]
Powers and functions
editThe local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.[10] It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.[11]
Political composition
editThe council has been under Liberal Democrat majority control since 2018.
The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:[12]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1965–1982 | |
| No overall control | 1982–1983 | |
| Alliance | 1983–1988 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1988–2002 | |
| Conservative | 2002–2006 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2006–2010 | |
| Conservative | 2010–2018 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2018–present | |
Leadership
editThe role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Richmond. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:[13][14]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry Hall | Conservative | 1965 | 1978 | |
| John Barker | Conservative | 1978 | 1980 | |
| Keith Morell | Conservative | 1980 | 1983 | |
| David Williams | Liberal | 1983 | 3 Mar 1988 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 Mar 1988 | 22 May 2001 | ||
| Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2001 | 13 May 2002 | |
| Tony Arbour | Conservative | 13 May 2002 | 16 May 2006 | |
| Serge Lourie | Liberal Democrats | 16 May 2006 | 9 May 2010 | |
| Nicholas True | Conservative | 25 May 2010 | 4 Jul 2017 | |
| Paul Hodgins | Conservative | 4 Jul 2017 | 22 May 2018 | |
| Gareth Roberts | Liberal Democrats | 22 May 2018 | ||
Composition
editFollowing the 2022 election and by-elections in January 2024, the composition of the council was:[15][16]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | 49 | |
| Green | 5 | |
| Total | 54 | |
The next election is due in May 2026.
Elections
editSince the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 18 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[17]
Premises
editThe council meets at York House, a large 17th century house in the centre of Twickenham.[18] The house had been bought in 1923 by the old Twickenham Urban District Council (predecessor of Twickenham Borough Council) and converted to become its headquarters.[19] In 1990 the council moved its main offices to a new purpose-built Civic Centre at 44 York Street, immediately west of York House.[20] The Civic Centre was partly built behind the retained Victorian façade of a parade of shops at the corner of York Street and Church Street.[21]
Notable former councillors
edit- Tony Arbour, councillor for Hampton Wick ward 1968–1986 and 1994–2018, and Leader of the Council 2002–2006
- David Blomfield, councillor for Kew ward 1971–1978 and 1979–1986.[22] As leader of the Liberal group he was Leader of the Opposition on the Council in 1978.[23]
- Ian Dalziel, councillor for Barnes ward 1978–1979
- Dee Doocey, councillor for Hampton ward[24] 1986–1994 and chair of the council's Housing Committee[25]
- Sally Hamwee, councillor for Palewell ward 1978–1998[26]
- Stephen Knight, councillor for Teddington ward 2006–2018 and Leader of the Opposition on the Council 2010–2015
- Serge Lourie, councillor for Kew ward 1982–2010; Leader of the Council 2001–2002 and 2006–2010[27]
- Tania Mathias, councillor for Hampton Wick ward 2010–2015
- Bill Newton Dunn, councillor for South Richmond Ward 2018–2022 and previously a Member of the European Parliament
- Geoff Pope, councillor for South Twickenham ward, mayor 1989–1990 and chair of the Council's Social Services Committee
- Tim Razzall, councillor for Mortlake ward 1974–1998. During that time he served as chair of the Council's Policy and Resources Committee for 13 years and as deputy leader 1983–1996. He was succeeded in both roles by Serge Lourie.
- Jenny Tonge, councillor for Kew ward 1981–1990 and chair of the Council's Social Services Committee
- Nicholas True, councillor for East Sheen ward 1986–2017 and Leader of the Council 2010–2017[28]
- Sir David Williams, councillor for Ham, Petersham and Richmond Riverside ward 1974–2014[29] and Leader of the Council 1983–2001[30]
- Gareth Roberts, Leader of the Council since 2018.[31]
- Aphra Brandreth, former councillor for Barnes ward 2018-2022, elected as MP for Chester South and Eddisbury in 2024[32]
References
edit- ^ "New Mayor to raise money for Richmond Borough Mind and Home-Start RKH". Richmond upon Thames Council. 15 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
- ^ "Local Election – Thursday, 3 May 2018". 2018 Council Election results. London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. 3 May 2018. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
- ^ a b "Wandsworth and Richmond Councils choose new Chief Executive". Wandsworth Council. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Your Councillors". London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. Retrieved 27 January 2018.
- ^ "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
- ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
- ^ "Unilateral undertaking template". Richmond Council. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
- ^ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
- ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "Council minutes". Richmond upon Thames Council. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
- ^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
- ^ Uyal, Berk (6 May 2022). "Richmond local election results 2022: Liberal Democrats hold". Richmond and Twickenham Times. London. p. 1. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
- ^ Burford, Rachael (19 January 2024). "London by-elections: Tories 'wiped out in their former heartlands' but Labour suffer blow in Hackney". The Standard. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "The London Borough of Richmond upon Thames (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2020/1230, retrieved 27 April 2024
- ^ Historic England. "York House, garden walls wrought iron gates and boundary walls along Sion Road on the east side and Riverside on the south (Grade II*) (1263365)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Weinreb, Ben; Hibbert, Christopher (1993). The London Encyclopaedia. London: PaperMac. p. 1004. ISBN 0333576888. OCLC 28963301.
- ^ "Richmond Council office moves update". Richmond Informer. 13 April 1990. p. 18. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ "Bank backs civic centre: Work starts soon on council offices". Richmond Informer. 18 June 1987. p. 1. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
- ^ Grossman, Wendy (22 August 2016). "David Blomfield obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ Tonge, Jenny (Autumn 2016). "Tribute to David Blomfield MBE" (PDF). The Kew Society Newsletter. Retrieved 16 July 2017.
- ^ Fleming, Christine (10 January 2011). "Former Hampton councillor Dee Doocey welcomed into House of Lords". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Dee Doocey". Liberal Democrats (UK). Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ "Sally Hamwee". Liberal Democrats (UK). Retrieved 24 May 2019.
- ^ Wickham, Chris (14 May 2010). "Ex-Richmond Council leader Serge Lourie loses seat after 28 years". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ "Cllr Nicholas True, Leader of Richmond Council, has announced he will step down". Richmond and Twickenham Times. 23 June 2017. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
- ^ Razzall, Tim (2014). Chance Encounters: Tales from a Varied Life. Biteback Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84954-820-5.
- ^ Welch, Ben (3 March 2017). "Borough's longest-serving council leader and 'towering figure' of local politics to be awarded freedom of Richmond". Richmond and Twickenham Times. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
- ^ "Meet the Leader with Gareth Roberts". Cratus Group. 13 July 2023. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
- ^ "Gyles Brandreth's daughter Aphra follows father's footsteps to represent Chester for Conservatives". Granada Reports. ITV News. 5 July 2024. Retrieved 6 July 2024.