Hackney London Borough Council

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Hackney London Borough Council
Coat of arms or logo
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Anya Sizer,
Labour
since 17 May 2023[1]
Caroline Woodley,
Labour
since 9 November 2023
Chief Executive (interim)
Dawn Carter-McDonald
since August 2023[2]
Structure
Seats57 councillors plus elected mayor[3]
Political groups
Administration (49)
  Labour (49)
Other parties (8)
  Conservative (6)
  Green (2)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Mare Street, Hackney, London, E8 1EA
Website
hackney.gov.uk

Hackney London Borough Council, also known as Hackney Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney, in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2002. Since 2002 the council has been led by a directly elected mayor. The council meets at Hackney Town Hall and has its main offices in the adjoining Hackney Service Centre.

History[edit]

The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county of Middlesex. From 1856 the area was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.[4] In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards, including the Shoreditch Vestry and the Hackney District Board, the latter covering the parishes of Hackney and Stoke Newington. The Hackney district was dissolved in 1894 when the vestries for its two parishes took on district functions.[5]

In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs. In this area the three vestries which had been in operation prior to 1900 each became a borough: Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.[6]

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963. It was a merger of the old Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington metropolitan boroughs.[5] The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Hackney".[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 Hackney) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[8] Hackney became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved.[9]

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.[10]

Governance[edit]

The 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.[11] 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.[12]

Political control[edit]

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2002.

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:[13]

Party in control Years
Labour 1965–1968
Conservative 1968–1971
Labour 1971–1998
No overall control 1998–2002
Labour 2002–present

Leadership[edit]

Prior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1965 to 2002 were:[14]

Councillor Party From To
Martin Ottolangui Labour 1965 1968
Charles Hegerty Conservative 1968 1970
Don Bridgehouse Conservative 1970 1971
Martin Ottolangui Labour 1971 1981
John Kotz Labour 1981 1982
Anthony Kendall Labour 1982 1985
Tony Milwood Labour 1985 1986
Andrew Puddephat Labour 1986 1990
John McCafferty Labour 1990 1995
Nick Tallentire Labour 1995 1996
No leader (committees chaired by rotation) 1996 2001
Jules Pipe[15] Labour Jun 2001 20 Oct 2002

In 2002 the council changed to having a directly elected Mayor of Hackney with executive powers. The mayors since 2002 have been:[16]

Mayor Party From To
Jules Pipe Labour 21 Oct 2002 20 Jul 2016
Philip Glanville Labour Co-op 19 Sept 2016 22 Sept 2023
Caroline Woodley Labour 10 Nov 2023

Premises[edit]

The council meets at Hackney Town Hall on Mare Street, which was completed in 1937 for the old Hackney Borough Council.[17]

Hackney Service Centre, 1 Hillman Street, Hackney, London, E8 1DY: Council's main offices since 2010 (building on left of photograph)

The council has its main offices at the Hackney Service Centre at 1 Hillman Street, immediately west of the Town Hall. The Service Centre was completed for the council in 2010.[18][19]

Elections[edit]

See also: Hackney London Borough Council elections and List of electoral wards in Hackney

Since the last boundary changes in 2014 the council has comprised 57 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Council minutes, 17 May 2023" (PDF). Hackney Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  2. ^ "Chief Executive update". Hackney Council. 14 July 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  3. ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections".
  4. ^ Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120)
  5. ^ a b Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
  6. ^ London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)
  7. ^ "Can a term be implied into a UK lease so that it makes business sense?". Lexology. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  8. ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  9. ^ Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40)
  10. ^ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
  11. ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  14. ^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Jules Pipe: Labour candidate for Mayor of Hackney". Hackney Citizen. 24 April 2010. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  16. ^ "Mayoral elections". Hackney Council. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
  17. ^ Historic England. "Hackney Town Hall (Grade II) (1235869)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  18. ^ "Contact us". Hackney Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  19. ^ "Hackney Service Centre" (PDF). Spaces (35). London: The Hackney Society: 1. Winter 2012. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  20. ^ "The Hackney (Electoral Changes) Order 2013", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2013/2795, retrieved 6 April 2024
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