Worcester City Council

Worcester City Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district council
Leadership
Mayor	Louis Stephen, Green since 16 May 2023[1]
Joint Leaders	Lynn Denham, Labour Marjory Bisset, Green since 16 May 2023
Managing director	David Blake since March 2017[2]
Structure
Seats	35 councillors
Political groups	Labour (13)   Green (11)   Conservative (7)   Liberal Democrats (4)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	2024
Meeting place
The Guildhall, High Street, Worcester, WR1 2EY
Website
www.worcester.gov.uk

Worcester City Council is the local authority for Worcester, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Worcestershire, England. The council consists of 35 councillors, elected from 15 wards.

History[edit]

Worcester was an ancient borough which had held city status from time immemorial. The city became a municipal borough in 1836, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Worcester", but generally known as the corporation or city council.^[3] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Worcester was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it became a county borough, independent from the surrounding Worcestershire County Council.^[4]

In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the city had its territory enlarged, gaining the parishes of Warndon and St Peter the Great County and it became a non-metropolitan district, with Hereford and Worcester County Council providing county-level services.^[5] Worcester retained its borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, whilst its city status was re-conferred on the enlarged district, allowing the council to take the name Worcester City Council.^[6][7] Hereford and Worcester was abolished in 1998, since when a re-established Worcestershire County Council has been the upper-tier authority for Worcester.^[8]

Political control[edit]

The city council has been under no overall control since the 2022 election. The Conservatives were the largest party after that election and formed a minority administration until the 2023 election when they did not win any of the seats they were contesting, and the Conservative leader of the council, Chris Mitchell, lost his seat. Labour became the largest party at the 2023 election, with the Conservatives falling back to third place behind the Green Party.^[9] The Labour and Green group leaders, Lynn Denham and Marjory Bisset, were subsequently appointed joint leaders of the council.^[10] The next election is due in 2024.

The first elections to the city council as reformed under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been held by the following parties:^[11][12][13]

Leadership[edit]

The role of Mayor of Worcester is largely ceremonial, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2002 have been:^[14]

Premises[edit]

The city council is based at Worcester Guildhall on the High Street in the city centre.^[18] The current guildhall was built in 1723 on a site which had been occupied by a guildhall since about 1227.^[19]

Elections[edit]

Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time. Since the last boundary changes in 2004, 35 councillors have been elected from 15 wards.^[20] Worcestershire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no city council elections.

References[edit]