Borough of Boston

Borough of Boston
Non-metropolitan district and borough
From left to right Top: Boston Stump and Boston town centre Middle: Kirton town hall and Algarkirk church Bottom: Sutterton church and aerial of the town centre and waterways/bridges
Shown within the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	East Midlands
Administrative county	Lincolnshire
Admin. HQ	Boston
Government
• Type	Boston Borough Council
• MP:	Matt Warman
Area
• Total	141 sq mi (364 km2)
• Rank	97th
Population  (2022)
• Total	64,637
• Rank	Ranked 285th
• Density	460/sq mi (180/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
• Ethnic groups	List 94.7% White 2% Asian 1.4% Mixed 1% other 0.7% Black
Religion (2021) [1]
• Religion	List 64% Christianity 33.4% no religion 1.5% Islam 0.4% Hinduism 0.2% Buddhism 0.4% other
Time zone	UTC+0 (Greenwich Mean Time)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (British Summer Time)
ONS code	32UB (ONS) E07000136 (GSS)

The Borough of Boston is a local government district with borough status in Lincolnshire, England. Its council is based in the town of Boston. The borough also includes numerous villages and towns in the surrounding rural area including Kirton, Wyberton, Sutterton, Algakirk and Hubberts Bridge.

The borough borders South Holland to the south, North Kesteven to the west, and East Lindsey to the north. To the east, it has a coast onto the Wash.

The town of Boston had been incorporated as an ancient borough in 1545.^[2] It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836.^[3]

The modern borough was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, by merging the municipal borough of Boston with Boston Rural District.^[4] The new district was named Boston after its only town.^[5] Boston's borough status passed to the enlarged district from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Boston's series of mayors dating back to 1545.^[6] The borough covers the northern part of Holland, one of the three traditional Parts of Lincolnshire. Holland had been an administrative county between 1889 and 1974.

In 2020 the council agreed to share its management and other staff with neighbouring East Lindsey District Council.^[7] South Holland District Council joined the partnership in 2021, which is now described as the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership".^[8]

Boston Borough Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Mayor	Helen Staples, Boston Independent since 20 May 2024[9]
Leader	Anne Dorrian, Boston Independent since 22 May 2023
Chief Executive	Robert Barlow[a] since 1 July 2020[7]
Structure
Seats	30 councillors
Political groups	Administration (18)   Boston Ind. (18) Other parties (12)   Conservative (5)   Independent (5)   Blue Revolution (1)   Liberal Democrats (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Municipal Buildings, West Street, Boston, PE21 8QR
Website
www.boston.gov.uk

Boston Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.^[10][11]

Since the 2023 election the council has been under the control of local party the Boston Independents.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:^[12][13]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Boston. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:^[14]

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:^[15]

The Liberal Democrat and three of the independent councillors sit together as the "20-20 Independent Group".^[16] The next election is due in 2027.^[17]

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 30 councillors representing 15 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[18] A map of the wards is available,^[19] as is a map showing the Local Government Boundary Commission for England's final recommendations for ward boundaries, October 2012.^[20]

The wards, and their numbers of councillors, are:^[18]

The council is based at the Municipal Buildings on West Street in Boston.^[21] The building was built in 1902 for the old borough council to the designs of architect James Rowell.^[22]

Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, the exception being the pre-1974 municipal borough of Boston, which is an unparished area. The parishes are:^[23]

On 23 June 2016 the Borough of Boston voted in the UK-wide Referendum on membership of the European Union (EU) under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015. In a turnout of 77%, over 75% voted to leave the EU, the highest leave majority of the 382 UK voting areas.^[24] The local MP Matt Warman, a Conservative, had campaigned for a "Remain" vote.^[25]

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Boston.

This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items. (November 2021)

• Professor Sir Jonathan Van-Tam: 21 March 2022.^{[26][27][28][29]}
• David Medlock: 17 April 2023.^[30]

• RAF Coningsby: 16 May 1963.^[31]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boston.

52°57′N 0°09′W / 52.95°N 0.15°W / 52.95; -0.15