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Exeter City Council

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Exeter City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms of Exeter
Logo
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Anne Jobson,
Conservative
since 13 May 2025[1]
Philip Bialyk,
Labour
since 14 May 2019
Bindu Arjoon
since March 2023[2]
Structure
Seats39 councillors
An arch diagram of the political makeup of Exeter City Council in 2025
Political groups
Administration (22)
  Labour (22)
Other parties (18)
  Green (7)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
  Conservative (3)
  Reform UK (1)
  Independent (2)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2 May 2024
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Guildhall, 203 High Street, Exeter, EX4 3EB
Website
exeter.gov.uk
Constitution
The Constitution of Exeter City Council

Exeter City Council is the local authority for the city of Exeter in Devon, England. Exeter has had a city council since medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 it has been a non-metropolitan district council. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. It meets at Exeter Guildhall and has its main offices at the Civic Centre on Paris Street.

History

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Exeter was an ancient borough with city status. It was historically governed by a corporation, also known as the city council. The city was given the right to appoint a mayor by King John in the early thirteenth century.[3] In 1537 the city was made a county corporate with its own sheriff and quarter sessions, separating it from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Devon.[4]

The city council was reformed in 1836 to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Exeter" but informally known as the corporation or city council.[5] When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888 Exeter was considered large enough for its existing corporation to provide county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Devon County Council.[6]

The city was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, becoming a lower-tier district authority with Devon County Council providing county-level functions to the city for the first time. The city kept the same outer boundaries, but gained control of the "Devon County Buildings Area", being three separate exclaves of Devon surrounded by the city, containing Devon County Hall, Rougemont Castle and the county judges' lodgings at Larkbeare House.[7][8] Exeter's city status was re-conferred on the reformed district, allowing the council to take the name Exeter City Council.[9] The city's mayor was raised to the status of a lord mayor in 2002.[10]

In 2010 the government proposed that the city should become an independent unitary authority, like nearby Plymouth and Torbay. The statutory orders to set up the unitary authority were passed in Parliament and a new unitary city council was due to start in Exeter on 1 April 2011. However, following the change of government at the 2010 general election the reorganisation was cancelled.[11][12]

At the end of 2024, in response to the government encouraging the creation of unitary authorities across the country, the council put forward a motion to bid to become a unitary authority, which was unanimously supported by the council in early 2025.[13][14] The government's final decision on what form the new unitary authorities may take is awaited.[15][16]

Governance

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Exeter City Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Devon County Council.[17] There are no civil parishes in Exeter; the entire city is an unparished area.[18]

Political control

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The council has been under Labour majority control since 2012.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[19][20]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1983
No overall control 1983–1995
Labour 1995–2003
No overall control 2003–2012
Labour 2012–present

Leadership

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The role of Lord Mayor of Exeter is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1983 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Chester Long[21][22] Labour 1983 1999
Roy Slack[22][23] Labour 1999 May 2007
Pete Edwards[24] Labour 15 May 2007 May 2008
Adrian Fullam[25][26] Liberal Democrats 13 May 2008 Sep 2010
Pete Edwards[27][28] Labour 21 Sep 2010 May 2019
Philip Bialyk[29] Labour 14 May 2019

Composition

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Following the 2025 by-elections, the composition of the council was:[30]

Party Councillors
Labour 22
Green 7
Liberal Democrats 4
Conservative 3
Reform UK 1
Independent 2
Total 39

The Greens and Liberal Democrats sit together as the "Progressive Group". The next election is due in May 2026.[31]

Premises

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Civic Centre, Paris Street, Exeter, EX1 1JN

Full council meetings are generally held at the city's Guildhall at 203 High Street, which was built around 1470.[32] The council's main offices are at the Civic Centre, a 1970s building on Paris Street in the city centre.[33]

Elections

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See also: Exeter City Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016, the council has comprised 39 councillors, representing 13 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) being elected at a time for a four-year term. Devon County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no elections to the city council.[34]

Wards and councillors

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See also: List of places in Exeter § Wards

The wards of the city for City Council purposes are listed below.[35]

Following the May 2022 elections, David Harvey (Pinhoe) left the Labour group, and subsequently sits as an Independent.[36] In January 2025, Cllr Zoë Hughes left the Labour group to sit as an independent over the national party's position on transgender issues.[37]

Ward Party Member Election
Alphington Labour Yvonne Atkinson 2023
Labour Bob Foale 2022
Labour Rob Harding 2024
Duryard & St James Liberal Democrats Kevin Mitchell 2022
Liberal Democrats Michael Mitchell 2023
Liberal Democrats Tammy Palmer 2024
Exwick Labour and Co-operative Phil Bialyk 2024
Labour Paul Knott 2022
Labour and Co-operative Susannah Patrick 2023
Heavitree Green Carol Bennett 2023
Independent Lucy Haigh 2024
Green Catherine Rees 2022
Mincinglake & Whipton Labour Liz Pole 2024
Reform UK Tony Payne 2025
Labour Ruth Williams 2023
Newtown & St Leonards Green Andy Ketchin 2023
Labour Matthew Vizard 2022
Green Lynn Wetenhall 2024
Pennsylvania Independent[37] Zoë Hughes 2024
Labour and Co-operative Josie Parkhouse 2022
Labour and Co-operative Martyn Snow 2023
Pinhoe Labour and Co-operative Jakir Hussain 2024
Labour Mollie Miller-Boam 2023
Labour and Co-operative Duncan Wood 2022
Priory Labour Marina Asvachin 2022
Labour Jane Begley 2023
Labour Tony Wardle 2022
St Davids Green James Banyard 2024
Green Diana Moore 2023
Green Tess Read 2022
St Loyes Conservative Peter Holland 2022
Conservative Anne Jobson 2024
Conservative Alison Sheridan 2023
St Thomas Labour and Co-operative Deborah Darling 2024
Liberal Democrats Adrian Fullam 2023
Labour Laura Wright 2022
Topsham Labour Gemma Rolstone 2024
Labour James Cookson 2025
Labour Matthew Williams 2023

References

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  1. ^ Kings, Lizzie (19 May 2025). "Exeter's new Lord Mayor: Meet Cllr Anne Jobson". Exeter Today. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  2. ^ "Exeter City Council appoints new chief executive". BBC News. 14 March 2023. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  3. ^ Lysons, Daniel; Lysons, Samuel (1822). Magna Britannia. London: T. Cadell & W. Davies. pp. 177–234. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  4. ^ "Exeter Borough". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  5. ^ Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will. 4 c. 76)
  6. ^ "Exeter Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  7. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 22 June 2023
  8. ^ "Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 map, Sheet SX99". National Library of Scotland. 1967. Retrieved 22 June 2023.
  9. ^ "No. 46255". The London Gazette. 4 April 1974. p. 4400.
  10. ^ "Crown Office". London Gazette. 1 May 2002. Retrieved 17 May 2024.
  11. ^ "The Coalition: our programme for government" (PDF). HM Government, United Kingdom. 20 May 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 June 2011. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  12. ^ Hennessy, Patrick (22 May 2010). "The Queen's Speech: Bill by Bill". The Daily Telegraph. London. Archived from the original on 25 May 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2010.
  13. ^ "Exeter bids for independence in council shake-up". BBC News. 21 December 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Plans for Exeter to bid for unitary status backed by councillors". Exeter City Council. 10 January 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Plan for major expansion of Exeter unveiled". BBC News. 17 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Councillors back Exeter's submission for local government reorganisation". Exeter City Council. 21 March 2025. Retrieved 23 March 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  18. ^ "Election maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  19. ^ "English local elections 2007: Exeter". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 26 November 2024. (Put "Exeter" in search box to see specific results.)
  21. ^ "From the Grassroots: An oral history of community politics in Devon". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  22. ^ a b "So long Chester". Exeter Leader. 25 November 1999. p. 1. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  23. ^ "Labour leader loses Exeter seat". BBC News. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  24. ^ "Council minutes, 15 May 2007". Exeter City Council. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  25. ^ "Council minutes, 13 May 2008". Exeter City Council. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  26. ^ McVeigh, Karen; Morris, Steven (10 September 2010). "Labour claim victory in Exeter and Norwich elections". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  27. ^ "Council minutes, 21 September 2010". Exeter City Council. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  28. ^ Clark, Daniel (17 April 2019). "Pete Edwards: A fond farewell to the leader of Exeter City Council". Devon Live. Retrieved 30 November 2024.
  29. ^ "Council minutes, 14 May 2019" (PDF). Exeter City Council. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  30. ^ Redfern, Martin (1 May 2025). "2025 Exeter City Council by-elections results". Exeter Observer. Retrieved 2 May 2025.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. ^ "Exeter". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 7 June 2025.
  32. ^ Historic England. "The Guildhall, 203 High Street, Exeter (Grade I) (1103905)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  33. ^ "Council agenda, 19 July 2022". Exeter City Council. 19 July 2022. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  34. ^ "The Exeter (Electoral Changes) Order 2016", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2016/65, retrieved 22 June 2023
  35. ^ "Your Councillors by Ward". Exter City Council. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  36. ^ "Councillor details - Councillor David Harvey". committees.exeter.gov.uk. 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  37. ^ a b Jarvis, Chris (13 January 2025). "Exeter Labour Councillor quits party over trans rights". Bright Green. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
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