Jump to content

Warwickshire County Council

Add links
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warwickshire County Council
Coat of arms or logo
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Edward Harris,
Reform UK
since 16 May 2025[1]
George Finch,
Reform UK
since 25 June 2025[2]
Monica Fogarty
since October 2018[3]
Structure
Seats57 councillors
Political groups
Administration (22)
  Reform UK (22)
Other parties (35)
  Liberal Democrats (14)
  Conservative (9)
  Green (7)
  Labour (3)
  Whitnash RA (1)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
1 May 2025
Next election
3 May 2029
Meeting place
Shire Hall, Market Place, Warwick, CV34 4RL
Website
www.warwickshire.gov.uk

Warwickshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Warwickshire in England. Its headquarters are at Shire Hall in the centre of Warwick, the county town. The council's principal functions are county roads and rights of way, social services, education and libraries, but it also provides numerous other local government services in its area. The council has been under no overall control since the 2025 election, being run by a Reform UK minority administration.

History

[edit]

Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over many administrative functions which had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The cities of Birmingham and Coventry were considered large enough for their existing councils to provide county-level services, and so they were made county boroughs, independent from Warwickshire County Council.[a] The 1888 Act also said that any urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries were to be placed entirely in the county which had the majority of that district's population, which saw Warwickshire cede its part of Hinckley to Leicestershire, its part of Redditch to Worcestershire, and its part of Tamworth to Staffordshire. Warwickshire County Council was elected by and provided services to the parts of the county (as thus adjusted) outside the county boroughs of Birmingham and Coventry. The county council's area was termed the administrative county.[4]

Shire Hall, Warwick: The 1758 courthouse, facing Northgate Street.

The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889 and it formally came into being on 1 April 1889. On that day it held its first official meeting at the Shire Hall in Warwick, the courthouse (built 1758) which had served as the meeting place for the quarter sessions which preceded the county council. John Dugdale, the Conservative MP for Nuneaton, was appointed the first chairman of the council.[5]

The administrative county ceded Aston Manor and Erdington to Birmingham in 1911.[6] Solihull was made a county borough in 1964.[7]

The administrative county was reformed in 1974 to become a non-metropolitan county, at which point it also ceded Sutton Coldfield, Hockley Heath and much of the Meriden Rural District to the new West Midlands metropolitan county, which also covered the already independent county boroughs of Birmingham, Coventry and Solihull, alongside other territory from Staffordshire and Worcestershire.[8][9] The lower tier of local government was reorganised as part of the same reforms. Previously it had comprised numerous boroughs, urban districts and rural districts; they were reorganised into five non-metropolitan districts.[10]

Controversies

[edit]

The council became the centre of a national controversy following comments made by three Conservative councillors during a committee meeting in January 2024 discussing spending on Special Educational Needs (SEND).[11][12] Following media attention, the council published a statement and apologies from the three councillors.[13] A subsequent investigation cleared all three councillors of having breached the council's code of conduct, but found that some of the language used by two of the councillors had not been respectful. The investigation recommended further training for councillors on how to "engage fully in debate at scrutiny and other committee meetings whilst ensuring that the language used is respectful, courteous, and sensitive to the matter concerned."[14]

Governance

[edit]

Warwickshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the five district councils:

Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[15]

Political control

[edit]

The council has been under no overall control since the 2025 election.[16] Reform UK was the largest party following that election, and they subsequently formed a minority administration to run the council.[17]

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[18][19]

Party in control Years
No overall control 1974–1977
Conservative 1977–1981
No overall control 1981–1989
Conservative 1989–1993
No overall control 1993–2009
Conservative 2009–2013
No overall control 2013–2017
Conservative 2017–2025
No overall control[16] 2025–present

Leadership

[edit]

The leaders of the council since 1967 have been:

Councillor Party From To
William Dugdale[20][21] Conservative 1967 24 Feb 1976
Michael Hammon[22][23] Conservative Apr 1976 May 1981
Pat Martin[24][25][26] Conservative 1 Jun 1981 Feb 1983
John Brindley[27][28] Conservative May 1983 May 1984
John Vereker[29][30] Conservative May 1984 20 May 1993
Ian Bottrill[31][32] Labour 20 May 1993 May 2005
Alan Farnell[33][34] Conservative 17 May 2005 May 2013
Izzi Seccombe[35][36][37] Conservative 21 May 2013 May 2025
Rob Howard[1][2] Reform UK 16 May 2025 25 Jun 2025
George Finch[2][38] Reform UK 25 Jun 2025 present

Composition

[edit]

Following the 2025 election (taking into account one councillor who found after the ballot papers had been printed but before the election that his employment rules prevented him from standing under a party banner, and so sits as an independent) the composition of the council was:[39][16][40]

Party Councillors
Reform UK 22
Liberal Democrats 14
Conservative 9
Green 7
Labour 3
Whitnash Residents 1
Independent 1
Total 54

The next election is due in 2029.[41]

Elections

[edit]
See also: Warwickshire County Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the council has been divided into 57 electoral divisions, each electing one councillor. Elections are held every four years.[42]

Premises

[edit]

The county council is based at the Shire Hall in Market Place, Warwick, a complex of buildings built over many years. The oldest part was a courthouse built in 1758 facing Northgate Street.[43] As the county council's functions grew it built new offices in 1929–32 on the adjoining site of the former county jail, retaining the jail's 1783 façade to Northgate Street. A large extension completed in 1958 included a new council chamber, and a further extension in 1966 created a new frontage and main entrance for the building facing Market Place.[44]

Notes

[edit]
  1. ^ Coventry had previously been a similar county corporate, having its own sheriffs from 1451 until 1842, when it had been brought back under the jurisdiction of the Sheriff of Warwickshire.

References

[edit]
  1. ^ a b Price, Richard (16 May 2025). "Reform UK group leader chosen to head up council". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  2. ^ a b c Lavelle, Daniel (26 June 2025). "Reform Warwickshire council head quits after five weeks, leaving 18-year-old in charge". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  3. ^ "New Fire and Rescue chief for Warwickshire". Leamington Courier. 8 April 2019. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  4. ^ Pulling, Alexander (1889). A Handbook for County Authorities. London: W. Clowes and Sons. p. 19. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  5. ^ "Warwickshire County Council". Kenilworth Advertiser. 6 April 1889. p. 5. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Local Government Board's Provisional Order (1910) Confirmation (No. 13) Act 1911". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 31 December 2023.
  7. ^ "Solihull Urban District / Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  8. ^ Local Government Act 1972
  9. ^ "The places you'd never believe were once in Warwickshire". Coventry Telegraph. 1 July 2017. Retrieved 15 August 2019.
  10. ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 3 March 2023
  11. ^ Fox, Aine (7 February 2024). "Conservative Warwickshire County councillors caught on camera insulting disabled children during meeting". The Independent. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  12. ^ "Warwickshire councillors apologise for 'derogatory' SEND comments". 7 February 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  13. ^ Pacaud, Charlotte. "Statement from Warwickshire County Council's Leader and Chief Executive". Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
  14. ^ Mitchell, Andy (13 June 2024). "Councillors' special needs comments cleared". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  15. ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 17 October 2023.
  16. ^ a b c "Warwickshire County Council: Results from the 2025 election". BBC News. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  17. ^ Glinka, Elizabeth; Benton, Charlotte (25 June 2025). "Council boss quits, leaving 18-year-old in charge". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  18. ^ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Warwickshire" in search box to see specific results.)
  19. ^ "Warwickshire". BBC News Online. BBC. 5 June 2009. Retrieved 11 June 2009.
  20. ^ "Sir William quits council". Atherstone Herald. 27 February 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  21. ^ "Who will follow?". Rugby Advertiser. 27 February 1976. p. 1. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  22. ^ "Ratepayers' freedom at risk - says new County leader". Coleshill Chronicle. 9 April 1976. p. 10. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  23. ^ "Warks. results". Coleshill Chronicle. 15 May 1981. p. 18. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  24. ^ Swain, Tom (2 June 1981). "Bid to halt education cuts in county fails". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 7. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  25. ^ "Ill health forces top Tory to quit". Leamington Spa Courier. 18 February 1983. p. 5. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  26. ^ "Tories on auto-pilot". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 8 April 1983. p. 9. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  27. ^ "New leader for county". Leamington Spa Courier. 6 May 1983. p. 10. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  28. ^ Jacobs, Bill (9 May 1984). "Plea to restore old link". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 6. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  29. ^ Court, Judy (24 May 1984). "One hot seat to another in corridors of Shire Hall". Rugby Advertiser. pp. 22, 35. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  30. ^ "Labour all set for county hall control". Rugby Advertiser. 13 May 1993. p. 6. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  31. ^ Dale, Paul (21 May 1993). "Storm forecast as Labour take over the reins". Coventry Evening Telegraph. p. 15. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  32. ^ "Ian to leave top county council role". Coventry Live. 27 November 2004. Retrieved 8 September 2022.
  33. ^ "Council minutes, 17 May 2005" (PDF). Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  34. ^ Stirland, Jane (3 May 2013). "Warwickshire County Council leader Alan Farnell ousted by Greens". Coventry Live. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  35. ^ Reid, Les (10 May 2013). "Warwickshire County Council's ruling Tories select first female leader". Coventry Live. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  36. ^ "Council minutes, 21 May 2013" (PDF). Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  37. ^ Mitchell, Andy (2 May 2025). "Warwick County Council elections: Deposed leader admits Conservative recovery 'will take a while'". Warwickshire World. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  38. ^ Gilbert, Simon; Benton, Charlotte (22 July 2025). "Teenager voted in as UK's youngest council leader". BBC News. Retrieved 23 July 2025.
  39. ^ "2025 Election results: Warwickshire". Warwickshire County Council. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  40. ^ Khan, Shehnaz (8 May 2025). "Reform UK councillor to serve as an Independent". BBC News. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  41. ^ "Warwickshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 11 July 2025.
  42. ^ "The Warwickshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2015", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2015/1874, retrieved 20 January 2024
  43. ^ Historic England. "The Old Shire Hall and Law Courts, Northgate Street (Grade I) (1184979)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  44. ^ Historic England. "Warwickshire County Council Offices and former gaol (Grade I) (1364827)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Warwickshire_County_Council&oldid=1302237903"