Islington London Borough Council is the local authority for the

London Borough of Islington The London Borough of Islington ( ) is a London borough in Inner London. Whilst the majority of the district is located in north London, the borough also includes a significant area to the south which forms part of central London. Islington has ...

Greater London Greater may refer to: *Greatness, the state of being great *Greater than, in inequality (mathematics), inequality *Greater (film), ''Greater'' (film), a 2016 American film *Greater (flamingo), the oldest flamingo on record *Greater (song), "Greate ...

, England. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced two local authorities:

Finsbury Metropolitan Borough Council The Metropolitan Borough of Finsbury was a Metropolitan borough within the County of London from 1900 to 1965, when it was amalgamated with the Metropolitan Borough of Islington to form the London Borough of Islington. Formation and boundaries ...

and Islington Metropolitan Borough Council. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

capital of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Islington is divided into 17 wards, each electing three councillors. Following the May 2022 election, Islington Council comprises 48 Labour Party councillors and 3

Green Party A green party is a formally organized political party based on the principles of green politics, such as social justice, environmentalism and nonviolence. Greens believe that these issues are inherently related to one another as a foundation ...

councillors. Of these 51 councillors, the Leader of the Council is Councillor

Kaya Comer-Schwartz Kaya may refer to: People *Kaya (given name) *Kaya (surname) Places *Kaya, Burkina Faso, a town in Burkina Faso, capital of the department *Kaya Airport, serving the town * Kaya Department, a department or commune of Sanmatenga Province in centr ...

, while the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

is Councillor Marian Spall.

History

Islington London UK labelled ward map 2002

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Islington area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the

on 1 April 1965. The present Islington Borough Council replaced

and Islington Metropolitan Borough Council. Both were created in 1900, in Islington the borough council replaced the parish vestry. Finsbury had a more convoluted history with the metropolitan borough council replacing the

Vestry of the Parish of St Luke St Luke's is an area in central London in the Borough of Islington. It lies just north of the border with the City of London near the Barbican Estate, and the Clerkenwell and Shoreditch areas. The area takes its name from the now redundant pari ...

, the

Vestry of the Parish of Clerkenwell Clerkenwell () is an area of central London, England. Clerkenwell was an Civil Parish#Ancient parishes, ancient parish from the mediaeval period onwards, and now forms the south-western part of the London Borough of Islington. The well after ...

and the

Holborn District Board of Works Holborn was a local government district in the metropolitan area of London to the north west of the City of London from 1855 to 1900. The district was formed by the Metropolis Management Act 1855 from the following Middlesex civil parishes and p ...

(for Glasshouse Yard and St Sepulchre). It was envisaged that through the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

Islington as a London local authority would share power with the

Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. 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 local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as

social care Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession concerned with meeting the basic needs of individuals, families, groups, communities, and society as a whole to enhance their individual and collective well-being. Social work ...

libraries A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

, cemeteries and refuse collection. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Islington Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as

waste disposal Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitoring ...

. Islington became an

education authority The Education Authority ( ga, Údarás Oideachais) is a non-departmental body sponsored by the Department of Education (Northern Ireland), Department of Education in Northern Ireland. It was established under the Education Act (Northern Ireland) ...

in 1990. Since 2000 the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the metonym "City Hall", is the devolved regional governance body of Greater London. It consists of two political branches: the executive Mayoralty (currently led by Sadiq Khan) and the ...

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.

Powers and functions

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

functions and business rates. 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 Local education authorities (LEAs) were local councils in England that are responsible for education within their jurisdiction. The term was used to identify which council (district or county) is locally responsible for education in a system wit ...

and is also responsible for

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council estates, council housing, or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011 when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in so ...

, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

Politics

Islington Council is elected every four years, with 48

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s being elected from 16

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...

. From 1964 to 1998, Labour controlled the council, apart from a 3-year period of

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

control from 1968 to 1971, and a brief period of SDP control between 1981 and 1982, following the defection of Labour councillors together with MP Michael O'Halloran. The Liberal Democrats then had a majority from 1999 to the 2006 election, but continued to run the council as a

minority administration A minority government, minority cabinet, minority administration, or a minority parliament is a government and cabinet formed in a parliamentary system when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in ...

until 2010 when Labour won a majority. In 2013, Labour won a seat from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election, and one Liberal Democrat councillor resigned the whip to sit as an independent, leaving the political composition of the Council as 36 Labour, 11 Liberal Democrat and 1 Independent. As of the 2018 election the council is composed of the following councillors: In November 2020, former mayor Rakhia Ismail, who was originally elected as a Labour councillor for Holloway ward, defected to the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

, giving the party their first representation on the council since 1994. In May 2021, Kaya Comer-Schwartz was elected unopposed as Leader of the Council, replacing

Richard Watts Richard Watts (1529–1579) was a successful businessman and MP for Rochester, South East England, in the 1570s. He supplied rations for the English Navy as deputy victualler and supervised the construction of Upnor Castle. After Queen Elizabe ...

References

External links

Islington Council
– Official website {{Authority control Local authorities in London London borough councils Politics of the London Borough of Islington Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England

History

Powers and functions

Politics

See also

References

External links