Warwickshire County Council is the

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

that governs the

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a county-level entity in England that is not a metropolitan county. The counties typically have populations of 300,000 to 1.8 million. The term ''shire county'' is, however, an unoffi ...

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

in England. Its headquarters are located at Shire Hall,

Market Square The market square (or sometimes, the market place) is a Town square, square meant for trading, in which a market is held. It is an important feature of many towns and cities around the world.Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. Politically the county is divided into five districts and boroughs:

North Warwickshire North Warwickshire is a local government district with borough status in the ceremonial county of Warwickshire, West Midlands, England. Outlying settlements in the borough include the two towns of Atherstone (where the council is based) and ...

Nuneaton and Bedworth Nuneaton and Bedworth is a local government district with borough status, in northern Warwickshire, England, consisting of the towns of Nuneaton and Bedworth, the large village of Bulkington and the green belt land inbetween. It had a population ...

Rugby Rugby may refer to: Sport * Rugby football in many forms: ** Rugby league: 13 players per side *** Masters Rugby League *** Mod league *** Rugby league nines *** Rugby league sevens *** Touch (sport) *** Wheelchair rugby league ** Rugby union: 1 ...

, Stratford and

Warwick Warwick ( ) is a market town, civil parish and the county town of Warwickshire in the Warwick District in England, adjacent to the River Avon. It is south of Coventry, and south-east of Birmingham. It is adjoined with Leamington Spa and Whi ...

. The council's principal functions are county roads and

rights of way Right of way is the legal right, established by grant from a landowner or long usage (i.e. by Easement#Easement by prescription, prescription), to pass along a specific route through property belonging to another. A similar ''right of access'' ...

social services Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. They may be provided by individuals, private and independent organisations, or administe ...

, education and

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 ...

, but it also provides many other local government services in the area it covers.

History

Prior to 1974 and the creation of the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

, the county was much larger, incorporating the town of

Sutton Coldfield Sutton Coldfield or the Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield, known locally as Sutton ( ), is a town and civil parish in the City of Birmingham, West Midlands, England. The town lies around 8 miles northeast of Birmingham city centre, 9 miles south ...

, the semi-rural area around Meriden, the town of

Solihull Solihull (, or ) is a market town and the administrative centre of the wider Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in West Midlands County, England. The town had a population of 126,577 at the 2021 Census. Solihull is situated on the River Blythe i ...

, the city of

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

and the city of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, although these last three areas were administratively independent of the pre-1974 county council as they had their own

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent ter ...

councils.

Political composition

As of 2021, the Council has 57 elected members, made up of 42 Conservatives (the ruling group), 6 Labour, 5 Liberal Democrats, 3 Green, and 1

Whitnash Whitnash is a town and civil parish located southeast of, and contiguous with Leamington Spa and Warwick in Warwickshire, England. In 2001, it had a population of 7,629 which increased to 9,129 in the 2011 census. History Whitnash was mentioned ...

Residents Association. The current leader of the council is Conservative Izzi Seccombe and the Chief Executive is Monica Fogarty. Historically since 1974, political control of the council has been composed of periods of no overall control alternated by periods of Conservative control:

References

County councils of England 1889 establishments in England Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Warwickshire Major precepting authorities in England Leader and cabinet executives {{UK-gov-stub