Brighton and Hove City Council

History

The district of Brighton and Hove was created in 1997 as a merger of the former Borough of Brighton and Borough of Hove, both of which had been lower-tier districts with East Sussex County Council providing county-level services prior to 1997. The new district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex to also become its own non-metropolitan county, but with no county council; instead the district council performs both district and county functions, making it a unitary authority. For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Brighton and Hove remains part of the wider ceremonial county of East Sussex.

The new district was awarded borough status from its creation on 1 April 1997, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The borough was additionally awarded city status on 31 January 2001, since when the council has been called Brighton and Hove City Council.

In December 2023 the council leader declared that the council was facing bankruptcy. The same month, two councillors, mother and daughter Bharti Gajjar and Chandni Mistry, were removed from the Labour group after allegations concerning their places of residence. They both resigned from the council in March 2024, triggering by-elections.

Governance

The council provides both district-level and county-level services. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting council tax and business rates, and it is responsible for town planning, housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, and is responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. There is one civil parish in the city at Rottingdean which provides an additional tier of local government for that area; the rest of the city is an unparished area.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.

The first election to the council was held in 1996, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1997.

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Brighton and Hove. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The first leader following the merger, Steve Bassam, had been the last leader of the old Brighton Borough Council. In 2011, Bill Randall of the Green Party was appointed leader, being the party's first council leader in the United Kingdom. The leaders since the council's creation in 1997 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to November 2025, the composition of the council was as follows:

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council inherited Brighton Town Hall (completed 1832) and the adjoining 1980s Priory House and Bartholomew House from the old Brighton Borough Council, and Hove Town Hall (completed 1974) from the old Hove Borough Council.

Council meetings are generally held at Hove Town Hall, which also houses the council's main offices. Brighton Town Hall and Bartholomew House continue to be used as a register office, customer service centre and additional offices. Priory House was closed as council offices in 2011 and subsequently converted to residential use.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Museums service

The council's museums service takes the name Royal Pavilion & Museums, and operates the Royal Pavilion, Brighton Museum and Art Gallery, Hove Museum and Art Gallery, the Booth Museum of Natural History and Preston Manor.

References

References

1. (22 May 2025). "New mayor of Brighton and Hove takes over". Brighton and Hove News.
2. Benn, Dan. (8 December 2023). "New Chief Executive appointed to council".
3. (18 March 2024). "New council chief executive joins today".
4. https://opencouncildata.co.uk/council.php?c=332&y=0
5. {{cite legislation UK. (1995)
6. {{cite legislation UK. (1997)
7. "Understanding borough status; national context".
8. {{London Gazette. (5 February 2001)
9. (2 December 2023). "Brighton & Hove City Council finances perilous, says leader". BBC News.
10. (12 February 2024). "Rogue councillors criticised for ignoring voters".
11. (4 December 2023). "Brighton Labour councillors expelled after residence claims".
12. (5 April 2024). "Residency row councillors give resignation reasons". BBC News.
13. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
14. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
15. (30 May 2023). "Brighton and Hove's new leader elected". The Argus.
16. "Brighton & Hove". [[BBC News Online]].
17. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
18. "Go Green for first Green-led council in UK".
19. (15 September 1999). "It's Lynette but only just". The Argus.
20. (2 March 2001). "I quit, says city leader". The Argus.
21. (4 May 2001). "Feature: Brighton's new leader". The Argus.
22. (24 February 2006). "Welcome for new leader". The Argus.
23. (4 May 2007). "Brighton and Hove City Council leader ousted". The Argus.
24. "Council minutes, 24 May 2007".
25. "Council minutes, 15 May 2008".
26. (11 May 2011). "Brighton Tories ditch Mary Mears". The Argus.
27. "Council minutes, 19 May 2011".
28. (17 May 2012). "Greens: their first year report in charge of Brighton and Hove". The Argus.
29. "Council minutes, 17 May 2012".
30. (11 May 2015). "New job for old Brighton and Hove council leader Jason Kitcat". Brighton and Hove News.
31. "Council minutes, 21 May 2015".
32. (26 February 2018). "Brighton and Hove council leader resigns". Brighton and Hove News.
33. "Council minutes, 17 May 2018".
34. (6 May 2019). "Brighton council leader Daniel Yates to step down". The Argus.
35. "Council minutes, 22 May 2019".
36. (21 July 2020). "Labour quits and hands power to Greens in Brighton and Hove". Brighton and Hove News.
37. "Council minutes, 23 July 2020".
38. (5 May 2023). "Brighton election: Green council leader loses seat to Labour". The Argus.
39. "Council minutes, 25 May 2023".
40. (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian.
41. "Brighton and Hove". Thorncliffe.
42. {{NHLE
43. "Hove Town Hall". My Brighton and Hove.
44. "Calendar".
45. "Visit us in person".
46. (17 February 2014). "Former council office in Bartholomew Square Brighton for sale". The Argus.
47. {{cite legislation UK. (2023)
48. "Who we are". Royal Pavilion and Museums.