Cambridge City Council

History

Cambridge was an ancient borough. Its date of being established as a borough is unknown, with its earliest known charter dating from 1102. A subsequent charter issued by King John in 1207 granted the borough the right to appoint a mayor. The earliest recorded mayor was Harvey FitzEustace, who served in 1213.

The borough of Cambridge was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Cambridge', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. Cambridge was granted city status on 21 March 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance, and economic success, allowing the council to call itself Cambridge City Council.

The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Cambridge as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974; it kept the same boundaries and its city status, but there were changes to the council's responsibilities.

The city of Cambridge is completely encircled by the neighbouring district of South Cambridgeshire. The two authorities work together on some projects, such as the Greater Cambridge Local Plan. Since 2017 the city has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly-elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Governance

Cambridge City Council provides district-level services, including parks and open spaces, waste collection, council housing and town planning. The Council also organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Cambridge Folk Festival and a programme of free summer entertainment entitled Summer in the City. Cambridgeshire County Council provides County-level services. Cambridge has no civil parishes and is entirely an unparished area.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cambridge. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since the 1974 reforms have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent by-elections up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes came into effect in 2021, the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 14 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) elected each time for a four-year term of office. Cambridgeshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no city council elections. The wards are:

• Abbey
• Arbury
• Castle
• Cherry Hinton
• Coleridge
• East Chesterton
• King's Hedges
• Market
• Newnham
• Petersfield
• Queen Edith's
• Romsey
• Trumpington
• West Chesterton

Premises

The council meets at the Guildhall, on the south side of Market Square in the centre of Cambridge. The building was purpose-built for the old borough council and completed in 1939. The council also has offices at Mandela House at 4 Regent Street.

Notes

References

• Cambridge City Council
• Cambridge Mayor's Office
• Cambridge City Election Results since 1945

References

1. (19 December 2020). "Former civil servant Robert Pollock appointed as city council's new chief executive". Cambridge Independent.
2. "Control of the Council".
3. (1835). "Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4".
4. "Ceremonial maces, 1207 charter and the city's coat of arms".
5. "Cambridge Municipal Borough". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
6. {{London Gazette. (13 April 1951)
7. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
8. "Greater Cambridge Local Plan".
9. {{cite legislation UK. (2017)
10. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
11. "Election maps". Ordnance Survey.
12. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
13. "Cambridge City Council Leaders since re-organisation in 1973".
14. "Council minutes, 17 July 2003".
15. "Council minutes, 27 May 2010".
16. "Council minutes, 24 May 2012".
17. "Council minutes, 12 June 2014".
18. (5 October 2021). "Cambridge City Council leader Lewis Herbert steps down". BBC News.
19. "Council minutes, 30 November 2021".
20. (14 May 2023). "Cambridge Labour replace Anna Smith as leader with Mike Davey named successor". Cambridge Independent.
21. "Council minutes, 25 May 2023".
22. (8 March 2025). "Council leader and deputy to stand down". BBC News.
23. (22 May 2025). "New Labour leader elected to run city council". BBC News.
24. (4 May 2024). "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian.
25. "Cambridge". Thorncliffe.
26. {{cite legislation UK. (2019)
27. "Ward boundary review".
28. {{NHLE
29. "Council offices".