Leicestershire County Council

History

Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions which had previously been performed by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. The borough of Leicester was considered large enough for its existing borough council to provide county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the county council. The 1888 Act also directed that urban sanitary districts which straddled county boundaries were to be placed entirely in one county, which saw Leicestershire gain part of Market Harborough from Northamptonshire and part of Hinckley from Warwickshire. Leicestershire County Council was elected by and provided services to the parts of the county (as thus adjusted) outside the county borough of Leicester. The county council's area was termed the administrative county.

The first elections were held in January 1889, and the council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at Leicester Town Hall. Henry St John Halford was appointed the first chairman of the council.

In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Leicestershire as a non-metropolitan county, adding the former county borough of Leicester, and the small county of Rutland to the area. 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 nine non-metropolitan districts, including Leicester and Rutland. In 1997 Leicester and Rutland were removed from the county council's area again, to become unitary authorities.

Governance

Leicestershire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils. Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government. The seven district councils are:

• Blaby District Council
• Charnwood Borough Council
• Harborough District Council
• Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council
• Melton Borough Council
• North West Leicestershire District Council
• Oadby and Wigston Borough Council

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2025 elections. Reform UK won most seats at that election, although were three seats short of having an overall majority. They subsequently formed a minority administration, taking all the seats on the council's cabinet. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1999 have been:

Composition

Following the 2025 election, the composition of the council was as follows:

The next election is due in 2029.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2019 the council has comprised 55 councillors representing 53 electoral divisions. Most divisions elect one councillor, but two divisions elect two councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at County Hall in Glenfield, on the outskirts of Leicester but just outside the city boundary in the Blaby district.

Having held its first meeting in 1889 at Leicester Town Hall, later that year the council moved its meetings to the County Rooms on Hotel Street in the centre of Leicester, which had been built in 1800. It continued to meet there until County Hall at Glenfield was completed in 1967.

Cabinet

The Cabinet meets monthly and is responsible for the most important decisions affecting the council. It also makes recommendations to the council regarding the annual budget and major plans.

The Leader acts as the Chairman of the Cabinet and chooses up to nine other members.

Each Cabinet member is given specific roles or responsibilities.

Departments

There are six departments:

• Corporate Resources (including property, finance, HR, communications, country parks and traded services)
• Environment and Transport (including highways, transport and waste)
• Adults and Communities (including adult social care, museums, libraries and adult learning)
• Children and Family Services (including children's social care and school support)
• Public health (which commissions a wide range of public health services, including smoking cessation, school nurses and sport and fitness programmes)
• Chief Executive's (including policy, democratic services, trading standards, registration services, planning, legal services)

Key responsibilities

In the five years to 2015, the council's roles and responsibilities changed significantly, due to austerity savings, the transfer of public health from the NHS to the council and many schools becoming academies, independent of the council.

However, that still left a number of key responsibilities. As of December 2015, these are: social care for adults and children; support for schools; highways and transport; public health; waste disposal; economic development; libraries and museums; strategic planning; trading standards; country parks; registration of births, marriages and deaths; and community leadership.

Financial situation

The council claims to be the lowest-funded county council, yet one of the top three best performers, across a wide range of indicators.

From 2010–2015, the council has had to save £100 million – two-thirds as efficiency savings and the remainder from services. The council has predicted it will have to save more from services as austerity continues, with a further £100 million-plus of savings required over the next four years.

As of 2015/16, the council's annual budget was £348 million and it had just over 5,000 full-time equivalent staff.

Electoral divisions

Notable members

• Charles Manners, 10th Duke of Rutland, was a county councillor 1945–1985 and Chairman 1974–1977.
• Amanda Hack, British Labour Party politician who has been Member of Parliament (MP) for North West Leicestershire since 2024. Before becoming an MP she was a councillor on Leicestershire County Council, representing the Braunstone division from 2017.
• Joseph Boam, Reform UK politician elected in 2025 for Whitwick, who briefly served as Deputy Leader of the County Council and Cabinet Member for Adults and Communities at the age of 22.

References

References

1. (25 September 2017). "Leicestershire's most influential people in charity, religion, politics and the public sector 2017". Leicestershire Live.
2. (1889). "A Handbook for County Authorities". W. Clowes and Sons.
3. (5 April 1889). "Leicestershire County Council". Leicester Journal.
4. [[Local Government Act 1972]]
5. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
6. {{cite legislation UK. (1996)
7. "Local Authority Profiles". Lancashire County Council.
8. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
10. "The County Council – Local Government in Leicestershire". Leicestershire County Council.
11. (2 May 2025). "Leicestershire council results". BBC News.
12. (15 May 2025). "Who's in charge? Reform announces new cabinet". Leicester Gazette.
13. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
14. (2009-04-19). "Leicestershire". [[BBC News Online]].
15. "Council minutes, 28 September 2011".
16. "Council minutes, 21 May 2003".
17. (3 July 2012). "Leicestershire council leader David Parsons resigns". BBC News.
18. "Council minutes, 26 September 2012".
19. (2 May 2025). "Council falls into no overall control - as it happened". BBC News.
20. (10 July 2024). "Nick Rushton - Leader of Leicestershire County Council".
21. (2024-07-10). "County council leader Nick Rushton reveals cancer diagnosis".
22. "Council minutes, 14 May 2025".
23. (2025-05-14). "New cabinet appointed {{!}} Leicestershire County Council".
24. (2 May 2025). "Leicestershire council results". BBC News.
25. "Leicestershire". Thorncliffe.
26. {{cite legislation UK. (2016)
27. "Opening times and contact information".
28. (15 November 1889). "Leicestershire County Council". Leicester Journal.
29. {{NHLE
30. (8 November 1967). "Last meeting in County Rooms after 79 years: 'Historic moment' for the council". Leicester Mercury.
31. (2 December 2015). "Statement on the Council's Budget Situation". Leicestershire County Council.
32. (2 December 2015). "Leicestershire County Council Annual Performance Report 2015 – Dashboards". LeicesterShire Statistics & Research.
33. Webster, Richard. (5 January 1999). "Manners maketh man". The Guardian.
34. (19 August 2025). "Reform UK accused of serving a 'plate of chaos' at Leicestershire county council". The Guardian.