Cambridge City Council

Cambridge City Council is a district council in the county of Cambridgeshire, based in the city of Cambridge.

This article is about the city of Cambridge in the United Kingdom. For other uses, see Cambridge City Council (disambiguation).
Cambridge City Council
Type
Type
Non-metropolitan district council
of the Cambridge
HousesUnicameral
Leadership
Leader
Lewis Herbert, Labour
Mayor
Nigel Gawthrope (died Jan 2019), Labour
Structure
Seats42 councillors
Political groups
Executive (26)

Opposition (16)

Elections
First past the post
Last election
2019
Meeting place
Cambridge Guildhall
Website
http://www.cambridge.gov.uk/

History

Cambridge was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207, which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The first recorded mayor, Harvey FitzEustace, did not serve until 1213. Cambridge was granted its city charter in 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance, and economic success. There are a number of ceremonial items used by the Council which date to different periods of history.[1]

Activities

The council provides various facilities and services within the city. These include parks and open spaces, waste collection, council housing and local planning.

The Council also organizes numerous events throughout the year, including the Cambridge Folk Festival and a program of free summer entertainment entitled Summer in the City. It runs the Cambridge Guildhall, on the south side of the Market Square in the center of Cambridge, where various events are held.

Councillors
See also: 2019 Cambridge City Council election

For electoral purposes, the city is divided into 14 wards: Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, King's Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith's, Romsey, Trumpington, and West Chesterton. There are forty-two city councillors with three assigned to each ward.

The Mayor from May 2018 was Councillor Nigel Gawthrope, who died suddenly in January 2019.[2] Councillor Gerri Bird was reaffirmed as Mayor in May 2019. The Mayor's duties are almost entirely ceremonial, although they do chair meetings of the full Council.

The Leader of the Council is Councillor Lewis Herbert (Labour), and the Deputy Leader is Councillor Anna Smith (Labour), the latter following the resignation of Kevin Price.[3]

The official opposition is Liberal Democrat, with Councillor Tim Bick leading that group and Cheney Payne being deputy leader.

The highest non-elected official is the Chief Executive, Antoinette Jackson.

Elections for a third of the seats take place three out of every four years. Cambridgeshire County Council elections take place in the 4th year. The County elections last took place in 2017. Due to pending boundary changes[4] there will be an "all up" (all Councillors are up for election) election in 2020.

Flag used by Cambridge City Council

See also

Notes
  1. https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ceremonial-maces-1207-charter-and-the-citys-coat-of-arms
  2. Brackley, Paul (January 12, 2019). "Mayor of Cambridge Nigel Gawthrope dies suddenly while on holiday". Cambridge Independent.
  3. http://www.cambridgeindependent.co.uk/news/cambridge/deputy-leader-of-cambridge-city-council-stands-down-1-5642660
  4. https://www.cambridge.gov.uk/ward-boundary-review

References
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