Portsmouth City Council
Portsmouth City Council is the local authority of the city of Portsmouth, Hampshire, England. It is a unitary authority, having the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. It provides a full range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority.
Portsmouth City Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Founded | 7 June 1973 (Non-metropolitan district) 1 April 1997 (Unitary authority) |
| Leadership | |
Cllr Rob Wood since May 2020 | |
Leader of the Council | |
Chief Executive | David Williams |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 42 councillors |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| First-past-the-post | |
Last election | 2 May 2019 |
Next election | May 2021 |
| Meeting place | |
| Civic Offices, Guildhall Walk, Portsmouth | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Powers and functions
The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Portsmouth is within a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, Portsmouth City Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a unitary council it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries, and waste disposal.
Political composition
Portsmouth City Council consists of 42 councillors with one third of the council being elected every four years, electing one out of three councillors for each of the city's 14 wards.
Since the first election to the council in 1973 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:
| Party in control | ||
|---|---|---|
| Non-metropolitan district | ||
| Conservative | 1973-1990[1] | |
| No overall control | 1990-1995 | |
| Labour | 1995-1997 | |
| Unitary authority | ||
| Labour | 1996-2000 | |
| No overall control | 2000-2009[2][3] | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2009-2014[4] | |
| No overall control (Conservative Administration) | 2014–2018[5] | |
| No overall control (Liberal Democrat Administration) | 2018–present[6] | |
Councillors and wards
List of Portsmouth city councillors by ward:[7]
| Ward | Councillor | Term in office |
Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baffins | Darren Sanders | 2016-20 | Sanders was his party's candidate in the 2001, 2010, 2015, and 2017 general elections in the Portsmouth North constituency, and his party's candidate in the 2005 general election in the Streatham constituency. Cabinet Member for Housing. | |
| Baffins | Jeanette Smith | 2018-22 | Member of the Progressive Portsmouth People Group since 2019[8] | |
| Baffins | Lynne Stagg | 2019-23 | Cabinet Member for Traffic & Transportation. | |
| Central Southsea | Steve Pitt | 2016-20 | Cabinet Member for Culture, Leisure and Sport & Deputy Leader. | |
| Central Southsea | George Fielding | 2018-22 | ||
| Central Southsea | Suzy Horton | 2019-23 | Cabinet Member for Education. | |
| Charles Dickens | Stephen Morgan | 2016-20 | Labour Party group leader, Member of Parliament for Portsmouth South | |
| Charles Dickens | Claire Udy | 2018-22 | Group Leader of the Progressive Portsmouth People Group since 2019[9] | |
| Charles Dickens | Cal Corkery | 2019-23 | ||
| Copnor | Neill Young | 2016-20 | ||
| Copnor | Ben Swann | 2018-22 | ||
| Copnor | Robert New | 2019-23 | ||
| Cosham | Hannah Hockaday | 2018-22 | ||
| Cosham | Lee Mason | 2019-20 | Lee Mason was suspended from the Conservative Party in April 2020 after allegedly baking a hot cross bun that appeared to have a swastika ‘emblazoned’ on it over Easter.[10] | |
| 2020-23 | ||||
| Cosham | Matthew Atkins | 2019-23 | ||
| Drayton & Farlington | Steve Wemyss | 2016-20 | ||
| Drayton & Farlington | Simon Bosher | 2018-22 | ||
| Drayton & Farlington | Terry Norton | 2019-23 | ||
| Eastney & Craneswater | Matthew Winnington | 2016-20 | Winnington was his party's candidate for the Fareham constituency in the 2015 and 2017 general elections. Cabinet Member for Health, Wellbeing and Social Care. | |
| Eastney & Craneswater | Luke Stubbs | 2018-22 | Deputy Conservative Group Leader. | |
| Eastney & Craneswater | Linda Symes | 2019-23 | ||
| Fratton | David Fuller | 2016-20 | Lord Mayor of Portsmouth | |
| Fratton | Tom Coles | 2018-22 | ||
| Fratton | Dave Ashmore | 2019-23 | Cabinet Member for Environment and Climate Change | |
| Hilsea | Donna Jones | 2016-20 | Conservative group and former Leader of the Council from 2014 to 2018.[11] | |
| Hilsea | Frank Jonas BEM | 2018-22 | ||
| Hilsea | Scott Payter-Harris | 2019-23 | ||
| Milton | Will Purvis | 2016-20 | ||
| Milton | Ben Dowling | 2018-22 | ||
| Milton | Gerald Vernon-Jackson CBE |
2019-23 | Liberal Democrats group leader and leader of the council since 2018. Vernon-Jackson was his party's candidate for Portsmouth South in the 2015 and 2017 general elections. Former Portsmouth Council Leader from 2004 to 2014. | |
| Nelson | Leo Madden | 2016-20 | Former Leader of the Council from 1994-2000, and again from 2001-2002. | |
| Nelson | Jason Fazackarley | 2018-22 | ||
| Nelson | Lee Hunt | 2019-23 | Cabinet Member for Community Safety | |
| Paulsgrove | John Ferrett | 2016-20 | Former leader of the Labour group; although a member of Renew Britain,[12] Ferrett sits as a Non Aligned Independent.[13] | |
| Paulsgrove | Jo Hooper | 2018-22 | ||
| Paulsgrove | Gemma New | 2019-23 | ||
| St Jude | Hugh Mason | 2016-20 | ||
| St Jude | Judith Smyth | 2018-22 | ||
| St Jude | Graham Heaney | 2019-23 | ||
| St Thomas | Tom Wood | 2016-20 | Cabinet Member for Resources | |
| St Thomas | Rob Wood | 2018-22 | Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Former Cabinet Member for Children and Families, Former Deputy Lord Mayor | |
| St Thomas | Chris Attwell | 2019-23 | ||
See also
References
- "Portsmouth City Council Election Results 1973-1995" (PDF). The Elections Centre, Plymouth University. June 2015.
- "Portsmouth Local Elections 2007". BBC News Online. 4 May 2007.
- "Portsmouth Local Elections 2008". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008.
- "Lib Dems claim fourth defection". BBC News Online. 27 January 2009.
- "Conservatives continue running Portsmouth City Council". BBC News Online. 20 May 2015.
- "Gerald Vernon-Jackson replaces Donna Jones as Portsmouth City Council leader". Portsmouth News. 15 May 2018.
- "Your Councillors by Ward". Portsmouth City Council. 3 May 2018.
- https://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1015
- https://democracy.portsmouth.gov.uk/mgUserInfo.aspx?UID=1017
- https://www.portsmouth.co.uk/news/politics/swastika-hot-cross-bun-row-sees-portsmouth-conservative-councillor-lee-mason-suspended-tory-party-2539985
- "Councillor Donna Jones". Portsmouth City Council. 3 June 2014.
- Cotterill, Tom (3 May 2018). "Former Portsmouth Labour leader joins anti-Brexit Renew party". The News. Portsmouth. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
- "Councillor John Ferrett". Portsmouth City Council. Retrieved 2 October 2018.
