Plymouth City Council
Plymouth City Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Mark Shayer,
Conservative
since 19 May 2023
Tudor Evans,
Labour
since 19 May 2023
Tracey Lee
since October 2012[1]
Structure
Seats57 councillors
Plymouth City Council composition
Political groups
Administration (33)
  Labour (33)
Other parties (24)
  Conservative (15)
  Green (2)
  Independent (7)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2 May 2024
Meeting place
Council House, Armada Way, Plymouth, PL1 2AA
Website
www.plymouth.gov.uk

Plymouth City Council is the local authority for Plymouth, a unitary authority with city status in the ceremonial county of Devon, England.

The council is run using the leader and cabinet model, where the leader of the council (normally the leader of the majority party) is selected by fellow councillors. The leader then appoints the executive, also known as the cabinet.

Following the 2023 election, Labour has a majority of the seats, and the leader of the council is Tudor Evans.

History

Plymouth was an ancient borough, having been incorporated in 1439.[2] It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836, governed by a corporate body officially called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Plymouth", but generally known as the corporation or town council.[3] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Plymouth was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Devon County Council.[4]

In 1914 Plymouth absorbed the neighbouring towns of Devonport and East Stonehouse.[5] The enlarged Plymouth was awarded city status on 18 October 1928, after which the corporation's formal title was the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Plymouth", also known as the city council.[6][7]

In 1974 Plymouth became a lower-tier non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972, with Devon County Council providing county-level services to the city for the first time. Plymouth's city status was re-conferred on the reformed district, allowing the council to take the name Plymouth City Council.[8][9] Plymouth regained its independence from the county council on 1 April 1998 when it was made a unitary authority following the recommendations of the Banham Commission.[10] The city remains part of the ceremonial county of Devon for the purposes of lieutenancy.[11]

Governance

As a unitary authority, Plymouth City Council has the responsibilities of both a district council and county council combined. There are no civil parishes in the city. Some functions are carried out in partnership with neighbouring authorities, notably with the city council appointing four members to the Devon and Somerset Combined Fire Authority.[12] The council is also responsible for arranging elections both for its own councillors and for three Parliamentary constituencies: Plymouth Moor View; Plymouth, Sutton and Devonport; and South West Devon.

Political control

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

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[13]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in controlYears
Conservative1974–1991
Labour1991–1998

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
Labour1998–2000
Conservative2000–2003
Labour2003–2006
No overall control[14][15]2006–2006
Labour2006–2007
Conservative2007–2012
Labour2012–2015
No overall control2015–2017
Conservative[16]2017–2018
Labour2018–2021
No overall control2021–2022
Conservative2022–2022
No overall control2022–2023
Labour2023–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial in Plymouth. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:[17][18]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
George Creber[19] Conservative1 Apr 1974Jan 1987
Tom Savery[20] ConservativeJan 19871991
John Ingham Labour1991May 1998
Tudor Evans LabourMay 1998May 2000
Patrick Nicholson ConservativeMay 20002002
Kevin Wigens Conservative2002May 2003
Tudor Evans LabourMay 2003May 2007
Vivien Pengelly ConservativeMay 200718 May 2012
Tudor Evans Labour18 May 201220 May 2016
Ian Bowyer Conservative20 May 201618 May 2018
Tudor Evans Labour18 May 201821 May 2021
Nick Kelly Conservative21 May 202121 Mar 2022
Richard Bingley[21] Conservative21 Mar 202227 Mar 2023
Tudor Evans Labour19 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections in July 2023, the composition of the council was:[22]

Party Councillors
Labour 33
Conservative 16
Independent 6
Green 2
Total 57

Of the independent councillors, two form the "Independent Group", two form the "Free Independents" and the other two do not belong to a group.[23] The next election is due in 2024.

Premises

Ballard House, West Hoe Road, Plymouth, PL1 3BJ: Council's main offices since 2014.

The council meets at the Council House on Armada Way in the city centre, being the southern wing of the former Civic Centre, built in 1962, which was made a listed building in 2007.[24] The council's main offices are at Ballard House on West Hoe Road adjoining the docks in the Millbay area of the city, having moved there from the tower block wing of the Civic Centre in 2014.[25][26] The tower block wing of the Civic Centre was sold to developers Urban Splash in 2015.[27]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2003 the council has comprised 57 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time for a four-year term of office.[28]

Ward and councillors

The wards and current councillors (as at July 2023) are as follows:[23]

Ward Elected 2021 Elected 2022 Elected 2023
Budshead Mark Shayer (Con) Lee Finn (Con) Kevin Sproston (Lab)
Compton Charlotte Carlyle (Con) Dylan Tippetts (Lab) Angela Penrose (Lab)
Devonport Charlotte Cree (Lab) Bill Stevens (Lab) Mark Coker[lower-alpha 1] (Lab)
Drake No election Charlotte Holloway (Lab) Steve Ricketts (Free Ind.)
Efford and Lipson Brian Vincent (Lab) Neil Hendy (Lab) Pauline Murphy (Lab)
Eggbuckland James Stoneman (Con) Chip Tofan (Con) Tess Blight (Lab)
Ham Stephen Hulme[lower-alpha 2] (IND) Tina Tuohy (Lab) Tudor Evans[lower-alpha 3] (Lab)
Honicknowle Philip Partridge (Free Ind.) Zoë Reilly (Lab) Keith Moore (Lab)
Moor View Will Noble[lower-alpha 4] (Lab) Maddi Bridgeman[lower-alpha 2] (IND) Lindsay Gilmour (Lab)
Peverell John Mahony (Con) Jeremy Goslin (Lab) Sarah Allen (Lab)
Plympton Chaddlewood Lauren McLay[lower-alpha 4] (Green) Ian Poyser (Green) No election
Plympton Erle Andrea Loveridge[lower-alpha 2] (IND) No election Terri Beer (Ind. Group)
Plympton St Mary Natalie Harrison (Con) Ian Darcy (Con) Patrick Nicholson (Ind. Group)
Plymstock Dunstone David Salmon (Con) Stefan Krizanac[lower-alpha 5] (Lab) John Stephens (Lab)
Plymstock Radford Bill Wakeham (Con) Rebecca Smith (Con) Kathy Watkin (Con)
Southway Richard Bingley (Con) Andy Lugger[lower-alpha 6] (Con) Mark Lowry[lower-alpha 1] (Lab)
St Budeaux Pat Patel (Con) Sally Haydon[lower-alpha 1] (Lab) Jon Dingle (Lab)
St Peter and the Waterfront Ian Tuffin (Lab) Alison Raynsford[lower-alpha 5] (Lab) Chris Penberthy[lower-alpha 1] (Lab)
Stoke Sally Cresswell[lower-alpha 1] (Lab) Tom Briars-Delve[lower-alpha 1] (Lab) Jemima Laing[lower-alpha 1] (Lab)
Sutton and Mount Gould Eddie Rennie (Lab) Mary Aspinall[lower-alpha 1] (Lab) Sue Dann[lower-alpha 1] (Lab)
  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Cabinet member
  2. 1 2 3 Originally elected as a Conservative
  3. ↑ Leader of the council
  4. 1 2 Elected in a January 2023 by-election
  5. 1 2 Elected in a July 2023 by-election
  6. ↑ Leader of the opposition

Lord Mayoralty

Plymouth has had a mayor in some form since 1439, and this tradition continued until 1934, when the king granted Plymouth the honour of having a Lord Mayor.

The role of the Lord Mayor is largely ceremonial, and has evolved into a figurehead position which is the public, non-political image of Plymouth City Council. The Lord Mayor chairs council meetings in the Council Chamber. The position usually rotates between the Conservatives and Labour, and is chosen on the third Friday of May. The Lord Mayor chooses the Deputy Lord Mayor.

The Lord Mayor's official residence is 3 Elliot Terrace, on Hoe. Once a home of Waldorf and Nancy Astor, it was given by Lady Astor to the City of Plymouth as an official residence for future Lord Mayors and is also used today for civic hospitality, as lodgings for visiting dignitaries and High Court judges, and is available to hire for private events.

Coat of arms

The coat of arms of the City of Plymouth

The coat of arms of the City of Plymouth show the four towers of the old Plymouth Castle, with the saltire of Saint Andrew, who is the patron of Plymouth's oldest church. The crest is a blue naval crown with a red anchor held in a lion's paw. The crown and anchor were part of the crest of the former County Borough of Devonport and represent the importance of the Royal Navy in the life of the city.[29] The Latin motto, Turris Fortissima est Nomen Jehova, means "The name of Jehovah is the strongest tower".

References

    1. ↑ "Plymouth Growth Board". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    2. ↑ Hawkyard, A. D. K. "Plymouth Borough". The History of Parliament. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    3. ↑ Municipal Corporations Act 1835
    4. ↑ "Local Government Act 1888", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1888 c. 41, retrieved 13 August 2023
    5. ↑ "Three Towns Amalgamation". The Times. UK. 9 February 1914.
    6. ↑ "The City of Plymouth". The Times. UK. 18 October 1928.
    7. ↑ "City Council surprise: Alderman Moses and Molesworth ward by-election". The Western Morning News. Plymouth. 13 October 1928. p. 8. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    8. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
    9. ↑ "No. 46255". The London Gazette. 4 April 1974. p. 4400.
    10. ↑ "The Devon (City of Plymouth and Borough of Torbay) (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1865, retrieved 11 August 2023
    11. ↑ "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 11 August 2023
    12. ↑ "Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Authority".
    13. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    14. ↑ "Labour loses control in Plymouth". BBC News. 5 May 2006.
    15. ↑ "Labour regains control of Plymouth city council". The Guardian. 23 June 2006.
    16. ↑ All three of Plymouth's Ukip councillors have just quit the party and joined the Tories
    17. ↑ "Council minutes". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
    18. ↑ Telford, William (4 May 2018). "Tudor Evans - the ups and downs of a political survivor". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
    19. ↑ Fleming, Guy (10 December 1986). "Savery beats Morrell to lead Tories". Western Evening Herald. Plymouth. p. 1. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    20. ↑ Telford, William (14 September 2022). "Tributes paid to ex-council leader and lord mayor Tom Savery". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    21. ↑ Telford, William (22 March 2023). "Plymouth's Tory council leader Richard Bingley resigns". Plymouth Live. Retrieved 5 April 2023.
    22. ↑ "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
    23. 1 2 "Your councillors by party". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    24. ↑ Historic England. "Council House and former Civic Centre (Grade II) (1392038)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
    25. ↑ "Ballard House (main council office)". Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    26. ↑ "Plymouth City Council to relocate hundreds of staff". Foodservice News. 3 March 2014. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
    27. ↑ "Plymouth civic centre building sold to developers". 10 February 2015.
    28. ↑ "The City of Plymouth (Electoral Changes) Order 2002", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2002/2236, retrieved 13 August 2023
    29. ↑ "Coat of Arms". www.plymouth.gov.uk. Plymouth City Council. Retrieved 17 April 2016.
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