Wokingham Borough Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Beth Rowland,
Liberal Democrats
since 18 May 2023
Stephen Conway,
Liberal Democrats
since 18 May 2023
Susan Parsonage
since March 2019
Structure
Seats54 councillors
Wokingham Borough Council composition
Political groups
  Liberal Democrats (26)
  Conservative (22)
  Labour (5)
  Independent (1)
Length of term
Third of council elected three years out of four
Elections
Plurality-at-large
Last election
4 May 2023
Next election
2024
Meeting place
Civic Offices, Shute End, Wokingham, RG40 1BN
Website
www.wokingham.gov.uk
Results map of the 2022 election

Wokingham Borough Council is the local authority of the Borough of Wokingham in Berkshire, England. It is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.[1]

History

The town of Wokingham was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1885.[2][3] The municipal borough was abolished in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, merging with the surrounding Wokingham Rural District to become a new non-metropolitan district called Wokingham.[4][5]

Until 1998 Wokingham was a lower-tier district council, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services to the area. The county council was abolished in 1998 and Wokingham became a unitary authority, taking over the county council's functions in the area.[6] The council was awarded borough status in 2007, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[7]

Political control

Since 2022 the council has been under no overall control, being run by a Liberal Democrat-led coalition with Labour and the independent councillors.[8]

The first elections to Wokingham District Council were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control since 1974 has been as follows:[9][10]

Non-metropolitan district

Party in controlYears
No overall control1974–1976
Conservative1976–1995
No overall control1995–1996
Liberal Democrats1996–1997
Conservative1997–1998

Unitary authority

Party in controlYears
Conservative1998–2000
No overall control2000–2002
Conservative2002–2022
No overall control2022–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Wokingham, and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1995 have been:[11]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Simon Etheridge Conservative19951996
Alan Spratling Liberal Democrats19961997
Simon Etheridge[12][13] Conservative19971999
Perry Lewis[14] Conservative19992000
Alan Spratling[15] Liberal Democrats20002002
Frank Browne[16] Conservative20024 May 2008
David Lee[17] Conservative22 May 200812 Jun 2014
Keith Baker[18] Conservative12 Jun 201418 May 2017
Charlotte Haitham-Taylor[19] Conservative18 May 201722 Nov 2018
Julian McGhee-Sumner[20] Conservative14 Dec 20185 May 2019
John Halsall[21] Conservative22 May 201919 May 2022
Clive Jones[22] Liberal Democrats19 May 202218 May 2023
Stephen Conway[23] Liberal Democrats18 May 2023

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the council composition is:[24]

Party Councillors
Liberal Democrats 26
Conservative Party 22
Labour 5
Independent 1
Total54

The next election is due in 2024.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 54 councillors elected from 25 wards. Each ward elects one, two or three councillors. Elections are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats being elected each time for a four-year term of office.[25]

Premises

The council's main offices are the Civic Offices at Shute End in Wokingham. The building began as a house, built c. 1870 as the rectory for nearby St Paul's Church. It was purchased by Wokingham Rural District Council in 1939 and converted to become their offices. The building passed to the new Wokingham District Council when local government was reorganised in 1974. A large extension was added to the west of the original house in 1988.[26]

References

  1. ↑ Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996 (SI 1996/1879), art.3
  2. ↑ "Wokingham New Charter of Incorporation". Reading Mercury. 10 October 1885. p. 5. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  3. ↑ "Wokingham Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  4. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 31 May 2023
  5. ↑ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 31 May 2023
  6. ↑ "The Berkshire (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1879, retrieved 31 May 2023
  7. ↑ Davidson, Gemma (22 March 2017). "Mayors gather for Wokingham borough's 10th birthday". Wokingham Today. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  8. ↑ "New Wokingham Borough Council leader promises his 'very best' - Wokingham.Today". 19 May 2022.
  9. ↑ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  10. ↑ "Wokingham". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 9 January 2010.
  11. ↑ "Council minutes". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  12. ↑ "Redwood to stand for leadership". Reading Evening Post. 6 May 1997. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Council leader quits in bid to become MP". Reading Evening Post. 7 September 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "Leader answers on-line". Reading Evening Post. 15 September 1999. p. 10. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  15. ↑ "Obituary: Alan Spratling". Reading Chronicle. 16 July 2009. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  16. ↑ "Council minutes, 27 March 2008" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  17. ↑ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 22 May 2008" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  18. ↑ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 12 June 2014" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  19. ↑ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 18 May 2017" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  20. ↑ "Council minutes, 14 December 2018". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  21. ↑ "Annual Council Meeting minutes, 22 May 2019". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "Lib Dem-led coalition set to run Wokingham Borough Council". BBC News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 10 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "Council minutes, 18 May 2023" (PDF). Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  24. ↑ "Your Councillors by Party". Wokingham Borough Council. Retrieved 31 May 2023.
  25. ↑ "The District of Wokingham (Electoral Changes) Order 2002", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2002/2989, retrieved 31 May 2023
  26. ↑ "New Civic Offices". Reading Evening News. 6 October 1988. p. 26. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
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