Cambridge City Council
# Cambridge City Council

Cambridge City Council is the local authority for the city of Cambridge, a non-metropolitan district with city status in Cambridgeshire, England.

## History

Cambridge was an ancient borough. It was granted a Royal Charter by King John in 1207 which permitted the appointment of a mayor. The earliest recorded mayor was Harvey FitzEustace, who served in 1213. The borough of Cambridge was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how borough councils (also known as town councils or corporations) operated across the country.

Cambridge was granted city status on 21 March 1951 in recognition of its history, administrative importance, and economic success, allowing the council to call itself Cambridge City Council.

The Local Government Act 1972 reconstituted Cambridge as a non-metropolitan district with effect from 1 April 1974; it kept the same boundaries and its city status, but there were changes to the council's responsibilities.

The city of Cambridge is completely encircled by the neighbouring district of South Cambridgeshire. The two authorities work together on some projects, such as the Greater Cambridge Local Plan. Since 2017 the city has been a constituent member of the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, led by the directly-elected Mayor of Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

## Governance

Cambridge City Council provides district-level services, including parks and open spaces, waste collection, council housing and town planning. The Council also organises numerous events throughout the year, including the Cambridge Folk Festival and a programme of free summer entertainment entitled Summer in the City. County-level services are provided by Cambridgeshire County Council. There are no civil parishes in Cambridge; the entire district is an unparished area.

### Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2014.

The first elections to the city council as reformed under the Local Government Act 1972 were held in 1973, initially acting as a shadow authority until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

| Party in control | Years |
| - | - |
| Labour | 1974–1976 |
| Conservative | 1976–1979 |
| No overall control | 1979–1986 |
| Labour | 1986–1987 |
| No overall control | 1987–1988 |
| Labour | 1988–1992 |
| No overall control | 1992–1996 |
| Labour | 1996–1998 |
| No overall control | 1998–2000 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2000–2012 |
| No overall control | 2012–2014 |
| Labour | 2014–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Cambridge. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2003 have been:

| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| - | - | - | - |
| David Howarth | Liberal Democrats | 2000 | 17 Jul 2003 |
| Ian Nimmo-Smith | Liberal Democrats | 17 Jul 2003 | 27 May 2010 |
| Sian Reid | Liberal Democrats | 27 May 2010 | 24 May 2012 |
| Tim Bick | Liberal Democrats | 24 May 2012 | 12 Jun 2014 |
| Lewis Herbert | Labour | 12 Jun 2014 | 30 Nov 2021 |
| Anna Smith | Labour | 30 Nov 2021 | 25 May 2023 |
| Mike Davey | Labour | 25 May 2023 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election and one subsequent by-election in July 2023, the composition of the council was:

| Party | Party | Councillors |
| - | - | - |
| | Labour | 26 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 10 |
| | Green | 4 |
| | Conservative | 1 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | Total | 42 |

The next election is due in 2024.

## Premises

The council meets at the Guildhall, on the south side of Market Square in the centre of Cambridge. The building was purpose-built for the old borough council and completed in 1939. The council also has offices at Mandela House at 4 Regent Street.

## Elections

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 42 city councillors with three elected in each ward.

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. Due to boundary changes there was an "all up" (all Councillors are up for election) election in 2021, on the same day as other local elections.

