Derby City Council
{{Short description|Local government unitary authority for Derby, England}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Derby City Council
| coa_pic = Coat of arms of Derby.svg
| logo_pic = Derby City Council.svg
| logo_alt = Derby City Council Corporate Logo
| foundation =
| house_type = Unitary authority
| jurisdiction = Derby
| leader1_type = Mayor
| leader1 = Ajit Atwal
| party1 =
Liberal Democrat
| leader2_type = Leader
| leader2 = Nadine Peatfield
| party2 =
Labour
| election2 = 18 June 2024
| leader3_type = Chief Executive
| leader3 = Paul Simpson
| party3 =
| seats = 51 councillors
| structure1 =
| structure1_res = 250
| structure1_alt =
| political_groups1 =
; Administration (24)
: {{Color box|{{party color|Labour Party (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Labour (23)
; Other parties (27)
: {{Color box|{{party color|Conservative Party (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Conservative (15)
: {{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Reform Derby}}|border=darkgray}} Reform Derby (6)}}
: {{nowrap|{{Color box|{{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}|border=darkgray}} Liberal Democrats (3)}}
: {{Color box|{{party color|Independent politician}}|border=darkgray}} Independent (3)
| committees1 =
| joint_committees =
| voting_system1 = First past the post
| last_election1 = 4 May 2023
| next_election1 = 6 May 2027
| session_room = Derby Council House (geograph 2355048).jpg
| session_res =
| session_alt =
| meeting_place = Council House, Corporation Street, Derby, DE1{{nbsp}}2FS
| website = {{URL|www.derby.gov.uk}}
| footnotes =
| motto = Industria, Virtus, et Fortitudo
Translation: Diligence, Courage, Strength
}}
Derby City Council is the local authority for the city of Derby, in the ceremonial county of Derbyshire in the East Midlands region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Since 2024 the council has been a member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority.
The council has been under no overall control since 2018. Following the 2023 election a minority Labour administration formed to run the council. The council is based at the Council House.
History
The town of Derby had been an ancient borough, with borough charters dating back to 1154.{{cite web |last1=Lambert |first1=Tim |title=A History of Derby |url=https://localhistories.org/a-history-of-derby/ |website=Local Histories |access-date=28 July 2023}} It was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, governed by a corporate body called "the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Derby", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Derby was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from Derbyshire County Council.{{cite web |title=Derby Municipal Borough / County Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10109700 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=28 July 2023}}
In 1974 Derby was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972; it kept the same boundaries but became a lower-tier district council with Derbyshire County Council providing county-level services to the town for the first time.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972|year=1972|number=2039|access-date=31 May 2023}} Derby retained its borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Derby's series of mayors dating back to 1638.{{cite web |title=District Councils and Boroughs |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1974/mar/28/district-councils-and-boroughs#S5CV0871P0_19740328_CWA_145 |website=Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) |access-date=4 December 2021 |date=28 March 1974}} The borough of Derby was awarded city status on 7 June 1977, allowing the council to change its name to Derby City Council.{{London Gazette|issue=47246|page=7656|date=14 June 1977}}
In 1997, Derby City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Derbyshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Derby covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Derby was a county borough prior to 1974.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Derbyshire (City of Derby)(Structural Change) Order 1995|year=1995|number=1773|access-date=28 July 2023}} Despite having been removed from the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire (the area administered by Derbyshire County Council), the city remains part of the wider ceremonial county of Derbyshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Lieutenancies Act 1997|year=1997|chapter=23|schedule=1|access-date=29 May 2024}}
In 2024 a combined county authority was established covering Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called the East Midlands Combined County Authority. The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the East Midlands and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024|year=2024|number=232|access-date=6 May 2024}}
Governance
Derby City Council provides all local government services in the area. As a unitary authority it provides both county-level and district-level services. There are no civil parishes in Derby, which is an unparished area.{{cite web |title=Election Maps |url=https://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/election-maps/gb/ |publisher=Ordnance Survey |access-date=28 July 2023}}
=Political control=
The council has been under no overall control since 2018. The council has been run by a Labour minority administration since the 2023 election.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:{{cite web |title=Compositions Calculator |url=https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/composition_calc.html |access-date=21 May 2025 |website=The Elections Centre |publisher=University of Exeter}} (Put "Derby" in search box to see specific results.){{cite news| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/bsp/hi/elections/local_council/08/html/fk.stm | title = Derby | access-date = 26 September 2009 | publisher = BBC News | date=19 April 2008}}{{cite news| url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/derbyshire/4685007.stm | title = Labour wins city council control | access-date = 26 September 2009 | date = 15 July 2005 | publisher = BBC News}}
Non-metropolitan district
| class="wikitable" | |
| colspan="2"|Party in control | Years |
|---|---|
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1974–1976 |
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | 1976–1979 |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1979–1988 |
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | 1988–1991 |
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} | 1991–1994 |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1994–1997 |
Unitary authority
| class="wikitable" | |
| colspan="2"|Party in control | Years |
|---|---|
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1997–2003 |
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} | 2003–2005 |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 2005–2006 |
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} | 2006–2012 |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 2012–2018 |
| {{Party name with colour|No overall control}} | 2018–present |
=Leadership=
The role of Mayor of Derby is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
=Composition=
Following the 2023 election,{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ng-interactive/2023/may/04/elections-2023-results-live-local-council-england#le-full-results|title=Local elections 2023: live council results for England|work=The Guardian}} and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was:{{cite web |title=Derby |url=https://www.localcouncils.co.uk/councils/?council=derby |website=Local Councils |publisher=Thorncliffe |access-date=15 June 2025}}
| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2| Party ! Councillors |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}}
| align=center|23 |
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}}
| align=center|15 |
| {{Party name with colour|Reform Derby}}{{Efn|Reform Derby is an independently registered party serving as a local affiliate of Reform UK.{{cite web |title=Reform Derby |url=https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/English/Registrations/PP11471 |website=Electoral Commission |access-date=15 June 2025}}}}
| align=center|6 |
| {{Party name with colour|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}
| align=center|4 |
| {{Party name with colour|Independent politician}}
| align=center|3 |
| colspan=2|Total
! align=center|51 |
|---|
Premises
The council is based at the Council House on Corporation Street, which was purpose-built for the council. Construction began in 1938 but was interrupted by the Second World War, with the building eventually being completed in 1949.{{cite web|url=https://www.derbytelegraph.co.uk/news/nostalgia/looking-back-many-buildings-derbys-2028173|title=Looking back on the many buildings Derby's councils have called home|work=Derby Telegraph|date=21 September 2018|access-date=3 July 2020}}
Elections
{{see also|Derby City Council elections}}
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 51 councillors, representing 18 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Derby (Electoral Changes) Order 2023|year=2023|number=201|access-date=28 July 2023}}
Arms
{{Infobox COA wide
|image = Coat of arms of Derby.svg
|escutcheon = Argent on a mount Vert within park palings a buck lodged between two oak trees fructed Proper.
|crest = On a wreath of the colours a ram passant Proper collared Or between two sprigs of broom also Proper.
|supporters = On either side a buck charged on the shoulder with a sprig of broom Proper.
|motto = Industria Virtus Et Fortitudo (Diligence Courage And Strength)
|notes = Granted 12 May 1939{{cite web|url=http://civicheraldry.co.uk/east_midlands.html |title=East Midlands Region |publisher=Civic Heraldry of England |accessdate=5 March 2021}}}}
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- [https://archive.today/20130620053558/http://www.thisisderbyshire.co.uk/Derby-City-Council-running-Council-Year/story-17404076-detail/story.html%23axzz2WeoTes6N Derby Telegraph – Derby City Council in running for Council of the Year]
- [https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-derbyshire-17929623 BBC News – Labour wins control of Derby City Council]
{{Unitary authorities of England}}
{{Derby}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Local authorities in Derbyshire
Category:Unitary authority councils of England
Category:Local education authorities in England