Tower Hamlets London Borough Council

The London Borough of Tower Hamlets and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=London Government Act 1963|chapter=33|access-date=16 May 2024}} For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the three metropolitan borough councils of Bethnal Green, Poplar and Stepney. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.{{cite book | first=Frederic |last=Youngs | title=Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England | volume=I: Southern England | year=1979 | publisher=Royal Historical Society | location=London | isbn=0901050679}} The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets", but it styles itself Tower Hamlets Council.{{cite web |title=Mayor and Burgesses of the London borough of tower Hamlets v Secretary of State for Department of the Environment, 1993 |url=https://vlex.co.uk/vid/mayor-and-burgesses-of-793251793 |website=V Lex |access-date=28 April 2024}}{{cite web |title=Tower Hamlets Council announces senior appointment |url=https://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/News_events/2023/July/Tower-Hamlets-Council-announces-senior-appointment.aspx |website=Tower Hamlets Council |access-date=28 April 2024 |date=20 July 2023}}

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Tower Hamlets) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1985|year=1985|chapter=51|access-date=5 April 2024}} Tower Hamlets became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved.Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40)

From 1986 to 1994 the council experimented with decentralisation of services to seven neighbourhood areas.{{cite book | last = Dench | first = Geoff | title = The new East End : kinship, race and conflict | publisher = Profile | location = London | year = 2006 | isbn = 1861979282 }}

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YX0nAAAAQBAJ&pg=PA107|title=Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath|first= Steve |last=Leach|page=107|publisher=Routledge|year=1998|isbn=978-0714648590}}

In 2008 the council named two tower blocks in Sidney Street as 'Peter House' and 'Painter House' after Peter the Painter, a Latvian anarchist gangster reputedly involved in the Siege of Sidney Street in 1911, whose true identity is not known. Having escaped capture, he had become an anti-hero in the East End. A local councillor and the Metropolitan Police Federation protested against the naming, saying that he should not be honoured.{{cite news|last1=Cockcroft|first1=Lucy|title=Tower Blocks Named after Notorious Criminal Linked to Police Killings|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3081136/Tower-blocks-named-after-notorious-criminal-linked-to-police-killings.html|work=Daily Telegraph|date=25 September 2008|archive-date=19 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160319080148/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/3081136/Tower-blocks-named-after-notorious-criminal-linked-to-police-killings.html|url-status=dead}}

In 2010, following a referendum, the directly elected role of Mayor of Tower Hamlets was created to serve as the council's political leader. Lutfur Rahman was elected as the first such mayor.{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Dave |title=Britain's first Muslim executive mayor vows to 'reach out to every community' |url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2010/nov/08/first-muslim-executive-mayor-lutfur-rahman |access-date=26 May 2024 |work=The Guardian |date=8 November 2010}} He was re-elected in 2014, but the result of that election was declared void the following year in the case of Erlam v Rahman at the Election Court, which reported Rahman and one of the councillors to be guilty of electoral fraud under the Representation of the People Act 1983.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/crime/11557662/Tower-Hamlets-mayor-Lutfur-Rahman-guilty.html|title=Tower Hamlets mayor Lutfur Rahman guilty of corrupt and illegal practices over election|author=Tom Whitehead|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|date=2015-04-23|access-date=2015-04-23}}{{Citation| author = Parliament of the United Kingdom| author-link = Parliament of the United Kingdom| date = 8 February 1983 | title = The Representation of the People Act 1983, Chapter 2 (as amended on the 23rd. July 2015), Part III, Section 159 | publisher = The National Archives, Ministry of Justice, HM Government| location = London| url = http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/1983/2/section/159 | access-date = 23 July 2015}} He was thus removed from his office with immediate effect and was also barred from standing for elected office until 2021.{{citation|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-32428648|title=Tower Hamlets election fraud mayor Lutfur Rahman removed from office|publisher=BBC News, British Broadcasting Corporation|date=23 April 2015|access-date=25 July 2015}}{{citation|author=Mike Brooke|url=http://www.eastlondonadvertiser.co.uk/news/politics/rahman_s_tower_hamlets_first_is_removed_from_electoral_commission_s_party_register_1_4054899|title=Rahman's 'Tower Hamlets First' is removed from Electoral Commission's party register|publisher=The Docklands and East London Advertiser|date=29 April 2015|access-date=25 July 2015}} The police subsequently carried out an investigation into whether criminal charges should be brought against anyone involved regarding the electoral fraud, but concluded that there was insufficient evidence to do so.{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-45452342|title=No charges after Tower Hamlets electoral fraud probe|work=BBC News |date=7 September 2018}}

Labour's John Biggs won the subsequent mayoral by-election following Rahman's removal in 2015, and retained the post at the 2018 election.{{cite web|title=Stepney Green – Thursday, 11th June, 2015|url=http://moderngov.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mgElectionAreaResults.aspx?ID=115&RPID=5977927|website=Tower Hamlets Council|access-date=12 June 2015|date=12 June 2015}}{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-33105311 |title=Tower Hamlets election: Labour's John Biggs named mayor - BBC News |work=BBC News |date=12 June 2015 |access-date=2020-05-29}} Rahman's ban on standing for office expired in 2021, allowing him to contest the mayoralty again in 2022. He stood under the banner of a new local party called Aspire. Rahman defeated Biggs for the mayoralty, and Aspire also won a majority of the seats on the council.{{cite news|url= https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/may/06/lutfur-rahman-wins-tower-hamlets-mayor-election-results |title=Lutfur Rahman wins Tower Hamlets mayor vote after five-year ban|date=6 May 2022|newspaper=The Guardian|access-date=7 May 2022}}

In February 2023, the chief executive of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) said he had concerns about the management of the council under Aspire and believed that government intervention may be necessary.{{cite news |last1=Hill |first1=Dave |title=Tower Hamlets: Concerns expressed that council 'going wrong again' as chief executive's departure announced |url=https://www.onlondon.co.uk/tower-hamlets-concerns-expressed-that-council-going-wrong-again-as-chief-executives-departure-announced/ |access-date=26 May 2024 |work=On London |date=8 February 2023}}

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates.{{cite web|url=https://counciltaxrates.info/councils|title=Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities|publisher=Council Tax Rates|access-date=8 April 2020}} It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.{{cite web|url=https://www.london.gov.uk/what-we-do/planning/who-we-work/local-plan-responses-within-and-outside-london|title=Local Plan Responses – within and outside London|publisher=Mayor of London|access-date=9 April 2020}}

The council has been under Aspire majority control since 2022.

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:{{cite web |title=Compositions calculator |url=https://www.electionscentre.co.uk/?page_id=3825 |website=The Elections Centre | date=4 March 2016 |access-date=3 March 2023}}

Prior to 2010, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council, with the role of Mayor of Tower Hamlets at that time being largely ceremonial. The leaders from 1965 to 2010 were:

{{cite web |title=Council minutes |url=https://democracy.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mgCalendarMonthView.aspx?GL=1&bcr=1 |website=Tower Hamlets Council |access-date=30 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=London Boroughs Political Almanac |url=https://boroughs50.londoncouncils.gov.uk/almanac/ |website=London Councils |access-date=1 July 2022}}

In 2010 the council changed to having directly elected mayors with executive powers. To avoid the confusion of having multiple mayors, the old ceremonial role of mayor was renamed as the chair, and was renamed again in 2011 as the speaker.{{cite web | url= http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/1001-1050/1001_speaker_of_council.aspx | title= Tower Hamlets Speaker of Council | accessdate= 31 October 2013 | url-status= dead | archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20131102154955/http://www.towerhamlets.gov.uk/lgsl/1001-1050/1001_speaker_of_council.aspx | archivedate= 2 November 2013 | df= dmy-all }} The elected mayors since 2010 have been:

{{notelist}}

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance,{{cite news |last1=Boothroyd |first1=David |title=Scottish Labour steels seat |url=https://www.localcouncils.co.uk/2023/11/scottish-labour-steels-seat/ |access-date=28 April 2024 |work=Local Councils |publisher=Thorncliffe |date=17 November 2023}}{{Cite web|title=Councillor quits Labour over Starmer Bangladesh comment|access-date=28 June 2024|date=27 June 2024|first1=Hannah|first2=James|last1=Miller|last2=Kelly|publisher=BBC News| url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cw4y3njqqzpo}} the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) is:

The next election is due 7 May 2026, where all seats of the council will be contested.

{{also|Tower Hamlets London Borough Council elections}}

Since the last boundary changes in 2014, the council has comprised the elected mayor plus 45 councillors, representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held for the mayor and councillors together every four years.{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Tower Hamlets (Electoral Changes) Order 2013|year=2013|number=1786|access-date=28 April 2024}}

File:Former Town Hall, Cambridge Heath Road.jpg: Council's headquarters 1965–1993]]

The council is based at Tower Hamlets Town Hall at 160 Whitechapel Road, which was completed in 2023 behind the retained façade of the old Royal London Hospital, which had been built in 1757.{{NHLE|desc=The London Hospital|num=1065788|grade=II|access-date=28 April 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.eastlondonlines.co.uk/2023/03/historic-whitechapel-building-reopens-as-tower-hamlets-new-town-hall/|title=Historic Whitechapel building reopens as Tower Hamlets' new town hall|newspaper=East London Lines|date=1 March 2023|access-date=17 March 2023}}

When the council was first created in 1965, it had been based at the old Bethnal Green Town Hall, which had been built in 1910 for Bethnal Green Borough Council.{{NHLE|desc=Town Hall|num=1065243|grade=II|access-date=28 April 2024}} In 1993 the council moved to a new town hall at Mulberry Place in the Blackwall area of the borough, remaining there until 2023.{{cite web|title='Modern Docklands: Modern commercial developments', in Survey of London: Volumes 43 and 44, Poplar, Blackwall and Isle of Dogs|first= Hermione |last=Hobhouse |location=London|year=1994|pages= 702–707|publisher=British History Online|url= http://www.british-history.ac.uk/survey-london/vols43-4/pp702-707 |accessdate= 20 September 2020}}{{cite web|url=https://www.architectsjournal.co.uk/competitions/architect-sought-for-new-tower-hamlets-town-hall/10000257.article|title=Architect sought for new Tower Hamlets town hall|date=7 December 2015|publisher=Architects Journal|accessdate= 14 May 2020}}

File:Tower Hamlets Town Hall 2015-06-19 02.jpg: Served as town hall 1993–2023]]

The councillors before and after the 2022 elections were as follows:{{cite web | url=http://moderngov.towerhamlets.gov.uk/mgMemberIndex.aspx?VW=TABLE&PIC=1&FN= | title= Mayor and Councillors | publisher=Tower Hamlets Council | access-date=29 August 2018}} and 8 May 2022.

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• London Borough of Tower Hamlets
• Mayor of Tower Hamlets
• List of public art in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

{{Reflist}}

{{Local authorities in London}}

{{LB Tower Hamlets}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Local authorities in London

Category:London borough councils

Category:Politics of the London Borough of Tower Hamlets

Category:Local authorities in England with elected mayor

Category:Local education authorities in England

Category:Billing authorities in England