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Ealing London Borough Council

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Ealing London Borough Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Yvonne Johnson,
Labour
since 21 May 2024[1]
Peter Mason,
Labour
since 18 May 2021
Tony Clements
since 2022[2]
Structure
Seats70 councillors
Political groups
Administration (59)
  Labour (59)
Other parties (11)
  Liberal Democrat (7)
  Conservative (4)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, New Broadway, Ealing, London, W5 2BY
Website
www.ealing.gov.uk

Ealing London Borough Council, which styles itself Ealing Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Ealing in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. The council meets at Ealing Town Hall and has its main offices in the adjoining Perceval House.

History

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There has been an Ealing local authority since 1863 when a local government district was created for Ealing, governed by an elected local board.[3][4] Such districts were reconstituted as urban districts under the Local Government Act 1894, which saw the board replaced by an urban district council. Ealing was subsequently incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1901, governed by a body formally called the "Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Ealing", generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[5]

The much larger London Borough of Ealing and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.[6] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's three outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Ealing, Acton and Southall. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.[7] The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Ealing".[8]

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 Ealing) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Ealing has been a local education authority since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees.[9]

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.[10]

In 2018 Ealing Council was the first council in the UK to introduce a buffer zone to prevent anti-abortion protesters campaigning near a Marie Stopes clinic, with the aim of preventing women going into the clinic being harassed.[11]

In January 2019, the council decided to stop the smoking cessation service in the borough, to save £395,000 over the following two years, as part of its plan to deal with an overall budget gap of £57 million as a result of reduced funding.[12]

Powers and functions

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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.[13] 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.[14]

Political control

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The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010.

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:[15]

Party in control Years
Labour 1965–1968
Conservative 1968–1971
Labour 1971–1978
Conservative 1978–1986
Labour 1986–1990
Conservative 1990–1994
Labour 1994–2006
Conservative 2006–2010
Labour 2010–present

Leadership

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The role of Mayor of Ealing is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:[16][17]

Councillor Party From To
William Hopkins Labour 1964 1968
Robert Hetherington Conservative 1968 1971
John Telfer Labour 1971 1975
Michael Elliot Labour 1975 1978
Beatrice Howard Conservative 1978 1981
John Wood Conservative 1981 1983
Ken Kettle Conservative 1983 1986
Len Turner Labour 1986 1989
John Cudmore Labour 1989 1990
Martin Mallam Conservative 1990 1991
Graham Bull Conservative 1991 1994
John Cudmore Labour 1994 17 May 2005
Leo Thomson Labour 17 May 2005 7 May 2006
Jason Stacey Conservative 23 May 2006 25 May 2010
Julian Bell Labour 25 May 2010 18 May 2021
Peter Mason Labour 18 May 2021

Elections

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See also: Ealing London Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 70 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[18]

Premises

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The council meets at Ealing Town Hall on New Broadway, which had been completed in 1888 for the old Ealing Local Board.[19][20]

Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, Ealing, London, W5 2HL: Council's main offices since 1983

The council's main offices are at Perceval House (initially called the Civic Centre), which was completed in 1983 on a site immediately west of the Town Hall.[21][22]

References

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  1. ^ "New mayor and cabinet announced". Around Ealing. 22 May 2024. Retrieved 24 May 2024.
  2. ^ "New chief executive for Ealing Council". Around Ealing. Ealing Council. 7 July 2022. Retrieved 5 April 2024.
  3. ^ "No. 22717". The London Gazette. 17 March 1863. p. 1517.
  4. ^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 7. London: Victoria County History. 1982. pp. 100–101. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  5. ^ Kelly's Directory of Middlesex. 1914. p. 86. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  6. ^ "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
  7. ^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
  8. ^ "Service Level Agreement" (PDF). Harrow Council. 2020. Retrieved 9 April 2024.
  9. ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  10. ^ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
  11. ^ "Ealing council votes for UK's first 'safe zone' around abortion clinic". The Guardian. 10 April 2018. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
  12. ^ "Council ceases NHS-provided smoking cessation service". Health Service Journal. 18 January 2019. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
  13. ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
  14. ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
  15. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
  16. ^ "Council minutes". Ealing Council. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  17. ^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  18. ^ "The London Borough of Ealing (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2020/65
  19. ^ Historic England. "Ealing Town Hall (Grade II) (1358791)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  20. ^ "Calendar". Ealing Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  21. ^ "Contact us". Ealing Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
  22. ^ London's Town Halls. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1998. p. 51. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
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