Redbridge London Borough Council

Redbridge London Borough Council
Type
Type	London borough council of the London Borough of Redbridge
Structure
Seats	63 councillors
Joint committees	East London Waste Authority
Labour	35 / 63
Conservatives	25 / 63
Lib Dems	3 / 63
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	22 May 2014
Next election	May 2018
Meeting place
Redbridge Town Hall
Website
www.redbridge.gov.uk

Redbridge London Borough Council is the local authority for the London Borough of Redbridge in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of London. Redbridge is divided into 21 wards and elects 63 councillors. Redbridge Council comprises 35 Labour Party members, 25 Conservative Party members and three Liberal Democrat members. Alternating between Conservative administration and no overall control from 1965 to 2014, the council is now run by the Labour Party.

The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 and replaced four local authorities: Ilford Borough Council and Wanstead and Woodford Borough Council, with parts from Chigwell Urban District Council and Dagenham Borough Council.

History

There have previously been a number of local authorities responsible for the Redbridge area. The current local authority was first elected in 1964, a year before formally coming into its powers and prior to the creation of the London Borough of Redbridge on 1 April 1965. Redbridge replaced Ilford Borough Council and Wanstead and Woodford Borough Council entirely, and replaced Chigwell Urban District Council in Hainault and Dagenham Borough Council in the Hog Hill area.

It was envisaged through the London Government Act 1963 that Redbridge as a London local authority would share power with 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 local authorities responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council it has been an education authority since 1965. This arrangement lasted until 1986 when Redbridge London Borough Council gained responsibility for some services that had been provided by the Greater London Council, such as waste disposal. 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.

Summary results of elections

Main article: Redbridge local elections

Since 1964 political control of the council has been held by the following parties:

Party in control	Years
Conservative	1964–1994
No overall control	1994–2002
Conservative	2002–2009
No overall control	2009–2014
Labour	2014–present