Newham London Borough Council /ˈnjuːəm/ also known as Newham Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Newham in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Labour majority control since 1971. It has been led by a directly elected mayor since 2002. The council meets at Newham Town Hall in East Ham and at Stratford Town Hall, and has its main offices at 1000 Dockside Road, overlooking the Royal Albert Dock.
Newham London Borough Council Newham Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Opposition Leader | Cllr Mehmood Mirza / Cllr Nate Higgins, Independent / Green |
Abi Gbago since 11 September 2023[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 66 councillors plus elected mayor[4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | East London Waste Authority |
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large voting | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Newham Town Hall, Barking Road, London, E6 2RP | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
editThe London Borough of Newham and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964.[5] For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities, principally being the two councils of the county boroughs of East Ham and West Ham, but also the borough councils of Woolwich (in respect of the North Woolwich area) and Barking (in respect of the Gallions Reach area).[6] The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished.[6]
The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Newham", but it styles itself Newham Council.[7]
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 Newham) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Newham 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.[8]
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.[9]
Powers and functions
editThe 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.[10] 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.[11]
Political control
editThe council has been under Labour majority control since 1971.
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:[12][13][14][15]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1965–1968 | |
| No overall control | 1968–1971 | |
| Labour | 1971–present | |
Leadership
editPrior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1985 to 2002 were:[16][17]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fred Jones | Labour | 1985 | 1990 | |
| Stephen Timms | Labour | 1990 | 1994 | |
| John Isted | Labour | 1994 | 1995 | |
| Mike Brown | Labour | 1995 | 1995 | |
| Robin Wales | Labour | 1995 | 5 May 2002 | |
In 2002 the council changed to having directly elected mayors. The mayors since 2002 have been:
| Mayor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin Wales | Labour | 6 May 2002 | 6 May 2018 | |
| Rokhsana Fiaz | Labour | 7 May 2018 | ||
Composition
editThe composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) as at 1 July 2024,[18] after adjusting for one subsequent re-alignment from Labour to Green,[19] is:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 55 | |
| NIP | 3 | |
| Green | 3 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Vacant | 4 | |
| Total | 66 | |
Of the independent councillors, three sit together as the 'Newham Independents' group.[20] The "Newham Independents" became the principal opposition when Councillor Gulamussen for Plashet ward [21] defected causing Newham's first opposition, the Greens, to lose their status as the principal opposition. The other independent councillor, Belgica Guaña, had been a Labour candidate in 2022 but was suspended from the party after the deadline for changing party descriptions on ballot papers has passed. Therefore the electorate thought they had voted for a Labour candidate but was to sit as an independent in the chamber.[22]
Elections
editSince the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 66 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years:[23] the next election is due in May 2026.
Premises
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Full council meetings are held in Stratford Town Hall, formerly the headquarters of West Ham Borough Council.[24]
Most committees and scrutiny meetings are held in the purpose-built chamber which is not fit for purpose with the amount of councillors and the amount of public who attend based in East Ham. It was formerly known as East Ham Town Hall, completed in 1903 for the former East Ham Urban District Council, predecessor of East Ham Borough Council.[25]
In 2010 the council consolidated most of its offices into a modern building at 1000 Dockside Road, which had been built in 2004 as part of attempts to regenerate the area around the Royal Docks in the south of the borough.[26] The council bought the building for £92 million after the original developers were unable to find tenants for it.[27]
Legal issues
editIn 2007 the Council's processes for the procurement of housing leased from private landlords were challenged by an unsuccessful tenderer, Lettings International Ltd., because, while the broad headings had been disclosed under which the Council would evaluate the tenders it received, such as price, compliance with the identified specification, and "the suitability of premises, staffing and working conditions", the relative weighting attached to various sub-criteria within these headings had not been disclosed so that tenderers could take them into account when preparing their tenders. In addition, the Council had allocated three marks out of five for tenders which met the identified specification, with higher marks only available to tenderers whose bids exceeded the specification. The High Court, in addressing the case, found that the Council had not acted with the degree of transparency required under EU and UK public procurement legislation.[28]
A further legal case determined in 2013 between Squibb Group Ltd., London Pleasure Gardens Ltd and the Council highlighted that the Council had agreed to lend money to London Pleasure Gardens to fund the development of a site for the 2012 London Olympics, but when the London Pleasure Gardens business collapsed, the Council was able to show that neither the loan agreement nor their agreement to pay interim funding on two occasions had created a guarantee to cover missing payments due to the contractor for works completed.[29]
References
edit- ^ "Council minutes, 22 May 2023". Newham Council. Retrieved 25 April 2024.
- ^ Long, Rhiannon. "Local Elections: Newham elects Rokhsana Fiaz to be its mayor". Newham recorder.
- ^ "Newham Council's new Chief Executive, Abi Gbago starts role today". Newham Council. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
- ^ "Your Councillors by Party". Newham Council. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
- ^ "London Government Act 1963", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1978 c. 33, retrieved 16 May 2024
- ^ a b Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0901050679.
- ^ "Air Quality Management Area Order 2019". Newham Council. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
- ^ Leach, Steve (1998). Local Government Reorganisation: The Review and its Aftermath. Routledge. p. 107. ISBN 978-0714648590.
- ^ "Council Tax and Business Rates Billing Authorities". Council Tax Rates. Retrieved 8 April 2020.
- ^ "Local Plan Responses – within and outside London". Mayor of London. 12 November 2015. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
- ^ "London Borough of Newham Election Results 1964-2010" (PDF). Elections Centre. Plymouth University. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
- ^ "London Borough Council Elections 23 May 2014" (PDF). London Datastore. London Residuary Body. Retrieved 19 November 2019.
- ^ "London Borough Council Elections 3 May 2018" (PDF). London Datastore. London Residuary Body. Retrieved 29 December 2019.
- ^ "Council minutes". Newham Council. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
- ^ "Your Councillors by Party". Newham London Borough Council. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ Gregory, Ruby (1 July 2024). "Newham councillor suddenly quits Labour for Greens after Keir Starmer's Bangladesh comments". MyLondon. Retrieved 2 July 2024.
- ^ "Your councillors by party". Newham Council. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "London councillor quits Labour Party over anger at Gaza stance". www.mylondon.news. 22 November 2023.
- ^ Felix Pope (8 May 2022). "Newham councillor who shared 'Holocaust Hoax' article re-elected". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
- ^ "The London Borough of Newham (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/613, retrieved 26 April 2024
- ^ "Calendar". Newham Council. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Newham Council Offices (Grade II*) (1190712)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 April 2024.
- ^ "Behemoth in steel and glass". Building. 25 June 2004. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ "Newham Council 'may quit £111m office'". BBC. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
- ^ Sinclair, S., legal Briefing: Letting International Ltd v Newham London Borough Council, Fenwick Elliott, published September 2008, accessed on 2 October 2024
- ^ Hughes, S., Squibb vs London Pleasure Gardens and London Borough of Newham, Keating Chambers, published on 25 November 2015, accessed on 15 November 2024