Wiltshire County Council (established in 1889) was the county council of Wiltshire in the South West of England, an elected local Government body responsible for most local government services in the county.
As a result of the 2009 restructuring of local government in some parts of England, the council was merged into a new unitary authority for Wiltshire with effect from 1 April 2009. However, it was then treated as a "continuing authority", and its successor authority covers exactly the same area and is still a county council, although renamed "Wiltshire Council". Almost all departments of the old county council remained intact under the new arrangements.
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History
County Councils were first introduced in England and Wales with full powers from 22 September 1889 as a result of the Local Government Act 1888, taking over administrative functions until then carried out by the unelected Quarter Sessions.[1] The areas they covered were termed administrative counties and were not in all cases identical to the traditional shire counties, but in Wiltshire the whole 'ceremonial county' came under the authority of the new council.
The first elections to the new county council were held on 23 January 1889, with sixty seats available, but only thirty-two of them were contested. Among those elected unopposed were the 4th Marquess of Bath, the 13th Earl of Pembroke, the 18th Earl of Suffolk, Sir Thomas Grove, 1st Baronet, M. P., Sir Charles Hobhouse, 4th Baronet, and Sir R. H. Pollen, Bart.[2]
The first provisional meeting of the council was held at Devizes on 31 January 1889, with all of the members present, when Lord Bath was elected as chairman. Several aldermen were elected, all from outside the members of the council.[3]
The new system of local democracy was a significant development and reflected the increasing range of functions carried out by local government in late Victorian Britain.
Schools (both primary and secondary) were added to the County Council's responsibilities in 1902, and until the 1990s it was also responsible for operating Colleges of Further Education.
In 1937, Wiltshire County Council was granted a coat of arms.[4]
Throughout its existence, Wiltshire County Council was responsible for the more strategic local services of Wiltshire, with a changing pattern of lower-tier authorities existing alongside it within its area and responsible for other more local services, such as waste collection. Until 1974, Wiltshire had a large number of urban district and rural district councils. In 1974, local government was reorganized in England and Wales generally, and in Wiltshire dozens of former urban and rural districts were amalgamated into five district councils: Kennet, North Wiltshire, Salisbury, West Wiltshire and Thamesdown.
The council was controlled by the Conservatives from 2000 until 2009 and from 2005 was led by Jane Scott. She became the first leader of the new Wiltshire Council.
Position of Swindon
The Borough of Swindon, previously known as Thamesdown, remains part of the ceremonial county of Wiltshire. It was part of the county council's area from 1889 until 1997, when it was reorganised into a new single-tier unitary authority. This had the effect of taking almost one third of Wiltshire's population out of the administrative county. After 1997, Swindon was still treated as being part of Wiltshire for ceremonial purposes (for instance, it still shares a Lord Lieutenant), but the County Council no longer provided any local services in Swindon, so members were no longer elected to it from there.
Functions
By the time it was merged into the new authority, Wiltshire County Council provided a wide range of services, including education (schools, libraries and youth services), social services, highway maintenance, waste disposal, emergency planning, consumer protection and town and country planning for matters to do with minerals, waste, highways and education. This made it one of the largest employers in Wiltshire, with an annual budget of some £300 million.
The working capital still employed by the Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust originated in a single grant made by the County Council at the time of the Trust's foundation in 1967, funding which has been described by the Trust's President Lord Lansdowne as "a revolving capital sum".[5]
Elections
Since 1889, members were elected for a four-year term of office, with elections held all together once every four years on the "first past the post" system. Until 2005, all of the county's electoral divisions elected a single member, but following a boundary review in 2004, four divisions (Salisbury South, Salisbury East, and Trowbridge East) each elected two members. The final size of the council was forty-eight members. The successor authority, Wiltshire Council, was established in 2009 with a total of ninety-eight members.
Political control
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At its end in 2009, the council consisted of thirty Conservatives, fourteen Liberal Democrats, three Labour Party members and two Independents. The Conservatives held most of the more rural areas while the Liberal Democrats held several towns, including Trowbridge, Chippenham and Bradford-on-Avon. The divisions of Westbury Ham & Dilton Marsh and 'Holt & Paxcroft' (both mixed urban and rural) elected the two Independents, while the three Labour members held their seats in the city of Salisbury and the towns of Melksham and Devizes.[6]
| Year | Conservative Party | Liberal Democrats | Labour | Independent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 |
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History of political control
- May 1981 to May 1985: Conservative[7]
- May 1985 to May 1989: No overall control, with Liberal/SDP minority administration, with tacit Labour support[7]
- May 1993 to April 1997: No overall control, with Liberal Democrat and Labour administration
- April 1997 to May 1997: Liberal Democrat
- May 1997 to May 1998: No overall control, with Liberal Democrat and Labour administration
- May 1998 to January 2000: No overall control, with Conservative and Independent administration
- January 2000 to 2009: Conservative
2009 changes
Wiltshire's previous "two tier" system of local government was typical of English shire counties, with the area it covered being sub-divided (since the separation of Swindon) into four local government districts. However, the Department for Communities and Local Government announced on 25 July 2007 that with effect from 1 April 2009 Wiltshire began to be served by a new unitary authority, replacing the county council and the four district councils.[8]
As Wiltshire County Council was designated as a "continuing authority", its 48 outgoing county councillors remained in office until the 4 June 2009 elections, whereas district councillors ceased to hold office on 31 March 2009.
List of notable members
- Jack Ainslie 1964–1993 (chairman, 1986–1990)[9]
- Nigel Anderson 1953–1983 (chairman, 1980–1985)[10]
- John Thynne, 4th Marquess of Bath (chairman, 1889–1896)[2]
- Thomas Thynne, 5th Marquess of Bath (chairman, 1906–1946)
- Sir Henry Langton, later Calley 1955–1973 (chairman, 1969–1974)
- Fleur de Rhé-Philipe 1997–2009[6]
- John Manningham-Buller, 2nd Viscount Dilhorne 1967–1970
- Edmond Fitzmaurice, 1st Baron Fitzmaurice (chairman, 1896–1906)
- George Fuller 19th century (also member of parliament for Westbury)
- Sir Thomas Grove, 1st Baronet, M. P. (el. 1889)[2]
- Sir Charles Hobhouse, 4th Baronet (el. 1889), also member of parliament for Devizes)[2]
- Sir Charles Morrison 1958–1964 (later member of parliament for Devizes)[11]
- Levi Lapper Morse (Alderman to 1913, also member of parliament for Wilton)
- William Ewart Morse (also briefly member of parliament for Bridgwater)
- Christopher Newbury 1997–2009 (also member of Council of Europe)
- George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke (el. 1889)[2]
- Sidney Herbert, 16th Earl of Pembroke (alderman, 1954–1967)[12]
- Sir Richard Hungerford Pollen, 4th Baronet (el. 1889)[2]
- Francis Edward Newman Rogers 1894–1911 (also member of parliament for Devizes 1906–1910)
- Mary Salisbury 1963–2001 (not continuous) (chairman, 1990–1993)[13]
- Jane Scott 1997–2009 (leader, 2003–2009)[14]
- Nevil Story Maskelyne 1889–1904 (also member of parliament for Cricklade 1880–1892)
- Henry Howard, 18th Earl of Suffolk (el. 1889)[2]
- Robert Syms 1985–1997 (member of parliament for Poole since 1997)
- Group Captain Frank Willan 1961–1981 (chairman, 1973–1979)
- R. S. A. Williams 1945–1952 (previously member of parliament for Sevenoaks)
- Percy Wyndham (early 20th century, also a member of parliament)
References
- ^ Edwards, John (1955). 'County' in Chambers's Encyclopedia. LONDON: George Newnes. pp. 189–191.
- ^ a b c d e f g The Times, January 19, 1889; pg. 12; col A.
- ^ The Times, February 1, 1889, pg. 10, col D.
- ^ Civic Heraldry of England and Wales - Wiltshire page at civicheraldry.co.uk
- ^ Marquess of Lansdowne, Foreword to Wiltshire Historic Buildings Trust 1967-2007 (2007), online at whbt.org.uk
- ^ a b Councillors by Name, Division, Party at wiltshire.gov.uk
- ^ a b The Times, May 11, 1985; pg. 2; col C
- ^ Towards One Council at onecouncilforwiltshire.co.uk
- ^ Graham, Christopher, Jack Ainslie, Old-school local government leader from The Independent dated Monday, 9 April 2007 (online edition)
- ^ Former High Sheriff dies at 88, Salisbury Journal website, 4th June 2008
- ^ Charles Morrison obituary, telegraph.co.uk
- ^ PEMBROKE, 16th Earl of, in Who Was Who, A & C Black, 1920–2008; online edition by Oxford University Press, December 2007, accessed 26 Sept 2009
- ^ OBITUARY: Mrs Mary Salisbury at wiltshiretimes.co.uk
- ^ PR 1220 Wiltshire County Council elects a new leader (Tuesday 15th July 2003) at wiltshire.gov.uk
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Wiltshire |
- Wiltshire Council
- Wiltshire local elections
- Wiltshire Council election, 1989
- Wiltshire Council election, 1993
- Wiltshire Council election, 1997
- Wiltshire Council election, 2001
- Wiltshire Council election, 2005
- Wiltshire Council election, 2009
External links
- Wiltshire.gov.uk (official web site)
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