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Hillingdon Council
Hillingdon Council
Type
Type	London borough
History
Founded	1 April 1965
Leadership
Mayor	Colleen Sullivan, ; Conservative ; since 9 May 2024
Leader	Ian Edwards, ; Conservative ; since 14 January 2021
Chief Executive	Tony Zaman ; since 1 January 2022
Structure
Seats	53 councillors
Political groups	Administration (30) Conservative (30) Other parties (23) Labour (22) Independent (1)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
	Civic Centre, High Street, Uxbridge, UB8 1UW
Website
	www.hillingdon.gov.uk

Hillingdon London Borough Council, which styles itself Hillingdon Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hillingdon in Greater London, England. It is a London borough council, one of 32 in London. The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2006. The council is based at Hillingdon Civic Centre in Uxbridge.

History

The London Borough of Hillingdon and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's four outgoing authorities, being the borough council of Uxbridge and the urban district councils of Hayes and Harlington, Ruislip-Northwood and Yiewsley and West Drayton. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.^[5]^[6] The council's full legal name is the "Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Hillingdon", although it styles itself Hillingdon Council.^[7]^[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 Hillingdon) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Hillingdon 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]

Powers and functions

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.^[11] 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.^[12]

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2006.

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:^[13]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1964–1968
	Conservative	1968–1971
	Labour	1971–1978
	Conservative	1978–1986
	No overall control	1986–1990
	Conservative	1990–1994
	Labour	1994–1998
	No overall control	1998–2006
	Conservative	2006–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Hillingdon. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:^[14]^[15]

Councillor		From	To
Alfred Beck	Labour	1965	1968
Darrell Charles	Conservative	1968	1971
Alfred Beck	Labour	1971	1973
John Bartlett	Labour	1973	1978
John Watts	Conservative	1978	1984
Norman Hawkins	Conservative	1984	1986
No leader		1986	1990
Andrew Boff	Conservative	1990	1992
Richard Barnes	Conservative	1992	5 May 1994
Steve Panayi	Labour	5 May 1994	8 May 1994^[16]
Chris Rogers	Labour	8 May 1994^[16]	15 May 1997
Paul Harmsworth	Labour	15 May 1997	1998
Richard Barnes	Conservative	1998	2000
Ray Puddifoot	Conservative	2000	14 Jan 2021
Ian Edwards	Conservative	14 Jan 2021

Composition

Following the 2022 election and a change of allegiance in February 2024, the composition of the council was as follows:^[17]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	30
	Labour	22
	Independent	1
Total		53

The next election is due in May 2026.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 53 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[18]

Premises

The council is based at Hillingdon Civic Centre on the High Street in Uxbridge. The building was purpose-built for the council in phases between 1973 and 1978, and also incorporates an earlier building of 1939 which had been shared by Middlesex County Council and Uxbridge Urban District Council.^[19]^[20]