Enfield London Borough Council

Enfield London Borough Council
Coat of Arms

Type
Type	London borough
Leadership
Mayor	Suna Hurman, Labour since 10 May 2023^[1]^[2]
Leader	Nesil Caliskan, Labour since 16 May 2018
Chief Executive	Ian Davis since 1 June 2017^[3]
Structure
Seats	63 councillors
Political groups	Administration (37) Labour (37) Other parties (26) Conservative (25) Independent (1)
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place

Civic Centre, Silver Street, Enfield, EN1 3XA
Website
www.enfield.gov.uk

Enfield London Borough Council, which styles itself Enfield Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Enfield 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. It is based at Enfield Civic Centre.

History

The first elected local authority for Enfield was a local board, established in 1850.^[4] Such boards were reconstituted as urban district councils under the Local Government Act 1894. Enfield was then incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1955.^[5]

The modern borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963, covering the combined area of the former Municipal Borough of Enfield, the Municipal Borough of Edmonton and the Municipal Borough of Southgate. The area was transferred from Middlesex to Greater London to become one of the 32 London Boroughs.^[6] The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Enfield".^[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 (incluing Enfield) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an outer London borough council Enfield 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]

Governance

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.^[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

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:^[12]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1965–1968
	Conservative	1968–1994
	Labour	1994–2002
	Conservative	2002–2010
	Labour	2010–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Enfield is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1965 have been:^[13]^[14]

Councillor		From	To
Ted Graham	Labour	1965	1966
Eric Smythe	Labour	1966	1968
Alan Young	Conservative	1968	1987
John Lindsay	Conservative	1987	1988
Graham Eustance	Conservative	1988	1994
Jeff Rodin	Labour	1994	1999
Doug Taylor	Labour	1999	2002
Mike Rye	Conservative	2002	26 May 2010
Doug Taylor	Labour	26 May 2010	23 May 2018
Nesil Caliskan	Labour	23 May 2018

Premises

The council is based at Enfield Civic Centre on Silver Street, which had originally been completed in 1961 for the old Enfield Borough Council. The building was later significantly extended with a 12 storey tower block, which was completed in 1975.^[15]^[16]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 63 councillors representing 25 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[17]

References

^ "Council minutes, 10 May 2023". Enfield Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ Dispatch, Enfield (26 May 2022). "New mayor and cabinet confirmed".
^ "Council minutes, 10 May 2017". Enfield Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ A History of the County of Middlesex: Volume 5. London: Victoria County History. 1976. pp. 241–243. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ "Enfield Urban District / Municipal Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ Youngs, Frederic (1979). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. Vol. I: Southern England. London: Royal Historical Society. ISBN 0-901050-67-9.
^ "Inter Authority Agreement for the Local London Partnership Programme" (PDF). Havering Council. 2023. Retrieved 9 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. Retrieved 3 March 2023.
^ "Council minutes". Enfield Council. Retrieved 30 June 2022.
^ "London Boroughs Political Almanac". London Councils. Retrieved 1 July 2022.
^ "Civic Centre address". Enfield Council. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ London's Town Halls. London: Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England. 1998. p. 57. Retrieved 6 April 2024.
^ "The London Borough of Enfield (Electoral Changes) Order 2020", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2020/1109, retrieved 6 April 2024