# Lincolnshire County Council

Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire which are both unitary authorities and therefore independent from the county council.

## History

Lincolnshire was one of the historic counties of England. From the middle ages it was administered in three parts, called Holland, Kesteven and Lindsey, each of which had their own quarter sessions. From 1409 the city of Lincoln was also an independent county corporate. When elected county councils were created in 1889 taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions, each of Lincolnshire's three parts became a separate administrative county with its own county council, and Lincoln was made a county borough, maintaining its independence.
That arrangement continued until 1974 when the Local Government Act 1972 abolished Holland County Council, Kesteven County Council and Lindsey County Council and the County Borough of Lincoln, creating a Lincolnshire County Council for the first time.

## Governance

Lincolnshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils:
* Boston
* Lincoln
* East Lindsey
* North Kesteven
* South Holland
* South Kesteven
* West Lindsey
Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

### Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2017.
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| No overall control | 1974–1977 |
| Conservative | 1977–1993 |
| No overall control | 1993–1997 |
| Conservative | 1997–2013 |
| No overall control | 2013–2017 |
| Conservative | 2017–present |

### Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Anthony Thorold | Conservative | 1974 | 1981 |
| David Guttridge | Conservative | 1981 | 1987 |
| Bill Wyrill | Conservative | 1987 | 1993 |
| Rob Parker | Labour | May 1993 | May 1997 |
| Jim Speechley | Conservative | May 1997 | 13 Sep 2002 |
| Ian Croft | Conservative | 4 Oct 2002 | 18 Mar 2005 |
| Martin Hill | Conservative | Mar 2005 | |

### Composition

Following the 2021 election and changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 53 |
| | Labour | 4 |
| | Independent | 4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 3 |
| | Reform UK | 3 |
| | Lincolnshire Independent | 1 |
| | South Holland Independents | 1 |
| | Vacant | 1 |
| Total | Total | 70 |
Of the four independent councillors, three sit with the Lincolnshire Independent councillor as the "Independent Group", and one does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the county has been divided into 70 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.

## Premises

The council has its main offices and meeting place at County Offices on Newland in Lincoln. The building was built in 1926–1932 as the headquarters for the former Lindsey County Council, one of Lincolnshire County Council's predecessors.

## Chief executives

Chief executives have included:
* 1973–1979: David Drury Macklin
* 1983–1995: Robert John Dudley Proctor
* 1995–1998: Jill Helen Barrow, who was the first woman chief executive of a county council in England.
* 1999–2004: David Bowles
* 2005–2018: Tony McArdle
* 2018: Keith Ireland
* 2020–present: Debbie Barnes