# Hillingdon London Borough Council

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. The council's full legal name is the "Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Hillingdon", although it styles itself Hillingdon Council.
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.
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.

## 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. 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.

## 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:
| 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:
| Councillor | Party | Party | 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 | No leader | 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 |
| Chris Rogers | | Labour | 8 May 1994 | 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:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 30 |
| | Labour | 22 |
| | Independent | 1 |
| Total | 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.

## 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.