# North Lincolnshire Council

North Lincolnshire Council is the local authority of North Lincolnshire, a local government district in the ceremonial county of Lincolnshire, England. The council is a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lincolnshire County Council.
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2011. It is based at Church Square House in Scunthorpe.

## History

The district of North Lincolnshire and its council were created on 1 April 1996. The new district covered the whole area of two former districts of Glanford and Scunthorpe, and part of Boothferry district, all of which were abolished at the same time. They had all been lower-tier districts within the county of Humberside prior to the 1996 reforms, with Humberside County Council providing county-level services to the area. Humberside had only been created in 1974; prior to 1974 this area had been part of Lincolnshire.
The way the 1996 changes were implemented was to create both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county called North Lincolnshire, but with no separate county council. Instead, the district council also performs the functions that legislation assigns to county councils, making it a unitary authority.
At the same time, the new district was transferred for ceremonial purposes back to Lincolnshire, but as a unitary authority the council has always been independent from Lincolnshire County Council. The district was awarded borough status with effect from 16 December 1996, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.

## Governance

As a unitary authority, North Lincolnshire provides the local government services of a non-metropolitan county council and non-metropolitan district council combined. Some functions are still delivered covering the whole of the former county of Humberside, notably the Humberside Fire and Rescue Service. Such functions are managed by joint committees of the four unitary authorities which now cover the area. Much of the borough is covered by civil parishes, which form a lower tier of local government. The only part of the borough not covered by civil parishes is Scunthorpe, which is an unparished area.

### Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1995 has been as follows:
| Party in control | Years |
| Labour | 1996–2003 |
| Conservative | 2003–2007 |
| Labour | 2007–2011 |
| Conservative | 2011–present |

### Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in North Lincolnshire. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To |
| Liz Redfern | Conservative | 2006 | 2007 |
| Mark Kirk | Labour | 2007 | 25 May 2011 |
| Liz Redfern | Conservative | 25 May 2011 | 15 Jan 2017 |
| Rob Waltham | Conservative | 16 Jan 2017 | |

### Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was:
| Party | Party | Councillors |
| | Conservative | 27 |
| | Labour | 16 |
| Total | Total | 43 |
The next election is due in 2027.

## Premises

The council is based at Church Square House in the centre of Scunthorpe.
Until 2019 the council's main offices were at Scunthorpe Civic Centre on Ashby Road. The Civic Centre had been completed in 1962 for the former Scunthorpe Borough Council. In 2019 the council extended its existing town centre office at Church Square House to become its main offices. The civic centre was then converted to become a campus of North Lindsey College, an associate college of the University of Lincoln.

## Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 43 councillors representing 19 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

### Wards and councillors

There are 19 wards, each represented by between one and three councillors. Following the 2023 election the councillors were:
| Parliamentary constituency | Ward | Councillor | Party |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme Central | David Robinson | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme Central | Tim Mitchell | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme North | John Briggs | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme North | Julie Reed | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme South | David Rose | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Axholme South | Judy Kennedy | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Brigg and Wolds | Carl Sherwood | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Brigg and Wolds | Nigel Sherwood | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Brigg and Wolds | Rob Waltham | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Broughton and Scawby | Janet Lee | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Broughton and Scawby | Carol Ross | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Burringham and Gunness | Josh Walshe | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Burton upon Stather and Winterton | Elaine Marper | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Burton upon Stather and Winterton | Helen Rowson | Conservative |
| Brigg and Goole constituency | Burton upon Stather and Winterton | Ralph Ogg | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Barton | Chris Patterson | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Barton | Keith Vickers | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Barton | Paul Vickers | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Ferry | David Wells | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Ferry | Peter Clark | Conservative |
| Cleethorpes constituency | Ferry | Richard Hannigan | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ashby Central | Mick Grant | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ashby Central | Andrea Davison | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ashby Lakeside | Max Bell | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ashby Lakeside | Judith Matthews | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Bottesford | John Davison | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Bottesford | Margaret Armiger | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Bottesford | Janet Longcake | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Brumby | Len Foster | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Brumby | Steve Swift | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Brumby | Susan Armitage | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Crosby and Park | Naseer Ahmed | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Crosby and Park | Christine O'Sullivan | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Crosby and Park | Helen Yates | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Frodingham | Darryl Southern | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Frodingham | Tony Ellerby | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens | Helen Rayner | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Kingsway with Lincoln Gardens | Tony Gosling | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Messingham | Neil Poole | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ridge | David Garritt | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Ridge | Trevor Foster | Conservative |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Town | Lorraine Yeadon | Labour |
| Scunthorpe constituency | Town | Mashook Ali | Labour |

## Arms

Coat of arms of North Lincolnshire Council :
* NotesGranted 7 September 1998 by the College of Arms.
* CrestIssuing from a mural crown Vert a Lincoln Red Bull rampant Gules supporting a blast furnace Argent enflamed Or.
* TorseArgent and Azure.
* EscutcheonOr on a fess enarched Vert between three fleurs-de-lys Gules as many cornucopiae Or replenished Proper a bordure engrailed Azure.
* SupportersDexter an angel Proper habited Argent winged and crined Or wreathed about the temples Argent and Azure about the waist a rope tied in a figure of eight knot Or holding in the exterior hand a trympet bendwise bell downwards also Or sinister a representation of John Wesley Proper habited Sable with the cuffs of his shirt and bands Argent gown hat and stockings Sable his shoes also Sable buckled Or holding in the exterior hand a Bible Proper bound Or holding in the interior hand a chain of five links also Or.