The district of Brighton and Hove was created in 1997 as a merger of the former Borough of Brighton and Borough of Hove, both of which had been lower-tier districts with East Sussex County Council providing county-level services prior to 1997. The new district was removed from the non-metropolitan county of East Sussex to also become its own non-metropolitan county, but with no county council; instead the district council performs both district and county functions, making it a unitary authority.[4] For the purposes of lieutenancy and shrievalty, Brighton and Hove remains part of the wider ceremonial county of East Sussex.[5]
The new district was awarded borough status from its creation on 1 April 1997, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[6] The borough was additionally awarded city status on 31 January 2001, since when the council has been called Brighton and Hove City Council.[7]
In December 2023 the council leader declared that the council was facing bankruptcy.[8] The same month, two councillors, mother and daughter[9] Bharti Gajjar and Chandni Mistry, were removed from the Labour group after allegations concerning their places of residence.[10] In March 2024 Bharti Gajjar and Chandni Mistry resigned from the council.[11] They resigned shortly afterwards, leading to ward by-elections.
Governance
The council provides both district-level and county-level services. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting council tax and business rates, and it is responsible for town planning, housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, and is responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.[12] There is one civil parish in the city at Rottingdean which provides an additional tier of local government for that area; the rest of the city is an unparished area.[13]
Political control
The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.[14]
The first election to the council was held in 1996, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1997.[4] Political control of the council since 1997 has been as follows:[15][16]
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Brighton and Hove. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The first leader following the merger, Steve Bassam, had been the last leader of the old Brighton Borough Council. In 2011, Bill Randall of the Green Party was appointed leader, being the party's first council leader in the United Kingdom.[17] The leaders since the council's creation in 1997 have been:[18]
Brighton Town Hall: Used (with the adjoining Bartholomew House) for some council functions.
The council inherited Brighton Town Hall (completed 1832)[20] and the adjoining 1980s Priory House and Bartholomew House from the old Brighton Borough Council, and Hove Town Hall (completed 1974) from the old Hove Borough Council.[21]
Council meetings are generally held at Hove Town Hall, which also houses the council's main offices.[22] Brighton Town Hall and Bartholomew House continue to be used as a register office, customer service centre and additional offices.[23] Priory House was closed as council offices in 2011 and subsequently converted to residential use.[24]
Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 54 councillors representing 23 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.[25]
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