The East Riding was one of the traditional subdivisions of the historic county of Yorkshire. From the middle ages the quarter sessions were held separately for each of Yorkshire's three ridings, and from 1660 there was a Lord Lieutenant of the East Riding of Yorkshire. Elected county councils were established in 1889 to take over the administrative functions previously exercised by unelected magistrates at the quarter sessions. East Riding County Council was therefore created and the East Riding became an administrative county, whilst remaining part of the wider judicial and shrieval county of Yorkshire.[3] East Riding County Council based itself in Beverley, where it built County Hall in 1891.[4]
The East Riding was abolished as an administrative area in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, with most of its area passing to a new county called Humberside.[5]
Just 22 years later, in 1996, Humberside was abolished and its area was split into four districts, one of which is called East Riding of Yorkshire. Each of the four districts is legally both a non-metropolitan district and a non-metropolitan county but with no separate county council, instead having the district council also perform county functions. The district of East Riding of Yorkshire covers a slightly different area to the pre-1974 administrative county; notably the modern district includes the area around Goole which was in the West Riding prior to 1974, but excludes some northern and western parts of the pre-1974 administrative county, including the towns of Filey and Norton-on-Derwent, which had been transferred to North Yorkshire in 1974.[6] A ceremonial county called East Riding of Yorkshire was established at the same time, with the position of Lord Lieutenant that had been abolished in 1974 being re-created. The ceremonial county covers a larger area than the district, also including the neighbouring city of Kingston upon Hull.[7][8]
Governance
The council provides both district-level and county-level functions.[9] The whole district is also covered by civil parishes, which form a second tier of local government for their areas.[10]
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election, being run by a Conservative minority administration.[11]
The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially acting as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1996.[6] Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:[12][13]
Following the 2023 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was as follows:[19][20][21][22]
Seven of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group", the other three do not form part of a group.[23] The next election is due in 2027.
Premises
Council's offices in Goole, formerly the headquarters of Boothferry Borough CouncilCouncil's offices in Skirlaugh, formerly the headquarters of Holderness Borough Council
The council's headquarters are at County Hall in Beverley, which was completed in 1891 for the old East Riding County Council and served as the headquarters of Humberside County Council between 1974 and 1996.[4] The council has several other offices around the district, including some inherited from the pre-1996 district councils, being the Boothferry Borough Council offices in Goole, the East Yorkshire District Council offices at Bridlington Town Hall, and the Holderness Borough Council offices at Skirlaugh.[24]
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2003 the council has comprised 67 councillors representing 26 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors.[25]
