Derbyshire County Council

Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is based at County Hall in Matlock. Since 2017 the council has been under Conservative majority control. The council is a constituent member of the East Midlands Combined County Authority.

Derbyshire County Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan county council
Leadership
Chair	Trevor Ainsworth, Conservative since 22 May 2019[1]
Leader	Barry Lewis, Conservative since 24 May 2017[2]
Managing Director	Emma Alexander since December 2021[3]
Structure
Seats	64 councillors
Political groups	Administration (40)   Conservative (40) Other parties (24)   Labour Party (16)   Liberal Democrats (4)   Independent (3)   Green (1)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	6 May 2021
Next election	1 May 2025
Meeting place
County Hall, Smedley Street, Matlock, DE4 3AG
Website
www.derbyshire.gov.uk

History

The council was first set up in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888,^[4] covering the administrative county. It was reconstituted in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 with some adjustments to its territory, most notably gaining Derby which had previously been a county borough independent from the county council. In 1997, the city of Derby left the area covered by the council becoming a unitary authority, but the city remains part of Derbyshire for ceremonial purposes.

In 2024 a combined county authority was established covering Derbyshire, Derby, Nottingham and Nottinghamshire, called the East Midlands Combined County Authority. The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected Mayor of the East Midlands and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.^[5]

District and Borough Councils

There are eight lower tier district/borough councils within the Derbyshire Council area:^[6]

• Amber Valley Borough Council
• Erewash Borough Council
• Bolsover District Council
• Chesterfield Borough Council
• North East Derbyshire District Council
• High Peak Borough Council
• Derbyshire Dales District Council
• South Derbyshire District Council

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2017.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:^[7][8]

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1974–1977
	Conservative	1977–1981
	Labour	1981–2009
	Conservative	2009–2012
	No overall control	2012–2013
	Labour	2013–2017
	Conservative	2017–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1981 have been:^[9]

Councillor	Party		From	To
David Bookbinder[10]		Labour	1981	1992
Martin Doughty[11]		Labour	1992	2001
John Williams[12]		Labour	2001	2009
Andrew Lewer[13]		Conservative	2009	2013
Anne Western		Labour	2013	2017
Barry Lewis[14]		Conservative	24 May 2017

Composition

Since the 2021 election there have been several changes to the make up of the council. Labour won two by-elections in October 2022 and August 2023 from the Conservatives and three Conservative councillors have left the party and now sit as Independents. As of January 2025 the composition of the council was:^[15][16]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	40
	Labour	16
	Liberal Democrats	4
	Green	1
	Independent	3
Total		64

The next election is due in May 2025.

Premises

County Hall, Derby: Council's meeting place 1889–1955.

From its creation in 1889 until 1955 the council met at County Hall, Derby, which had been built in 1660.^[17][18] In 1955 the council moved to the current county hall in Matlock. This newer county hall is in a former hydrotherapy complex called Smedley's Hydro which was built in 1867.^[19]

Elections

See also: Derbyshire County Council elections

Since 2013 the council has comprised 64 councillors. Following the most recent Boundary Review, from the 2025 election each electoral division will be represented by a single councillor. Elections are held every four years.^[20]

Notable former members

• Dennis Skinner (1964–1970), later member of parliament for Bolsover
• Andrew Lewer (2005-2014 Leader 2009-2013), later member of European Parliament for East Midlands

References

1. "We appoint new Civic and Vice Civic Chairmen for year ahead". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
2. "Derbyshire County Council's new cabinet line-up announced". Derbyshire Times. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
3. Bisknell, Eddie (24 November 2021). "Derbyshire council fills leadership role paying a salary up to £176,000". Derbyshire Live. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
4. "The History". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
5. "The East Midlands Combined County Authority Regulations 2024", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2024/232, retrieved 6 May 2024
6. "District and borough councils". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
7. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
8. "Derbyshire". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 12 October 2009.
9. "Council minutes". Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
10. Hess, John (13 April 2011). "David Bookbinder sees the Labour Party as the lesser of all evils". BBC News. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
11. Hattersley, Roy (9 March 2009). "Sir Martin Doughty". The Guardian. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
12. Paget, Tim (8 November 2019). "Tributes to Staveley community champion and former Derbyshire County Council leader John Williams". Derbyshire Times. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
13. "Derbyshire election 2013: Labour wins back control". BBC News. 3 May 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
14. "Derbyshire County Council's new cabinet line-up announced". Derbyshire Times. 9 May 2017. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
15. "Long Eaton by election".
16. "Council agenda, 22 March 2023" (PDF). Derbyshire County Council. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
17. Historic England. "County Hall, Derby (1279174)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 13 August 2019.
18. "Short History of Derby UK". Archived from the original on 27 September 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
19. Roy Christian (15 August 1963). "Matlock and Matlock Bath: The Varied Fortunes of a Derbyshire Spa". Country Life. pp. 356–358. Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
20. "The Derbyshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2024", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2024/xxxx, retrieved 5 October 2024

External links

• Derbyshire County Council