Court of Common Council

The Court of Common Council is the primary decision-making body of the City of London Corporation. It meets nine times per year. Most of its work is carried out by committees. Elections are held at least every four years. It is largely composed of independent members although the number of Labour Party Common Councilmen in 2017 grew to five out of a total of 100.^[1] In October 2018, the Labour Party gained its sixth seat on the Common Council with a by-election victory in Castle Baynard ward.^[2] The most recent election was in 2022.

The Common Council Chamber at the Guildhall, pictured in 1808

History

See also: Wards of the City of London

The first common council was elected in 1273, with 40 members. In 1347 the number was increased to 133, and from later in the same century (it is stated to have been during the reign of King Edward III) it was increased to 206. The members were elected annually in December.^[3]

The council now has 100 members, and is elected every fourth year. Between 2004 and 2009 elections were held on the second Friday in March. Since 2013 they have been held on either the third or fourth Wednesday in March.^[4]

Court of Common Council elected in March 2022 or subsequently in by-elections

Main article: 2022 City of London Corporation election

Map of the results of the City of London Corporation election, 2022. Each ward has several circles, each representing an elected councillor. Circles are coloured by party affiliation of those elected, and the vote share which these poll-toppers received. Results of subsequent by-elections are not shown.

Ward	Councillors elected	Party
Aldersgate (6)	Helen Fentimen OBE JP	Labour
	Stephen Goodman OBE	Labour
	Annet Rideg	Ind.
	Naresh Sonpar	Ind.
	Deborah Oliver TD	Ind.
	Randall Anderson	Ind.
Aldgate (5)	Andrien Meyers	Ind.
	Timothy McNally	Ind.
	David Sales	Ind.
	Mandeep Thandi	Ind.
	Shailendra Umradia	Ind.
Bassishaw (2)	Madush Gupta	Ind.
	Ian Bishop-Laggett	Ind.
Billingsgate (2)	Luis Tilleria	Ind.
	Nighat Qureishi	Ind.
Bishopsgate (6)	Simon Duckworth OBE DL	Ind.
	Wendy Hyde	Ind.
	Shravan Joshi MBE	Ind.
	Andrew Mayer	Ind.
	Benjamin Murphy	Ind.
	Tom Sleigh	Ind.
Bread Street (2)	Hon. Emily Benn	Ind.
	Dr Giles Shilson	Ind.
Bridge (2)	Keith Bottomley	Ind.
	Hugh Selka	Ind.
Broad Street (3)	Christopher Hayward	Ind.
	Shahnan Bakth	Ind.
	Antony Manchester	Ind.
Candlewick (2)	James St John Davis	Ind.
	Christopher Boden	Ind.
Castle Baynard (8)	Henrika Priest	Ind.
	Mary Durcan JP	Ind.
	Alpa Raja	Ind.
	Graham Packham	Ind.
	Catherine McGuinness CBE	Ind.
	John Griffiths	Ind.
	Glen Witney	Ind.
	Michael Hudson	Ind.
Cheap (3)	Tijs Broeke	Ind.
	Nicholas Bensted-Smith JP	Ind.
	Alastair Moss	Ind.
Coleman Street (4)	Sophie Fernandes	Ind.
	Dawn Wright	Ind.
	Andrew McMurtrie JP	Ind.
	Michael Cassidy CBE	Ind.
Cordwainer (3)	Jamel Banda	Ind.
	Michael Snyder	Ind.
	Amy Horscroft	Ind.
Cornhill (3)	Joanna Abeyie MBE	Ind.
	Peter Dunphy	Ind.
	Ian Seaton MBE	Ind.
Cripplegate (8)	Natasha Lloyd-Owen	Labour
	Anne Corbett	Labour
	Elizabeth King BEM JP	Ind.
	Frances Leach	Labour
	Paul Singh	Ind.
	Ceri Wilkins	Ind.
	Dawn Frampton	Ind.
	Jacqueline Webster	Labour
Dowgate (2)	Henry Pollard	Ind.
	Mark Wheatley	Ind.
Farringdon Within (8)	John Edwards	Ind.
	Ann Holmes	Ind.
	Brendan Barns	Ind.
	Matthew Bell	Ind.
	John Foley	Ind.
	Eamonn Mullally	Ind.
	Florence Keelson-Anfu	Ind.
	(vacant as of May 2024[update])
Farringdon Without (10)	John Absalom	Temple and Farringdon Together
	George Abrahams	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Gregory Lawrence	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Edward Lord OBE JP	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Paul Martinelli	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Wendy Mead OBE	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Ruby Sayed	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Oliver Sells KC	Temple and Farringdon Together
	William Upton KC	Temple and Farringdon Together
	Suzanne Ornsby KC	Temple and Farringdon Together
Langbourn (3)	Judith Pleasance	Ind.
	Timothy Butcher	Ind.
	Philip Woodhouse	Ind.
Lime Street (4)	Dominic Christian	Ind.
	Irem Yerdelen	Ind.
	Henry Colthurst	Ind.
	Anthony Fitzpatrick	Ind.
Portsoken (4)	John Fletcher	Ind.
	Munsur Ali	Ind.
	Jason Pritchard	Ind.
	Henry Jones MBE	Ind.
Queenhithe (2)	Brian Mooney BEM	Ind.
	Caroline Haines	Ind.
Tower (4)	Marianne Fredericks	Ind.
	James Tumbridge	Ind.
	Aaron D'Souza	Ind.
	Jason Groves	Ind.
Vintry (2)	Rehana Ameer	Ind.
	Jaspreet Hodgson	Ind.
Walbrook (2)	James Thomson	Ind.
	Alethea Silk	Ind.

References

1. "Committee details - Court of Common Council". democracy.cityoflondon. City of London. 28 October 2017. Retrieved 28 October 2017.
2. Natasha Lloyd-Owen wins Castle Baynard by-election citymatters.london
3. "The City Wardmotes". The Times. No. 36958. London. 23 December 1902. p. 9.
4. Wardmote Book (PDF). City of London. 2022. p. 2. Retrieved 18 September 2024.