Legislative Council of Saint Helena

The Legislative Council of Saint Helena is the unicameral legislature of Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The council itself is often referred to as "LegCo" by islanders.

Legislative Council of Saint Helena
Type
Type	Unicameral
Sovereign	Monarch of the United Kingdom
Leadership
Speaker	Cyril Gunnel, Independent since 25 October 2021
Chief Minister	Julie Thomas, Independent since 25 October 2021
Structure
Seats	15
Political groups	Speaker & Deputy Speaker (2)   Independent (2) Government (5)   Independent (5) Official Opposition (7)   Independent (7) Ex officio (1)   Ex officio (1)
Elections
Voting system	Plurality block voting (12), ex officio members (1)
Last election	13 October 2021
Meeting place
Legislative Council Building, Jamestown
Website
www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/legislative-council/

The Legislative Council consists of 15 members: 12 elected members who serve a four-year term and are elected by popular vote; a Speaker and Deputy Speaker, chosen by the elected members; and one ex officio member, the Attorney General. Members of the Council use the suffix "MLC" (Member of the Legislative Council), and are sometimes referred to as Councillors.

Election summary

Main article: 2021 Saint Helena general election

The twelve elected members of the 2021-2025 Legislative Council are:^[1]

1. Julie Thomas (888 votes)
2. Andrew James Turner (834 votes)
3. Corinda Sebastiana Stuart Essex (827 votes)*
4. Martin Dave Henry (750 votes)*
5. Jeffrey Robert Ellick (688 votes)
6. Ronald Arthur Coleman (678 votes)
7. Karl Gavin Thrower (611 votes)
8. Gillian Ann Brooks (561 votes)
9. Christine Scipio-O'Dean (533 votes)*
10. Mark Alan Brooks (532 votes)
11. Robert Charles Midwinter (485 votes)
12. Rosemary June Bargo (456 votes)

An asterisk (*) denotes a sitting incumbent MLC who was duly re-elected.

Electoral divisions

Saint Helena is divided into eight districts,^[2] each with a community centre. The districts also serve as statistical subdivisions and electoral areas. Currently, all twelve elected MLCs represent the entire island as a single constituency. Previously, there were two constituencies (electoral districts) – "the East" and "the West", and each constituency had six Elected Members. Prior to that there were eight constituencies. The four most populated districts (i.e., Half Tree Hollow, Jamestown, Longwood, and St Paul's) each sent two representatives to the Legislative Council. The remaining districts (i.e., Alarm Forest, Blue Hill, Levelwood, and Sandy Bay) sent one representative each.^[3]

Districts of Saint Helena

Electoral districts of Saint Helena

District	Area	Pop. (1998)	Pop. (2008)[4]	Pop. 2016[5]	Pop. density (km2, 2016)
Alarm Forest	5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi)	289	276	383	70.4
Blue Hill	36.8 kilometres (22.9 mi)	177	153	158	4.3
Half Tree Hollow	1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi)	1,140	901	984	633.2
Jamestown	3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi)	884	716	629	161.9
Levelwood	14.8 kilometres (9.2 mi)	376	316	369	25.0
Longwood	33.4 kilometres (20.8 mi)	960	715	790	23.6
Sandy Bay	16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi)	254	205	193	12.0
Saint Paul's	11.4 kilometres (7.1 mi)	908	795	843	74.0

Speakers of the Legislative Council

• John Wainwright Newman (?–?)
• Eric W. George (?–2008)
• Margaret Anne Catherine Hopkins (2008–2013)
• Eric Benjamin (24 July 2013–2021)
• Cyril Gunnell (25 October 2021–present)

See also

• Ascension Island Council
• Tristan da Cunha Island Council

References

1. "General Election 2021 – The Results". St. Helena Government.
2. St Helena Independent, 3 October 2008 page 2
3. "The Parliament of St Helena – A peep into St Helena's evolving systems of government. (page 14)" (PDF). South Atlantic Media Services, Ltd. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
4. "2008 Population Census of St Helena" (PDF). St Helena Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
5. "Census 2016– Summary Data". St Helena Government. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.