Slough Borough Council
Slough Borough Council is the local authority for the Borough of Slough, in the South East England Region of the United Kingdom.
This article deals mainly with the unitary authority which was first elected, on a shadow basis, in 1997. It became the local authority for Slough on 1 April 1998. For some information about earlier Slough local authorities see Slough, Slough local elections and List of Mayors of Slough.
Slough Local Board of Health was established in 1863, becoming an urban sanitary authority in 1875. The local board was replaced by Slough Urban District Council formed in 1894 under the Local Government Act 1894. The council was granted a royal charter of incorporation as a municipal borough in 1938, becoming the Corporation of Slough or Slough Corporation. It was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, and replaced by Slough Borough Council.
Membership by party after each election 1997-2008
Current council composition- Labour- 33
- Conservative- 8
- UKIP- 1
Officeholders
Mayors of Slough from 1997
Deputy Mayors of Slough from 1997
Leaders of the Council from 1997
Deputy Leaders of the Council from 2001
Council Cabinet Members from 1999
The cabinet system was introduced on 21 September 1999, to replace the traditional committee based methods of running local government.Council Cabinet Chairs
- John J. Connolly appointed to Cabinet 21 September 1999, elected Chair 13 October 1999
- Robert Anderson appointed to Cabinet 22 June 2001, elected Chair 28 June 2001
- Richard Stanley Stokes appointed to Cabinet 6 July 2004, elected Chair 15 July 2004
- Robert Anderson appointed to Cabinet 15 May 2008, elected Chair 2008
- David Edward Mansell 13 October 1999
- Muriel Douglas Gilmour 20 May 2002
- office abolished 2004
- Mewa Singh Mann 13 October 1999
- Rajinder Singh Sandhu 20 May 2002
- office abolished 2004
- Shafiq Ahmed Chaudhry 15 May 2008
- Robert Anderson 13 October 1999
- George Henry Davidson 22 June 2001
- office abolished 2004
- Ronald William Sibley 13 October 1999
- Nigel Ian Rushby 20 May 2002
- James Charles Robert Swindlehurst 19 May 2003
- office abolished 2004
- David John Munkley 24 June 2004
- Sukhjit Kaur Dhaliwal 15 May 2008
- Sat Pal Singh Parmar 15 May 2008
- Robert Anderson 15 May 2008
- Arvind Singh Dhaliwal 20 May 2002
- office abolished 2004
- Christine Small 15 May 2008
- Michael Anthony Haines 24 June 2004
- Mohammed Latif Khan 24 June 2004
- Julia Thomson Long 19 May 2005
- office abolished 2008
- Lydia Emelda Simmons 20 May 2002
- office abolished 2004
- James Swindlehurst 15 May 2008
- Patricia Josephine O'Connor 15 May 2008
- Fiza Ahmed Matloob 12 May 2009
- Balvinder Singh Bains 15 May 2008
- Dexter Jerome Smith 24 June 2004
- office abolished 2008
- John William Edwards 24 June 2004
- Duncan Peter Buchanan 19 May 2005
- John William Edwards 18 May 2006
- office abolished 2008
- Robert Anderson 20 May 2002
- William Geoffrey Howard 24 June 2004
- office abolished 2008
- Lydia Emelda Simmons 13 October 1999
- office abolished 2002
- Derek Ernest Cryer 24 June 2004
- office abolished 2008
- Sean Patrick Wright 24 June 2004
- office abolished 2008
Committee Chairs 1999-2006
- Rajinder Singh Sandhu 12 November 2001
- Joginder Singh Bal 20 June 2002
- Pervez Choudhry 2003
- Paul Janik 2 August 2004
- Duncan Peter Buchanan 2 August 2004
- Kevin Charles Pond 23 June 2005
- K.I. Williams 1 November 1999
- Dennis McCarthy 25 May 2000 died 11 September 2002
- Simon Ashley George 1 October 2002
- Balwinder Singh Dhillon 28 July 2004 resigned 9 August 2004
- Patrick Shine 26 August 2004
- Fiza Ahmed Matloob 15 May 2008
- Donald Arthur Hewitt 5 October 1999
- Gurmej Singh Sandhu 25 June 2001
- Ronald William Sibley 6 June 2002
- David Ian MacIsaac 21 July 2004
- Steven John Burkmar 16 June 2005
- Miss E.G. Rogers 14 October 1999
- William Geoffrey Howard 25 May 2000
- Donald Arthur Hewitt 2 July 2001
- Joginder Singh Bal 2003
- Robert Anderson 27 July 2004
- Rev. Paul Lipscomb 8 June 1999
- Notes:-
- Janik and Buchanan were tied 4:4 when the Committee tried to elect a Chair. It was agreed they would chair alternate meetings but the Committee were unable to decide which should preside first. On 11 August 2004 the Committee elected Buchanan as sole Chair.
- By statute this Committee is required to include some non members of the Council, such as the Chair.
Group leaders from 1997
Wards of Slough
Slough was first warded for the 1930 Slough Council election, when seven wards began to be used; Burnham, Central, Chalvey, Farnham, Langley, Stoke and Upton. Before the 1950 Slough Council election Burnham, Central, Farnham and Stoke were divided into North and South parts, making a total of eleven wards.In 1973 the expanded Slough district acquired two more wards, Britwell and Wexham Court. The existing wards were not then redistributed but the number of seats was varied from the previous three each, so that wards returned between two and nine Councillors.
For the 1983 Slough Council election there was a re-warding which created thirteen three-member wards. With the latest extension of the Borough in 1995 the new parish of Colnbrook with Poyle became the single-member Borough ward of Colnbrook & Poyle. Colnbrook & Poyle was given a second seat for the 1997 Slough Council election.
The thirteen wards established in 1983, plus Colnbrook with Poyle, were the wards used by the unitary authority between 1997 Slough Council election and 2003 Slough Council election.
For 2004 Slough Council election the Borough was re-warded. There continue to be fourteen wards, but only Colnbrook with Poyle and Haymill had unchanged boundaries.
Brief notes on the individual wards used since 1997.
Baylis was a former three-member ward in the north of the Borough, to the south of Stoke. It was named after Baylis House and the estate of Baylis, which from the sixteenth century was a sub-division of the parish of Stoke Poges. This was a safe Labour ward, which only elected Labour Councillors throughout its existence.
Councillors by Party: 3 Labour.
Baylis & Stoke is a three-member ward in the north of the Borough. It broadly combined the former Baylis and Stoke wards. The Liberal Democrats, building on the Liberal tradition of the former Stoke ward, won all three seats in 2004. Councillors by Party: 3 Liberal Democrats; 2 Liberal Democrats, 1 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrats; 3 Labour.
Britwell is a three-member ward in the north-west of the Borough. It includes Britwell parish, although since 1983 some unparished territory was added. Britwell had elected some Liberal Councillors in the 1980s but was otherwise safely Labour until 2000. Since then Britwellian and Independent Britwellian Residents Councillors have become increasinhly successful. In 1997 Labour won all three seats, but in 2004 the Residents took the three seats. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Britwellian; 2 Britwellian, 1 Labour; 2 Independent Britwellian Residents, 1 Labour; 3 Independent Britwellian Residents.
Central has had different boundaries during the three redistributions in which it has existed, but it has always been a three-member ward with Wexham to the north, Langley to the east, Upton to the south, Chalvey to the south-west and Baylis & Stoke to the west. It was part of the original parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, although the hamlet of Slough was smaller than the villages of Upton and Chalvey until the Great Western Railway arrived in the 1840s. It was a safe Labour ward under the 1983 boundaries, but in 2004 the Conservatives won two of the three seats of the revised ward. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour; 2 Conservative, 1 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Conservative.
Chalvey, is a three-member ward. It was part of the ancient parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey and was an original ward of Slough. The ward has existed in some form continuously since 1930. Before 1970 Chalvey was Conservative but since then it has been safely Labour. The Liberal Democrats came within ten votes of winning a seat in the ward in 2004. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour.
Cippenham was a three-member ward in the south-west of the Borough. Cippenham was a village and now is a suburb of Slough. It saw considerable population growth in the 1990s with the development of the Windsor Meadows estate. This ward formed the core of two new wards from 2004. Cippenham was one of the more politically marginal areas of Slough. It was Conservative in 1983-1984, 1987, 1992, 1999 and 2003, but went Labour in 1986, 1988-1991, 1994-1997 and 2000-2002. Councillors by Party: 2 Labour, 1 Conservative; 2 Conservative, 1 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Conservative.
Cippenham Green is a three-member ward in the south-west of the Borough. It was one of the two wards based on the old Cippenham Ward. This area is the western part of the previous ward, incorporates the old village area. In 2004 it elected 1 Conservative and 2 Labour Councillors. Councillors by Party: 2 Labour, 1 Conservative; 2 Labour, 1 UK Independence.
Cippenham Meadows is a three-member ward in the south-west of the Borough. It was one of the two wards based on the old Cippenham Ward. This area is the eastern part of the previous ward, incorporates the Windsor Meadows development area. The ward elected 3 Labour Councillors in 2004. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour.
Colnbrook & Poyle, Colnbrook with Poyle is a two-member ward in the furthest east part of the Borough between to the M4 motorway and Greater London. Labour elected some Councillors here, in 1995 and 1997, but by 2004 the ward was safely Conservative. Councillors by Party: 1 Conservative, 1 Labour; 2 Conservative.
Farnham is a three-member ward in the west of the Borough. It was named after the old Farnham Royal Parish. This is a safe Labour Ward, in 2004 as before. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour.
Foxborough is a three-member ward in south and now south-east Langley in the eastern part of the Borough. It is named after a area mentioned in connection with the inclosure of Langley Marish parish in 1809. This was the ward where the Liberal Democrats won their first election in Slough and the party held all three seats after the 2004 election. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Liberal Democrat; 3 Liberal Democrats.
Haymill is a three-member ward in the west of the Borough, which was left unchanged by the 2004 redistribution. It is a safe Liberal ward having last elected a non-Liberal Councillor in 1984. Councillors by Party: 3 Liberal.
Kedermister is a three-member ward in south-west Langley, in the eastern part of the Borough. The ward was named after Sir John Kedermister, who was Warden of Langley Park and founded some almshouses in Langley in 1617. It is a safe Labour ward. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour.
Langley St Mary's is a three-member ward in north Langley, in the eastern part of the Borough. St Mary's is named after the church in Langley. This has been a Labour/Conservative marginal ward, but in 2004 the Independent Langley Residents won two seats and tied for the third. The Conservative party gained one of the seats from the Independent Langley Residents in late 2006. Councillors by Party: 2 Labour, 1 Conservative; 2 Conservative, 1 Labour; 2 Independent Langley Residents, 1 Conservative; 2 Conservative, 1 Independent Langley Residents..
Stoke was a three-member ward in the north of the Borough, to the north of Baylis and west of Central. It was named after Stoke Poges parish. This is an area with a Liberal tradition. The Liberals held the then Stoke South ward 1973-1983 and Stoke North 1979-1983. Stoke ward was a Labour/Liberal marginal. Tight elections were common. For example, the Labour majority in 1986 was three. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Liberal; 3 Labour.
Upton, part of the original parish of Upton-cum-Chalvey, was an original ward which has existed in some form continuously since 1930. It is a three-seat ward. Upton was the most Conservative area of Slough until demographic change made Labour competitive. Labour won the ward for the first time ever in 1990. In 1997 Labour won two seats and the Conservatives one. At the 2004 election the Conservatives won all three seats, although one Councillor has since become an Independent Conservative. Councillors by Party: 2 Labour, 1 Conservative; 3 Conservative; 2 Conservative, 1 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Conservative; 3 Conservative; 2 Conservative, 1 Independent Conservative; 1 Conservative, 1 Independent Conservative, 1 Labour.
Wexham Lea is a three-member ward in the north of the Borough, to the east of Stoke and the north of Central ward. It combines Wexham Court parish and an area known as Upton Lea. The ward was formerly safely Labour but is now securely held by Independent Councillors who won all three seats in 2004. Councillors by Party: 3 Labour; 2 Labour, 1 Independent; 2 Independent, 1 Labour; 3 Independent.
Members of Slough Borough Council 1997
The 1997 Slough Council election was a whole Council election for a new authority. It was the 114th Slough General local election. Fourteen members were elected for a full four year term, fourteen members were to serve for three years and the remaining thirteen Councillors were given two year terms.Notes:
- Rogers: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Mansell: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1987
- Stokes: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Long: Formerly served as a Councillor 1976-1995
- Connolly: Formerly served as a Councillor 1972-1976
Changes 1997-1999
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Hewitt: Elected 7 December 1997 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mrs B.L. Lopez. Formerly served as a Councillor 1975-1979 and 1984-1995.
- Long: Elected 4 February 1999 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of M.G. Long. Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990.
- For full results of by-elections see Slough local elections
Elected 1999 (third of Council)
Notes:-
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Sandhu: Formerly served as a Councillor 1996-1997
- Dawson: Formerly served as a Councillor 1988-1992 and 1996-1997
- Simmons: Formerly served as a Councillor 1979-1994
- Mansell: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Jones: Formerly served as a Councillor 1973-1979
- Collins: Elected to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Mark Drapes
Elected 2000 (third of Council)
Notes:-
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Gallick: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1973-1979 and as a Liberal Councillor 1983-1984
- Stokes: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Hewitt: Formerly served as a Councillor 1975-1979 and 1984-1995
- Cryer: Formerly served as a Councillor 1967-1974
- Moore: Formerly served as a Councillor 1992-1996
- Long: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Haines: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1987-1991 and 1992-1998
Changes 2000-2001
- Howard: Left the Labour Group in 2000 to become a Conservative member
Elected 2001 (third of Council)
Notes:-
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Parmar: Formerly served as a Councillor 1995-2000
Elected 2002 (third of Council)
Notes:-
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Sandhu: Formerly served as a Councillor 1996-1997
- Simmons: Formerly served as a Councillor 1979-1994
- Mansell: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Stockton: Formerly served as a Councillor 1992-1997
- Thomas: Elected to fill a vacancy caused by the death of James Moore
Changes 2002-2003
- Wright: Changed designation from Britwellian to Independent Britwellian Residents
- Shine: Elected 18 October 2002 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Mrs Mavis Lilian Gallick
- Janik: Elected 13 February 2003 to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Dennis McCarthy
- For full results of by-elections see Slough local elections
Elected 2003 (third of Council)
Notes:-
- * Member of the Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Stokes: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Cryer: Formerly served as a Councillor 1967-1974
- Long: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Haines: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1987-1991 and 1992-1998
Members of Slough Borough Council 2004
Notes:
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrat Group
- Simmons: Formerly served as a Councillor 1979-1994
- Howard: Labour 1995-2000
- Parmar: Formerly served as a Councillor 1995-2000
- Stokes: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Cryer: Formerly served as a Councillor 1967-1974
- Long: Formerly served as a Councillor 1983-1990
- Haines: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1987-1991 and 1992-1998
- Khan: Formerly served as a Labour Councillor 1999-2002
Changes 2004-2006
- * Member of the BILLD Group
- Janik: Left the BILLD Group, re-joined and then left again
- Howard: Left the Conservative Group to become a UK Independence Party member. He was the UKIP candidate at the 2005 general election in Slough. Joined the BILLD Group.
- Dhillon: Left the Conservative Group and became an Independent Conservative Councillor
Elected 2006 (third of Council)
- * Member of the BILLD Group
Change 2006-2007
- Note:-
- Coad: Elected 16 November 2006 to fill a vacancy caused by the resignation of Pauline Florence Key.
- Dhillon: Rejoined the Conservative Group in March 2007, having previously sat as an Independent Conservative Councillor.
- Arnold: Independent Langley Residents joined the Slough Party, registered with the Electoral Commission as PPPILA, in April 2007, and ceased being part of the BILLD Group.
Elected 2007 (third of Council)
- * Member of the BILLD Group
Changes 2007-2008
Elected 2008 (third of Council)
The 2008 Slough Council election was to elect a third of the Council for a four year term and to fill a casual vacancy. It was the 123rd Slough General local election. The seats were last contested in 2004.Notes:-
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrats Group
- A.S. Dhaliwal: Formerly served 2000-2004
- Buchanan: Formerly served 2004-2006
- Stokes: Formerly a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Long: Formerly served 1983-1990
- Haines: Formerly a Labour Councillor 1987-1991 and 1992-1998
Members of Slough Borough Council as at 15 May 2008
- * Member of the Britwellian, Independent, Liberal and Liberal Democrats Group
- A.S. Dhaliwal: Formerly served 2000-2004
- Parmar: Formerly served 1995-2000
- Buchanan: Formerly served 2004-2006
- Stokes: Formerly a Labour Councillor 1983-1986
- Cryer: Formerly served 1967-1974
- Long: Formerly served 1983-1990
- Dhillon: Formerly Conservative 2004 and Independent Conservative 2004-2007.
- Bains: Formerly served 2003-2004
- Haines: Formerly a Labour Councillor 1987-1991 and 1992-1998
- Khan: Formerly a Labour Councillor 1999-2002
- Choudhry: Formerly a Labour Councillor 2002-2008. Defected 12 May 2008, shortly after being re-elected on 1 May 2008.
Current council composition (2017)
- Labour- 33
- Conservative- 8
- UKIP- 1