Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council, also known as Barking and Dagenham Council, is the local authority for the

London Borough of Barking and Dagenham The London Borough of Barking and Dagenham () is a London boroughs, London borough in East London. The borough was created in 1965 as the London Borough of Barking; the name was changed in 1980. It is an Outer London borough and the south is wi ...

Greater London Greater London is an administrative area in England, coterminous with the London region, containing most of the continuous urban area of London. It contains 33 local government districts: the 32 London boroughs, which form a Ceremonial count ...

, England. It is a

London borough council The London boroughs are the current 32 local authority districts that together with the City of London make up the administrative area of Greater London, England; each is governed by a London borough council. The present London boroughs were ...

, one of 32 in the United Kingdom capital of

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. It provides a broad range of local government services including Council Tax billing, libraries, social services, processing planning applications, waste collection and disposal, and it is a local education authority. The council has been under Labour majority control since its creation in 1965. The council was created by the London Government Act 1963 as the Barking London Borough Council and replaced two local authorities: Barking Borough Council and Dagenham Borough Council. The council was renamed on 1 January 1980. It is based at

Barking Town Hall Barking Town hall is a municipal building in Clockhouse Avenue, Barking, London, England. The town hall, which is the headquarters of Barking and Dagenham London Borough Council, is a locally listed building. History The building was commission ...

in the centre of

Barking Barking may refer to: Places * Barking, London, a town in East London, England ** London Borough of Barking, 1965–1980 ** Municipal Borough of Barking, 1931–1965 ** Barking (UK Parliament constituency) ** Barking (electoral division), Greater ...

History

The London Borough of Barking (as it was originally named) and its council were created under the

London Government Act 1963 The London Government Act 1963 (c. 33) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which created Greater London and a new local government structure within it. The Act significantly reduced the number of local government districts in the ...

, with the first election held in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's two outgoing authorities, being the

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

councils of

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Fo ...

and

. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. The pre-1965 borough of Barking had evolved from the Barking Town

local government district Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

, which had been created in 1882 covering the central part of the parish of

. The district was governed by an elected local board. Such districts were reconstituted as

urban district An urban district is a division generally managed by a local government. It may also refer to a city district, district, urban area or quarter Specific urban districts in some countries include: * Urban districts of Denmark * Districts of Germa ...

s under the

Local Government Act 1894 The Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales outside the County of London. The act followed the reforms carried out at county leve ...

, which saw the board replaced by an urban district council. The Barking Town Urban District was incorporated to become a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

in 1931, at which point the name was changed from Barking Town to Barking. Neighbouring

was a

rural parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, wh ...

with a parish council from 1894, subordinate to the

Romford Rural District Council Romford Rural District was a local government district in southwest Essex, England from 1894 to 1934. It surrounded, but did not include, Romford which formed a separate urban district.Vision of Britain �Romford RD Greater London Council The Greater London Council (GLC) was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council (LCC) which had covered a much smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 198 ...

. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the borough councils (including Barking and Dagenham) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. As an

outer London Outer London is the group of London boroughs that form a ring around Inner London. Together, the inner and outer boroughs form London, the capital city of the United Kingdom. The population at the 2021 Census was 5,395,500, which means over 60% o ...

borough council Barking and Dagenham has been a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

since 1965. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Since 2000 the

Greater London Authority The Greater London Authority (GLA), colloquially known by the Metonymy, metonym City Hall, is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved Regions of England, regional governance body of Greater London, England. It consists of two political ...

has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Powers and functions

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority also collects precepts for

functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is a

and is also responsible for

council housing Public housing in the United Kingdom, also known as council housing or social housing, provided the majority of rented accommodation until 2011, when the number of households in private rental housing surpassed the number in social housing. D ...

, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

Political control

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Labour have held a majority of the seats on the council since its creation. (Put "Barking & Dagenham" in search box to see specific results.)

Leadership

Political leadership is provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Barking and Dagenham. The leaders since 1965 have been:

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022 the council has comprised 51

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 19

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. Following the 2022 election and a subsequent change of allegiance in December 2022, the composition of the council was: By-elections were held on: * 28 November 2024 to replace Darren Rodwell (Abbey) and

Margaret Mullane Margaret Mullane is a British Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dagenham and Rainham since 2024. She succeeded Jon Cruddas who decided not to run for re-election in 2022, whom she worked for as office ma ...

(Village) who resigned, and Lee Waker (Village) who died. * 20 February 2025 for one seat in the Whalebone ward. All these seats were won by the Labour party. The next full election is due in 2026.

Premises

The council is based at

in Town Square. The building was purpose-built for the old Barking Borough Council and was completed in 1958. Dagenham Civic Offices - geograph

The council also inherited from the old Dagenham Borough Council the

Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

, which had been built in 1936, in the

Becontree Heath Becontree Heath (also spelt Beacontree Heath) is an open space in the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. The name has also been applied to the local area, in particular to the RM postcode area, RM8 postal district. History Becontree Heath f ...

area of Dagenham. After the council consolidated its functions at Barking Town Hall, the Dagenham building was disused by the council in 2017 and converted to become a campus of CU London, a higher education institute run by

Coventry University Coventry University is a Public university, public research university in Coventry, England. The origins of Coventry University can be linked to the Coventry School of Art and Design, Coventry School of Design in 1843. It was known as Lancheste ...

References

{{Local authorities in London Local authorities in London London borough councils Politics of the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England