The Borough of Boston is a

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 ...

with borough status in

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (), abbreviated ''Lincs'', is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber regions of England. It is bordered by the East Riding of Yorkshire across the Humber estuary to th ...

, England. Its council is based in the town of

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

. The borough also includes numerous villages in the surrounding rural area including Wyberton, Sutterton, Algakirk and Hubberts Bridge. As well as Kirton, the only other town in the borough. The borough borders

South Holland South Holland ( ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.8 million as of January 2023 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely populated areas. ...

to the south, North Kesteven to the west, and East Lindsey to the north. To the east, it has a coast onto

the Wash The Wash is a shallow natural rectangular bay and multiple estuary on the east coast of England in the United Kingdom. It is an inlet of the North Sea and is the largest multiple estuary system in the UK, as well as being the largest natural ba ...

History

The town of

had been incorporated as an

ancient borough An ancient borough was a historic unit of lower-tier local government in England and Wales England and Wales () is one of the Law of the United Kingdom#Legal jurisdictions, three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the co ...

in 1545. It was reformed 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 1836. The modern borough was created on 1 April 1974 under the

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

, by merging the municipal borough of Boston with Boston Rural District. The new district was named Boston after its only town. Boston's borough status passed to the enlarged district from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Boston's series of mayors dating back to 1545. The borough covers the northern part of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

, one of the three traditional

Parts of Lincolnshire The three parts of the English county of Lincolnshire are or were divisions of the second-largest county in England. Similar in nature to the three ridings of Yorkshire, they existed as local government units until commencement of the Local Go ...

. Holland had been an

administrative county An administrative county was a first-level administrative division in England and Wales from 1888 to 1974, and in Ireland from 1899 until 1973 in Northern Ireland, 2002 in the Republic of Ireland. They are now abolished, although most Northern ...

between 1889 and 1974. In 2020 the council agreed to share its management and other staff with neighbouring East Lindsey District Council. South Holland District Council joined the partnership in 2021, which is now described as the "South and East Lincolnshire Councils Partnership".

Governance

Boston Borough Council provides district-level services. County-level services are provided by Lincolnshire County Council. Much of the borough is covered by

civil 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, w ...

es, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control

Since the 2023 election the council has been under the control of local party the Boston Independents. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Boston. Political leadership is instead 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 leaders since 2006 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, the composition of the council was: The Liberal Democrat and three of the independent councillors sit together as the "20-20 Independent Group". The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2015 the council has comprised 30

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 15 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. A map of the wards is available, as is a map showing the

Local Government Boundary Commission for England The Local Government Boundary Commission for England (LGBCE) is a parliamentary body established by statute to conduct boundary, electoral and structural reviews of local government areas in England. The LGBCE is independent of government and po ...

's final recommendations for ward boundaries, October 2012. The wards, and their numbers of councillors, are: *Coastal (2) *Fenside (2) *Fishtoft (3) *Five Villages (2) *Kirton and Frampton (3) *Old Leake and Wrangle (2) *Skirbeck (3) *St Thomas' (1) *Staniland (2) *Station (1) *Swineshead and Holland Fen (2) *Trinity (2) *West (1) *Witham (2) *Wyberton (2)

Premises

The council is based at the Municipal Buildings on West Street in Boston. The building was built in 1902 for the old borough council to the designs of architect James Rowell.

Parishes

Much of the borough is covered by

es, the exception being the pre-1974 municipal borough of Boston, which is an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

. The parishes are: * Algakirk * Amber Hill * Benington * Bicker * Butterwick * Fishtoft * Fosdyke * Frampton * Freiston * Holland Fen with Brothertoft * Kirton * Leverton * Old Leake * Sutterton * Swineshead * Wigtoft * Wrangle * Wyberton

2016 EU referendum

On 23 June 2016 the Borough of Boston voted in the UK-wide Referendum on membership of the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

(EU) under the provisions of the

European Union Referendum Act 2015 The European Union Referendum Act 2015 (c. 36) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that made legal provision for a consultative referendum to be held in the United Kingdom and Gibraltar, on whether it should remain a membe ...

. In a turnout of 77%, over 75% voted to leave the EU, the highest leave majority of the 382 UK voting areas. The local MP Matt Warman, a Conservative, had campaigned for a "Remain" vote.

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the Freedom of the Borough of Boston.

Individuals

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Sir Jonathan Van-Tam: 21 March 2022. * David Medlock: 17 April 2023.

Military Units

RAF Coningsby Royal Air Force Coningsby or RAF Coningsby , is a Royal Air Force (RAF) station located south-west of Horncastle, and north-west of Boston, in the East Lindsey district of Lincolnshire, England. It is a Main Operating Base of the RAF and h ...

: 16 May 1963.

Arms

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boston, Borough of Non-metropolitan districts of Lincolnshire Local government districts of the East Midlands Boroughs in England