Derby City Council is the

local authority 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 a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

for the

city A city is a human settlement of a substantial size. The term "city" has different meanings around the world and in some places the settlement can be very small. Even where the term is limited to larger settlements, there is no universally agree ...

Derby Derby ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area on the River Derwent, Derbyshire, River Derwent in Derbyshire, England. Derbyshire is named after Derby, which was its original co ...

, in the

ceremonial county Ceremonial counties, formally known as ''counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies'', are areas of England to which lord-lieutenant, lord-lieutenants are appointed. A lord-lieutenant is the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, monarch's repres ...

Derbyshire Derbyshire ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It borders Greater Manchester, West Yorkshire, and South Yorkshire to the north, Nottinghamshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south-east, Staffordshire to the south a ...

in the

East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire (except for North Lincolnshire and North East ...

region of England. Derby has had a council from medieval times, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1997 the council has been a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, being a district council which also performs the functions of a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

. Since 2024 the council has been a member of the

East Midlands Combined County Authority The East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) is a combined county authority in England. The authority covers the ceremonial counties of Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. Despite its name, the combined county authority covers only two of the ...

. The council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since 2018. Following the 2023 election a minority Labour administration formed to run the council. The council is based at the

Council House A council house, corporation house or council flat is a form of British Public housing in the United Kingdom, public housing built by Local government in the United Kingdom, local authorities. A council estate is a building complex containing ...

History

The town of Derby had been 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 ...

, with borough charters dating back to 1154. 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 under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 ( 5 & 6 Will. 4. c. 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The le ...

, governed by a corporate body called "the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Derby", generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the

Local Government Act 1888 The Local Government Act 1888 (51 & 52 Vict. c. 41) was an Act of Parliament (United Kingdom), act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established county councils and county borough councils in England and Wales. It came into effect ...

, Derby was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from

Derbyshire County Council Derbyshire County Council is the upper-tier local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includes Derby. The county council is ba ...

. In 1974 Derby was reconstituted as a

non-metropolitan district Non-metropolitan districts, or colloquially "shire districts", are a type of Districts of England, local government district in England. As created, they are sub-divisions of non-metropolitan county, non-metropolitan counties (colloquially ''s ...

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 ...

; it kept the same boundaries but became a lower-tier district council with Derbyshire County Council providing county-level services to the town for the first time. Derby retained its borough status, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Derby's series of mayors dating back to 1638. The borough of Derby was awarded city status on 7 June 1977, allowing the council to change its name to Derby City Council. In 1997, Derby City Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Derbyshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

of Derby covering the same area as the existing district, but with no separate county council; instead the existing city council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore had the effect of restoring the city council to the powers it had held when Derby was a county borough prior to 1974. Despite having been removed from the non-metropolitan county of Derbyshire (the area administered by Derbyshire County Council), the city remains part of the wider

of Derbyshire for the purposes of

lieutenancy Lieutenancy may refer to: United Kingdom Places * Lieutenancy area, a separate area appointed a lord-lieutenant, including: **Ceremonial counties of England, formally known as "counties for the purposes of the lieutenancies" **Lieutenancy areas of ...

. In 2024 a

combined county authority A combined authority (CA) is a type of local government institution introduced in England outside Greater London by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009. CAs are created voluntarily and allow a group of local aut ...

was established covering Derby,

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located south-east of Sheffield and nor ...

and

Nottinghamshire Nottinghamshire (; abbreviated ''Notts.'') is a ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. The county is bordered by South Yorkshire to the north-west, Lincolnshire to the east, Leicestershire to the south, and Derbyshire to the west. Th ...

, called the

. The combined authority is chaired by the directly elected

Mayor of the East Midlands The mayor of the East Midlands is a Combined authorities and combined county authorities, combined county authority mayor of the new East Midlands Combined County Authority (Nottinghamshire County Council, Nottinghamshire, Nottingham, Derbyshire an ...

and oversees the delivery of certain strategic functions across the area.

Governance

Derby City Council provides all local government services in the area. As a unitary authority it provides both county-level and district-level services. There are no

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 in Derby, 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 ...

Political control

The council has been under

since 2018. The council has been run by a Labour minority administration since the 2023 election. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: (Put "Derby" in search box to see specific results.) Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority

Leadership

The role of

Mayor of Derby Names of the Mayors for the Borough of Derby from the first that was chosen on 3 July 1638 by the king's charter then granted to the town. The two last bailiffs were the two first mayors, Mr Mellor being proclaimed 3 July 1638 to be the mayor u ...

is largely ceremonial. 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 1974 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

The council is based at the

on Corporation Street, which was purpose-built for the council. Construction began in 1938 but was interrupted by the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, with the building eventually being completed in 1949.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 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 18

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.

Arms

Notes

References

External links

''Derby Telegraph'' – Derby City Council in running for Council of the YearBBC News – Labour wins control of Derby City Council
{{Authority control Local authorities in Derbyshire Politics of Derby Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England Leader and cabinet executives