The Borough of Kettering was from 1974 to 2021 a

local government district The districts of England (also known as local authority districts or local government districts to distinguish from unofficial city districts) are a level of subnational division of England used for the purposes of local government. As the st ...

and

borough A borough is an administrative division in various 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 In the Middle ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authorities: North Northamptonshire and West Northamptonshire. It is ...

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

. It was named after its main town

Kettering Kettering is a market and industrial town in North Northamptonshire, England. It is located north of London and north-east of Northampton, west of the River Ise, a tributary of the River Nene. The name means "the place (or territory) of ...

where the council was based. It bordered onto the district of Harborough in the neighbouring county of Leicestershire, the borough of

Corby Corby is a town in North Northamptonshire, England, located north-east of Northampton. From 1974 to 2021, the town served as the administrative headquarters of the Borough of Corby. At the 2011 Census, the built-up area had a population of ...

, the district of

East Northamptonshire East Northamptonshire was from 1974 to 2021 a local government district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council was based in Thrapston and Rushden. Other towns include Oundle, Raunds, Irthlingborough and Higham Ferrers. The town of Rushde ...

, the district of

Daventry Daventry ( , historically ) is a market town and civil parish in the West Northamptonshire unitary authority in Northamptonshire, England, close to the border with Warwickshire. At the 2021 Census Daventry had a population of 28,123, making ...

and the borough of Wellingborough.

Abolition and replacement

In March 2018, following suspension of the County Council arising from its becoming insolvent, due to financial and cultural mismanagement by the cabinet and officers, the then Secretary of State for Local Government,

Sajid Javid Sajid Javid (; born 5 December 1969) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from June 2021 to July 2022, having previously served as Home Secretary from 2018 to 2019 and Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

, sent commissioner Max Caller into the council, who recommended the county council and all district and borough councils in the county be abolished, and replaced by two

unitary authorities A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governm ...

, one covering the West, and one the North of the county. These proposals were approved in April 2019. It meant that the districts of

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...

and

South Northamptonshire South Northamptonshire was, from 1974 to 2021, a district in Northamptonshire, England. Its council was based in the town of Towcester, first established as a settlement in Roman Britain. The population of the Local Authority District Council in ...

were merged to form a new unitary authority called

West Northamptonshire West Northamptonshire is a unitary authority area covering part of the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, created in 2021. By far the largest settlement in West Northamptonshire is the county town of Northampton. Its other signific ...

, whilst the second unitary authority

North Northamptonshire North Northamptonshire is one of two local authority areas in Northamptonshire, England. It is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area forming about one half of the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Northampto ...

consists of

, Kettering and

Wellingborough Wellingborough ( ) is a large market and commuter town in the unitary authority area of North Northamptonshire in the ceremonial county of Northamptonshire, England, 65 miles from London and from Northampton on the north side of the River ...

districts. These new authorities came into being on 1 April 2021. Elections for the new authorities were due to be held on 7 May 2020, but were delayed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

Settlements and parishes

Other than Kettering itself, the borough included: * Ashley * Barton Seagrave,

Brampton Ash Brampton Ash is a civil parish and village in Northamptonshire, England. It lies in the extreme north-west of Northamptonshire and the nearest urban settlements are the nearby towns of Corby, Kettering, Desborough and Market Harborough. R ...

, Braybrooke, Broughton, Burton Latimer * Cranford, Cransley *

Desborough Desborough is a town in Northamptonshire, England, lying in the Ise Valley between Market Harborough and Kettering. It was an industrial centre for weaving and shoe-making in the 19th century and had a long association with the Co-operativ ...

, Dingley * Geddington,

Grafton Underwood Grafton Underwood is a village and civil parish in North Northamptonshire, England. At the time of the 2001 census, the parish's population was 134 people, increasing to 146 at the 2011 census. The village was used in Helen Fielding's Bridget J ...

Harrington Harrington (or Harington) may refer to: People as a surname * Harrington (surname) People as a forename * Arthur Raikes (Arthur Edward Harington Raikes, 1867–1915), British army officer *Charles Harrington Elster, American writer *Edward Josep ...

* Loddington * Mawsley Village *

Newton and Little Oakley Newton most commonly refers to: * Isaac Newton (1642–1726/1727), English scientist * Newton (unit), SI unit of force named after Isaac Newton Newton may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Newton'' (film), a 2017 Indian film * Newton ...

* Orton * Pytchley * Rothwell, Rushton * Stoke Albany,

Sutton Bassett Sutton Bassett is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England, in the Welland valley. It was formerly in the Corby Hundred but has been part of the Stoke Hundred (named after Stoke Albany village). The village's name means 'Sou ...

* Thorpe Malsor * Warkton,

Weekley Weekley is a small village and civil parish in the English county of Northamptonshire, on the outskirts of Kettering. The village's name probably means, 'wood/clearing by the Romano-British vicus', a trading settlement. There are two known ...

, Weston by Welland, Wilbarston

Political control

It composed of 36 local councillors and most recently controlled by the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization i ...

, who controlled the Council since the 2003 local elections, where they gained control from Labour with a majority of 15.

History

2003 File:2003 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The crew of STS-107 perished when the Space Shuttle Columbia Space Shuttle Columbia disaster, disintegrated during reentry into Atmosphere of Earth, Earth's atmosphere; SARS became an 2002– ...

-Present:

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

controlled * 2001-

-: Labour controlled (due to a by-election gain in St. Michael's Ward) *

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school s ...

-2001: No Overall Control ( Labour minority administration) * 1995-

: Labour controlled * 1987-1995: No Overall Control * 1983-1987:

controlled * 1973-1983: No Overall Control

Arms

References