Salisbury was a local government district in

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated to Wilts) is a ceremonial county in South West England. It borders Gloucestershire to the north, Oxfordshire to the north-east, Berkshire to the east, Hampshire to the south-east, Dorset to the south, and Somerset to ...

, England from 1974 to 2009. Its main urban area was the city of

Salisbury Salisbury ( , ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in Wiltshire, England with a population of 41,820, at the confluence of the rivers River Avon, Hampshire, Avon, River Nadder, Nadder and River Bourne, Wi ...

. The district was formed 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 ...

and the English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972, as a merger of the previous municipal boroughs of Salisbury and Wilton, along with Amesbury Rural District, Mere and Tisbury Rural District and Salisbury and Wilton Rural District. On 1 April 2009, the district was abolished as part of the structural changes to local government in England, when its functions were taken over by the new

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 ...

. At the same time, a parish council for Salisbury and its suburbs was formed, called Salisbury City Council.

Political control

The political control of the council was as follows: *1976–1979 NOC (no overall control) *1979–1983 NOC *1983–1987 NOC *1987–1991 Conservative *1991–1995 Conservative *1995–1999 Liberal Democrat *1999–2003 NOC *2003–2007 Conservative *2007–2009 NOC (administration by coalition of Liberal Democrat and Labour) The political composition of the authority when it came to an end on 1 April 2009 was 22 Conservatives, 19 Liberal Democrats, ten Labour members, and four Independents.

Composition

All members of the council were elected at an "all out" election held once every four years, on the first Thursday in May. ;Notes *LD is used to refer to predecessor parties, the

Liberal Party The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left. For example, while the political systems ...

and SDP–Liberal Alliance. *OTH includes small groups such as Residents' association and Independents. *Control is the party which had absolute numerical majority, rather than the party or parties that formed a coalition administration.

Wards

In 1975 a statutory instrument established the wards to be used by Salisbury District Council. These boundaries would be in use from the 1976 council elections (with some minor alternations) until 2003, when new ward boundaries came into effect. In 1998, the Local Government Commission for England began a review of ward boundaries in Salisbury district. After an initial draft proposal and a period of consultation it recommended a reduction in councillors from 58 to 55, and a redrawing of ward boundaries reducing the number to 28. Final recommendations for Salisbury were made in 1999, and were implemented under the District of Salisbury (Electoral Changes) Order 1999.The District of Salisbury (Electoral Changes) Order 1999, SI 1999/2924. The new boundaries were first used in the 2003 local elections and remained in use until 2009, when the council was dissolved.

Places

Citations

{{coord, 51.067, -1.798, display=title Politics of Salisbury English districts abolished in 2009 Former non-metropolitan districts of Wiltshire