Slough Borough 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

Borough of Slough The Borough of Slough is a Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county of Berkshire, Southern England. It is governed by Slough Borough Council. The borough ...

Berkshire Berkshire ( ; abbreviated ), officially the Royal County of Berkshire, is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Oxfordshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the north-east, Greater London ...

, England.

Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...

has had an elected council since 1863, which has been reformed several times. Since 1998 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 ...

. 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 2023, being led by a

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

minority administration. It is based at Observatory House in the town centre.

History

Slough's first local authority was a

local board A local board of health (or simply a ''local board'') was a local authority in urban areas of England and Wales from 1848 to 1894. They were formed in response to cholera epidemics and were given powers to control sewers, clean the streets, regulat ...

, established in 1863. Such boards were reconstituted as urban district councils in 1894. The urban district boundaries were enlarged several times, notably in 1930 when it absorbed areas including Langley and Cippenham. In 1938 the 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 ...

. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Slough', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. The municipal borough was abolished in 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 ...

. It was replaced by a slightly larger

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 ...

of Slough, which covered the old borough plus the Britwell and Wexham Court areas, and was transferred from

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...

to Berkshire. Slough's borough status was transferred to the new district, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Slough's series of mayors dating back to 1938. From 1974 until 1998, Slough Borough Council was a lower-tier authority, with Berkshire County Council providing county-level services in the borough. The borough was enlarged in 1995 to take in Colnbrook with Poyle. Berkshire County Council was abolished in 1998. Slough Borough Council then became a

, taking over the former county council's functions in the borough.

Governance

As a unitary authority, Slough Borough Council provides both district-level and county-level functions. There are three

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 the borough at Britwell, Colnbrook with Poyle, and Wexham Court, which form an additional tier of local government for their area. The rest of the borough is unparished.

Political control

Since the 2023 election the council has been under

, being led by the

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

with support from the Liberal Democrats. Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: (Put "Slough" in search box to see specific results.) Lower-tier non-metropolitan district Unitary authority

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Slough 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 2001 have been:

Composition

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

Bankruptcy (2021)

On 2 July 2021, Slough Borough Council issued a notice under Section 114 of the Local Government Finance Act 1988, having the effect of preventing any new expenditure on non-statutory services, after serious financial problems had been identified. In October 2021, the government announced plans to appoint external commissioners to help run the council after a series of reports highlighted major problems at the local authority.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 42

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 21 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council is based at Observatory House at 25 Windsor Road in the town centre. It was built in the 1990s as commercial offices. The council bought the building in July 2018 for a reported £41.3 million and converted it to become their offices and meeting place, with the first council meetings in the building being held in September 2019. The council was previously based at Slough Town Hall at 19 Bath Road, which was built in 1937 and served as the council's headquarters until 2011. The council was then temporarily based at St Martin's Place at 51 Bath Road from 2011 to 2019, holding meetings at various venues in the town whilst looking for a new home closer to the town centre. In February 2025, the Council announced it was putting the St Martin's Place office complex up for sale.

References

{{Authority control Government and politics of Slough Unitary authority councils of England Leader and cabinet executives Local education authorities in England Local authorities in Berkshire Billing authorities in England