Hackney London Borough Council, also known as Hackney Council, is the local authority for the London Borough of Hackney, in Greater London, England. The council is responsible for the provision of a range of services within the borough of Hackney. The council has been under Green Party majority control since 2026. Since 2002 the council has been led by a directly elected mayor. The council meets at Hackney Town Hall and has its main offices in the adjoining Hackney Service Centre.

History There has been a Hackney local authority since 1856 when the Hackney District was created covering the two ancient parishes of Hackney and Stoke Newington, governed by an elected board. It was one of the lower tier authorities within the area of the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London.Metropolis Management Act 1855 (18 & 19 Vict. c. 120) In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. The Hackney District was dissolved in 1894 and the vestries of each parish took on the functions previously exercised by the district board. In 1900 the lower tier of local government across London was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs, each with a borough council, including Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington.London Government Act 1899 (62 & 63 Vict. c. 14)

The London Borough of Hackney and its council were created under the London Government Act 1963, with the first election held in 1964. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities, being the councils of the three metropolitan boroughs of Hackney, Shoreditch and Stoke Newington. The new council formally came into its powers on 1 April 1965, at which point the old boroughs and their councils were abolished. The council's full legal name is "The Mayor and Burgesses of the London Borough of Hackney".

From 1965 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater London Council. The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Hackney) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection. The Greater London Council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the London Boroughs, with some services provided through joint committees. Hackney became a local education authority in 1990 when the Inner London Education Authority was dissolved.Education Reform Act 1988 (c. 40)

In the 1980s and early 1990s the left-wing Labour council clashed with the Conservative government on numerous occasions, notably during the rate-capping rebellion in 1985 and over the poll tax in 1990, with Hackney being one of the centres of the poll tax riots.

An independent inquiry in 1998 was highly critical of the council's investigations into one of its social workers, employed between 1981 and 1993, against whom a number of complaints of child sexual abuse had been made. He had been allowed to continue working. His position as a Labour activist and trade union official was said to have hindered the investigations. The social worker himself was never convicted, having died of an AIDS-related illness in 1995, but the police subsequently reported that they had been about to arrest him at the time of his death. The local Labour party split when the allegations were made public, which was a contributory factor to the council going under no overall control for a number of years in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

Since 2000 the Greater London Authority has taken some responsibility for highways and planning control from the council, but within the English local government system the council remains a "most purpose" authority in terms of the available range of powers and functions.

Former mayor Philip Glanville stood down in September 2023 after being suspended by the Labour Party when a photo emerged of him at a social event with an ex-councillor who had been convicted of possessing images sexual abuse of young children. Tom Dewey, the councillor involved, had been elected in 2022 and resigned after six days, due to his arrest. Caroline Woodley was subsequently elected in the resulting mayoral by-election in November 2023.

Powers and functions The local authority derives its powers and functions from the London Government Act 1963 and subsequent legislation, and has the powers and functions of a London borough council. It sets council tax and as a billing authority it also collects precepts for Greater London Authority functions and business rates. It sets planning policies which complement Greater London Authority and national policies, and decides on almost all planning applications accordingly. It is also the local education authority.

Political control The council has been under Green majority control since 2026.

The first election was held in 1964, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1965. Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows: (Put "Hackney" in search box to see specific results.) Party in controlYears 1965–1968 1968–1971 1971–1998 1998–2002 2002–2026 2026–

Leadership Prior to 2002, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council and the mayor was a ceremonial role. The leaders from 1965 to 2002 were:

Councillor Party From To Martin Ottolangui 1965 1968 Charles Hegerty 1968 1970 Don Bridgehouse 1970 1971 Martin Ottolangui 1971 1981 John Kotz 1981 1982 Anthony Kendall 1982 1984 Hilda Kean 1984 1985 Tony Milwood 1985 1986 Andrew Puddephat 1986 1990 John McCafferty 1990 1995 Nick Tallentire 1995 1996No leader (committees chaired by rotation) 1996 2001 Jules Pipe Jun 2001 20 Oct 2002

In 2002 the council changed to having a directly elected Mayor of Hackney with executive powers. The ceremonial functions previously exercised by the mayor are now undertaken by a speaker instead. The mayors since 2002 have been:

Mayor Party From To Jules Pipe 21 Oct 2002 20 Jul 2016 Philip Glanville 19 Sept 2016 22 Sept 2023 Caroline Woodley 10 Nov 202310 May 2026 Zoë Garbett 11 May 2026

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2014 the council has comprised the elected mayor plus 57 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Following the 2026 election, and subsequent changes the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was: Party Councillors 42 9 6 Total 57

The next full council election is due in May 2030.

Premises The council meets at Hackney Town Hall on Mare Street, which was completed in 1937 for the old Hackney Borough Council.

The council has its main offices at the Hackney Service Centre at 1 Hillman Street, immediately west of the Town Hall. The Service Centre was completed for the council in 2010.

References