Luton Borough Council, also known as Luton Council, is the local authority of Luton, in the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire, England. Luton has had an elected local authority since 1850, which has been reformed several times. Since 1997 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council.

The council went under no overall control in July 2026, having previously been under Labour majority control since 2007. A coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and some of the independent councillors subsequently formed in September 2026 to run the council. It is based at Luton Town Hall.

History Luton's first elected local authority was a local board established in 1850, prior to which the town had been administered by the parish vestry. The town became a municipal borough in 1876 governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Luton', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.

In 1964 the borough was elevated to county borough status, which saw the council take over county-level functions from Bedfordshire County Council.

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district. Between 1974 and 1997 Luton was a lower-tier district council, with Bedfordshire County Council again providing county-level services to the town.

In 1997, Luton Borough Council regained responsibility for county-level services from Bedfordshire County Council. The way this change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Luton covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. This therefore restored the borough council to the powers it had held when Luton was a county borough prior to 1974. Luton remains part of the ceremonial county of Bedfordshire for the purposes of lieutenancy.

Governance Luton Borough 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 parishes in the borough.

Political control The council went under no overall control in July 2026, when six councillors left Labour to sit as independents, depriving Labour of the majority it had held since 2007. A coalition of the Liberal Democrats, Conservatives and some of the independent councillors subsequently formed a new administration in September 2026, led by Liberal Democrat councillor Amjid Ali.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: (Put "Luton" in search box to see specific results.)

Lower-tier non-metropolitan district Party in controlYears 1974–1976 1976–1991 1991–1997

Unitary authority Party in controlYears 1997–2003 2003–2007 2007–2026 2026–present

Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Luton, with political leadership instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1976 have been:

Councillor Party From To Viv Dunington 1976 May 1991 Roy Davis May 1991 May 1999 Bill McKenzie May 1999 May 2003 David Franks 22 May 2003 May 2007 Hazel Simmons 22 May 2007 19 May 2026 Tahmina Saleem 19 May 2026 14 Sep 2026 Amjid Ali 14 Sep 2026

Composition Following the 2023 election and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to July 2026, the composition of the council was:

Seven of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Alliance Group", which forms part of the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives. The other three independents are not aligned to a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Elections are held every four years. Since the last boundary changes in 2023 there have been 48 councillors elected from 20 wards.

Wards

Barnfield Beech Hill Biscot Bramingham Central Challney Dallow Farley High Town Leagrave Lewsey Northwell Poets Round Green Saints South Stopsley Sundon Park Vauxhall Wigmore

Premises The council is based at Luton Town Hall at the head of George Street, the town centre's main street. The current building was completed in 1936, replacing an earlier town hall of 1847 on the same site. The earlier building had been destroyed in a fire in 1919 in the town's "Peace Riot" which followed the formal proclamation of peace at the end of the First World War.

NHS In July 2017 it decided to merge its health commissioning budget with the local Clinical Commissioning Group, establishing an integrated commissioning committee. It is one of the first areas which the NHS has designated an Accountable care system.

Arms

See also Politics in Luton

References

External links