Rutland County Council
Rutland County Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the historic county of Rutland in the East Midlands of England. The current council was created in April 1997. The population of the council's area at the 2011 census was 37,369.
Formally it is a unitary district with the full legal title of Rutland County Council District Council, caused by a renaming of the District of Rutland using powers under section 74 of the Local Government Act 1972 at a special meeting of the council held on 1 April 1997. Although, as with other unitary councils, the council is technically a non-metropolitan district council, section 8 of the Leicestershire Order 1996 created a county covering the same area as the District of Rutland, and further provided that there would be no council for the County of Rutland.
As a unitary authority, the council is responsible for almost all local services in Rutland, with the exception of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Police, which are run by joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Leicester City Council.
History
First incarnation
Rutland County Council was first established in 1889 by the Local Government Act 1888 and ended in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, when Rutland was reconstituted as a district of Leicestershire.Second incarnation
The new unitary authority is seen as a re-creation of the original Rutland County Council. The Local Government Commission for England in 1994 recommended that Rutland District should become unitaries and leave the two-tier Leicestershire. Rutland unitary authority came into existence on 1 April 1997.Composition
The council consists of 27 councillors, representing fifteen electoral wards of the county. It has all-out elections on a four-year cycle and follows a district pattern, with elections held in May 2007, May 2011, 2015 and 2019.The ceremonial head of the council is the Chairman, and the executive follows the leader and cabinet model.
The current council is led by the Conservatives, with an opposition of independent, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors.
Current composition
Wards
The county is divided into electoral wards, returning one, two or three councillors. The previous wards were adopted for the 2003 local elections but amended before the 2019 elections.| Ward | Councillors | Description |
| Braunston & Belton | 1 | Parishes of Ayston, Belton, Braunston, Brooke, Leighfield, Preston, Ridlington and Wardley |
| Cottesmore | 2 | Parishes of Barrow, Cottesmore, Market Overton and Teigh |
| Exton | 1 | Parishes of Ashwell, Burley, Egleton, Exton, Hambleton, Horn and Whitwell |
| Greetham | 1 | Parishes of Clipsham, Greetham, Pickworth, Stretton and Thistleton |
| Ketton | 2 | Parishes of Barrowden, Ketton, Tinwell and Tixover |
| Langham | 1 | Parish of Langham |
| Lyddington | 1 | Parishes of Bisbrooke, Caldecott, Glaston, Lyddington, Seaton, Stoke Dry and Thorpe by Water |
| Martinsthorpe | 1 | Parishes of Gunthorpe, Lyndon, Manton, Martinsthorpe, Morcott, Pilton and Wing |
| Normanton | 2 | Parishes of Edith Weston, Empingham, Normanton, North Luffenham, South Luffenham |
| Oakham North East | 2 | Oakham northwest of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway |
| Oakham North West | 2 | Oakham north of Braunston Road and west of the railway, and the parish of Barleythorpe |
| Oakham South East | 2 | Oakham southeast of Burley Road/Mill Street/South Street and east of the railway |
| Oakham South West | 2 | Oakham south of Braunston Road and west of the railway |
| Ryhall & Casterton | 2 | Parishes of Essendine, Great Casterton, Little Casterton, Ryhall and Tickencote |
| Uppingham | 3 | Parishes of Uppingham and Beaumont Chase |
| Whissendine | 1 | Parish of Whissendine |
2016 EU Referendum
On 23 June 2016 Rutland voted in only the third major UK-wide referendum on the issue of the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union in the 2016 EU Referendum under the provisions of the European Union Referendum Act 2015 where voters were asked to decide on the question “Should the United Kingdom remain a member of the European Union or leave the European Union” by voting for either “Remain a member of the European Union” or “Leave the European Union”. The county produced one of the narrowest results in the country by voting to “Leave the European Union” by a majority of just 260 votes. The result went against the views of the local MP Alan Duncan who had campaigned for a "Remain" vote.The result was declared in Oakham early on 24 June 2016 by the Counting Officer, Helen Briggs.