Thanet District Council

Thanet District Council is the local government body for the Thanet district. Its administrative centre is Margate. It is one of the district councils in Kent. On a national level, Thanet forms part of two parliamentary constituencies at Westminster and is represented in Parliament by two MPs.

History

The district was formed by the merger of:

• Margate municipal borough
• Ramsgate municipal borough
• Broadstairs urban district
• Part of Eastry Rural District.

A Thanet Rural District had existed from 1894, with the Local Government Act of the time until it was abolished in 1935 to form part of Eastry Rural District.

Responsibilities

Thanet district council is responsible for providing clear leadership to the community and to continuously improve the delivery of local services. These services include: leisure, environmental health, housing — including the provision of social housing and housing benefit, rubbish collection, and local roads. Kent County Council is responsible for more strategic services such as education, libraries, main roads, social services, trading standards and transport.

Electoral wards

The district is divided into 23 electoral wards, mainly located in the coastal resorts of Margate, Cliftonville, Broadstairs and Ramsgate.

Organisation

The powers of the council are specified in its constitution[1] in accordance with the Local Government Act 2000.

The council is a Cabinet-style council with a Leader and the Cabinet itself, which is formed by the majority party in the District. Decisions on the Council's services are made by the Executive (or cabinet) which comprises 8 councillors. Each member of the Cabinet holds a separate portfolio. The Leader and Cabinet are responsible for policies, plans and strategies, and for recommending them to the overall Council, which is convened as a whole, at regular council meetings. The full council consists of 56 councillors.

The Cabinet is held to account by the remainder of the Councillors acting as Overview and Scrutiny which verify that decisions are appropriate and can prevent a decision taking immediate effect.

Current council

Chairman:

• Councillor John Kirby [2]

Cabinet:

• Leader of Council, Cllr Sandy Ezekiel [3]
• Deputy Leader of Council, Cllr Roger Latchford [4]
• Councillor Mrs Zita Wiltshire [5]
• Councillor Christopher Wells [6]
• Councillor Joanna Gideon [7]
• Councillor Martin Wise [8]
• Councillor Shirley Tomlinson [9]

Mayors

Elected mayors are ceremonial figures whose only real power is to chair sessions of their Councils.

• Mayor of Margate: Councillor Brian Sullivan [10]
• Mayor of Ramsgate: Councillor Kay Dark [11]
• Mayor of Broadstairs: Councillor David Lawson [12]

Officers

Councillors are responsible for the appointment and oversight of officers, who are delegated to perform most tasks. The Chief Executive Officer, has overall responsibility for council employees and operates in conjunction with department heads.

• Chief Executive Officer: Richard Samuel

Parishes

The civil parishes located in the district are:

• Acol
• Birchington
• Broadstairs
• Cliffsend
• Manston
• Minster
• Monkton
• St Nicholas at Wade and Sarre

Elections and the democratic process

Elections are held every four years. The last council election took place on 3rd May 2007 and the next election is due in May 2011.

May 2007 election results

• Overall turnout: 35%.
• The Conservative Party held control of Thanet District Council with 33 seats, the Labour Party took 19 seats. There were 3 independents and 1 candidate from Ramsgate First also elected.[13] [14]

May 2003 election results

• Overall turnout: 33%
• Note: After the by-election 30/10/03 composition is now Conservative Party 30 seats, Labour Party 24 seats.
• The Conservative Party won control of Thanet District Council with a total of 31 seats, the Labour Party taking 23 seats. One Liberal Democrat candidate and one Independent candidate were elected.[15]

History of control

Election		Party
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1973	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1976
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1979
style="background-color: Template:Independent/meta/color" |	1983	Independent
	1987	No overall control
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1991	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1995	Labour
style="background-color: Template:Labour Party (UK)/meta/color" |	1999
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	2003	Conservative
style="background-color: Template:Conservative Party (UK)/meta/color" |	2007

References

http://www.ramsgatemayor.com