Southampton - Government

Government

After the establishment of Hampshire County Council following the Act in 1888 Southampton became a County borough within the county of Hampshire,which meant that it had many features of County but the governance was shared now between the Corporation in Southampton and the new County Council. There is a great source of confusion in the fact that the ancient Shire County, along with its associated Assizes, was known as the County of Southampton or Southamptonshire. This was officially changed to Hampshire in 1959 although the county had been commonly known as Hampshire or Hantscire for centuries. Southampton became a non-metropolitan district in 1974.

Southampton as a Port and city has had a long history of administrative independence of the surrounding County; as far back as the reign of King John the town and its port were removed from the writ of the King's Sheriff in Hampshire and the rights of custom and toll were granted by the King to the burgesses of Southampton over the port of Southampton and the Port of Portsmouth; this tax farm was granted for an annual fee of £200 in the charter dated at Orival on 29 June 1199. The definition of the port of Southampton was apparently broader than today and embraced all of the area between Lymington and Langstone. The corporation had resident representatives in Newport, Lymington and Portsmouth. By a Charter of Henry VI granted on 9 March 1446/7 (25+26 Hen. VI, m. 32), the mayor, bailiffs and burgesses of the towns and ports of Southampton and Portsmouth became a County incorporate and separate from Hampshire.

The status of the town was changed by a later charter of Charles I by at once the formal separation from Portsmouth and the recognition of Southampton as a county, In the charter dated 27 June 1640 the formal title of the town became 'The Town and County of the Town of Southampton'. These charters and Royal Grants, of which there were many, also set out the governance and regulation of the town and port which remained the 'constitution' of the town until the local government organisation of the later Victorian period which from about 1888 saw the setting up of County Councils across England and Wales and including Hampshire County Council who now took on some of the function of Government in Southampton Town. In this regime, The Town and County of the Town of Southampton also became a County Borough with shared responsibility for aspects of local government. On 6 March 1964 the status changed again by a Charter of Elizabeth II,creating the City and County of the City of Southampton. The city has undergone many changes to it governance over the centuries and it once again,became administratively independent from Hampshire county as it was made into a unitary authority in a local government reorganisation on 1 April 1997—a result of the 1992 Local Government Act. The district remains part of the Hampshire ceremonial county.

Southampton City Council consists of 48 councillors, 3 for each of sixteen wards. Council elections are held in early May for one third of the seats (one councillor for each ward), elected for a four year term, so there are elections 3 years out of 4. As of the Southampton Council election, 2012 the composition of the council is:

There are three members of parliament for the city: Rt. Hon. John Denham (Labour) for Southampton Itchen, the constituency covering the east of the city; Dr. Alan Whitehead (Labour) for Southampton Test, which covers the west of the city; and Caroline Nokes (Conservative) for Romsey and Southampton North, which includes a northern portion of the city.

The city also has a mayor and sheriff in addition to a town crier. The current and 789th Mayor of Southampton is Terry Matthews, who took up office on 18 May 2011 after previously being the Sheriff of Southampton and a councillor. Derek Burke became the 574th and current Sheriff of Southampton the same day. The town crier since 2004 is John Melody, who acts as master of ceremonies in the city and who possesses a cry 104 decibels.