Bournemouth Borough Council was the local authority for Bournemouth in Dorset, England between 1974 and 2019. Prior to 1974 Bournemouth had been a county borough within Hampshire (being a county borough meant it was self-governing, being independent of Hampshire County Council). Under the Local Government Act 1972 Bournemouth became a non-metropolitan district within Dorset on 1 April 1974, with the same boundaries as the former county borough. On 1 April 1997 it became a unitary authority, taking over the functions previously provided for the area by Dorset County Council. In 2019 the council was abolished, merging with Christchurch and Poole to form Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
The first elections to the reformed council were held in 1973, initially to act as a shadow authority prior to the new arrangements coming into force the following year. From 1973 until the council's abolition in 2019 political control of the council was held by the following parties:[1]
Non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1973–1991 | ||
| 1991–1997 | ||
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 1997–2003 | ||
| 2003–2007 | ||
| 2007–2019 | ||
The role of mayor was largely ceremonial at Bournemouth Borough Council. Political leadership was instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 2007 until the council's abolition in 2019 were:[2]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Richard Smith[3] | 2007 | |||
| Stephen MacLoughlin[4] | May 2007 | 2010 | ||
| Peter Charon[5] | 19 Jul 2010 | 21 Feb 2012 | ||
| John Beesley | 21 Feb 2012 | 31 Mar 2019 | ||
| Year | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Labour | Green | UKIP | Independent | Council control after election | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | 16 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2007 | 41 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2011 | 45 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | ||
| 2015 | 51 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | ||