| Legislative Council of Saint Helena | |
| Coa Pic: | Coat of Arms of Saint Helena.svg |
| Coa Res: | 120px |
| House Type: | Unicameral |
| Crown-In-Parl: | Monarch of the United Kingdom |
| Leader1 Type: | Speaker |
| Leader1: | Cyril Gunnel |
| Election1: | 25 October 2021 |
| Party1: | Independent |
| Leader2 Type: | Chief Minister |
| Leader2: | Julie Thomas |
| Party2: | Independent |
| Election2: | 25 October 2021 |
| Members: | 15 |
| Political Groups1: | Speaker & Deputy Speaker (2) Government (5) Official Opposition (7) Ex officio (1) Ex officio (1) |
| Voting System1: | Plurality block voting (12), ex officio members (1) |
| Last Election1: | 13 October 2021 |
| Meeting Place: | Legislative Council Building, Jamestown |
The Legislative Council of Saint Helena is the unicameral legislature of Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The council itself is often referred to as "LegCo" by islanders.
The Legislative Council consists of 15 members: 12 elected members who serve a four-year term and are elected by popular vote; a Speaker and Deputy Speaker, chosen by the elected members; and one ex officio member, the Attorney General. Members of the Council use the suffix "MLC" (Member of the Legislative Council), and are sometimes referred to as Councillors.
See main article: 2021 Saint Helena general election.
The twelve elected members of the 2021-2025 Legislative Council are:[1]
Saint Helena is divided into eight districts,[2] each with a community centre. The districts also serve as statistical subdivisions and electoral areas. Currently, all twelve elected MLCs represent the entire island as a single constituency. Previously, there were two constituencies (electoral districts) – "the East" and "the West", and each constituency had six Elected Members. Prior to that there were eight constituencies. The four most populated districts (i.e., Half Tree Hollow, Jamestown, Longwood, and St Paul's) each sent two representatives to the Legislative Council. The remaining districts (i.e., Alarm Forest, Blue Hill, Levelwood, and Sandy Bay) sent one representative each.[3]
| District | Area | (1998) | (2008)[4] | Pop. 2016[5] | (km, 2016) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alarm Forest | 5.4km (03.4miles) | 289 | 276 | 383 | 70.4 |
| Blue Hill | 36.8km (22.9miles) | 177 | 153 | 158 | 4.3 |
| Half Tree Hollow | 1.6km (01miles) | 1,140 | 901 | 984 | 633.2 |
| Jamestown | 3.9km (02.4miles) | 884 | 716 | 629 | 161.9 |
| Levelwood | 14.8km (09.2miles) | 376 | 316 | 369 | 25.0 |
| Longwood | 33.4km (20.8miles) | 960 | 715 | 790 | 23.6 |
| Sandy Bay | 16.1km (10miles) | 254 | 205 | 193 | 12.0 |
| Saint Paul's | 11.4km (07.1miles) | 908 | 795 | 843 | 74.0 |
| 795 | 69.7 | 2 |