Plymouth

Plymouth is a city in the South West of England, or alternatively the Westcountry, and is situated within the traditional county of Devon. It is located at the mouths of the rivers Plym and Tamar and at the head of one of the world's largest and most spectacular natural harbours, the Plymouth Sound. The city has a rich maritime past and was once one of the two most important Royal Navy bases in Britain, a factor that made the city a prime target of the Luftwaffe during the Second World War. After the destruction of the dockyards and city centre in the blitz of 1941, Plymouth was rebuilt under the guidance of architect Patrick Abercrombie and is now one of the few remaining naval dockyards in Britain and the largest naval base in Western Europe. Important locations in the city include The Royal Citadel, Devonport Dockyard and The Barbican from where the Pilgrims left for the New World in 1620.

Government

In 1914 the County Borough of Plymouth merged with the Municipal Borough of Devonport and the Urban District of East Stonehouse to form an enlarged County Borough. Collectively they were referred to as "The Three Towns". In 1928 the County Borough of Plymouth was granted city status. The city's boundaries were extended in the mid-1930s and further expanded in 1967 to include the town of Plympton and the parish of Plymstock. On 1 April 1974 responsibility for education, social services, highways and libraries was transferred to Devon County Council. On 1 April 1998 these responsibilities were transfered back when the City Council became a unitary authority.

Related Topics:
County Borough - Municipal Borough - Devonport - Urban District - East Stonehouse - The Three Towns - 1928 - City status - Plympton - Plymstock - Devon - County Council - Unitary authority

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The City of Plymouth is divided into 20 electoral wards, 17 of which elect three local Councillors and the other three electing two local Councillors to the 57 seats of the City Council. Councillors are also known as Members of the Council and usually stand for election as members of national political parties. The local elections are held every four years with elections for one third of Council seats being held each year, the total electorate for Plymouth is 184,956 as of December 2003. The local election of June 2004 resulted in a current political composition of 35 Labour, 19 Conservative, two Liberal Democrat and one Independent Councillors.

Related Topics:
Local election of June 2004 - Labour - Conservative - Liberal Democrat - Independent

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The Council is headed by the Chairman and Vice-Chairman, both positions being held by the Lord Mayor and Deputy Lord Mayor respectively. There is also a Leader of the Council (the Chairman of the Cabinet) and a leader of each political group. The current Lord Mayor is Patrick Nicholson who is the 538th holder of the office since its establishment in 1439. It was in 1935 that the grant of dignity of Lord Mayor was announced; before that the office was Mayor. The Lord Mayor of Plymouth's official residence is 3 Elliot Terrace, located on the Hoe. Once the private residence of Waldorf and Nancy Astor, it was presented by Lady Astor to the City of Plymouth as a residence for future Lord Mayors and is used today for civic hospitality by visiting dignatories and circuit judges.

Related Topics:
Lord Mayor - The Hoe - Waldorf - Nancy Astor

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In Westminster, Plymouth is represented by the three constituencies of Plymouth Devonport, Plymouth Sutton and Southwest Devon. As of the 2005 General Election the two former constituencies are held by Labour MPs Alison Seabeck and Linda Gilroy respectively with the latter held by Conservative MP Gary Streeter.

Related Topics:
Westminster - Plymouth Devonport - Plymouth Sutton - Southwest Devon - 2005 General Election - Labour - Alison Seabeck - Linda Gilroy - Conservative - Gary Streeter

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