Leicester Corporation

Leicester City Council
Executive mayor elected every four years Whole council elected every four years
Coat of arms
Type
Type	Unitary authority council of Leicester
Houses	Unicameral
Term limits	None
History
Founded	1 April 1974
New session started	May 2015 (Municipal year 2015/2016)
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Stephen Corrall Since May 2016
City Mayor	Peter Soulsby, Labour Since 6 May 2011
Seats	1 executive mayor 54 councillors
Elections
Council voting system	Plurality-at-large
Mayor voting system	Supplementary vote

Leicester City Council is a unitary authority responsible for local government in the city of Leicester, England. It consists of 54 councillors, representing 22 wards in the city, overseen by a directly elected mayor. It is currently controlled by the Labour Party and has been led by Mayor Sir Peter Soulsby since his election on 6 May 2011. The main council building is City Hall on Charles Street, but council meetings are held in the 19th-century Town Hall.

As a unitary authority, the council is responsible for running nearly all local services in Leicester with the exception of the Leicestershire Fire and Rescue Service and Leicestershire Constabulary which are run by joint boards with Leicestershire County Council and Rutland County Council.

The Council traces its roots to the Corporation of Leicester, and before then to the Merchant Gild and the Portmanmoot. The Portmanmoot consisted of 24 Jurats, elected from the burgesses (members of the Gild Merchant, or ), along with two bailiffs, and a clerk. It appears to have existed before the Norman Conquest in 1066. In 1209, the lead member of the Portmanmoot, the Alderman, became known as a mayor. The Gild Merchant and the Moot overlapped in membership and had probably become effectively merged in the 14th century. Membership of the Twenty-Four appears to have been by co-option, chosen by themselves.