Editing Executive arrangements (section)

==Historical background==
From the establishment of elected local authorities in England in the nineteenth century until the [[Local Government Act 2000]], councils used a system of committees for decision making. There was no legislative requirement for any councillor to be declared the leader, with the principle being that all the elected councillors were equal in status. In practice, political groups had their own leaders, and when a council was under the control of a particular party, local media would commonly refer to the leader of the controlling party as being the 'Leader of the Council'. It was also generally recognised that the most powerful political position on a council was the person who chaired the main policy-making committee, which in most councils was called the policy and resources committee. Usually, the leader of the largest party would chair that committee. Some councils explicitly acknowledged the existence of a leader of the council, others did not. The role of Leader of the Council in that regard was similar to that of the [[Prime minister of the United Kingdom|British prime minister]]; the post had not been explicitly created, but gradually emerged.<ref>{{cite web |title=Past leaders of the council |url=https://www.dover.gov.uk/Council--Democracy/Past-Leaders-of-the-Council.aspx |website=Dover District Council |access-date=20 June 2022 |quote=Prior to the Local Government Act 2000, the Council did not formally elect a Leader of the Council but the chairman of the Policy and Resources Committee usually acted as Leader of the Council.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Musical Chairs: Practical issues for local authorities in moving to a committee system |url=https://www.cfgs.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/Musical-Chairs.pdf |website=Centre for Public Scrutiny |location=London |date=April 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Tributes to former Adur Council leader Robert Dunn |url=https://www.adur-worthing.gov.uk/news/archive/pr18-222.html#:~:text=Tributes%20have%20been%20paid%20to,Robert%20Dunn%20who%20has%20died. |website=Adur and Worthing Councils |access-date=23 July 2022 |date=7 December 2018 |quote=He was Leader of the Council, in those days called Chairman of the Policy Committee, between 1984 and 1986.}}</ref>