Editing Northamptonshire (section)

==Governance==
===Local government===
{{main|West Northamptonshire Council|North Northamptonshire Council}}

Between 1974 and 2021, Northamptonshire, like most English counties, was divided into a number of local authorities. The seven borough/district councils covered 15 towns and hundreds of villages. The county had a two-tier structure of [[local government in the United Kingdom|local government]] and an elected [[county council]] based in [[Northampton]], and was also divided into seven [[Non-metropolitan district|districts]] each with their own district or borough councils:<ref>[http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/Pages/districts.aspx Northamptonshire County Council: District and Borough Councils] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090926125344/http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/en/Pages/districts.aspx |date=26 September 2009 }}. 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2009.</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Former district council''' || Council HQ Location
|-
| [[Corby Borough Council]] || [[Corby]]
|-
| [[Daventry District Council]] || [[Daventry]]
|-
| [[East Northamptonshire District Council]] || [[Thrapston]]
|-
| [[Kettering Borough Council]] || [[Kettering]]
|-
| [[Northampton Borough Council]] || [[Northampton]]
|-
| [[South Northamptonshire District Council]] || [[Towcester]]
|-
| [[Borough Council of Wellingborough]] || [[Wellingborough]]
|}

Northampton itself is the most populous [[civil parishes in England|civil parish]] in England, and (prior to 2021) was the most populous urban district in England not to be administered as a [[unitary authority]] (even though several smaller districts are unitary). During the [[1990s UK local government reform|1990s local government reform]], Northampton Borough Council petitioned strongly for unitary status, which led to fractured relations with the County Council.{{Citation needed|date=August 2009}}

The [[Soke of Peterborough]] is within the historic county of Northamptonshire, although it had had a separate county council since 1889 and separate [[Quarter Sessions|courts of quarter sessions]] before then. The city of [[Local government in Peterborough|Peterborough]] has been a [[unitary authority]] since 1998, but it forms part of [[Cambridgeshire]] for [[ceremonial counties of England|ceremonial purposes]].<ref>[http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1878/contents/made The Cambridgeshire (City of Peterborough) (Structural, Boundary and Electoral Changes) Order 1996] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110501043451/http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1996/1878/contents/made |date=1 May 2011 }} (SI 1996/1878), see [[Local Government Commission for England (1992)]], ''Final Recommendations for the Future Local Government of Cambridgeshire'', October 1994 and ''Final Recommendations on the Future Local Government of Basildon & Thurrock, Blackburn & Blackpool, Broxtowe, Gedling & Rushcliffe, Dartford & Gravesham, Gillingham & Rochester upon Medway, Exeter, Gloucester, Halton & Warrington, Huntingdonshire & Peterborough, Northampton, Norwich, Spelthorne and the Wrekin'', December 1995</ref>

====De facto bankruptcy of the county council====
In early 2018, Northamptonshire County Council was declared technically insolvent and would be able to provide only the bare essential services.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/politics/article/bankrupt-northamptonshire-county-council-may-cut-to-legal-minimum-dv2p5p0ns |title='Bankrupt' Northamptonshire county council may cut to legal minimum |last=Johnston |first=Neil |date=2 August 2018 |website=[[The Times]] |access-date=9 September 2018 |quote=Hundreds of jobs are also at risk }}</ref> According to [[The Guardian]] the problems were caused by "a reckless half-decade in which it refused to raise council tax to pay for the soaring costs of social care" and "partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer." Some observers, such as Simon Edwards of the [[County Councils Network]], added another perspective on the cause of the financial crisis, the [[United Kingdom government austerity programme]]: "It is clear that, partly due to past failings, the council is now having to make some drastic decisions to reduce services to a core offer. However, we can't ignore that some of the underlying causes of the challenges facing Northamptonshire, such as dramatic reductions to council budgets and severe demand for services, mean county authorities across the country face funding pressures of £3.2bn over the next two years."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/01/northamptonshire-councillors-discuss-drastic-cuts-to-stem-crisis |title=Northamptonshire's cash crisis driven by ideological folly, councillors told |last=Butler |first=Patrick |date=1 August 2018 |website=The Guardian |access-date=9 September 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180909114220/https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/01/northamptonshire-councillors-discuss-drastic-cuts-to-stem-crisis |archive-date=9 September 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Structural changes====
{{multiple image
| width             = 150
| footer            = Northamptonshire before (left) and after (right) the 2021 structural changes
| image1            = Northamptonshire numbered districts (1974-2021).svg
| image2            = Northamptonshire numbered districts 2021.svg
}}

In early 2018, following the events above, Government-appointed commissioners took over control of the council's affairs. Consequently, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government commissioned an independent report which, in March 2018, proposed structural changes to local government in Northamptonshire. These changes, implemented on 1 April 2021, saw the existing county council and district councils abolished and two new unitary authorities created in their place.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Northamptonshire County Council 'should be scrapped' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-40610349 |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180319180715/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-northamptonshire-40610349 |archive-date=19 March 2018 |access-date=20 June 2018 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref> One unitary authority, [[West Northamptonshire]], consists of the former districts of [[Daventry District|Daventry]], [[Northampton]] and [[South Northamptonshire]]; the other, [[North Northamptonshire]], consists of the former [[East Northamptonshire]] district and the former boroughs of [[Borough of Corby|Corby]], [[Borough of Kettering|Kettering]] and [[Borough of Wellingborough|Wellingborough]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Northamptonshire County Council 'should be split up', finds damning report |url=http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-03-15/northamptonshire-county-council-should-be-split-up-finds-damning-report/ |publisher=[[ITV News]] |date=15 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180802223701/http://www.itv.com/news/anglia/2018-03-15/northamptonshire-county-council-should-be-split-up-finds-damning-report/ |archive-date=2 August 2018 |access-date=30 May 2018 |url-status=bot: unknown }}</ref>

===National representation===
Northamptonshire returns seven [[Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)|Members of Parliament]] (MPs). {{As of|2024}}, five are currently from the [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour Party]] and two from the [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Regional MPs & Local Authority Links |url=https://www.northants-chamber.co.uk/representation/regional-mps-local-authority-links |website=Northamptonshire Chamber |access-date=16 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816194503/https://www.northants-chamber.co.uk/representation/regional-mps-local-authority-links |archive-date=16 August 2018 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Several of the constituencies have been marginal in the past, including the Northampton seats, Wellingborough, Kettering, and Corby, which were all Labour seats before 2005. In the 2016 EU referendum, all of the Northamptonshire districts voted to Leave, most by a significant margin.
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! '''Constituency''' || '''Member of Parliament''' || '''Political party'''
|-
| [[Corby and East Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Corby & East Northamptonshire]]|| [[Lee Barron (politician)|Lee Barron]]|| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| [[Daventry (UK Parliament constituency)|Daventry]] || [[Stuart Andrew]]|| [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|-
| [[Kettering (UK Parliament constituency)|Kettering]] || [[Rosie Wrighting]]|| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| [[Northampton North (UK Parliament constituency)|Northampton North]] || [[Lucy Rigby]]|| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| [[Northampton South (UK Parliament constituency)|Northampton South]] || [[Mike Reader]]|| [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|-
| [[South Northamptonshire (UK Parliament constituency)|South Northamptonshire]] || [[Sarah Bool]]|| [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]]
|-
| [[Wellingborough and Rushden (UK Parliament constituency)|Wellingborough & Rushden]]|| [[Gen Kitchen]] || [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]]
|}

From 1993 until 2005, Northamptonshire County Council,<ref name="NCC">{{cite web |title=Northamptonshire County Council website |url=http://www.northamptonshire.gov.uk/ |access-date=4 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090531232621/http://www3.northamptonshire.gov.uk/ |archive-date=31 May 2009 |url-status=live }}</ref> for which each of the 73 [[electoral division]]s in the county elected a single councillor, had been held by the Labour Party; it had been under [[no overall control]] since 1981. The councils of the rural districts – Daventry, East Northamptonshire, and South Northamptonshire – were strongly Conservative, whereas the political composition of the urban districts was more mixed. At the 2003 local elections, Labour lost control of Kettering, Northampton, and Wellingborough, retaining only Corby. Elections for the entire County Council were held every four years – the last were held on [[2017 Northamptonshire County Council election|4 May 2017]]. The County Council used a [[leader and cabinet]] executive system and abolished its [[area committee]]s in April 2006.