Editing Ripon (section)

==Governance==
[[File:Sir George Cockburn.jpg|thumb|right|[[Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet|Sir George Cockburn]] was [[Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|MP for Ripon]] from 1841 until 1847.]]
[[File:Ripon Town Hall by night. - geograph.org.uk - 1582184.jpg|thumb|[[Ripon Town Hall]]]]

Ripon became a [[municipal borough]] of the [[West Riding of Yorkshire]] with its headquarters at [[Ripon Town Hall]] in 1835, and remained an independent borough until 1974.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10002552 |title=Ripon |publisher=Visions of Britain |access-date=28 March 2016 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121026074517/http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit_page.jsp?u_id=10002552 |archive-date=26 October 2012 }}</ref> That year, following the [[Local Government Act 1972]], the former area of Ripon borough was merged with Harrogate borough and several [[rural district]]s of the West Riding to form an enlarged [[Harrogate (borough)|Harrogate]] borough in the ceremonial county of [[North Yorkshire]].<ref>{{cite web|url =http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/harrogate-57|title =Electoral Boundaries|publisher =Harrogate.gov.uk|access-date =1 February 2009|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20090728225707/http://www.harrogate.gov.uk/harrogate-57|archive-date =28 July 2009}}</ref> It remained this way until 2023, when the Borough of Harrogate was abolished, the city is now administered by the unitary [[North Yorkshire Council]].

The lowest tier of governance in Ripon is the Ripon City Council, a [[parish councils in England|parish council]] with twelve members, three for each of four wards.<ref>{{cite web |title=Democracy {{!}} Ripon City Council |url=https://www.riponcity.gov.uk/events/democracy/ |access-date=15 April 2025 }}</ref>

Ripon was represented by the Member of Parliament for [[Yorkshire (UK Parliament constituency)|Yorkshire]] until it had its own [[parliamentary borough]] established on a permanent basis in 1553.<ref name="ripmp">{{cite web|url =http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=p-000-00---0modhis06--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00001-001-1-1isoZz-8859Zz-1-0&a=d&cl=CL1|title =Cobbett's Parliamentary History|publisher =Oxford Digital Library|access-date =1 February 2009|url-status =dead|archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20150904125310/http://www2.odl.ox.ac.uk/gsdl/cgi-bin/library?e=p-000-00---0modhis06--00-0-0-0prompt-10---4------0-1l--1-en-50---20-about---00001-001-1-1isoZz-8859Zz-1-0&a=d&cl=CL1|archive-date =4 September 2015}}</ref> Ripon was able to elect two MPs to represent its parliamentary borough; the right of election was vested not in the population as a whole, but in the [[wikt:burgage|burgesses]] (originally meaning freemen of the borough or [[freehold (law)|freehold]]ers) until the [[Great Reform Act]] of 1832.<ref name="ripmp" /> The next [[Reform Act of 1867|Reform Act]] which came into force at the [[1868 United Kingdom general election|1868 election]], reduced Ripon's representation from two MPs to one. Some of the more notable MPs of Ripon were [[John Aislabie]], [[Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich|Frederick John Robinson]] and [[Sir George Cockburn, 10th Baronet|George Cockburn]].<ref name="ripmp" /> The [[Redistribution of Seats Act 1885|Reform Act of 1885]] abolished the borough of Ripon, but the [[county constituency]] in which the town was placed as a result was named Ripon, and this continued as a single member constituency, albeit with some boundary changes, until it was abolished before the [[1983 United Kingdom general election|1983 general election]].<ref name="ripmp" /> Since 1983, Ripon has been part of the [[Skipton and Ripon (UK Parliament constituency)|Skipton and Ripon]] constituency, a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]] stronghold.<ref name="ukpoling">{{cite web|url = http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/skiptonandripon|title = Skipton and Ripon|publisher = UKPolingReport.co.uk|access-date = 1 February 2009|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20090307223830/http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/skiptonandripon|archive-date = 7 March 2009|url-status = live}}</ref> The current MP is [[Julian Smith (politician)|Julian Smith]], a [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative]], who was elected in 2010.