Lincolnshire County Council

Lincolnshire County Council is the county council that governs the non-metropolitan county of Lincolnshire in England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county; the latter additionally includes North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire which are both unitary authorities and therefore independent from the county council.

History
Lincolnshire was one of the historic counties of England. From the middle ages it was administered in three parts, called Holland, Kesteven and Lindsey, each of which had their own quarter sessions. From 1409 the city of Lincoln was also an independent county corporate. When elected county councils were created in 1889 taking over the administrative functions of the quarter sessions, each of Lincolnshire's three parts became a separate administrative county with its own county council, and Lincoln was made a county borough, maintaining its independence.

That arrangement continued until 1974 when the Local Government Act 1972 abolished Holland County Council, Kesteven County Council and Lindsey County Council and the County Borough of Lincoln, creating a Lincolnshire County Council for the first time.

Governance
Lincolnshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's seven district councils:
 * Boston
 * Lincoln
 * East Lindsey
 * North Kesteven
 * South Holland
 * South Kesteven
 * West Lindsey

Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.

Political control
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2017.

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1974 have been:

Composition
Following the 2021 election and a change of allegiance in summer 2023, the composition of the council was:

Of the four independent councillors, three sit with the Lincolnshire Independent councillor as the "Independent Group", and one does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2025.

Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2017 the county has been divided into 70 electoral divisions, each of which elects one councillor. Elections are held every four years.

Premises
The council has its main offices and meeting place at County Offices on Newland in Lincoln. The building was built in 1926–1932 as the headquarters for the former Lindsey County Council, one of Lincolnshire County Council's predecessors.

Chief executives
Chief executives have included:
 * 1973–1979: David Drury Macklin
 * 1983–1995: Robert John Dudley Proctor
 * 1995–1998: Jill Helen Barrow, who was the first woman chief executive of a county council in England.
 * 1999–2004: David Bowles
 * 2005–2018: Tony McArdle
 * 2018: Keith Ireland
 * 2020–present: Debbie Barnes