City of Winchester

Updated on Nov 21, 2024

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Sovereign state United Kingdom Region South East England Admin HQ Winchester		Constituent country England Non-metropolitan county Hampshire Area 661 km²

Status Non-metropolitan district, Borough, City Destinations Winchester, Portchester, South Downs Way Colleges and Universities University of Winchester, Sparsholt College, Winchester School of Art Points of interest Winchester Castle, Hospital of St Cross, Wolvesey Castle, Marwell Wildlife, Winchester City Mill

English courses in the beautiful cathedral city of winchester

Winchester (/ˈwɪntʃᵻstər/) is a local government district in Hampshire, England, with city status. It covers an area of central Hampshire including the city of Winchester itself, and neighbouring towns and villages including New Alresford, Colden Common and Bishops Waltham.

Map of City of Winchester, UK

The current city boundaries were set on 1 April 1974 when the City of Winchester merged with Droxford Rural District and part of Winchester Rural District.

Elections

Elections to the council are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats on the council being elected at each election. From 1995 to the 2004 election the Liberal Democrats had a majority on the council, but after 2 years when no party held a majority the 2006 election saw the Conservative party gain control. The elections on 6 May 2010 saw the Liberal Democrats re take control of the council, however the council soon switched to NOC a year later in 2011. In 2012, the Conservative Party made their only Council gain of the entire English local elections and won a majority in Winchester once again. Subsequently, two Conservative councillors defected to the Liberal Democrat group, placing the council under No Overall Control. Following local elections on 7 May 2015, the Conservatives re-gained majority control of the council.

The council is currently led by a Conservative administration. The make up of the council as of May 2015 is:

Conservatives - 33

Liberal Democrats - 22

Labour - 2

Winchester in elections every four years elects three representatives to Hampshire County Council, currently:

Demographics

A Legatum Prosperity Index published by the Legatum Institute in October 2016 showed the City of Winchester as the third most prosperous council area in the United Kingdom, after the Borough of Waverley and Mole Valley.