The LGA has made some changes to its policy-making boards
The LGA is a politically led, cross-party organisation that works on behalf of councils to ensure local government has a strong, credible voice with national government.
We aim to influence and set the political agenda on the issues that matter to councils so they can deliver local solutions to national problems.
We also provide ‘sector-led improvement’ – a range of practical support, on a free-of-charge and/or subsidised basis, to enable local authorities to exploit the opportunities that this approach to improvement provides. At the core of all this are our elected members, who provide direction and oversee the policy work of the LGA through its Executive Advisory Board (EAB) – see below.
Our governance structures are led by a senior group of members from each of the four political groups (Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent), with seats on the EAB and the organisation’s policy-making boards allocated in line with the political balance of the parties following May’s local elections.
Ahead of the start of the LGA’s political year on 1 September, the EAB agreed changes to our policy boards to strengthen our response to some of the pressing issues councils face around the economy and climate change.
Consequently, responsibility for the economy has transferred from the former Environment, Economy, Housing and Transport (EEHT) Board to the LGA’s Resources Board.
The EEHT Board has become the Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board, with an increased focus on climate change/net zero, as well as responsibility for all aspects of planning, local transport, housing and homelessness services.
LGA EXECUTIVE ADVISORY BOARD
Board of Directors (LGA Board)
Cllr Shaun Davies (Lab, Telford & Wrekin) was elected Chair of the LGA in July. He previously served as Chair of the LGA’s Resources Board and, from 2022, as LGA Senior Vice-Chair and Labour Group Leader. He first became a councillor in 2011 and has been Leader of Telford & Wrekin Council since 2016.
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Cllr Kevin Bentley (Con, Essex) became Senior Vice-Chairman and Leader of the LGA’s Conservative Group in July, having previously chaired the LGA’s People and Places Board. He was elected to Essex County Council in 2009, has been its Leader since 2021, and also serves on Colchester City Council.
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Cllr Nesil Caliskan (Lab, Enfield), an LGA Vice-Chair, was first elected in 2015. She became the first woman and ethnic minority Leader of Enfield Council in 2018, and of the LGA’s Labour Group in July 2023, and is Executive Member for Health, Wellbeing and Adult Care at London Councils.
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Cllr Joe Harris (Lib Dem, Cotswold) has been Leader of the LGA Liberal Democrat Group and Vice-Chair of the LGA since July 2021. He was first elected to Cotswold District Council in 2011, aged 18, and has led it since 2019. He is also a member of Gloucestershire County Council.
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Cllr Marianne Overton MBE (Ind, Lincolnshire) is an LGA Vice-Chair and has been Leader of the LGA’s Independent Group since 2011. She is Leader of the Lincolnshire Independents, Leader of the Opposition on North Kesteven District Council, and sits on Lincolnshire County Council.
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Cllr Bev Craig (Lab, Manchester) is an LGA Deputy Chair. She was first elected to Manchester City Council in 2011 and became its first woman and openly gay Leader in 2021.
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Cllr Georgia Gould (Lab, Camden), a councillor since 2010, is an LGA Deputy Chair, Leader of Camden Council, and Chair of London Councils.
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Cllr Michael Payne (Lab, Gedling) is an LGA Deputy Chair, Deputy Leader of Gedling Borough Council, and a member of Nottinghamshire County Council.
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Cllr Izzi Seccombe OBE (Con, Warwickshire), elected in 2001, became Warwickshire’s first female Leader in 2013. An LGA Deputy Chairman, she was previously Leader of the LGA’s Conservative Group and Vice-Chairman from July 2019.
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Cllr Morris Bright MBE (Con, Hertsmere) is an LGA Deputy Chairman. Elected in 1999, he was Leader of Hertsmere Borough Council and is Executive Member for Public Health and Community Safety at Hertfordshire County Council.
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Cllr Abi Brown (Con, Stoke) is an LGA Deputy Chair, Chair of the Improvement and Innovation Board, and LGA Conservative Group Deputy Leader. First elected in 2010, she was Leader of Stoke-on-Trent City Council from 2019 to 2023.
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Cllr David Fothergill (Con, Somerset), a former Leader of Somerset County Council, has been Chairman of the LGA’s Community Wellbeing Board since 2021 and is an LGA Deputy Chairman.
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Cllr Bridget Smith (Lib Dem, South Cambridgeshire), an LGA Deputy Chair, is Leader of South Cambridgeshire District Council and a Lead Member on the Peterborough and Cambridgeshire Combined Authority.
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Cllr Caroline Jackson (Ind, Lancaster) is the Green Party Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness at Lancaster City Council, and an LGA Deputy Chair.
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Other Executive Advisory Board members
Cllr Louise Gittins (Lab, Cheshire West and Chester) is Chair of the LGA’s Children and Young People Board. She was first elected in 2011 and became Leader of Cheshire West and Chester in 2019.
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Cllr Satvir Kaur (Lab, Southampton) is the new Chair of the LGA’s City Regions Board. First elected in 2011, she became the first Sikh woman to lead a council when she became Leader of Southampton City Council in 2022.
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Cllr Darren Rodwell (Lab, Barking and Dagenham) is Chair of the LGA’s new Local Infrastructure and Net Zero Board. He has been Leader of Barking and Dagenham Council since 2014 and is an Executive Member of London Councils.
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Cllr Pete Marland (Lab, Milton Keynes) is Chair of the LGA’s Economy and Resources Board. He has been Leader of Milton Keynes Council since 2014 and on the board of Local Partnerships since 2020.
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Cllr Martin Tett (Con, Buckinghamshire) is Chairman of the LGA’s People and Places Board. He has been Leader of Buckinghamshire Council and its predecessor county council since 2011, having joined the council in 2005.
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Cllr Andrew Cooper (Ind, Kirklees) is Leader of the Green Group on Kirklees Council, and a balancing member of the Executive Advisory Board.
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Cllr Heather Kidd MBE (Lib Dem, Shropshire) is the new Chair of the LGA’s Safer and Stronger Communities Board. Elected in 1996, she is a former Leader of the former South Shropshire District Council and sits on Shropshire Council.
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Cllr Liz Green (Lib Dem, Kingston) is Chair of the LGA’s Culture, Tourism and Sport Board, and an LGA peer mentor. A former Leader of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames, she now chairs its Planning Committee.
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Cllr Tony Saffell (Ind, North West Leicestershire) is Planning Portfolio Holder at North West Leicestershire District Council, and an EAB balancing member.
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Cllr Sir Stephen Houghton CBE (Lab, Barnsley) is Leader of Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council and Chair of the LGA’s Special Interest Group of Municipal Authorities.
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Cllr Sam Chapman-Allen (Con, Breckland) is Chairman of the District Councils’ Network and has been Leader of Breckland Council since 2019.
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Cllr Tim Oliver (Con, Surrey) is Chair of the County Councils Network, Leader of Surrey County Council, and a former Leader of Elmbridge Borough Council.
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Wales and regional
Cllr Rob Stewart (Lab, Swansea) represents Wales, is Deputy Leader of the Welsh LGA, and Leader of the City and County of Swansea.
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Cllr Graeme Miller (Lab, Sunderland), representing the North East, has been Leader of Sunderland City Council since 2018 and is Chair of the North East Combined Authority.
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Cllr David Baines (Lab, St Helens) is Leader of St Helens Borough Council, Deputy Mayor of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, and represents the North West.
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Cllr Marc Bayliss (Con, Worcestershire) represents the West Midlands, and is Cabinet Member for Economy, Infrastructure and Skills at Worcestershire County Council.
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Cllr Matthew Hicks (Con, Suffolk) represents the East of England, and is Chair of the East of England LGA and Leader of Suffolk County Council.
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Cllr John Hart (Con, Devon) was first elected in 1989 and has been Leader of Devon County Council since 2009. He is Chair of South West Councils.
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Cllr Nick Adams-King (Con, Hampshire) is Chair of South East Councils, Executive Lead Member for Universal Services at Hampshire County Council, and Deputy Leader of Test Valley Borough Council.
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- More information about the LGA’s policy boards, including membership and meetings, is available on our website.