Local government

Cambridge is a non-metropolitan district, with a city council. The city council’s headquarters are in the Guildhall, an imposing building in the market square.

Cambridge is also served by Cambridgeshire county council.

For electoral purposes the city is divided into the following wards: Abbey, Arbury, Castle, Cherry Hinton, Coleridge, East Chesterton, Kings Hedges, Market, Newnham, Petersfield, Queen Edith’s, Romsey, Trumpington, West Chesterton.

The political composition of the city wards of the county council after the May 2005 elections was :
10 Liberal Democrat seats
4 Labour seats
0 Conservative seats

The political composition of the city council after the June 2004 elections was:
28 Liberal Democrat councillors
13 Labour councillors
1 Conservative councillor

The Liberal Democrats have controlled the city council since 2000.

Cambridge is twinned with:
Heidelberg, Germany since 1957
Szeged, Hungary since 1987.

MPs

The parliamentary constituency of Cambridge covers most of the city. David Howarth (Liberal Democrat) was elected MP in 2005, winning the seat from the former MP, Anne Campbell (Labour). The Queen Edith’s and Trumpington wards, however, are in the South Cambridgeshire constituency, whose MP is Andrew Lansley (Conservative), first elected in 1997.

The University used to have a seat in the House of Commons, Sir Isaac Newton being one of the most notable holders. The university seats were abolished in 1948 and ceased at the dissolution of Parliament in 1950.