Exeter's local government was previously an
ancient borough with city status. It was historically governed by a corporation, also known as the city council. The city was given the right to appoint a
mayor by
King John in the early thirteenth century. In 1537 the city was made a
county corporate with its own
sheriff and
quarter sessions, separating it from the jurisdiction of the
Sheriff of Devon. The city council was reformed in 1836 to become a
municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and citizens of the city of Exeter" but informally known as the corporation or city council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the
Local Government Act 1888 Exeter was considered large enough for its existing corporation to provide county-level services and so it was made a
county borough, independent from
Devon County Council. The city was reconstituted as a
non-metropolitan district on 1 April 1974 under the
Local Government Act 1972, becoming a lower-tier district authority with Devon County Council providing county-level functions to the city for the first time. The city kept the same outer boundaries, but gained control of the "Devon County Buildings Area", being three separate
exclaves of Devon surrounded by the city, containing
Devon County Hall,
Rougemont Castle and the county judges' lodgings at Larkbeare House. Exeter's city status was re-conferred on the reformed district, allowing the council to take the name Exeter City Council. The city's mayor was raised to the status of a
lord mayor in 2002. In 2010 the government proposed that the city should become an independent
unitary authority, like nearby
Plymouth and
Torbay. The statutory orders to set up the unitary authority were passed in Parliament and a new unitary city council was due to start in Exeter on 1 April 2011. However, following the change of government at the
2010 general election the reorganisation was cancelled. At the end of 2024, in response to the upcoming
local government reorganisation to mandate the abolition of
two-tier councils, the council put forward a bid to become a unitary authority. This included assuming responsibility for some of the surrounding areas. This bid was unanimously supported by the council in early 2025, but other councils in Devon (including
Devon County Council) have submitted competing proposals for the boundaries of the reorganisation. The
Ministry of Local Government has the final decision on where the boundaries for the new council will be, however a decision has not yet been finalised. ==Governance==