Legislative Council of Saint Helena

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Legislative Council of Saint Helena
Coat of arms or logo
Type
Type
SovereignMonarch of the United Kingdom
Leadership
Speaker
Maureen Thompson, Independent
since 11 September 2025
Rebecca Cairns-Wicks, Independent
since 10 September 2025
Structure
Seats15
Political groups
Speaker & Deputy Speaker (2)
  •   Independent (2)

Government (5)

Official Opposition (7)

Ex officio (1)

  Ex officio (1)
Elections
Plurality block voting (12), ex officio members (1)
Last election
3 September 2025
Meeting place
Council Chamber, The Castle, Jamestown
Website
www.sainthelena.gov.sh/government/legislative-council/
Politics of Saint Helena
The Crown
The Monarch

Charles III

Heir Apparent

William, Prince of Wales
Government
Governor

Nigel Phillips

Executive Council

Chief Minister
Rebecca Cairns-Wicks

Legislature
Legislative Council

Speaker of Saint Helena
Maureen Thopson

Judiciary
Citizenship
Other

The Legislative Council of Saint Helena is the unicameral legislature of Saint Helena, a constituent part of the British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha. The council itself is often referred to as "LegCo" by islanders.

The Legislative Council consists of 15 members: 12 elected members who serve a four-year term and are elected by popular vote; a Speaker and Deputy Speaker, chosen by the elected members; and one ex officio member, the Attorney General. Members of the Council use the suffix "MLC" (Member of the Legislative Council), and are sometimes referred to as Councillors.

Election summary

[edit]
Main article: 2025 Saint Helena general election

The twelve elected members of the 2025-2029 Legislative Council are:[1]

  1. Rebecca Cairns-Wicks (823 votes)
  2. Andrew James Turner (761 votes)*
  3. Corinda Sebastiana Stuart Essex (730 votes)*
  4. Karl Gavin Thrower (611 votes)*
  5. Dennis Karl Leo (644 votes)
  6. Derek Franklin Thomas (629 votes)
  7. Gillian Ann Brooks (543 votes)*
  8. Martin Dave Henry (541 votes)*
  9. Robert Charles Midwinter (441 votes)
  10. Clint Richard Beard (407 votes)
  11. Julie Thomas (403 votes)*
  12. Ronald Arthur Coleman (389 votes)*
An asterisk (*) denotes a sitting incumbent MLC who was duly re-elected.

Electoral divisions

[edit]

Saint Helena is divided into eight districts,[2] each with a community centre. The districts also serve as statistical subdivisions and electoral areas. Currently, all twelve elected MLCs represent the entire island as a single constituency. Previously, there were two constituencies (electoral districts) – "the East" and "the West", and each constituency had six Elected Members. Prior to that there were eight constituencies. The four most populated districts (i.e., Half Tree Hollow, Jamestown, Longwood, and St Paul's) each sent two representatives to the Legislative Council. The remaining districts (i.e., Alarm Forest, Blue Hill, Levelwood, and Sandy Bay) sent one representative each.[3]

Districts of Saint Helena
Electoral districts of Saint Helena
District Area Pop. (1998) Pop. (2008)[4] Pop.
2016[5] 		Pop. density (km2, 2016)
Alarm Forest 5.4 kilometres (3.4 mi) 289 276 383 70.4
Blue Hill 36.8 kilometres (22.9 mi) 177 153 158 4.3
Half Tree Hollow 1.6 kilometres (0.99 mi) 1,140 901 984 633.2
Jamestown 3.9 kilometres (2.4 mi) 884 716 629 161.9
Levelwood 14.8 kilometres (9.2 mi) 376 316 369 25.0
Longwood 33.4 kilometres (20.8 mi) 960 715 790 23.6
Sandy Bay 16.1 kilometres (10.0 mi) 254 205 193 12.0
Saint Paul's 11.4 kilometres (7.1 mi) 908 795 843 74.0

Speakers of the Legislative Council

[edit]
  • John Wainwright Newman (?–?)
  • Eric W. George (?–2008)
  • Margaret Anne Catherine Hopkins (2008–2013)
  • Eric Benjamin (24 July 2013–2021)
  • Cyril Gunnell (25 October 2021–11 September 2025)
  • Maureen Thompson (11 September 2025–present)

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ Drabble, Jamie (4 September 2025). "General Election 2025 - The Results". St Helena Government. Retrieved 14 September 2025.
  2. ^ St Helena Independent, 3 October 2008 page 2
  3. ^ "The Parliament of St Helena – A peep into St Helena's evolving systems of government. (page 14)" (PDF). South Atlantic Media Services, Ltd. 17 August 2017. Retrieved 27 August 2017.
  4. ^ "2008 Population Census of St Helena" (PDF). St Helena Government. Retrieved 21 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Census 2016– Summary Data". St Helena Government. Archived from the original on 23 September 2016. Retrieved 21 September 2016.


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