Legislative Council of Saint Helena


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", and are sometimes referred to as Councillors.

Election summary

The twelve elected members of the 2025-2029 Legislative Council are:
  1. Rebecca Cairns-Wicks
  2. Andrew James Turner *
  3. Corinda Sebastiana Stuart Essex *
  4. Karl Gavin Thrower *
  5. Dennis Karl Leo
  6. Derek Franklin Thomas
  7. Gillian Ann Brooks *
  8. Martin Dave Henry *
  9. Robert Charles Midwinter
  10. Clint Richard Beard
  11. Julie Thomas *
  12. Ronald Arthur Coleman *

Electoral divisions

Saint Helena is divided into eight districts, 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 – "the East" and "the West", and each constituency had six Elected Members. Prior to that there were eight constituencies. The four most populated districts each sent two representatives to the Legislative Council. The remaining districts sent one representative each.
DistrictArea Pop.
2016
Alarm Forest28927638370.4
Blue Hill1771531584.3
Half Tree Hollow1,140901984633.2
Jamestown884716629161.9
Levelwood37631636925.0
Longwood96071579023.6
Sandy Bay25420519312.0
Saint Paul's90879584374.0

Speakers of the Legislative Council

  • John Wainwright Newman
  • Eric W. George
  • Margaret Anne Catherine Hopkins
  • Eric Benjamin
  • Cyril Gunnell
  • Maureen Thompson