Councillor Merrick Cockell has been Leader of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea since April 2000. The Council has been a top performer under various inspection regimes and receives excellent feedback in national resident satisfaction surveys. Its performance as an education authority has been praised by Ofsted as "outstanding".

In July 2006, Councillor Cockell was elected Chairman of London Councils, the pan-London local government lobbying organisation (formerly the Association of London Government).

Other appointments include Chairman of the Kensington and Chelsea Partnership, board member of the Central London Partnership, member of the Conservative Party's Social Justice Policy Group, fellow of the British American Project and president of the Chelsea Theatre. Councillor Cockell is married with two daughters. He ran an international trading company for 23 years and now devotes his full time to politics.