The town of Kingston upon Thames was an ancient borough, having been formally incorporated in 1441, with a long history prior to that as a royal manor dating back to Saxon times.

The split of powers and functions meant that the Greater London Council was responsible for "wide area" services such as fire, ambulance, flood prevention, and refuse disposal; with the boroughs (including Kingston upon Thames) responsible for "personal" services such as social care, libraries, cemeteries and refuse collection.

As an outer London borough council Kingston upon Thames has been a local education authority since 1965.

It is a local education authority and is also responsible for council housing, social services, libraries, waste collection and disposal, traffic, and most roads and environmental health.

Political control of the council since 1965 has been as follows:[17] The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Kingston upon Thames.

[26] In the financial years 2015–19, under a Conservative and then Liberal Democrat administration the council spent £2.4 million of public money on so-called ‘golden goodbyes’ to departing senior staff, including: