Liverpool City Council
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
- See City of Liverpool for other meanings
Liverpool City Council is the governing body for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. It consists of 90 councillors, three for each of the city's 30 wards. The council is currently controlled by the Liberal Democrats and is led by Warren Bradley.
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[edit] History
[edit] Domain
Liverpool has been a town since 1207, when it was granted its first charter by King John. It has had a town corporation (the Corporation of Liverpool) since before the 19th century, and was one of the corporations reformed by the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. The corporation created a police force in 1836.
Liverpool was granted city status in 1880. When local government was reformed in 1888 under the Local Government Act 1888 it was one of the cities to become a county borough, and thus independent of Lancashire. This situation persisted until 1974 with the Local Government Act 1972, when due to urban expansion and the accretion of a large metropolitan area, the city was made a metropolitan district of the metropolitan county of Merseyside. This saw the old corporation nomenclature abolished and the council reconstituted as Liverpool City Council.
In 1835 Liverpool expanded in to the village of Everton and then the township of Kirkdale in the 1860's. In 1895 Wavertree, Walton and parts of Toxteth and West Derby were incorporated into the city with Fazakerley 1904 followed in 1913 by Gateacre, the rest of West Derby known as West Derby Rural in 1928 and finally Speke in 1932. Although there are no plans for further expansion of the City of Liverpool it is perceived by many that the current boundaries are outdated and should include the suburbs of south Sefton and Knowsley.
In 1986 the council of Merseyside was abolished and its functions devolved to its districts, but the county still legally exists. It should be noted therefore that Liverpool has never been a district council under Lancashire County Council.
[edit] Administration
In the late 1970s the City was run by the Liberal Party under Sir Trevor Jones. As part of their plans, a cost cutting exercise was drawn up, to reduce the councils costs by 25%. In 1979 the Conservative Party won a narrow victory in the General Election. Part of the Conservatives' plan was to impose a 25% cut on councils across the country. Liverpool City Council successfully negotiated an exception from this, on the grounds that they were already following Thatcher's policies and cutting 25%.
During the 1980s, the Militant movement gained control of several Labour councils including Liverpool, and challenged the national government on several issues. The leadership of the Labour Party was drawn into the controversy, culminating with Neil Kinnock's noted speech to Conference in 1985, denouncing Liverpool City Council without explicitly naming it. Derek Hatton, Councillor for Netherley ward and Deputy Leader of the Council, and Eric Heffer, MP for Liverpool Walton constituency, staged a walk-out.
Liverpool Labour Party successfully rooted out the militants within their midst and, following a brief period when the Liberal/SDP Alliance and Conservative Party ran the city in a caretaker capacity, Labour were returned to power with a massive vote of support by the Liverpool electorate.
Further recent events:
- 1998 The Liberal Democrats win control of Liverpool City Council.
- 2003 Liverpool win the UK nomination of European Capital of Culture for 2008.
- 2004 Liverpool's waterfront and parts of the city centre are given World Heritage status.
- 2005 In November Lib Dem leader of the Council Mike Storey resigns after eight years following emails in which he was accused of plotting to try to engineer the departure of the Council's Chief Executive, Sir David Henshaw, who had already announced his intention to retire.
- 2005 Cllr Storey was replaced as leader by Warren Bradley. Sir David Henshaw was replaced as chief executive by Colin Hilton.
- 2006 Planning decisions and policies of the Council threaten the World Heritage status. Council faces cutting £29million from its budget - much of it from the money earmarked for Capital of Culture.
- 2007 Mathew Street festival - large free outdoor festival, controversially cancelled at last minute due to health and safety concerns
- 2008 Council awarded 1 star by Audit Commission and as such the worst performing council in the country.
- 2008 Jason Harborow, Chief Executive of Culture Company, charged with delivering Capital of Culture, quits with a large cash payout after clashes with Cllr Warren Bradley and Cllr Mike Storey.
- 2008 Liberal Democrats lose over-all control of city on May 1st in local elections, however a midnight defection of an Independent Councillor, originally elected as a Labour councillor but having previously resigned the whip , gives them a majority of 1.
- 2008 Green Party take second seat in St Michael's ward, becoming a recognisable "group" on the council.
[edit] Wards 2004
[edit] Political makeup
Elections are usually by thirds, in three of every four years. 2004 saw new boundaries and so all seats were contested.
In March 2007, Labour gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats in a by-election in Speke Garston ward. In the May 2007 council elections, the Liberal Democrats lost 4 seats to Labour, leaving the council make-up as Liberal Democrats 51, Labour 35, Liberals 3 and Greens 1.
Labour then won a second byelection in Warbreck ward in September 2007.
This, followed by a number of councillors changing party, and the 2008 local elections, mean the current numbers are below.
| Year | Liberal Democrats | Labour | Liberals | Green | Others |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 46 | 39 | 3 | 2 | 0 |
| 2006 | 56 | 30 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2004 | 59 | 27 | 3 | 1 | |
| 2003 | 63 | 31 | 3 | 2 |
| Year | Control |
|---|---|
| 2002 | LD |
| 2000 | LD |
| 1999 | LD |
| 1998 | LD |
| 1996 | LAB |
| 1995 | NOC |
| 1994 | NOC |
| 1992 | NOC |
| 1991 | LAB |
| 1990 | LAB |
| 1988 | LAB |
| 1987 | LAB |
| 1986 | LAB |
| 1984 | LAB |
| 1983 | LAB |
| 1982 | NOC |
| 1980 | NOC |
| 1979 | NOC |
| 1978 | NOC |
| 1976 | NOC |
| 1975 | NOC |
| 1973 | NOC |
The council has been under the Liberal Democrats' control since 1998. Prior to that it had alternated between Labour and No Overall Control since its reconstitution in 1974.
[edit] Sites
- Municipal Buildings, Liverpool Admin Centre.
- Liverpool Town Hall Ceremonial HQ.
- Calderstones House Recreation and Open Spaces Departments.
[edit] External links
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