Sefton Council

Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in the historic county of Lancashire and the ceremonial county of Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.[2]

Sefton Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor of Sefton
Cllr June Burns, Labour
since 23rd May 2019
Leader of the Council
Cllr Ian Maher, Labour
Deputy Leader
Cllr John Fairclough, Labour
Leader of the Opposition
Cllr Dr. John Pugh, Liberal Democrats
Chief executive
Dwayne Johnson
since June 2019
Structure
Seats66 councillors[1]
Political groups
Administration (43)
  Labour (43)
Other parties (23)
  Liberal Democrats (12)
  Conservative (6)
  Independent (5)
Joint committees
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Elections
Last election
2 May 2019
Next election
7 May 2020
Meeting place
Bootle Town Hall
Website
www.sefton.gov.uk

Wards

It consists of sixty-six councillors, three for each of the borough's twenty-two wards which are as listed:

Political makeup

Elections are usually by thirds, in three of every four years.[3]

Party Councillors
Labour 43
Liberal Democrats 12
Conservative 8
Independent 3
Ind. Conservative 0
Vacant 0
Total 66

Since the 2017 General Election, Liberal Democrat Councillor Tony Dawson has been suspended by the party and two more Lib Dem councillors have defected to Labour, note change since last election.

YearControl
2012–Present Labour
1986–2012 No overall control
1973†–1986 Conservative

Elections since 2000

Since 2000 the borough has been divided into 22 wards, each returning 3 councillors. This necessitated an election of the whole council in 2000, returning to a system of elections by thirds thereafter.[4]

Year Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats UKIP Green Others Control
2018[5] 8 43 12 0 0 3 Independents Labour
2016[6] 6 38 17 0 0 4 - Independents 1 - Independent Conservative Labour
2015[7] 7 42 16 0 0 1 - independent conservative 1- community action not politics Labour
2014[8] 7 40 17 0 0 2 Independents Labour
2012[9] 8 36 20 0 0 2 Independents Labour
2011[10] 14 28 23 1 0 0 No overall control
2010[11] 15 23 28 0 0 0 No overall control
2008[12] 18 21 27 0 0 0 No overall control
2007[13] 18 22 26 0 0 0 No overall control
2006[14] 19 21 26 0 0 0 No overall control
2004[15] 19 20 27 0 0 0 No overall control
2003[16] 17 25 21 0 0 3 No overall control
2002[17] 16 26 21 0 0 3 No overall control
2000[18] 19 22 25 0 0 0 No overall control

Elections 1973-1999

From 1973 to 2000 the borough was divided into 23 wards, returning 3 councillors each, giving a total of 69 councillors.[19][20] One third of seats was elected in three out of every four years.[21] Councillors had a four-year term of office, and there were elections to the Merseyside County Council were held in the years in which borough elections were not held until the county council's abolition in 1986.[21]

Year Conservative Labour Liberal‡ Independent Others‡ Control
Lib Dems‡
1999[22] 15 30 24 0 0 No overall control
1998[23] 14 31 23 1 0 No overall control
1992[24] 25 27 17 0 0 No overall control
1991[25] 22 27 20 0 0 No overall control
1990[26] 24 27 18 0 0 No overall control
1988[27] 25 24 20 0 0 No overall control
1987[28] 27 24 15 0 SDP 3 No overall control
1986[29] 30 24 12 0 SDP 2
1 vacancy		 Conservative lose to no overall control
1984[30] 36 22 9 1 SDP 1 Conservative
1983[31] 39 21 7 1 SDP 1 Conservative
1982[32] 39 20 5 1 SDP 4 Conservative
1980[33] 39 22 5 1 Ratepayers 2 Conservative
1979[34] 41 23 4 0 Ratepayers 1 Conservative
1978[35] 44 21 3 0 Ratepayers 1 Conservative
1976[36] 43 21 3 1 Ratepayers 1 Conservative
1975[37] 40 22 3 2 Ratepayers 2 Conservative
1973†[38] 37 24 3 2 Ratepayers 3 Conservative
  • † The first election of councillors was on 10 May 1973. Sefton Council operated as a "shadow" authority before coming into its full powers on 1 April 1974. There were no elections in 1974, with elections by thirds starting in 1975.[21][38]
  • ‡ The Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party merged to form the Liberal Democrats in March 1988.

History

Sefton Council was created by the local government reorganisation of 1974, which created a two-tier system of government in the United Kingdom. It was a metropolitan district of the metropolitan county of Merseyside. Until 1986, the five metropolitan borough councils of Merseyside shared power with the central Merseyside County Council, but this was later abolished and its functions devolved solely to its districts. As a result, the borough is effectively a unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Merseyside.

Sefton Council is not directly responsible for transport, waste-disposal and emergency services - these are administered by joint-boards of the five boroughs of Merseyside.

References
  1. "Your Council". Sefton Council.
  2. "Proposal to establish a combined authority for Greater Merseyside" (PDF). Department for Communities and Local Government. November 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  3. "Councillors, Meetings, Decisions". Sefton Council. Retrieved 9 January 2018.
  4. "The Borough of Sefton (Electoral Changes) Order 1999". The National Archives. Retrieved 11 September 2012.
  5. 2018 Summary - Sefton Council
  6. 2016 Summary - Sefton Council
  7. 2015 Summary - Sefton Council
  8. 2014 Summary - Sefton Council
  9. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/vote2012/council/E08000014.stm
  10. 2011 Summary - BBC News
  11. 2010 Summary - BBC News
  12. 2008 Summary - BBC News
  13. 2007 Summary - BBC News
  14. 2006 Summary - BBC News
  15. 2004 Summary - BBC News
  16. 2003 Summary - BBC News
  17. 2002 Summary - BBC News
  18. 2000 Summary - BBC News
  19. Metropolitan County of Merseyside (Electoral Divisions and Wards) Order 1973
  20. Borough of Sefton (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1978 (S.I. 1978/1863)
  21. Local government in England and Wales: A Guide to the New System. London: HMSO. 1974. p. 184. ISBN 0117508470.
  22. 1999 Summary - BBC News
  23. "Local Elections results". The Times. 9 May 1998. p. 46.
  24. "Local election results 1992". The Times. 9 May 1992. p. 6.
  25. "Complete round-up of results from Thursday's local council elections". The Times. 4 May 1991.
  26. "Yesterday's Local election results". The Times. 4 May 1990.
  27. The Guardian, 6 May 1988
  28. The Guardian, 8 May 1987
  29. The Guardian, 4 May 1986
  30. "Labour takes Birmingham, Liberals do well". The Times. 4 May 1984. p. 5.
  31. "Labour capture Liverpool: Tories hold Birmingham". The Times. 6 May 1983. p. 4.
  32. "How the councils fared". The Times. 8 May 1982. p. 2.
  33. "Labour makes gains throughout Britain in local government elections". The Times. 2 May 1980. p. 4.
  34. Martin Minogue, ed. (1979). A Consumer's Guide to Local Government (2 ed.). Macmillan for the National Consumer Council. ISBN 9780333271162.
  35. "Power shift in only eight of 80 councils outside London". The Times. 6 May 1978. p. 3.
  36. "Conservatives control 17 metropolitan councils". The Times. 8 May 1976.
  37. "Tories capture 199 seats in 'big cities' poll triumph". The Times. 2 May 1975.
  38. "Three major parties find cause for satisfaction in local election results despite low poll". The Times. 14 May 1973.
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