Merseyside County Council

Merseyside County Council
Coat of arms of the Merseyside County Council
Type
Type	County council of Merseyside
History
Established	1 April 1974
Disbanded	31 March 1986
Succeeded by	Knowsley Liverpool Sefton St Helens Wirral
Seats	99
Elections
Last election	1981
Meeting place
Liverpool Town Hall

Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England.

MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. However, along with the other five metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council it was abolished on 31 March 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985.^[1]

Premises

Metropolitan House, 95 Old Hall Street, Liverpool: Council's main offices.

The county council had its main administrative offices at Metropolitan House at 95 Old Hall Street in Liverpool, renting part of the building from its owners, the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post newspaper group. The county council held its meetings at Liverpool Town Hall.^[2]

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1973 until its abolition in 1986 was held by the following parties:

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1973–1977
	Conservative	1977–1981
	Labour	1981–1986

Leadership

Until 1980, the leader of the council also held the formal role of chairman of the council. In 1980 the two roles were separated, with the chairmanship becoming largely ceremonial whilst political leadership was provided by the leader of the council.^[3] The first leader and chairman of the county council, Bill Sefton, had been the last leader of Liverpool City Council before the 1974 reforms took effect. The leaders of Merseyside County Council were:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Bill Sefton		Labour	1 Apr 1974	May 1977
Kenneth Thompson[4]		Conservative	May 1977	Oct 1980
Neville Goldrein[3][5]		Conservative	Oct 1980	May 1981
Jim Stuart-Cole[6][7]		Labour	May 1981	Mar 1982
Keva Coombes[8][2]		Labour	Mar 1982	31 Mar 1986

Council elections

• 1973 Merseyside County Council election
• 1977 Merseyside County Council election
• 1981 Merseyside County Council election

References

1. "The Ceremonial County of Merseyside". The Merseyside Lieutenancy. Retrieved 15 September 2019.
2. Evans, Andrew (13 August 1992). "End of the metropolitan line: County councils face an uncertain future". The Independent. Retrieved 6 October 2019.
3. Craig, Ian (21 October 1980). "Early start for new council chief". Liverpool Echo. p. 3. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
4. Cook, Norman (6 May 1977). "Night of the new faces". Liverpool Echo. p. 1. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
5. Craig, Ian (5 May 1981). "Oh, what a lovely war on the street". Liverpool Echo. p. 6. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
6. Craig, Ian (8 May 1981). "New leader's blueprint for Merseyside". Liverpool Echo. p. 7. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
7. Phelps, Peter (8 March 1982). "County heads for clash over rates". Liverpool Echo. p. 3. Retrieved 27 August 2022.
8. Garbutt, Nick (26 March 1986). "A step into history: Tears as the county goes into oblivion". Liverpool Echo. p. 8. Retrieved 27 August 2022.

53.415°N 2.992°W / 53.415; -2.992