Liverpool City Council

For the local government area of New South Wales known as Liverpool City Council, see City of Liverpool (New South Wales).

Liverpool City Council
Coat of arms
Corporate logo
Type
Type	Metropolitan borough council
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Richard Kemp, Liberal Democrat since 15 May 2024[1]
Leader	Liam Robinson, Labour since 17 May 2023[2][3]
Chief Executive	Andrew Lewis since June 2023[4]
Structure
Seats	85 councillors
Political groups	Administration (61)   Labour (61) Other Parties (24)   Liberal Democrats (15)   Green (3)   Community Ind. (3)   Liberal (3)
Joint committees	Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	4 May 2023
Next election	6 May 2027
Motto
Latin: Deus Nobis Haec Otia Fecit, lit. 'God has granted us this ease'
Meeting place
Town Hall, High Street, Liverpool, L2 3SW
Website
www.liverpool.gov.uk

Liverpool City Council is the local authority for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside, England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority since 2014.

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. It meets at Liverpool Town Hall and has its main offices at the Cunard Building.

History

Liverpool was an ancient borough, having been granted its first charter by King John in 1207.^[5][6] It had a mayor from at least 1292.^[7]

Municipal borough

Liverpool was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Liverpool', generally known as the corporation or town council. As part of the same reforms, the borough boundaries were enlarged to match the larger Liverpool parliamentary constituency, which had been expanded in 1832 to include the neighbouring parishes of Everton and Kirkdale and part of West Derby.^[8][9][10] The corporation created a police force in 1836.

Municipal Buildings, Dale Street: Council's main offices 1868–2016

Liverpool was granted city status in 1880, after which the corporation was also known as the city council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Liverpool was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire.^[11] In 1893 the city was granted the right to appoint a lord mayor.^[12]

The city boundaries were enlarged on several occasions, notably gaining Wavertree, Walton and parts of Toxteth and West Derby in 1895, Fazakerley in 1905, Allerton, Childwall and Woolton in 1913, the rest of West Derby in 1928, and Speke in 1932.^[11]

Liverpool's first female councillor was Eleanor Rathbone, elected in 1909. Eighteen years later, Margaret Beavan became the first female Lord Mayor in 1927.^[7]

Metropolitan borough

The city was reformed to become a metropolitan district in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It kept the same boundaries as the former county borough (which had last been adjusted in 1956) and became one of five metropolitan districts within the new metropolitan county of Merseyside.^[13] Liverpool's borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty passed to the reformed district and its council.^[14][15]

From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by Merseyside County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Merseyside's five borough councils, including Liverpool, with some services provided through joint committees.^[16]

During the 1980s, the Militant group gained control of Liverpool's Labour Party. Under their leadership the council attempted to challenge the national government on several issues, including refusing to set a budget in 1985. The leadership of the national Labour Party was drawn into the controversy, ultimately expelling members of Militant, including the council's deputy leader, Derek Hatton, in 1986.^[17][18]

In 2012 the council introduced the position of Mayor of Liverpool as a directly elected mayor to serve as the council's political leader instead of having a leader of the council chosen by the councillors. The position was separate from the more ceremonial role of the Lord Mayor. The directly elected mayor position was abolished in 2023 and the position of leader of the council was reinstated.^[19]

Since 2014 the council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the region, but Liverpool City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.^[20][21]

The council's chief executive, Ged Fitzgerald, was suspended in 2017 and subsequently resigned in 2018 following an investigation by Lancashire Constabulary into financial irregularities relating to a joint project between Lancashire County Council and British Telecom (BT) during Fitzgerald's tenure as chief executive of the county council.^[22][23][24] The police investigation subsequently widened to investigate alleged criminality at the city council and the Merseyside pension fund too. In 2020, it was reported that the city council's accounts since 2015 had not been signed off by its auditors on account of the 'complex ongoing police investigation'.^[25]

In December 2020, the elected mayor, Joe Anderson, was arrested as part of an anti-corruption investigation. The Labour Party suspended Anderson on news of his arrest.^[26][27] He did not resign as mayor but stood back from active duties, handing effective control to the deputy mayor, Wendy Simon, for the remainder of his term of office to May 2021. As of April 2024 no charges had been brought against him, but the investigation had yet to conclude.^[28]

On 24 March 2021, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, Robert Jenrick, announced that he was appointing commissioners to oversee some of the authority's functions for at least 3 years. This was following an investigation, commissioned in December 2020 that found there were "multiple apparent failures" and a "deeply concerning picture of mismanagement" in the council.^[29][30][31]

The commissioners remained in post until June 2024. Following improvements in the council's performance and management, the intervention was then scaled back to less direct supervision, due to last until March 2025.^[32]

Governance

Liverpool City Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; the leader of Liverpool City Council sits on the combined authority as Liverpool's representative.^[33] There are no civil parishes in the city.^[34]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the council was run by the Conservatives. Labour councillors were first elected to the council in 1905, but Liverpool was one of the last major cities in the UK in which the Labour Party gained control, which first occurred in 1955.^[35]

Municipal borough

Party in control		Years
	Whig	1835–1841
	Conservative	1841–1892
	Liberal	1892–1895
	Conservative	1895–1955
	No overall control	1955–1956
	Labour	1956–1962
	Conservative	1962–1963
	Labour	1963–1967
	Conservative	1967–1971
	No overall control	1971–1972
	Labour	1972–1974

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:^[36][37][38]

Metropolitan borough

Party in control		Years
	No overall control	1974–1983
	Labour	1983–1992
	No overall control	1992–1996
	Labour	1996–1998
	Liberal Democrats	1998–2010
	Labour	2010–present

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Liverpool is largely ceremonial role. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. Between 2012 and 2023 the council had a directly elected Mayor of Liverpool (a separate post from the Lord Mayor) instead of a leader. The directly elected mayor position was abolished in 2023 and the position of leader reinstated. The leaders since 1918 have been:

County Borough leaders

Councillor	Party		From	To
Charles Petrie[39]		Conservative		4 Nov 1918
Archibald Salvidge[40]		Conservative	18 Nov 1918	11 Dec 1928
Thomas White[41][42]		Conservative	7 Jan 1929	25 Jan 1938
Alfred Shennan		Conservative	1938	1955
Jack Braddock		Labour	1955	1961
Maxwell Entwistle		Conservative	1961	1963
Jack Braddock		Labour	May 1963	Nov 1963
Bill Sefton		Labour	1963	1967
Harold Steward		Conservative	1967	1972
Bill Sefton		Labour	1972	31 Mar 1974

The last leader of the council before the 1974 reforms, Bill Sefton, went on to be the first leader of Merseyside County Council.

Metropolitan Borough leaders

Councillor	Party		From	To
Cyril Carr		Liberal	1 Apr 1974	1975
Bill Smythe		Liberal	1975	1976
John Hamilton		Labour	1976	1978
Trevor Jones		Liberal	1978	1983
John Hamilton		Labour	1983	Nov 1986
Tony Byrne[43]		Labour	Nov 1986	Mar 1987
Trevor Jones		Liberal	Mar 1987	May 1987
Harry Rimmer		Labour	May 1987	Oct 1987
Keva Coombes		Labour	1987	1990
Harry Rimmer		Labour	1990	1996
Frank Prendergast		Labour	1996	1998
Mike Storey		Liberal Democrats	May 1998	25 Nov 2005
Warren Bradley		Liberal Democrats	Dec 2005	May 2010
Joe Anderson		Labour	May 2010	6 May 2012

Directly elected mayors

Mayor	Party		From	To
Joe Anderson[a]		Labour	7 May 2012	Dec 2020
		Independent	Dec 2020	9 May 2021
Joanne Anderson		Labour	10 May 2021	7 May 2023

1. Joe Anderson was suspended from the Labour Party and stood aside from his mayoral role in December 2020. He remained nominally the mayor until the end of his term of office in May 2021, but the deputy mayor, Wendy Simon, served as acting mayor during that period.^[44]

Metropolitan Borough leaders

Councillor	Party		From	To
Liam Robinson		Labour	17 May 2023	Present

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was:^[45]

Party		Councillors
	Labour	61
	Liberal Democrats	15
	Green	3
	Liberal	3
	Liverpool Community Independents	3
Total		85

The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

See also: Liverpool City Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, 85 councillors have been elected from 64 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.^[46][47]

These are the wards since the 2023 local elections.^[48]

Aigburth Allerton Anfield Arundel Belle Vale Broadgreen Brownlow Hill Calderstones Canning Childwall Church City Centre North City Centre South Clubmoor East Clubmoor West County Croxteth Croxteth Country Park Dingle Edge Hill Everton East Everton North Everton West Fazakerley East Fazakerley North Fazakerley West Festival Gardens Garston Gateacre Grassendale & Cressington Greenbank Park Kensington & Fairfield Kirkdale East

Kirkdale West Knotty Ash & Dovecot Park Mossley Hill Much Woolton & Hunts Cross Norris Green Old Swan East Old Swan West Orrell Park Penny Lane Princes Park Sandfield Park Sefton Park Smithdown Speke Springwood St Michaels Stoneycroft Toxteth Tuebrook Breckside Park Tuebrook Larkhill Vauxhall Walton Waterfront North Waterfront South Wavertree Garden Suburb Wavertree Village West Derby Deysbrook West Derby Leyfield West Derby Muirhead Woolton Village Yew Tree

Premises

Cunard Building: Council's main offices

Council meetings are held at Liverpool Town Hall at the junction of High Street, Dale Street and Water Street, which was built between 1749 and 1754.^[49] The council's main administrative offices are located in the Cunard Building at Pier Head, which had been completed in 1917 as the headquarters of the Cunard Line. The council bought the building in 2013.^[50][51]

From 1868 until 2016 the council's main offices were the Municipal Buildings on Dale Street. The Municipal Buildings were sold in 2016 after the council decided they were too large and costly to maintain and following the transfer of most offices to the Cunard Building.^[52]

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Liverpool City Council

Adopted 1797 Crest On a Wreath of the Colours a Cormorant the wings elevated in the beak a Branch of Laver proper. Escutcheon Argent a Cormorant in the beak a Branch of Seaweed called Laver all proper. Supporters On the dexter Neptune with his Sea-Green Mantle flowing the waist wreathed with Laver on his head an Eastern Crown Gold in the right hand his Trident Sable the left supporting a Banner of the arms of Liverpool on the sinister a Triton wreathed as the dexter and blowing his Shell the right hand supporting a Banner thereon a Ship under sail in perspective all proper the Banner Staves Or. Motto 'Deus Nobis Haec Otia Fecit'[53]

References

1. Humphreys, David (15 May 2024). "Liverpool Council veteran Richard Kemp becomes city's Lord Mayor". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 19 May 2024.
2. "Labour chief vows to 'finish the job' of fixing Liverpool Council". 5 May 2023.
3. "Council minutes, 17 May 2023". Liverpool City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
4. Whelan, Dan (29 November 2023). "Liverpool CEO reflects on six months in post". Place North West. Retrieved 4 May 2024.
5. Report of the Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Municipal Corporations in England and Wales: Appendix 4. 1835. p. 2691. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
6. A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. 1911. pp. 1–4. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
7. "Former Mayors and Lord Mayors". Liverpool Town Hall. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
8. Youngs, Frederic (1991). Guide to the Local Administrative Units of England. London: Royal Historical Society. p. 680. ISBN 0861931270.
9. Parliamentary Boundaries Act. 1832. p. 349. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
10. Municipal Corporations Act. 1835. p. 457. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
11. "Liverpool Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
12. A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. London: Victoria County History. 1911. pp. 38–41. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
13. "Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch. 1), retrieved 30 May 2024
14. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
15. "No. 46334". The London Gazette. 28 June 1974. p. 7419.
16. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
17. Naughtie, James (2 October 1985). "Labour in Bournemouth". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
18. "On this day, 12 June 1986: Labour expels Militant Hatton". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
19. Vinter, Robyn (21 July 2022). "Liverpool council votes to scrap three-mayor system". The Guardian. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
20. "The Halton, Knowsley, Liverpool, Sefton, St Helens, Sefton and Wirral Combined Authority Order 2014", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2014/865, retrieved 5 June 2024
21. "Understand how your council works". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
22. "Liverpool City Council boss Ged Fitzgerald suspended amid fraud probe". BBC News. 18 September 2017.
23. Thorp, Liam (14 May 2018). "Liverpool council chief Ged Fitzgerald RESIGNS with immediate effect". Liverpool Echo.
24. Waddington, Marc (22 May 2017). "Liverpool council chief executive Ged Fitzgerald arrested". Liverpool Echo.
25. Duffy, Tom (28 June 2020). "Liverpool council's accounts not signed off for five years". Liverpool Echo.
26. "I'm cooperating fully with police, says Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson". The Guardian. 5 December 2020.
27. "Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson arrested in bribery probe". BBC News. 12 April 2020.
28. Humphries, Jonny; Hamilton, Claire (19 April 2024). "Ex-mayor 'like a recluse' since police probe". BBC News. Retrieved 8 June 2024.
29. "Secretary of State statement: Liverpool City Council". GOV.UK. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
30. "Liverpool City Council: Commissioners to oversee authority". BBC News. 24 March 2021. Retrieved 24 March 2021.
31. "Liverpool City Council: Best Value inspection report (publishing.service.gov.uk)" (PDF). Retrieved 15 August 2023.
32. Coleman, Jenny (8 May 2024). "Liverpool City Council handed back decision-making powers". BBC News. Retrieved 7 June 2024.
33. "Committee details". Liverpool City Region Combined Authority. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
34. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
35. Jeffery, David (1 August 2017). "The strange death of Tory Liverpool: Conservative electoral decline in Liverpool, 1945–1996". British Politics. 12 (3): 386–407. doi:10.1057/s41293-016-0032-6. ISSN 1746-918X.
36. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
37. "Liverpool". BBC News Online. 19 April 2009. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
38. "Defection confusion in Liverpool". BBC News Online. 2 May 2008. Retrieved 17 February 2010.
39. "Sir C. Petrie: A surprise resignation from city council". Liverpool Echo. 4 November 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
40. "Sir Archibald Savidge elected Tory leader in the city council today". Liverpool Echo. 18 November 1918. p. 3. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
41. "Sir T. White elected council leader: Unanimity at today's meeting". Liverpool Echo. 7 January 1929. p. 9. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
42. "The passing of Sir Thomas White". Liverpool Echo. 25 January 1938. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
43. "We'll tame rebels yet". Liverpool Echo. 21 November 1986. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
44. Thorp, Liam (10 December 2020). "Who is Wendy Simon? The woman stepping in to run Liverpool as interim leader after Joe Anderson stands aside". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 3 January 2021.
45. "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
46. "The Liverpool (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1365, retrieved 7 June 2024
47. "New electoral arrangements for Liverpool City Council Final Recommendations" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for England. September 2022. p. 49. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
48. "Ward Maps". liverpool.gov.uk. Liverpool City Council. Retrieved 25 June 2023.
49. Historic England. "Town Hall, Water Street, Liverpool (Grade I) (1360219)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
50. "Cunard Building purchase plan agreed by Liverpool Council". BBC News. 11 October 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
51. "Council agenda, 24 June 2022" (PDF). Liverpool City Council. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
52. Houghton, Alistair (31 December 2016). "Remembering Liverpool's Municipal Buildings". Liverpool Echo. Retrieved 1 January 2017.
53. "Liverpool (England)". Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 26 January 2024.

External links

• Official website

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