Staffordshire County Council
Staffordshire County Council | ||
---|---|---|
Chief Executive | Patrick Flaherty since June 2023 | |
Structure | ||
Seats | 62 councillors | |
Political groups |
| |
Length of term | 4 years | |
Elections | ||
First past the post | ||
Last election | 6 May 2021 | |
Next election | 1 May 2025 | |
Meeting place | ||
County Buildings, Martin Street, Stafford, ST16 2LH | ||
Website | ||
www |
Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier
62 councillors sit on Staffordshire County Council. Staffordshire operates a
History
Elected county councils were created in 1889 under the
The 1888 Act also said that
The first elections to the county council were held in January 1889. The council formally came into being on 1 April 1889, on which day it held its first official meeting at the Shire Hall in Stafford. The first chairman of the council was Dudley Ryder, 3rd Earl of Harrowby, a Conservative peer and former member of parliament.[7]
Additional county boroughs were later created at
Staffordshire was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan county in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The county council regained authority over Burton and Stoke, but lost the Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District to the new West Midlands county (which also covered the county boroughs in the area that were already outside the administrative county).[13] Stoke-on-Trent regained its independence from the county council in 1997, becoming a unitary authority.[14]
Governance
Staffordshire County Council provides county-level services. District-level services are provided by the area's eight district councils:[15]
- Cannock Chase District Council
- East Staffordshire Borough Council
- Lichfield District Council
- Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council
- South Staffordshire District Council
- Stafford Borough Council
- Staffordshire Moorlands District Council
- Tamworth Borough Council
Much of the county is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[16]
Political control
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2009.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:[17]
Party in control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1974–1977 | |
Conservative | 1977–1981 | |
Labour | 1981–2009 | |
Conservative | 2009–present |
Leadership
The
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Jim Westwood[19][20] | Labour | 1 Apr 1974 | 8 May 1977 | |
Rex Roberts[21][22] | Conservative | May 1977 | May 1981 | |
Bill Austin[23] | Labour | May 1981 | May 1996 | |
Terry Dix[24][25] | Labour | May 1996 | 17 May 2007 | |
John Taylor | Labour | 17 May 2007 | 7 Jun 2009 | |
Philip Atkins[26] | Conservative | 18 Jun 2009 | 23 Jul 2020 | |
Alan White | Conservative | 23 Jul 2020 |
Composition
Following the 2021 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to December 2023, the composition of the council was:[27]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
Conservative | 55 | |
Labour | 5 | |
Independent | 2 | |
Total | 62 |
The next election is due in 2025.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2013 the council has comprised 62 councillors representing 60 electoral divisions, with each division electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[28]
Premises
The council has its main offices at Staffordshire Place, a modern office building on Tipping Street in Stafford.[29] The building was purpose-built for the council in 2011.[30][31]
When the county council was first created in 1889 it met at the Shire Hall in the Market Place in Stafford, which had been completed in 1798 as a courthouse and had been the meeting place of the quarter sessions which preceded the county council.[32] Shortly after the council's creation it built itself a new meeting place and offices at County Buildings on Martin Street, adjoining the side of Shire Hall, with the new building opening in 1895.[33] The council later outgrew County Buildings, and by the early 21st century its offices were spread across seventeen different buildings.[30] The construction of Staffordshire Place in 2011 allowed for the consolidation of most of the council's offices at the one site, although the nearby County Buildings was retained by the council, with the council chamber there continuing to serve as the council's meeting place.[34]
References
- ^ "Council minutes, 18 May 2023". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Council minutes, 23 July 2020" (PDF). Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 14 September 2020.
- ^ "Role of County Council". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Role of the Cabinet". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 5 May 2010.
- ^ "Local Government Act 1888", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1888 c. 41, retrieved 27 August 2023
- ISBN 0861931270.
- ^ "Staffordshire County Council: First meeting today". Evening Express and Star. Wolverhampton. 1 April 1889. p. 3. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Smethwick Urban District / Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Harborne Ancient Parish / Civil Parish". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Handsworth Urban District". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ISBN 0861931270.
- ^ West Midlands Order 1965
- ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 26 December 2023
- ^ "The Staffordshire (City of Stoke-on-Trent) (Structural and Boundary Changes) Order 1995", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1995/1779, retrieved 26 December 2023
- ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 18 November 2023.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Council minutes". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Labour group: leaders named". Rugeley Times. 21 April 1973. p. 1. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "'Sort-out' time at county level". Rugeley Times. 14 May 1977. p. 10. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Council chief vows value for money". Burton Daily Mail. 21 May 1977. p. 1. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Lib / Lab Landslide". Rugeley Times. 9 May 1981. p. 1. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Now it's down to business". Staffordshire Newsletter. 15 May 1981. p. 14. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Terry Dix takes reins of power at county". Tamworth Herald. 17 May 1996. p. 3. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Leader of council to step down". Express and Star. 18 April 2007. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Staffordshire County Council leader to stand down". Staffordshire County Council. 20 July 2020. Retrieved 14 September 2022.
- ^ "Your County Councillors by Party". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "The Staffordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2012", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2012/875, retrieved 26 December 2023
- ^ "Contact us". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ a b "Wraps off £38m Staffordshire County Council HQ". Express and Star. 21 December 2011. Retrieved 23 August 2019.
- ^ "Men at work again after duchess officially opens beleaguered council HQ". Express and Star. 12 May 2013. Retrieved 14 November 2020.
- ^ Historic England. "Shire Hall and Attached Railings, Gates and Lamp Standards, Stafford (Grade II*) (1298177)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ Historic England. "County Buildings and Judges House, Martin Street (Grade II*) (1298178)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
- ^ "Council minutes, 14 December 2023". Staffordshire County Council. Retrieved 26 December 2023.