Birmingham City Council elections are held every four years.

Birmingham City Council Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom ...

is the local authority for the metropolitan district of

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1. ...

in the West Midlands,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. Since the last boundary changes in 2018, 101

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s have been elected from 69 wards. Prior to 2018 elections were held three years out of every four, with a third of the council elected each time.

Political control

From 1889 to 1974 Birmingham was a

county borough County borough is a term introduced in 1889 in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, to refer to a borough or a city independent of county council control, similar to the unitary authorities created since the 1990s. An equivalent te ...

, independent of any county council. Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with West Midlands County Council providing county-level services. The first election to the reconstituted city council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. West Midlands County Council was abolished in 1986 and Birmingham became a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a local authority responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are usually performed by a higher level of sub-national government or the national governmen ...

. Political control of the council since 1974 has been held by the following parties:

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Birmingham is largely ceremonial, with political leadership provided by the

leader of the council In England, local authorities are required to adopt one of three types of executive arrangements, having either an "elected mayor and cabinet", a "leader and cabinet", or a "committee system". The type of arrangement used determines how decisions ...

. The first leader of the council after the 1974 reforms, Clive Wilkinson, had been the leader of the old county borough of Birmingham since December 1973. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Council elections

Result maps

File:Birmingham Election Ward 2018.svg, 2018 File:Birmingham wards 2016.png, 2016 File:Birmingham wards 2015.png, 2015 File:Birmingham wards 2014.png, 2014 File:Birmingham wards 2012.png, 2012 File:Birmingham wards 2011.png, 2011 File:Birmingham wards 2010.png, 2010 File:Birmingham wards 2008.png, 2008

By-election results

2021

''Resignation of Labour Cllr Lucy Seymour-Smith.''

2013–2017

''Resignation of Labour Cllr Sam Burden.'' ''Death of Lib Dem Cllr Ray Hassall.'' ''Resignation of Labour Cllr Cath Grundy.''

2009–2013

2005–2009

2001–2005

1997–2001

''Death of Labour Cllr David Wells.'' ''Death of Labour Cllr Anthony Rust.''

1993–1997

''Death of Lib Dem Cllr Neil Biddlestone.'' ''Death of Labour Cllr Edward Rochford.'' ''Death of Labour Cllr Paul Haymeraj.'' ''Death of

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

Cllr Arthur Walker.'' ''Death of

Cllr Clare Fancote.'' ''Resignation of Labour Cllr Khalid Mahmood.'' ''Resignation of Lib Dem Cllr Paul Shefield.'' ''Resignation of Labour Cllr Fred Grattidge.''