Blackburn with Darwen is a

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle A ...

and unitary authority area in

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancash ...

, North West England. It consists of the industrial town of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

and the market town of

Darwen Darwen is a market town and civil parish in the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The residents of the town are known as "Darreners". The A666 road passes through Darwen towards Blackburn to the north, Bolton to the s ...

including other villages around the two towns.

Formation

It was founded in 1974 as the Lancashire borough of Blackburn, from the

County Borough of Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and nort ...

, the

Borough of Darwen A borough is an administrative division in various English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History In the Middle Ag ...

, parts of

Turton Urban District Turton Urban District was, from 1873 to 1974, a local government district centred on the historical area of Turton in the administrative county of Lancashire, England. History Background Turton was a township and chapelry of the civil and e ...

(chiefly the villages of Belmont, Chapeltown and

Edgworth Edgworth is a small village within the borough of Blackburn with Darwen, Lancashire, England. It is north east of North Turton between Broadhead Brook on the west (expanded artificially to form the Wayoh Reservoir) and Quarlton Brook in the sou ...

) and parts of Blackburn Rural District. It was renamed in May 1997, in preparation for a split from Lancashire County Council. On 1 April 1998 it became a unitary authority.

Demographics

Ethnicity

According to the 2017 census, the proportion of Muslims is 30.9%. 20.4% of the district's population belongs to any South Asian ethnic group, making it the highest percentage in the region, and almost four times higher than national average of South Asians.

Religion

According to the 2021 census, 35.0% of the population was Muslim, 38.0% Christian, 0.3% Hindu, 0.2% Buddhist, 0.4% followed another religions (including Judaism, Sikhism and others), 21.1% were not affiliated to a religion and 5.0% did not state their religious views.

Local elections

Following boundary changes in 2018, there are currently 51 seats on the council (decreased from 64), with the borough divided into 17

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s (decreased from 23). The wards are: Audley and Queens Park, Bastwell and Daisyfield, Billinge and Beardwood, Blackburn Central, Blackburn South and Lower Darwen, Blackburn South East, Darwen East, Darwen South, Darwen West, Ewood, Little Harwood with Whitebirk, Livesey with Pleasington, Mill Hill and Moorgate, Roe Lee, Shear Brow and Corporation Park, Wensley Fold, and West Pennine. , - !colspan=2, Parties !Seats , - , , 37 , - , , 13 , - , , 1 , - !colspan=2, Total!!51 The council was shaken in 2004 when six Labour councillors quit the ruling group one month after an election and became independent representatives, and the council temporarily fell into no overall control.WE QUIT! Six labour councillors leave
''

Lancashire Evening Telegraph The ''Lancashire Telegraph'', formerly the ''Lancashire Evening Telegraph'', is a local tabloid newspaper distributed in East Lancashire, England. It is edited by Karl Holbrook. There are around twenty towns in the area, including Blackburn, B ...

'', 16 June 2004. The councillors, who eventually re-joined the party, left over an internal row reportedly sparked by the demotion of particular councillors in a post-election reshuffle. Allegations of vote-rigging and corruption have dogged the council, with members of the Muslim community reportedly being "strong-armed by mosque leaders and councillors to vote Labour" during elections.Straw's seat is a hot-spot of postal vote fraud claims
, Anne Penketh, ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publish ...

'', 4 May 2005 The possibility of corruption has been eased by reforms to postal voting which have made electoral fraud "childishly simple" in the UK according to a European watchdog. The number of postal votes registered in Blackburn in 2005 was 20,000, compared to 7,600 in 2001. In April 2005, local councillor Mohammed Hussain was jailed for three years for rigging the 2002 town hall election by stealing at least 230 postal vote ballots in his ward. The local elections of May 2007 saw a coalition of parties take control of the council from Labour. The small For Darwen party and independents held the fine balance of power on the council in a partnership with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Like its predecessor, the ruling administration also attracted controversy; one of its councillors being suspended following a conviction for benefit fraud and another following allegations of

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partne ...

. Tensions over the presence of former England First Party member Michael Johnson within the coalition as part of For Darwen rose to the surface when Johnson was quoted in '' The Sun'' newspaper in October 2007 blaming his unemployment on "all the immigrants flooding this country." Three weeks before local elections in May 2008, a Liberal Democrat candidate for Shear Brow ward caused a stir by defecting to Labour. In 2010, two For Darwen Party councillors resigned and withdrew their support for the coalition, and after a

vote of no confidence A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...

the Labour Party regained control of the council. In 2011 Labour gained control of the council.

Economy

This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Blackburn with Darwen at current basic price
published
(pp. 240–253) by ''Office for National Statistics'' with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.

Settlements

Civil parishes

#''

'' (town council) # Eccleshill # Livesey # North Turton # Pleasington # Tockholes # Yate and Pickup Bank

Education

As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen authority has a statutory responsibility for educational standards and schooling within its boundaries.

Transport

Blackburn with Darwen Council has a stated transport policy of "making roads traffic free".

Freedom of the Borough

The following people and military units have received the

Freedom of the Borough The Freedom of the City (or Borough in some parts of the UK) is an honour bestowed by a municipality upon a valued member of the community, or upon a visiting celebrity or dignitary. Arising from the medieval practice of granting respected ...

of Blackburn with Darwen.

Individuals

Barbara Castle Barbara Anne Castle, Baroness Castle of Blackburn, (''née'' Betts; 6 October 1910 – 3 May 2002), was a British Labour Party politician who was a Member of Parliament from 1945 to 1979, making her one of the longest-serving female MPs in Bri ...

: 23 November 1979. * Sir Charles Fletcher-Cooke: 23 November 1979. * Tom Taylor, Baron Taylor of Blackburn: 2 April 1992. *

Jack Straw John Whitaker Straw (born 3 August 1946) is a British politician who served in the Cabinet from 1997 to 2010 under the Labour governments of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. He held two of the traditional Great Offices of State, as Home Secretary ...

: 1 October 2015.

Military Units

* The

East Lancashire Regiment The East Lancashire Regiment was, from 1881 to 1958, a line infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was formed in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 30th (Cambridgeshire) Regiment of Foot and 59th (2nd Nottingh ...

: 5 February 1948. * The Lancashire Regiment: 6 November 1958. * The

Queen's Lancashire Regiment The Queen's Lancashire Regiment (30th, 40th, 47th, 59th, 81st and 82nd Regiments of Foot) (QLR) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the King's Division. It was formed on 25 March 1970 at Connaught Barracks in Dover through ...

: 25 March 1970. * The

Duke of Lancaster's Regiment The Duke of Lancaster's Regiment (King's, Lancashire and Border) (LANCS) is an infantry regiment of the line within the British Army, part of the King's Division. Headquartered in Preston, it recruits throughout the North West of England. The Du ...

: 1 July 2006.

Notes

References

External links

Blackburn with Darwen Council Blackburn with Darwen council news Blackburn Muslim Association : Serving the community

Council political parties

Blackburn Conservative AssociationFor Darwen PartyBlackburn Labour PartyBlackburn with Darwen Liberal Democrats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackburn With Darwen (borough) 1974 establishments in England Local government in Blackburn with Darwen NUTS 3 statistical regions of the United Kingdom Unitary authority districts of England Local government districts of Lancashire Boroughs in England