Mike Wharton is a British Labour Party politician, currently serving as the leader of

Halton Borough Council Halton Borough Council is the Local government in England, local authority for Borough of Halton, Halton, a non-metropolitan district, local government district with Borough status in the United Kingdom, borough status in the ceremonial county o ...

and deputy mayor of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority with the additional cabinet portfolio of Business, Investment and Trade.

Early life and education

Mike Wharton grew up in

Bootle Bootle (pronounced ) is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton, Merseyside, England, which had a population of 51,394 in 2011; the wider Bootle (UK Parliament constituency), Parliamentary constituency had a population of 98,449. It is pa ...

, having attended Bootle Grammar School. His father was a

Union shop In labor law, a union shop, also known as a post-entry closed shop, is a form of a union security clause. Under this, the employer agrees to either only hire labor union members or to require that any new employees who are not already union mem ...

steward in the town's docks. Wharton has worked finance for the

retail Retail is the sale of goods and services to consumers, in contrast to wholesaling, which is the sale to business or institutional customers. A retailer purchases goods in large quantities from manufacturers, directly or through a wholes ...

company

Littlewoods Littlewoods was a retail and football betting company founded in Liverpool, England, by John Moores in 1923. By the 1980s, it had grown to become the largest private company in Europe but subsequently declined in the face of increased compe ...

until 2005.

Political career

Wharton was first elected to Halton Borough Council in 2002 for the ward of Hale Village. Around 2006, Wharton was given the Halton Borough Council portfolio for resources, which placed him in charge of producing the council's annual budget. Four years later, he became the deputy leader of the council. In 2021, during the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, he was elected as the leader of the council after his predecessor, Rob Polhill, stepped down. he won re-election for his ward in 2024 In 2023 Wharton hit out at the

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

UK Government His Majesty's Government, abbreviated to HM Government or otherwise UK Government, is the central government, central executive authority of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

after Halton Borough Council was forced to close a number of supporting services for children in Halton due to a lack of funding, Wharton was on record in the council meeting saying that the funding of local authorities was not a priority for the government, Wharton further went on to blame the disorder and turmoil in Downing Street and the governments record for helping councils as the reasons for this decision. As leader of Halton Borough Council, Wharton also serves on the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority cabinet. He had been responsible for culture, tourism and the visitor economy until 2023 when he became the cabinet member for economic development and business prior to this he served as cabinet member for Culture, Tourism & The Visitor Economy. In 2024, the Mayor of the Liverpool City Region,

Steve Rotheram Steven Philip Rotheram (born 4 November 1961) is a British politician serving as Metro Mayor of the Liverpool City Region, Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. A member of the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party, he was Member of Parliame ...

, announced that Wharton would become deputy mayor of the city region, taking over from David Baines, the leader of

St Helens Borough Council St Helens Borough Council, legally St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local governm ...

, who was elected to Parliament in the 2024 General Election and stepped down from his local government roles. As Liverpool City Region Cabinet Member for Business, Investment and Trade, Wharton stated in 2024 that he is "Determined to accelerate inward investment and boost international trade" in the Liverpool City Region. Wharton also assisted with the creation and selection of members for the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority Business and Enterprise Board which in 2023 absorbed the powers and role of Liverpool City Region Local enterprise partnership and was made a part of the combined authority.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wharton, Mike 21st-century English politicians Labour Party (UK) councillors in Liverpool Leaders of local authorities of England Living people Year of birth missing (living people)