Sefton Council is the governing body for the

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton The Metropolitan Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England. It was formed on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Fo ...

in the county of

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a metropolitan and ceremonial county in North West England, with a population of 1.38 million. It encompasses both banks of the Mersey Estuary and comprises five metropolitan boroughs: Knowsley, St Helens, Sefton, Wirral ...

, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a constituent council of

Liverpool City Region Combined Authority The Liverpool City Region Combined Authority (LCRCA) is the combined authority of the Liverpool City Region. The Liverpool City Region includes the City of Liverpool local authority area plus the Metropolitan Boroughs of Knowsley, St Helens, ...

History

Sefton Council was created by the local government reorganisation of 1974, which created a two-tier system of government in the United Kingdom. It was a metropolitan district of the

metropolitan county The metropolitan counties are a type of county-level administrative division of England. There are six metropolitan counties, which each cover large urban areas, with populations between 1 and 3 million. They were created in 1974 and are each di ...

. Until 1986, the five

metropolitan borough council A metropolitan borough (or metropolitan district) is a type of local government district in England. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts within metropolita ...

s of Merseyside shared power with the central Merseyside County Council, but this was later abolished and its functions devolved solely to its districts. As a result, the borough is effectively 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 governme ...

within the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

of Merseyside. Sefton Council is not directly responsible for transport, waste-disposal and emergency services - these are administered by joint-boards of the five boroughs of Merseyside.

Wards

The council consists of sixty-six councillors, three for each of the borough's twenty-two wards which are as listed:

Political composition

Elections are usually by thirds, in three of every four years. Two Sefton councillors left the Conservative Group on 13 May 2022. Ainsdale's Terry Jones and Cambridge's Sinclair D’Albuquerque formed what they are calling “The Southport Councillor Group”. The Labour Party has held a majority of the seats on the council since 2012. Ian Maher, a Labour councillor, has been

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 ...

since 2015. The next election is due in May 2023.

Premises

The council meets at both

Southport Town Hall Southport Town Hall is on the east side of Lord Street, Southport, Sefton, Merseyside, England. It was built in 1852–53 in Palladian style, and extended to the rear on three occasions later in the century. The town hall has a symmetrical ...

and Bootle Town Hall, each of which was inherited from one of the council's predecessor authorities. Full council meetings are usually held alternately at Southport and Bootle.

References

External links

Sefton CouncilLatest election results, May 2006Southport Conservative PartySefton Central Conservative PartySefton Labour PartySouthport Liberal DemocratsCrosby Liberal Democrats
{{Metropolitan districts of England Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in Merseyside Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England Leader and cabinet executives 1974 establishments in England