Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the

Metropolitan Borough of Stockport The Metropolitan Borough of Stockport is a metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester in North West England, south-east of central Manchester. As well as the towns of Stockport, Bredbury and Marple, it includes the outlying areas of Hazel ...

, Greater Manchester, England.Stockport Council
/ref> The council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. At the

2022 local elections This local electoral calendar for 2022 lists the subnational elections held in 2022. Referendums, Recall election, recall and retention elections, and national By-election, by-elections (special elections) are also included. January *9 January: ...

, the Liberal Democrats gained two more seats, increasing their lead over the Labour Party to three seats, and took control of the council at the following full council meeting. The Liberal Democrats currently have 28 seats, Labour 24,

Conservatives 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 i ...

4, Heald Green Ratepayers 3, and

Greens Greens may refer to: *Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc. Politics Supranational * Green politics * Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics * Global Greens * Europ ...

2. There are now two Independent councillors. Matt Wynne resigned to sit as an independent following what he called moves by the extreme left to deselect him for the 2023 elections. Councillor Alanna Vine was expelled from the Conservative Party following an investigation into racist tweets.

History

Stockport became incorporated in 1835 under the

Municipal Corporations Act 1835 The Municipal Corporations Act 1835 (5 & 6 Will 4 c 76), sometimes known as the Municipal Reform Act, was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in the incorporated boroughs of England and Wales. The legisl ...

. In 1888, the County Borough of Stockport was created under the

Local Government Act 1888 Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States * Local government, a form of public administration, usually the lowest tier of administra ...

. The Borough would be enlarged in 1901 and 1903, absorbing urban districts such as

Reddish Reddish is an area in Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. south-east of Manchester city centre. At the 2011 Census, the population was 28,052. Historically part of Lancashire, Reddish grew rapidly in the Industrial ...

and

Heaton Norris Heaton Norris is a suburb of the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England. It is part of the Four Heatons, and neighbours Heaton Chapel, Heaton Mersey and Heaton Moor. Within the boundaries of the historic county of Lan ...

from the counties of

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

and

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a ceremonial and historic county in North West England, bordered by Wales to the west, Merseyside and Greater Manchester to the north, Derbyshire to the east, and Staffordshire and Shropshire to the south. Cheshire's coun ...

. The

Local Government Act 1972 The Local Government Act 1972 (c. 70) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales on 1 April 1974. It was one of the most significant Acts of Parliament to be passed by the Heath Gov ...

would abolish this county borough, creating the

within

Greater Manchester Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tamesid ...

Wards and councillors

There are 21 wards, each represented by three councillors. Stockport Council Wards Numbered

Structure

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (Stockport Council) uses a

Leader and cabinet 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 ...

system. There are eight cabinet members, including the leader of the council; each has a separate portfolio containing responsibilities for different services and areas of the council. There are also six scrutiny committees which scrutinise decisions made by the cabinet.

Cabinet

The Cabinet of the Council consists of eight Councillors: * Leader of the Council: Mark Hunter * Children, Families and Education: Wendy Meikle (Deputy Cabinet Leader) * Finance and Resources: Malcolm Allan * Climate Change and Environment: Mark Roberts * Highways, Parks and Leisure Services: Grace Baynham * Economy & Regeneration: Colin MacAlister * Communities and Housing: Helen Foster-Grime * Health and Adult Social Care: Keith Holloway

Politics

Stockport Council has 63 elected members, belonging to five different parties. The Liberal Democrats have 28 seats, Labour 24,

four, Heald Green Ratepayers three,

two, and there are two independent councillors. No party has overall control: the council is led by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. In the 2004 election, all councillors on the council were put up for election at the same time. This election was conducted exclusively by

postal voting Postal voting is voting in an election where ballot papers are distributed to electors (and typically returned) by post, in contrast to electors voting in person at a polling station or electronically via an electronic voting system. In a ...

. Each elector was given three votes, and asked to pick three candidates. The number of votes each candidate received then determined when they would next stand for election. Elections were then scheduled for 2006, 2007, and 2008. In the council elections on Thursday 1 May 2008, in which one third of the seats were up for re-election, there were two main changes. In the Cheadle & Gatley ward, incumbent councillor Paul Carter of the Liberal Democrat party lost his seat to the

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 ...

candidate Mick Jones. Similarly in the Brinnington and Central Ward, Labour councillor Maureen Rowles lost her seat to the Liberal Democrat candidate Christian Walker. However, a short time after this election, he chose to serve as an Independent Councillor, then returned to the Liberal Democrats, then declared himself Independent again. During 2009, which was supposed to be a "fallow year" (one without elections), there were three by-elections following the deaths of serving councillors. Subsequently, Labour councillor Anne Graham joined the Liberal Democrat group, bringing them to 36 Councillors of 63. On 2 February 2011, Councillors David White, Roy Driver and Anne Graham all resigned from the Liberal Democrat Group. All three cited unhappiness with the national party's involvement with a "Tory-led" government. They became Independent Left Councillors, forming the Independent Left Group on the Council, whilst awaiting the result of membership applications to the Labour Party and subsequently joined the Labour Group after the 2011 elections. Roy Driver was not selected for a seat in the May 2011 and unsuccessfully contested Bredbury and Woodley for Labour in May 2012. He was eventually elected councillor for Reddish North in 2015. On 21 January 2012, Patrick McAuley, Labour councillor for Manor since May 2011, announced on Twitter that he had resigned from the Labour Party but that would continue to serve as a councillor; he subsequently joined the Liberal Democrat group in December 2012, but quit in April 2016, a month after being re-elected. In October and November 2014, Stockport Labour lost 3 seats with Brian Hendley, Paul Moss and Laura Booth all leaving the party. Hendley was deselected without his knowing, Moss resigned due to house building on Reddish Vale Country Park and Booth quit over allegations of a "culture of systematic bullying". Heald Green Ratepayers are the only non-mainstream candidates to win seats. Following the

2022 Local Elections This local electoral calendar for 2022 lists the subnational elections held in 2022. Referendums, Recall election, recall and retention elections, and national By-election, by-elections (special elections) are also included. January *9 January: ...

, the Liberal Democrats became the largest group on the council and Mark Hunter became leader.

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Local government in the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in Greater Manchester Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England Leader and cabinet executives 1974 establishments in England