Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

Stoke-on-Trent Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England. It has an estimated population of 259,965 as of 2022, making it the largest settlement in Staffordshire ...

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation ''Staffs''.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It borders Cheshire to the north-west, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, ...

, England. Since 1997 it has been a

unitary authority A unitary authority is a type of local government, local authority in New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Unitary authorities are responsible for all local government functions within its area or performing additional functions that elsewhere are ...

, a district council which also performs the functions of a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

, independent from

Staffordshire County Council Staffordshire County Council is the upper-tier Local government in England, local authority for the non-metropolitan county of Staffordshire, England. The non-metropolitan county is smaller than the ceremonial county, which additionally includ ...

. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2023. It meets at Stoke-upon-Trent Town Hall. Its main offices are divided between the Civic Centre adjoining the town hall and One Smithfield in

Hanley Hanley is one of the Federation of Stoke-on-Trent, six towns that, along with Burslem, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall and Stoke-upon-Trent, amalgamated to form the City of Stoke- ...

History

A Stoke-upon-Trent Borough Council was established in 1874 when the town was made a

municipal borough A municipal borough was a type of local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of ...

. On the

federation of Stoke-on-Trent The federation of Stoke-on-Trent was the 1910 amalgamation of the six Staffordshire Potteries towns of Burslem, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Stoke-upon-Trent, Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton and Longton, Staffor ...

in 1910, it merged with the five neighbouring towns of

Burslem Burslem ( ) is one of the six towns that along with Hanley, Staffordshire, Hanley, Tunstall, Staffordshire, Tunstall, Fenton, Staffordshire, Fenton, Longton, Staffordshire, Longton and Stoke-upon-Trent form part of the city of Stoke-on-Trent in ...

, Fenton,

, Longton and Tunstall and became a county borough. The borough was awarded

city status City status is a symbolic and legal designation given by a monarch, national or subnational government. A municipality may receive city status because it already has the qualities of a city, or because it has some special purpose. Historically, ci ...

on 5 June 1925, and the council has therefore been a city council since then. In 1928 the city council was granted the right to appoint a

lord mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

. The city lost its county borough status in 1974, becoming a lower-tier

district A district is a type of administrative division that in some countries is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or county, counties, several municipality, municip ...

council, with

providing county-level functions in the area. The city council regained its independence from the county council in 1997 when it was made a unitary authority. The way this change was implemented was to create a new

non-metropolitan county A non-metropolitan county, or colloquially, shire county, is a subdivision of England used for local government. The non-metropolitan counties were originally created in 1974 as part of a reform of local government in England and Wales, and ...

of Stoke-on-Trent covering the same area as the district, but with no separate county council; instead, the existing city council took on county council functions. This therefore had the effect of restoring the council to the powers it had held before 1974 when Stoke-on-Trent was a county borough. Stoke-on-Trent remains part of Staffordshire for the

ceremonial A ceremony (, ) is a unified ritualistic event with a purpose, usually consisting of a number of artistic components, performed on a special occasion. The word may be of Etruscan origin, via the Latin . Religious and civil (secular) ceremoni ...

purposes of lieutenancy and

shrievalty A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is commonly ...

. In 2002 the council adopted a new form of

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

, having a directly-elected mayor and a council manager, one of three possible options outlined in the

Local Government Act 2000 The Local Government Act 2000 (c. 22) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed local government in England and Wales. Its principal purposes are: * to give powers to local authorities to promote economic, social and envi ...

. Stoke was the only council in the country to adopt this option. A 2008 report by the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission to the Secretary of State for Local Government was highly critical of the political system then in use in the city. This led to changes to the electoral map in May 2011: From a council of 60 members representing 20 wards with three councillors each, the size of the council was reduced to 44 councillors representing 37 wards (31 single member wards, five two-member wards and one three-member ward).

Governance

As a unitary authority, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has the functions of a

and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for

housing Housing refers to a property containing one or more Shelter (building), shelter as a living space. Housing spaces are inhabited either by individuals or a collective group of people. Housing is also referred to as a human need and right to ...

, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a

local education authority Local education authorities (LEAs) were defined in England and Wales as the local councils responsible for education within their jurisdictions. The term was introduced by the Education Act 1902, which transferred education powers from school bo ...

, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal. There are no

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

es in Stoke, which has been an

unparished area In England, an unparished area is an area that is not covered by a civil parish (the lowest level of local government, not to be confused with an ecclesiastical parish). Most urbanised districts of England are either entirely or partly unparis ...

since the reforms of 1974.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election. Political control of the council since 1910 has been held by the following parties: County borough Non-metropolitan district Unitary authority

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Stoke-on-Trent is largely ceremonial. Before 2002, political leadership was provided by the

leader of the council Leadership, is defined as the ability of an individual, group, or organization to "", influence, or guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. "Leadership" is a contested term. Specialist literature debates various viewpoints on the co ...

. From 2002 to 2009, the city council had a directly elected mayor who acted as political leader. Since the abolition of the directly elected mayor position in 2009, leadership has again been provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been: Leaders Directly-elected mayors Leaders

Composition

Following the 2023 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 44

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 34 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

Premises

The council meets and has its headquarters at the Civic Centre on Glebe Street, a complex of buildings which incorporates both the Stoke-upon-Trent Town Hall of 1834 (which contains the council chamber) and a large extension to the north-east built in 1992. The council has additional offices in a modern building at One Smithfield in Hanley. When the new building was commissioned it was envisaged that it would replace the Civic Centre, but whilst the building was being built in 2013 it was decided to retain the Civic Centre after all.

In the media

In 2014, Shotton, then deputy council leader, was reported to have "frequently" used false names to contact BBC Radio Stoke to praise the council's and his own work. This resulted in his suspension by the Labour party and the "loss of senior council roles". In 2014, Private Eye magazine awarded Shotton the "Rotten Boroughs award" for

media manipulation Media manipulation refers to orchestrated campaigns in which actors exploit the distinctive features of broadcasting mass communications or digital media platforms to mislead, misinform, or create a narrative that advances their interests and ag ...

.Private Eye, Issue 1368, 2014.

References

{{Authority control Local authorities in Staffordshire Unitary authority councils of England Local education authorities in England Leader and cabinet executives Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...