Wirral Council, or Wirral Metropolitan Borough 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 ...

of the

Metropolitan Borough of Wirral The Metropolitan Borough of Wirral is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, in North West England. It has a population of (), and encompasses of the northern part of the Wirral Peninsula. Major settlements include Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebingt ...

Merseyside Merseyside ( ) is a ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial and metropolitan county in North West England. It borders Lancashire to the north, Greater Manchester to the east, Cheshire to the south, the Wales, Welsh county of Flintshire across ...

, England. It is a

metropolitan district 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 metropol ...

with borough status, thus providing the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the

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

since 2014. The council has been under

no overall control In the context of local authorities in the United Kingdom no overall control (NOC; ) is a situation in which no single political group achieves a majority of seats, comparable to a hung parliament. Of the 248 councils who had members up for elec ...

since 2019, with 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 ...

belonging to the Labour Party. Council meetings are held at

Birkenhead Town Hall Birkenhead Town Hall is a civic building and former town hall in Birkenhead on the Wirral Peninsula in Merseyside, England. The building was the former administrative headquarters of the County Borough of Birkenhead, and more recently, council ...

and the main administrative offices are at Alice Ker Square in

Birkenhead Birkenhead () is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. The town is on the Wirral Peninsula, along the west bank of the River Mersey, opposite Liverpool. It lies within the Historic counties of England, historic co ...

History

The metropolitan district of Wirral and its council were created on 1 April 1974 under 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 ...

. It covered the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: * Bebington Municipal Borough * Birkenhead County Borough *

Hoylake Urban District Hoylake () is a seaside town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, Merseyside, England. It is at the north west of the Wirral Peninsula, near West Kirby and where the River Dee meets the Irish Sea. At the 2021 census, the built up area had ...

* Wallasey County Borough *

Wirral Urban District Wirral Urban District was an urban district in Cheshire, England from 1933 to 1974. It was created from part of the disbanded Wirral Rural District and covered an area on the south-west side of the Wirral Peninsula. The largest settlement was ...

(Covered an area on the west side of the peninsula, with its council based in

Heswall Heswall () is a coastal town in the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral in Merseyside, England. It was historically part of Cheshire and became part of Merseyside in 1974. It is located on the Wirral Peninsula. At the 2021 United Kingdom census, 202 ...

.) The two county boroughs, Birkenhead and Wallasey, had provided all local government services in their areas. The other three districts had been lower-tier authorities with

Cheshire County Council Cheshire County Council was the county council of Cheshire. Founded on 1 April 1889, it was officially dissolved on 31 March 2009, when it and its districts were superseded by two unitary authorities: Cheshire West and Chester and Cheshire East. ...

providing county-level services. The area was transferred from

Cheshire Cheshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in North West England. It is bordered by Merseyside to the north-west, Greater Manchester to the north-east, Derbyshire to the east, Staffordshire to the south-east, and Shrop ...

to become of the five districts in the new

metropolitan county Metropolitan counties are a Subdivisions of England, subdivision of England which were originally used for Local government in England, local government. There are six metropolitan counties: Greater Manchester, Merseyside, South Yorkshire, Tyn ...

of Merseyside. The first election to the new council was held in 1973. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's outgoing authorities. The new metropolitan district and its council formally came into being on 1 April 1974, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. The new Wirral district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor. The council styles itself Wirral Council rather than its full formal name of Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council. From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by

Merseyside County Council Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England. MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local Gov ...

. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Merseyside's five borough councils, including Wirral, with some services provided through joint committees. Since 2014 the council has been a member of the

, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the region, but Wirral Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.

Political control

The council has been under

since 2019, being led by a Labour minority administration. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Wirral (also termed the "Civic Mayor" to distinguish it from the Metro Mayor) is largely ceremonial. They represent the borough at civic functions, support local charities and chair council meetings. They are expected to be politically impartial whilst they hold the post, although they do get a casting vote in the event of a tie. Political leadership is instead provided by the

. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Composition

Following the 2023 election and a change of allegiance in January 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

Council meetings are held at

, which was completed in 1887 for the former Birkenhead Borough Council. The council's main offices are at Alice Ker Square in the centre of Birkenhead, being a modern office development completed in 2023. Prior to 2023 the council met at

Wallasey Town Hall Wallasey Town Hall is a municipal building on Brighton Street in Wallasey, Merseyside, England. The town hall, which was the headquarters of Wirral Council until 2023, is a Grade II* listed building. History In the early 20th century, Wallase ...

and had additional offices at the

Cheshire Lines Committee The Cheshire Lines Committee (CLC) was formed in the 1860s and became the second-largest joint railway in Great Britain. The committee, which was often styled the Cheshire Lines Railway, operated of track in the then counties of Lancashire and ...

building on Canning Street in Birkenhead.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 66

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 22 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. The whole council is elected together every four years from 2023 onwards, having previously been elected a third of the council at a time.

Wards and councillors

Each ward is represented by three councillors.

Notes

References

External links

Wirral CouncilWirral ConservativesWirral Green PartyWirral LabourWirral Lib Dems
{{Wirral Tramway Metropolitan district councils of England Local authorities in Merseyside Local education authorities in England Billing authorities in England 1974 establishments in England

Council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

Liverpool City Region