Blackpool Council is the local authority of the Borough of Blackpool, in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council.
Blackpool Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Neil Jack since 21 July 2011[3] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 42 councillors[4] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
| Plurality-at-large[a] | |
Last election | 4 May 2023 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Motto | |
| Progress | |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Town Hall, Talbot Square, Blackpool, FY1 1GB | |
| Website | |
| blackpool | |
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2023. It meets at Blackpool Town Hall and has its offices in the adjoining Municipal Buildings and at Bickerstaffe Square.
History
editBlackpool's first elected local authority was the Layton with Warbreck Local Board, established in 1851 and named after the historic township that included the nascent town of Blackpool.[5] The board was renamed the Blackpool Local Board in 1868.[6] In 1876 the district was elevated to become a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the "mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Blackpool", but generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[7]
From 1904 to 1974, Blackpool was a county borough, independent from Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire.[8] In 1974 Blackpool was reconstituted as a non-metropolitan district under the Local Government Act 1972. It kept the same boundaries, but became a lower tier district authority with the county council providing county-level services to the town again.[9]
The council became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998. The way the change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Blackpool covering the same area as the borough, but with no separate county council; instead, the existing borough council took on county council functions.[10] Blackpool remains part of the ceremonial county of Lancashire for the purposes of lieutenancy.[11]
Governance
editAs a unitary authority, Blackpool Council provides both district-level and county-level functions. There are no civil parishes in the borough.[12]
Political control
editThe council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[13][14]
Lower tier non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Conservative | 1974–1987 | |
| No overall control | 1987–1991 | |
| Labour | 1991–1998 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1998–2007 | |
| Conservative | 2007–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–2021 | |
| No overall control | 2021–2023 | |
| Labour | 2023–present | |
Leadership
editThe role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Blackpool. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1991 have been:[15]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ivan Taylor[16] | Labour | 1991 | 5 Jun 2000 | |
| George Bancroft[17] | Labour | 12 Jul 2000 | 11 Jul 2001 | |
| Roy Fisher[18] | Labour | Aug 2001 | 6 May 2007 | |
| Peter Callow | Conservative | 21 May 2007 | 23 May 2011 | |
| Simon Blackburn | Labour | 23 May 2011 | Jun 2020 | |
| Lynn Williams | Labour | 20 Jul 2020 | ||
Current Composition
editFollowing the 2023 election, and one by-election since,[19] the composition of the council is as follows:[20]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 27 | |
| Conservative | 14 | |
| Reform UK | 1 | |
| Total | 42 | |
The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
editSince the last boundary changes in 2023 the council has comprised 42 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing two councillors. The whole council is elected together every four years.[21] The wards are listed at List of electoral wards in Lancashire#Blackpool.
Premises
edit
The council meets at Blackpool Town Hall on Talbot Square.[22] The building was completed in 1900.[23]
The council's offices are split between the Municipal Buildings on Corporation Street, immediately adjoining the rear of the Town Hall, and One Bickerstaffe Square, a modern building near Blackpool North railway station, completed in 2014.[24][25]
Notes
edit- ^ First-past-the-post used in by-elections.
References
edit- ^ Parkinson, Shelagh (15 May 2024). "I'm honoured to be Mayor of the country's number one seaside town Blackpool". The Gazette. Retrieved 16 May 2024.
- ^ "Council minutes, 20 July 2020" (PDF). Blackpool Council. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Chief executive changes in Blackpool and West Lancashire". Inside Media. 25 July 2011. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
- ^ "Blackpool Council political make-up".
- ^ "No. 21259". The London Gazette. 4 November 1851. p. 2869.
- ^ Cunningham Glen, W. (1869). The Law relating to Public Health and Local Government. London: Butterworths. p. 746. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ Farrer, William; Brownbill, J. (1912). A History of the County of Lancaster. London: Victoria County History. pp. 247–251. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
- ^ "Lancashire Record Office: What's in it for Blackpool?" (PDF). Lancashire County Council. November 2010. Retrieved 23 October 2023.
- ^ "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 23 August 2022
- ^ "The Lancashire (Boroughs of Blackburn and Blackpool) (Structural Change) Order 1996", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1996/1868, retrieved 22 August 2022
- ^ "Lieutenancies Act 1997", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1997 c. 23, retrieved 26 April 2023
- ^ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 23 June 2024.
- ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
- ^ "Blackpool". BBC News Online. Retrieved 26 September 2009.
- ^ "Council minutes". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Labour 'ship' now rudderless - Tory". Lancashire Telegraph. 9 June 2000. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Blackpool mourns leader". Lancashire Telegraph. 13 July 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Borough chief to retire early". Lancashire Telegraph. 1 August 2001. Retrieved 23 August 2022.
- ^ "Marton Ward By Election". Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "Local elections 2023: full council results for England". The Guardian. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ "The Blackpool (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1373, retrieved 20 May 2023
- ^ "Calendar". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ Historic England. "Town Hall, Blackpool (1205893)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
- ^ "Contact us". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
- ^ "Talbot Gateway". Blackpool Council. Retrieved 24 June 2024.