Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council is the local council of the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of seven in the West Midlands and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in Solihull.

Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Diana Holl-Allen,
Conservative
since 16 May 2023
Ian Courts,
Conservative
since 14 May 2019
Paul Johnson
since February 2023[1]
Structure
Seats51 councillors[2]
Political groups
Administration (29)
  Conservative (29)
Other parties (22)
  Green Party (13)
  Liberal Democrats (6)
  Independent (2)
Elections
First-past-the-post
Last election
2023
Next election
2024
Meeting place
Council House, Manor Square, Solihull, B91 3QB
Website
solihull.gov.uk

The council consists of 51 councillors who are elected by the local community. Councillors determine matters of policy on behalf of the local community and make key decisions, such as the annual budget and Council Tax.

Whilst the elected councillors decide the policies, council officers put them into practice. The council employs approximately 8,000 officers to give advice, implement decisions and manage the day to day delivery of its services.

Politics

The Conservative Party is the controlling party in Solihull. They have had the majority of councillors since the 2011 local elections replacing a previous Labour Party and Liberal Democrat coalition in the borough.[3]

Current Members of Parliament in the Solihull Borough include Julian Knight for Solihull and Saqib Bhatti for Meriden.

Solihull is also notable for the Green Party having been the main opposition since 2014. They had first gained the six seats in Smith's Wood and Chelmsley Wood wards from the Labour Party in the 2011, 2012 and 2014 Local Elections, and seats in Shirley South in 2014 and Shirley West in 2012 and 2014.[4] In 2018 they won their first seat in Castle Bromwich, from the Conservatives.[5] In 2021 the Greens gained a seat in the last ward still electing Labour councillors, Kingshurst and Fordbridge. In October 2021, the last two Labour councillors defected, one to the Conservatives and one to the Green Party, leaving Solihull as the only Metropolitan Borough Council in England without any Labour Party councillors.[6]

See also

References
  1. Cramp, Thomas (8 February 2023). "Paul Johnson appointed as acting chief executive of Solihull Council". Birmingham Mail. Retrieved 15 June 2023.
  2. "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections". opencouncildata.co.uk.
  3. "Local Elections 2011: Conservatives take power in Solihull". BirminghamLive. 6 May 2011.
  4. "Greens Celebrate Becoming 2nd Largest Party on Solihull Council". solihull.greenparty.org.uk.
  5. "Local elections 2018: Party leaders lose Solihull seats". BBC News. 4 May 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2021.
  6. "Anger as Labour's two councillors quit party and cross the floor". Solihull Observer. 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
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