St Helens Council

St Helens Council, also known as St Helens Borough Council and St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of St Helens in Merseyside, England. It is a metropolitan district council, one of five in Merseyside and one of 36 in the metropolitan counties of England, and provides the majority of local government services in St Helens. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.[1]

St Helens Council
All out elections every four years
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Lynn Clarke,
Labour
since 17 May 2023
David Baines,
Labour
since 22 May 2019
Lee Albino
since 9 March 2020
Structure
Seats48 councillors
Political groups
Administration (29)
  Labour (29)
Other parties (19)
  Independent (7)
  Green (6)
  Liberal Democrat (4)
  Conservative (2)
Joint committees
Liverpool City Region Combined Authority
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Authority
Merseyside Police and Crime Panel
Elections
Multiple member first-past-the-post
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Corporation Street, St Helens, WA10 1HF
Website
www.sthelens.gov.uk

History

From 1889 to 1974 the town of St Helens was a county borough, independent of any county council.[2] Under the Local Government Act 1972 it had its territory enlarged and became a metropolitan borough, with Merseyside County Council providing county-level services. Following the abolition of the county council in 1986 St Helens Council became responsible for all local government-services.

Political control

The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its revised powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[3][4]

Party in controlYears
Labour1974–2004
No overall control2004–2010
Labour2010–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in St Helens, usually being held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:[5]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Len Williams Labour1974May 1978
Gerald Baxter[6] LabourMay 19781983
Brian Green[7][8] LabourMay 19831985
Marie Rimmer[9][10] Labour198521 Apr 1993
Dave Watts[11][12] LabourMay 1993May 1997
Mike Doyle[13][14] Labour19971999
Marie Rimmer Labour19992006
Brian Spencer Liberal Democrats200619 May 2010
Marie Rimmer Labour19 May 201015 May 2013
Barrie Grunewald Labour15 May 201318 Apr 2018
Derek Long Labour18 Apr 201822 May 2019
David Baines Labour22 May 2019

Composition

Following the 2022 election, the composition of the council was as follows:[15]

PartyCouncillors
Labour29
Independent7
Green6
Liberal Democrats4
Conservative2
Total48

Of the independent councillors, three sit together as "The Independents" group, two form the "Newton-le-Willows Independents" group and the other two do not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2026.

Premises

The council is based at St Helens Town Hall on Corporation Street, overlooking Victoria Square in the town centre. The building was built in 1876 for the old borough council.[16]

Elections
See also: St Helens Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022, 48 councillors have been elected from 18 wards, with elections held every four years.[17]

References
  1. "Proposal to establish a combined authority for Greater Merseyside" (PDF). Department for Communities and Local Government. November 2013. Retrieved 10 December 2013.
  2. "St Helens Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  3. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
  4. "St Helens". BBC News Online. Retrieved 21 February 2015.
  5. "Council minutes". St Helens Borough Council. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  6. "Surprise new team". Liverpool Echo. 10 May 1978. p. 7. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  7. "Council chief calls in minders". Liverpool Echo. 26 May 1983. p. 1. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  8. "Labour probe to end feud". Liverpool Echo. 13 June 1985. p. 18. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  9. "Chief denies Labour rift". Liverpool Echo. 5 July 1985. p. 2. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  10. "'Why I had to quit as leader'". Liverpool Echo. 22 April 1993. p. 8. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  11. "St Helens bids to lure investors". Liverpool Echo. 17 May 1993. p. 12. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  12. "A sober supremo". Liverpool Echo. 2 May 1997. p. 7. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  13. "Home help". Liverpool Echo. 17 May 1997. p. 11. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  14. "Hundreds mourn Mike Doyle". St Helens Star. 19 January 2009. Retrieved 28 August 2022.
  15. "Your Councillors". St Helens Borough Council. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  16. "Council committee information". St Helens Borough Council. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  17. "The St Helens (Electoral Changes) Order 2021", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2021/1424, retrieved 28 August 2022
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