Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Coat of arms or logo
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor of Stockport
Graham Greenhalgh, Lib Dem
Leader of the Council
Chief executive
Caroline Simpson
since January 2022
Structure
Seats63 councillors
Stockport Council composition
Political groups
Administration
  Liberal Democrats (29)
Other parties
  Labour (24)
  Heald Green Ratepayers (3)
  Green (3)
  Edgeley Community Association (3)
  Independent (1)
Joint committees
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2023 (all 63 councillors)
Next election
2024 (one third of councillors)
Meeting place
Stockport Town Hall, Edward Street
Website
stockport.gov.uk

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.[2] The council is currently run by a Liberal Democrat minority administration. At the 2023 local elections, the Liberal Democrats gained two more seats, increasing their lead over the Labour Party to six seats, and retaining minority control. This lead is now five seats after one of the Liberal Democrats’ councillors resigned the whip, days after being re-elected. The Liberal Democrats currently have 29 seats, Labour 24, and the Heald Green Ratepayers, Greens and the Edgeley Community Association each holding 3. There is 1 independent.

History

Stockport became incorporated in 1835 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835. In 1888, the County Borough of Stockport was created under the Local Government Act 1888.[3][4] The Borough would be enlarged in 1901 and 1903, absorbing urban districts such as Reddish and Heaton Norris from the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.[4]

The Local Government Act 1972 would abolish this county borough, creating the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport within Greater Manchester.

Wards and councillors

Ward Councillor Party Term of office
Bramhall North Mark Jones Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Suzanne Wyatt Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Alex Wynne Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Bramhall South and Woodford Ian Powney Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Dallas Jones Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Jeremy Meal Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Bredbury and Woodley Joe Barratt Labour 2023–27
Sue Thorpe Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Rosemary Barratt Labour 2023–24
Bredbury Green and Romiley Lisa Smart Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Angie Clark Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Mark Roberts Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Brinnington and Stockport Central Christine Carrigan Labour Co-op 2023–27
Kerry Waters Labour 2023–26
Karl Wardlaw Labour 2023–24
Cheadle East and Cheadle Hulme North David Meller Labour Co-op 2023–27
Jilly Julian Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Yvonne Guariento Labour Co-op 2023–24
Cheadle Hulme South Mark Hunter Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Helen Foster-Grime Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Keith Holloway Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Cheadle West and Gatley Clive Greenhalgh Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Ian Hunter Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Tom Morrison Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Davenport and Cale Green Dickie Davies Labour 2023–27
Wendy Wild Labour 2023–26
Janet Mobbs Labour 2023–24
Edgeley Matt Wynne Community Association 2023–27
Leah Taylor Community Association 2023–26
Asa Caton Community Association 2023–24
Hazel Grove Jake Austin Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Wendy Meikle Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Frankie Singleton Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Heald Green Carole McCann Heald Green Ratepayers 2023–27
Ana Charles-Jones Heald Green Ratepayers 2023–26
Catherine Stuart Heald Green Ratepayers 2023–24
Heatons North David Sedgwick Labour 2023–27
John Taylor Labour 2023–26
Dena Ryness Labour Co-op 2023–24
Heatons South Colin Foster Labour 2023–27
Dean Fitzpatrick Labour 2023–26
Claire Vibert Labour Co-op 2023–24
Manor Laura Clingan Labour 2023–27
Sue Glithero Labour 2023–26
Charlie Stewart Labour 2023–24
Marple North Steve Gribbon Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Geoff Abell Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Becky Senior Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Marple South and High Lane Shan Alexander Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Aron Thornley Independent[lower-alpha 1] 2023–26
Colin MacAlister Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Norbury and Woodsmoor Grace Baynham Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Dominic Hardwick Liberal Democrats 2023–26
Pete West Liberal Democrats 2023–24
Offerton Will Dawson Liberal Democrats 2023–27
Helen Hibbert Labour 2023–26
Will Sharp Labour 2023–24
Reddish North David Wilson Labour 2023–27
Holly McCormack Labour 2023–26
Rachel Wise Labour Co-op 2023–24
Reddish South Liz Crix Green 2023–27
Gary Lawson Green 2023–26
James Frizzell Green 2023–24
  1. ↑ Elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor but resigned to sit as an independent on 16 May 2023.

Structure

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council (Stockport Council) uses a Leader and cabinet system. There are eight cabinet members, including the leader of the council; each has a separate portfolio containing responsibilities for different services and areas of the council. There are also six scrutiny committees which scrutinise decisions made by the cabinet.

Cabinet

The Cabinet of the Council consists of eight Councillors:[5]

  • Leader of the Council: Mark Hunter
  • Children, Families and Education: Wendy Meikle
  • Finance and Resources: Jilly Julian
  • Climate Change and Environment: Mark Roberts (Deputy Cabinet Leader)
  • Highways, Parks and Leisure Services: Grace Baynham
  • Economy, Regeneration and Housing: Colin MacAlister
  • Communities, Culture and Sport: Frankie Singleton
  • Health and Adult Social Care: Keith Holloway

Politics

Stockport Council has 63 elected members, belonging to five different political groups.

In the 2004 election, all councillors on the council were put up for election at the same time. This election was conducted exclusively by postal voting. Each elector was given three votes, and asked to pick three candidates. The number of votes each candidate received then determined when they would next stand for election.

Elections were then scheduled for 2006, 2007, and 2008.

In the council elections on Thursday 1 May 2008, in which one third of the seats were up for re-election, there were two main changes. In the Cheadle & Gatley ward, incumbent councillor Paul Carter of the Liberal Democrats lost his seat to the Conservative candidate Mick Jones. Similarly in the Brinnington and Central Ward, Labour councillor Maureen Rowles lost her seat to the Liberal Democrat candidate Christian Walker.[6] However, a short time after this election, he chose to serve as an independent councillor,[7] later in the year returned to the Liberal Democrats,[8] and then in 2011 declared himself independent again.[9]

During 2009, which was a "fallow year" (one without scheduled elections), there were three by-elections following the deaths of serving councillors.[10][11][12] Subsequently, Labour councillor Anne Graham joined the Liberal Democrat group, bringing them to 36 Councillors out of 63.[13]

On 2 February 2011, Councillors David White, Roy Driver and Anne Graham all resigned from the Liberal Democrat Group. All three cited unhappiness with the national party's involvement with a "Tory-led" government. They formed an Independent Left Group on the Council, whilst awaiting the result of membership applications to the Labour Party, and subsequently joined the Labour Group after the 2011 elections.[13] Driver was not selected for a seat in the May 2011 elections, but unsuccessfully contested Bredbury and Woodley for Labour in May 2012.[14] He was eventually elected as councillor for Reddish North in 2015.[15]

On 21 January 2012, Patrick McAuley, Labour councillor for Manor since May 2011, announced on Twitter that he had resigned from the Labour Party but that he would continue to serve as a councillor;[16] he joined the Liberal Democrat group in December 2012,[17] but quit in April 2016, a month after being re-elected.[18]

In October and November 2014, Labour lost three Stockport councillors, with Brian Hendley, Paul Moss, and Laura Booth all leaving the party. Hendley had been deselected without his knowing, Moss resigned due to house building on Reddish Vale Country Park, and Booth quit over allegations of a "culture of systematic bullying".[19]

Following the 2022 Local Elections, the Liberal Democrats had 28 seats, Labour 24, Conservatives four, Heald Green Ratepayers three, the Greens two, and there were two independent councillors.[20] No party then had overall control, but the Liberal Democrats became the largest group on the council and formed a minority administration, with Mark Hunter as Leader of the Council.[21]

Due to boundary changes, at the 2023 Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council election all 63 seats were contested at the same time. The Liberal Democrats gained two seats, taking them to thirty, with Labour on 24. There were also three Greens, three Heald Green Ratepayers, and three from the Edgeley Community Association.[22]

References

  1. ↑ Statham, Nick. "Manchester Evening News local democracy reporter coverage of the council leadership vote". Retrieved 19 May 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ Stockport Council
  3. ↑ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Stockport" . Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. 1 2 Kelly's Directory of Cheshire 1914. Kelly's Directories Ltd. pp. 583–586. OCLC 1131686510.
  5. ↑ "Cabinet 2022/23" (PDF). democracy.stockport.gov.uk. Stockport Council. Retrieved 29 June 2022.
  6. ↑ Morley, Victoria (7 May 2008). "It's alright on the night for Lib-Dems". Stockport Express. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  7. ↑ Manchester Evening News (18 April 2010). "Councillor guilty of race abuse". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  8. ↑ Scapens, Alex (10 November 2010). "Race case councillor voted back into the party he quit". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  9. ↑ Manchester Evening News (16 June 2011). "Defection number four from Stockport Lib Dems". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  10. ↑ Williams, Jennifer (8 April 2009). "A sad goodbye to a 'Lib-Dem legend'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. ↑ Manchester Evening News (24 July 2009). "Labour hold onto North Reddish seat". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. ↑ Devine, Peter (8 July 2009). "Tributes paid to 'true gentleman'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. 1 2 Manchester Evening News (3 February 2011). "Control of Stockport council hangs in the balance after defections". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  14. ↑ "Election results for Bredbury & Woodley: Local Election 2012 – Thursday, 3rd May, 2012". Stockport.gov.uk. Stockport MBC. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  15. ↑ "Councillor Roy Edward Driver". Stockport.gov.uk. Stockport MBC. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  16. ↑ Oldham, Steven (30 March 2012). "Stockport Councillor believes George Galloway". Mancunian Matters. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  17. ↑ "Councillor Patrick McAuley joins Stockport Lib Dems". stockportlibdems.org.uk. Stockport Lib Dems. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  18. ↑ Scarens, Alex (13 April 2016). "Second Stockport councillor resigns in row sparked by proposed market move". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  19. ↑ Davis, Matthew (5 November 2014). "Third councillor quits Stockport Labour Party in a month". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
  20. ↑ "Your Councillors". Government of the United Kingdom, Stockport MBC. 21 May 2022.
  21. ↑ "Liberal Democrats lead Stockport Council after crunch vote". BBC News. 19 May 2022.
  22. ↑ Statham, Nick (5 May 2023). "Stockport local council elections 2023 results in full". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 20 May 2023.
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