Manchester City Council

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

United Kingdom

This article is part of the series:
Politics and government of
the United Kingdom
Government
Parliament
Judiciary
Constituent countries
Elections
Foreign Policy
Other countries · Atlas
 Politics Portal
view • talk • edit

Manchester City Council is the local authority for the City of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. It is made up of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 wards. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Sir Richard Leese.

Much, but by no means all of the council and local civil service is housed at Manchester Town Hall, in the city's commercial centre.

Contents

[edit] History

Manchester Town Hall in Manchester, where the council is based.
Manchester Town Hall in Manchester, where the council is based.

Manchester was incorporated in 1838 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835 as the Corporation of Manchester or Manchester Corporation. It achieved city status in 1853, only the second such grant since the Reformation. Under the Local Government Act 1972 the council was reconstituted as a metropolitan borough council.

[edit] Political makeup

Elections are usually by thirds (a third of the seats elected, three years in every four), although the 2004 elections, due to substantial boundary changes (which involved the total number of councillors reduced), saw all seats contested.

Year Labour Liberal Democrats Green Party Conservative Independent
2008 61 34 0 1 0
2007 61 33 1 1 0
2006 62 33 1 0 0
2004 57 38 1 0 0
2003 71 27 1 0 0
2002 75 22 0 0 1
2000 78 21 0 0 0
1999 82 17 0 0 0
1998 84 15 0 0 0

The council has been controlled by the Labour Party since its reconstitution in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.

[edit] Coat of arms

The coat of arms of Manchester City Council.
The coat of arms of Manchester City Council.

"Gules, three bendlets enhanced Or; a chief argent, thereon on waves of the sea a ship under sail proper. On a wreath of colours, a terrestrial globe semée of bees volant, all proper. On the dexter side a heraldic antelope argent, attired, and chain reflexed over the back Or, and on the sinister side a lion guardant Or, murally crowned Gules; each charged on the shoulder with a rose of the last. Motto : Concilio Et Labore"".

The Shield : red (Gules) with three gold (Or) bands drawn diagonally across to the right hand side. The white (Argent) top segment (the Chief), shows a ship at sea in full sail. This is a reference to the city's trading base and to the Manchester Ship Canal. Crest : On a multicoloured wreath stands a terrestrial globe, signifying Manchester's world trade, and covered by a swarm of flying bees. The bee was adopted in the 19th century as a symbol of industry - Manchester being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution. Supporters : On the left a heraldic antelope with a chain attached to a gold (Or) collar, representing engineering industries, and hanging at the shoulder, the red rose of Lancashire, in which county Manchester once was. On the right a golden lion stands guardant (facing us), crowned with a red (Gules) castle (a reference to the Roman fort at Castlefield from which the city originated). The lion also wears the Lancashire Rose. Motto : "Consilio et Labore" - loosely translated "wisdom and effort".

[edit] Wards

[edit] Leaders

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

v • d • e
The City of Manchester
About Manchester
Districts
Languages