Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Stockport, Greater Manchester, England.[1] The council is currently in no overall control, as at the 2016 local elections the Liberal Democrats lost their majority. Currently, Labour and the Liberal Democrats both have 26 seats, and the Conservatives have 8. There are also 3 independent councillors that represent the Heald Green Ratepayers.[2]

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Type
Type
Leadership
Mayor of Stockport
Cllr Dean Fitzpatrick, Labour
Leader of the Council
Cllr Elise Wilson, Labour
Chief executive
Pam Smith
since 4 September 2017
Structure
Seats63 councillors
Political groups
Administration
  Labour (26)
Other parties
  Liberal Democrats (26)
  Conservative (8)
  Heald Green Ratepayers (3)
Joint committees
Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel
Length of term
4 years
Elections
First past the post
Last election
2016 (one third of councillors)
2018 (one third of councillors)
2019 (one third of councillors)
Next election
2021 (one third of councillors)
2022 (one third of councillors)
2023 (one third of councillors)
Meeting place
Stockport Town Hall, Edward Street
Website
stockport.gov.uk

Wards and councillors

There are 21 wards, each represented by three councillors.[3]

Council Wards
1 Bramhall North
2 Bramhall South & Woodford
3 Bredbury & Woodley
4 Bredbury Green & Romiley
5 Brinnington & Central
6 Cheadle & Gatley
7 Cheadle Hulme North
8 Cheadle Hulme South
9 Davenport & Cale Green
10 Edgeley & Cheadle Heath
11 Hazel Grove
12 Heald Green
13 Heatons North
14 Heatons South
15 Manor
16 Marple North
17 Marple South & High Lane
18 Offerton
19 Reddish North
20 Reddish South
21 Stepping Hill
Parliamentary constituency Ward Councillor Party Term of office
Cheadle
constituency
Bramhall North Linda Holt Conservative 2016–21
Lisa Walker Conservative 2018–22
Alanna Vine Conservative 2019–23
Bramhall South and Woodford Brian Bagnall Conservative 2016–21
John McGahan Conservative 2018–22
Mike Hurleston Conservative 2019–23
Cheadle and Gatley Keith Holloway Liberal Democrats 2016–21
Iain Roberts Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Graham Greenhalgh Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Cheadle Hulme North John Pantall Liberal Democrats 2016–21
David Meller Labour Co-op 2018–22
Tom Morrison Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Cheadle Hulme South Mark Hunter Liberal Democrats 2016–21
Helen Foster-Grime Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Suzanne Wyatt Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Heald Green Anna Charles-Jones Heald Green Ratepayers 2016–21
Adrian Nottingham Heald Green Ratepayers 2018–22
Carole McCann Heald Green Ratepayers 2019–23
Stepping Hill Mark Weldon Liberal Democrats 2016–21
John Wright Conservative 2018–22
Grace Baynham Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Denton and Reddish
constituency
Reddish North Kate Butler Labour 2016–21
David Wilson Labour 2018–22
Roy Driver Labour 2019–23
Reddish South Yvonne Guariento Labour 2016–21
Jude Wells Labour 2018–22
Janet Mobbs Labour 2019–23
Hazel Grove
constituency
Bredbury and Woodley Christine Corris Liberal Democrats 2016–21
Chris Gordon Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Stuart Corris Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Bredbury Green and Romiley Lisa Smart Liberal Democrats 2016–21
Angie Clark Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Mark Roberts Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Hazel Grove Charles Gibson Liberal Democrats 2019–21
Paul Ankers Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Lou Ankers Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Marple North Malcolm Allan Liberal Democrats 2016–21
Steve Gribbon Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Becky Senior Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Marple South and High Lane Tom Dowse Conservative 2016–21
Colin MacAlister Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Aron Thornley Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Offerton Laura Booth Labour 2016–21
Will Dawson Liberal Democrats 2018–22
Wendy Meikle Liberal Democrats 2019–23
Stockport
constituency
Brinnington and Central Andy Sorton Labour 2016–21
Becky Crawford Labour 2018–22
Kerry Waters Labour 2019–23
Davenport and Cale Green Wendy Wild Labour 2016–21
Elise Wilson Labour 2018–22
Dickie Davies Labour 2019–23
Edgeley and Cheadle Heath Sheila Bailey Labour 2016–21
Philip Harding Labour 2018–22
Matt Wynne Labour 2019–23
Heatons North David Sedgwick Labour 2016–21
John Taylor Labour 2018–22
Dena Ryness Labour 2019–23
Heatons South Colin Foster Labour 2016–21
Tom McGee Labour 2018–22
Dean Fitzpatrick Labour 2019–23
Manor Charlie Stewart Labour 2016–21
Amanda Peers Labour 2018–22
Laura Clingan Labour 2019–23

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:

  • Chair: Elise Wilson (also Devolution)
  • Vice-Chair: Tom McGee (also Resources, Commissioning and Governance)
  • Economy and Regeneration: David Meller
  • Sustainable Stockport: Sheila Bailey
  • Children, Family Services and Education: Colin Foster
  • Health and Adult Social Care: Jude Wells
  • Inclusive Neighbourhoods: Amanda Peers
  • Citizen Focus and Engagement: Kate Butler

Politics

Stockport Council has 63 elected members, belonging to three different parties. No party has overall control.

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 Democrat party 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.[4] However, a short time after this election, he chose to serve as an Independent Councillor,[5] then returned to the Liberal Democrats,[6] then declared himself Independent again.[7]

During 2009, which was supposed to be a "fallow year" (one without elections), there were three by-elections following the deaths of serving councillors.[8][9][10] Subsequently, Labour Councillor Anne Graham joined the Liberal Democrat group, bringing them to 36 Councillors of 63.[11]

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 became Independent Left Councillors, forming the 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.[12] Roy Driver was not selected for a seat in the May 2011 and unsuccessfully contested Bredbury and Woodley for Labour in May 2012.[13] He was eventually elected councillor for Reddish North in 2015.[14]

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 would continue to serve as a councillor;[15] he subsequently joined the Liberal Democrat group in December 2012,[16] but quit in April 2016, a month after being re-elected.[17]

In October and November 2014, Stockport Labour lost 3 seats with Brian Hendley, Paul Moss and Laura Booth all leaving the party. Hendley was 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".[18]

Heald Green Ratepayers are the only non-mainstream candidates to win seats.

References

  1. Stockport Council
  2. "Your Councillors". Government of the United Kingdom, Stockport MBC.
  3. Stockport Council
  4. Morley, Victoria (7 May 2008). "It's alright on the night for Lib-Dems". Stockport Express. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  5. Manchester Evening News (18 April 2010). "Councillor guilty of race abuse". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  6. Scapens, Alex (10 November 2010). "Race case councillor voted back into the party he quit". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  7. Manchester Evening News (16 June 2011). "Defection number four from Stockport Lib Dems". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  8. Williams, Jennifer (8 April 2009). "A sad goodbye to a 'Lib-Dem legend'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  9. Manchester Evening News (24 July 2009). "Labour hold onto North Reddish seat". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  10. Devine, Peter (8 July 2009). "Tributes paid to 'true gentleman'". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  11. Manchester Evening News (3 February 2011). "Control of Stockport council hangs in the balance after defections". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  12. Manchester Evening News (3 February 2011). "Control of Stockport council hangs in the balance after defections". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  13. "Election results for Bredbury & Woodley: Local Election 2012 – Thursday, 3rd May, 2012". Stockport.gov.uk. Stockport MBC. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  14. "Councillor Roy Edward Driver". Stockport.gov.uk. Stockport MBC. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  15. Oldham, Steven (30 March 2012). "Stockport Councillor believes George Galloway". Mancunian Matters. Archived from the original on 25 May 2014. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  16. "Councillor Patrick McAuley joins Stockport Lib Dems". stockportlibdems.org.uk. Stockport Lib Dems. 7 December 2012. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  17. Scarens, Alex (13 April 2016). "Second Stockport councillor resigns in row sparked by proposed market move". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
  18. Davis, Matthew (5 November 2014). "Third councillor quits Stockport Labour Party in a month". Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 31 May 2016.
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