Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Stoke-on-Trent City Council
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Founded	1 April 1974; 47 years ago
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Cllr Ross Irving
Leader of the Council	Cllr Abi Brown, Conservative ; since 14 May 2019
City Director	Jon Rouse
Structure
Seats	44 councillors
Political groups	Administration Conservative (22) Other Parties Labour (13) City Independents (6) Independents (3)
Length of term	Whole council elected every four years
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	2 May 2019
Next election	May 2023
Meeting place
	Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent
Website
	stoke.gov.uk

Stoke-on-Trent City Council is the local authority of Stoke-on-Trent, a unitary authority in the West Midlands region. As a unitary authority it has the powers of a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. As such, it is administratively separate from the rest of Staffordshire.

The council area elects 44 Councillors from 29 wards. Following the May 2019 local elections, Stoke-on-Trent City Council comprises 15 Labour councillors, 15 Conservative councillors, 11 City Independent councillors, 2 Independent councillors and one non-aligned independent councillor. It is led by a minority Conservative administration.^[2]

Since the 2019 local elections, a string of defections and resignations has significantly changed the composition of the Council. There is now a majority Conservative administration, led by Abi Brown. There are 22 Conservative councillors, 13 Labour councillors, 6 City Independent councillors and 3 independent councillors.

Powers and functions[]

The local authority derives its powers and functions from the Local Government Act 1972 and subsequent legislation. For the purposes of local government, Stoke-on-Trent is a non-metropolitan area of England. As a unitary authority, Stoke-on-Trent City Council has the powers and functions of both a non-metropolitan county and district council combined. In its capacity as a district council it is a billing authority collecting Council Tax and business rates, it processes local planning applications, it is responsible for housing, waste collection and environmental health. In its capacity as a county council it is a local education authority, responsible for social services, libraries and waste disposal.

History[]

A 2008 report by the Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission to the Secretary of State for Local Government was highly critical of the political system then in use in the city.^[3]^[4] This led to changes to the electoral map in May 2011: From a council of 60 members representing 20 wards with three councillors each, the size of the council was reduced to 44 councillors representing 37 wards (31 single member wards, five two-member wards and one three-member ward).^[5]

Political control[]

Since the first election in 1973 political control of the council was held by the following parties:^[6] The council is currently led by Cllr Abi Brown (Conservative).

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1973–2002
	No overall control	2002–2004
	Labour	2004–2006
	No overall control	2006–2011
	Labour	2011–2015
	No overall control	2015–present

Directly elected mayor[]

The executive function of Stoke-on-Trent City Council was controlled by a directly elected mayor of Stoke-on-Trent from 2002 to 2009, the position having been established by referendum on 2 May 2002. The position was abolished by referendum on 23 October 2008 and formally ceased to exist the following year.

Party in control		Years
	Independent	2002–2005
	Labour	2005–2009

List of former council leaders[]

Leader	Party	Years	Notes
Ted Smith	Labour	1988–1997
Barry Stockley	Labour	1997–2002
Geoff Davies	City Independent	May–Oct 2002	Independent-Conservative Coalition
Mike Wolfe	Independent	2002–2005	Directly Elected Mayor
Mark Meredith	Labour	2005–2009	Directly Elected Mayor
Ross Irving	Conservative	2009–2010	Conservative, Independent, Lib Dem Coalition
Mohammed Pervez	Labour	2010–2015	Coalition to 2011; Majority Labour 2011-2015
Dave Conway	Coalition	2015–2018	Coalition between Conservative, Independent and UKIP
Ann James	Coalition	2018–2019	Coalition between Conservative and City Independents group.

In the media[]

On 4 May 2020, Councillor Mohammed Pervez, then leader of the Labour opposition and councillor for Moorcroft ward, announced his resignation after 14 years, citing "work-life balance" and a decision to "focus more on my daytime job and family".^[7] The following day, local newspaper Stoke Sentinel quoted a Staffordshire Police spokesperson saying they were investigating Mr. Pervez following a complaint about an unspecified "alleged criminal offence".^[8] https://www.stokesentinel.co.uk/news/stoke-on-trent-news/police-probing-stoke-trent-election-5559500

Deputy leader of the Labour opposition, Councillor Paul Shotton, took over Mr. Pervez's former opposition leadership role on an interim basis.^[9] Since the Autumn of 2020, Councillor Jane Ashworth (Labour, Burslem Central) has served as leader of the opposition and leader of the Stoke-on-Trent Labour group. The Moorcroft by-election, which took place on May 6th, 2021, resulted in Conservative Tariq Mahmood’s election to fill the vacancy. The police are currently investigating this election due to allegations of voter fraud. ^[10]

In 2014, Councillor Paul Shotton, then deputy council leader, was reported to have "frequently" used false names to contact BBC Radio Stoke to praise the council's and his own work. This resulted in his suspension by the Labour party and the "loss of senior council roles".^[11] In 2014, Private Eye magazine awarded Councillor Shotton the "Rotten Boroughs award" for media manipulation.^[12]

References[]

^ "Veteran councillor voted Stoke-on-Trent's first ever female leader". Stoke Sentinel. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2021.
^ "Cabinet and council leader". Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
^ "Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission Report to John Healey, Minister for Local Government and to Stoke-on-Trent City Council" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
^ Watson, Nick (28 May 2008). "Damaged Potteries". BBC Politics Show – West Midlands. BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2009.
^ "Municipal Elections – Thursday, 5th May, 2011". 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.
^ "Elections 2011 – England council elections – Stoke-on-Trent". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2013.
^ "Council of City of Stoke-on-Trent".
^ "Stoke Sentinel".
^ "Stoke Sentinel".
^ "Stoke-on-Trent Council" (PDF).
^ Private Eye, Issue 1522, p.20
^ Private Eye, Issue 1368, 2014.

[1] "Veteran councillor voted Stoke-on-Trent's first ever female leader". Stoke Sentinel. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 20 January 2021.

[2] "Cabinet and council leader". Stoke-on-Trent City Council. Retrieved 29 January 2021.

[3] "Stoke-on-Trent Governance Commission Report to John Healey, Minister for Local Government and to Stoke-on-Trent City Council" (PDF). 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

[4] Watson, Nick (28 May 2008). "Damaged Potteries". BBC Politics Show – West Midlands. BBC News Online. Archived from the original on 17 November 2012. Retrieved 3 January 2009.

[Results2011-5] "Municipal Elections – Thursday, 5th May, 2011". 6 May 2011. Archived from the original on 14 October 2011. Retrieved 6 May 2011.

[change-6] "Elections 2011 – England council elections – Stoke-on-Trent". BBC News. 10 May 2011. Retrieved 15 January 2013.

[7] "Council of City of Stoke-on-Trent".

[8] "Stoke Sentinel".

[9] "Stoke Sentinel".

[10] "Stoke-on-Trent Council" (PDF).

[11] Private Eye, Issue 1522, p.20

[12] Private Eye, Issue 1368, 2014.

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