Sheffield City Council

Sheffield City Council

Type
Type	Metropolitan district
Leadership
Leader	Julie Dore, Labour
Structure
Seats	84 councillors
Joint committees	Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield Combined Authority
Labour	59 / 84
Liberal Democrats	17 / 84
Green	4 / 84
UKIP	4 / 84
Elections
Voting system	First past the post
Last election	2015
Next election	2016
Meeting place

Sheffield Town Hall
Website
www.sheffield.gov.uk

Sheffield City Council is the city council for the metropolitan borough of Sheffield in South Yorkshire, England. It consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28 wards, each with three councillors. It is currently under Labour control and led by Julie Dore.

History

The council was founded as the Corporation of Sheffield in 1843, when Sheffield was incorporated (see History of Sheffield). In 1889, it attained county borough status and in 1893 city status. In 1974, the Local Government Act 1972, reconstituted the City Council as a metropolitan district council of South Yorkshire, governed also by South Yorkshire County Council. It established a system of 90 councillors, three to each of 30 wards. This was reduced in 1980 with the merger of the Attercliffe and Darnall wards to 87 councillors in 29 wards.

In 1986, the abolition of metropolitan county councils saw Sheffield City Council effectively regain its county borough status.

In 2004, the local wards were completely reorganised, producing 28 new wards and 84 councillors.

In April 2014, the Sheffield City Council voted to recognize the right to self-determination of Somaliland, an autonomous region in northwestern Somalia, the first city council to do so. The gesture is purely ceremonial and carries no legal weight.^[1] The UK government and the international community officially recognize Somaliland as a part of Somalia.

Political control

Main article: Sheffield City Council elections

For twenty years from 1846, Isaac Ironside's Central Democratic Association was a force on the council. It then returned to typical Conservative–Liberal rivalry.

The Labour Party made little impact in its early years; by 1918, there were only three Labour councillors (and two Liberal-Labour, plus one Lib-Lab alderman). That all changed in 1919, when Labour won almost all the seats up for election that year, giving them 12 councillors and their coalition partners the Co-operative Party two. In response to their losses, the Conservative and Liberal groups merged to form the Citizens Association, retaining control with 32 councillors and 15 aldermen. The Lib-Labs remained unchanged in numbers and politically between the two groups.^[2]

In the following years, Labour continued to advance at the expense of the Citizens Association. By 1922, there were 18 Labour councillors and one alderman; by 1925, 22 councillors and one alderman. At the 1926 elections, Labour rose to 29 councillors. A majority on the council and a large number of retiring aldermen finally enabled them to take 8 positions on the aldermanic bench.^[2]

The seats were redistributed into 24 wards in 1930, and the Citizens Association renamed itself the Progressive Party. A further seat was added for Norton in 1934, taking the total number of positions to 75 councillors and 25 aldermen. That year, Labour briefly lost control, but regained it in 1934, with an increased majority of 12. This rose to 14 the following year. In 1945, Labour had 59 total seats to the Progressive's 39, one independent and one Communist. Labour continued to build its majority, to 34 in 1952 and 42 by 1958.^[2] However, it lost control to the Conservative Party, again standing on its own, in 1968-9.

The Council was reorganised under the Local Government Act 1972 and in 1974, Aldermen were abolished, with elections to Sheffield City Council moving to 'thirds', and elections three years of every four, with terms lasting four years.

Despite these changes the council remained under Labour control until 1999, when the Liberal Democrats took control of the council. The Labour Party regained control of the Council in 2002 with power shifting back to the Liberal Democrats in 2008. However, Labour took control once again in 2011.

During this period there were three years of No Overall Control; from 2002-03 (Labour Minority), 2007-08 (Labour Minority) and 2010-11 (Liberal Democrat Minority).

Leaders

A list of leaders of Sheffield City Council from 1901.^[3]

1901: William Clegg (Liberal)
1903: Herbert Hughes (Conservative)
1905: William Clegg (Liberal)
1907: Herbert Hughes (Conservative)
1911: William Clegg (Liberal, Citizens from 1920)
1926: Ernest Rowlinson (Labour)
1932: Arthur Blanchard (Municipal Progressive)
1933: Ernest Rowlinson (Labour)
1941: William Asbury (Labour)
1942: Frank Thraves (Labour)
1946: J. H. Bingham (Labour)
19??: Grace Tebbutt (Labour)
1966: Ron Ironmonger (Labour)
1968: Harold Hebblethwaite (Conservative)
1969: Ron Ironmonger (Labour)

Leaders & Control since 1974

	Years
George Wilson	1974 – 1980	Labour
David Blunkett	1980 – 1987
Clive Betts	1987 – 1992
Mike Bower	1992 – 1998
Jan Wilson	1998 – 1999
Peter Moore	1999 – 2002	Liberal Democrats
Jan Wilson	2002 – 2003	No Overall Control
	2003 – 2007	Labour
	2007 – 2008	No Overall Control
Paul Scriven	2008 – 2010	Liberal Democrats
Paul Scriven	2010 – 2011	No Overall Control
Julie Dore	2011 – present	Labour

Council as service provider and employer

Sheffield City Council provides approximately 550 services to its citizens. It is also a major employer in the city, with more than 18,000 employees, including all state school staff in its role as Local Education Authority (LEA).

Services and employees are organised into four portfolios:^[4]

Resources Portfolio - responsible for corporate resources and organisational development.
Children, Young People and Families's Portfolio - equivalent to an LEA and responsible for early years, primary, secondary and special schools, children and families' social care, looked-after children and youth offending.
Place Portfolio - responsible for planning, housing, environmental regulation, parks and countryside, street maintenance and cleanliness, and cultural activities.
Communities Portfolio - responsible for libraries, local governance, community safety and adult social services, including physical disability, learning disability and older people.

Other functions are performed by partners and contractors of the council:^[5]

Amey manage the city's 'Streets Ahead' project including management of highways.
Kier Sheffield maintains and repairs the social housing stock.
Veolia manages household waste disposal.
Capita provides HR, payroll and IT services for council employees.

References

↑ "Somaliland Hails British Step Forward in Independence Bid". VOA. 5 April 2014. Retrieved 23 April 2014.
1 2 3 J. Mendelson, W. Owen, S. Pollard and V. M. Thornes, The Sheffield Trades and Labour Council 1858 - 1958
↑ Clyde Binfield et al., The History of the City of Sheffield 1843-1993. Volume I: Politics
↑ https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/your-city-council/roles-who/management-team.html
↑ https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/business-economy/contracts/Major-Contracts.html

External links

Local authorities in South Yorkshire

Joint arrangements	Sheffield City Region Combined Authority South Yorkshire Joint Secretariat

Metropolitan district councils	Barnsley Doncaster Rotherham Sheffield

Metropolitan districts of England

Districts	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

Councils	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

Local elections	Barnsley Birmingham Bolton Bradford Bury Calderdale Coventry Doncaster Dudley Gateshead Kirklees Knowsley Leeds Liverpool Manchester Newcastle upon Tyne North Tyneside Oldham Rochdale Rotherham Salford Sandwell Sefton Sheffield Solihull South Tyneside St Helens Stockport Sunderland Tameside Trafford Wakefield Walsall Wigan Wirral Wolverhampton

Council elections in South Yorkshire

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016

Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016

Rotherham Metropolitan Borough Council	1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016

Sheffield City Council	1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1945 1946 1947 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1975 1976 1978 1979 1980 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1990 1991 1992 1994 1995 1996 1998 1999 2000 2002 2003 2004 2006 2007 2008 2010 2011 2012 2014 2015 2016

South Yorkshire County Council	1973 1977 1981 Abolished

West Riding County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished

See also: Wards Boundary changes

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