Salford City Council is the local authority for the City of Salford, a metropolitan borough with city status in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.
The council has been under Labour majority control since the metropolitan borough was created in 1974. Since 2012 the council has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Salford, which post has been held by Paul Dennett of the Labour Party since 2016. The council is based at Salford Civic Centre in Swinton.
History
The settlement of Salford had anciently been administered as a township within the parish of Manchester, which in turn formed part of the Salford Hundred. Around 1230 the settlement was given a charter by Ranulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, who was the lord of the manor at the time, making it a seigneurial borough with a limited degree of self-government. In 1791 a body of improvement commissioners was established to administer the town, largely superseding the old manorial authorities.
Salford was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1844, after which it was governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Salford', generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Salford was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire. Salford was granted city status in 1926, after which the corporation was also known as the city council.
The larger metropolitan district of Salford and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of ten metropolitan districts within the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. The first election was held in 1973. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's five outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Salford, Eccles and Swinton and Pendlebury and the urban district councils of Irlam and Worsley. The new metropolitan district and its council formally came into being on 1 April 1974, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished. Salford's borough and city statuses both passed to the new district, allowing the council to take the name Salford City Council and appoint a mayor, continuing Salford's series of mayors dating back to 1844.
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Greater Manchester's ten borough councils, including Salford City Council, with some services provided through joint committees.
Between 2005 and 2020 some services, including property, highways and infrastructure, planning and building control were provided by Urban Vision, a public-private partnership formed between the city council, Capita and Galliford Try. The contract with Urban Vision finished in 2020 and was not renewed, with services being brought back in-house to the council.
Since 2011 the council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across Greater Manchester, notably regarding transport and town planning, but Salford City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.
In 2012 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The position is called the Mayor of Salford, or the "city mayor". Prior to 2012 the title Mayor of Salford had been used for the council's chairperson and ceremonial figurehead, performing non-political civic duties. The more ceremonial role continues, but now renamed the ceremonial mayor.
Governance Salford City Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the Mayor of Salford sits on the combined authority as Salford's representative. There are no civil parishes in the city.
Political control The council has been under Labour majority control since the 1974 reforms. (Put "Salford" in search box to see specific results.)
PartyPeriod 1974–present
Leadership Prior to 2012, political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The leaders from 1974 to 2012 were:
Councillor Party From To Les Hough 1974 26 Apr 1987 Ken Edwards 20 May 1987 May 1988 Bill Hinds May 1988 May 2003 John Merry May 2003 6 May 2012
In 2012 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The mayors since 2012 have been:
Mayor Party From To Ian Stewart 7 May 2012 8 May 2016 Paul Dennett 9 May 2016
Composition Following the 2026 election, the composition of the council, excluding the city mayor's seat is:
The next election is due in May 2027.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2021, the council has comprised 60 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council (one councillor for each ward) elected each time for a four-year term of office.
Wards and councillors WardCouncillorPartyTerm of office Barton and WintonJohn Mullen 2026-30Michael James Felse 2026-30Jacqui Fahy 2024-28 Blackfriars and TrinityEmma Cammell 2023-27Jane Hamilton 2024-28David Jones 2026-30 Boothstown and EllenbrookJan Barrington 2026-30Darren Ward 2023-27Bob Clarke 2024-28 BroughtonJohn Merry 2026-30Jim King 2023-27Maria Brabiner 2024-28 Cadishead and Lower IrlamJames Richard Hart 2026-30Hannah Robinson-Smith 2023-27Leighton James Medley 2026-30 ClaremontChristopher Bates 2026-30Mike Pevitt 2023-27Barbara Bentham 2024-28 EcclesNathaniel Tetteh 2026-30Mike McCusker 2023-27Lisa Muir 2026-30 Higher Irlam and Peel GreenChristopher Evans 2026-30John David Walsh 2023-27Tracy Kelly 2024-28 Kersal and Broughton ParkAndrew Walters 2026-30Ari Leitner 2023-27Arnold Saunders 2024-28 Little HultonLewis Croden 2026-30Rob Sharpe 2023-27Tony Davies 2024-28 OrdsallBenjamin Grogan 2023-27Martyn Stockley 2026-30Tanya Burch 2024-28 Pendlebury and CliftonNatalie Anne Rowland 2026-30Barry Warner 2023-27Su Matthews 2024-28 Pendleton and CharlestownDaryl Stone-Shaw 2026-30Wilson Nkurunziza 2023-27Michelle Barnes 2024-28 QuaysJake Rowland 2023-27Andrea Romero O'Brien 2026-30Jonathan Moore 2024-28 Swinton and WardleyPeter Charles Jones 2026-30Bill Hinds 2023-27Jim Dawson 2024-28 Swinton ParkMonika Katarzyna Puchalska 2026-30Jim Cammell 2023-27Heather Fletcher 2024-28 Walkden NorthMiles Henderson 2026-30Samantha Bellamy 2023-27Adrian Brocklehurst 2024-28 Walkden SouthIvan Voronov 2026-30Hilaria Asumu 2023-27Joshua Mark Brooks 2024-28 Weaste & SeedleyPaul Doyle 2026-30Charlotte Youd 2023-27Philip Cusack 2024-28 Worsley and Westwood ParkKaiden Jason Morrison 2026-30Robin Garrido 2023-27James Prady 2024-28
Premises The council is based at Salford Civic Centre on Chorley Road in Swinton. The building had been completed in 1938 as Swinton and Pendlebury Town Hall, originally serving as the headquarters of Swinton and Pendlebury Borough Council. The council has additional offices at Turnpike House at 631 Eccles New Road.
Notes
References
External links Salford City Council