Manchester City Council

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Manchester City Council
Third of council elected three years out of four
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms
Type
Type
Houses Unicameral
Term limits
 None
History
Founded 1 April 1974
Leadership
Leader
Paul Murphy
Since 2015
Structure
Seats 96
Manchester City Council 2015 Composition.svg
Political groups
Joint committees
 Greater Manchester Combined Authority
Greater Manchester Police and Crime Panel
Elections
First past the post
Last election
 2012 (one third of councillors)
2014 (one third of councillors)
2015 (one third of councillors)
Next election
 2016 (one third of councillors)
Motto
Concilio et Labore
Meeting place
Manchester town hall.jpg
Manchester Town Hall, Albert Square, Manchester
Website
http://www.manchester.gov.uk

Manchester City Council is the local government authority for Manchester, a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. It is composed of 96 councillors, three for each of the 32 electoral wards of Manchester. Currently the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Sir Richard Leese. Sir Howard Bernstein acts as the apolitical chief executive. Many, but not all, of the council's staff are based at Manchester Town Hall.

History

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Further information: History of Manchester

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. The area included in the city has been increased many times, in 1885 (Bradford, Harpurhey and Rusholme), 1890 (Blackley, Crumpsall, part of Droylsden, Kirkmanshulme, Moston, Newton Heath, Openshaw, and West Gorton), 1903 (Heaton), 1904 (Burnage, Chorlton cum Hardy, Didsbury, and Moss Side), 1909 (Gorton, and Levenshulme), 1931 (Wythenshawe: Baguley, Northenden, and Northen Etchells), and Ringway. A new Town Hall was opened in 1877 (by Alderman Abel Heywood) and the Mayor of Manchester was granted the title of Lord Mayor in 1893.[1]

Under the Local Government Act 1972 the council was reconstituted as a metropolitan borough council in 1974, and since then it has been controlled by the Labour Party. In 1980, Manchester was the first council to declare itself a nuclear-free zone. In 1984 it formed an equal opportunities unit as part of its opposition to Section 28.[2][3][4]

Political make up

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. Labour has controlled a majority of seats in every election since the council was reconstituted and as of 2015 occupies every seat.[5]

Year Labour Lib Dems Green Party Conservative Independent
2015 96 0 0 0 0
2014 95 0 0 0 1
2012 86 9 0 0 1
2011 75 20 0 0 1
2010 62 31 0 1 2
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

Coat of arms

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"

A coat of arms was granted to the Borough of Manchester in 1842 and Manchester was granted the title of city in 1853.[6]

  • The Shield: red (Gules) with three gold (Or) bands drawn diagonally across to the right hand side.
  • The Chief (the white (Argent) top segment): shows a ship at sea in full sail. This is a reference to the city's trading base.
  • The 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 industrial Manchester being the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution.
  • The 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 Red Rose of Lancashire.
  • Motto: Concilio et Labore, loosely translated "By wisdom and effort" (or "By counsel and hard work").

In April 2013, Manchester City Council threatened to take legal action against The Manchester Gazette, for its use of the City's coat of arms on their website. The News Outlet claimed it already gained permission and continued to use it for a further 8 months in spite of the warnings. Withington MP John Leech said the town hall’s latest move a ‘massive over-reaction and waste of money’, adding: “Have the council’s legal department got nothing better to do?” [7][8]

Leaders

City treasurer

  • Richard Paver (since 1991)[9]

Wards

Sources

  1. ↑ Frangopulo, N. J. (ed.) (1962) Rich Inheritance. Manchester: Manchester Education Committee; pp. 59–72
  2. ↑ [1] Archived August 18, 2011 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ [2] Archived June 11, 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ↑ [3][dead link]
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Frangopulo, N. J., ed. (1962) Rich Inheritance. Manchester: Education Committee; p. II (note by W. H. Shercliff), 59
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

Further reading

  • McKechnie, H. M. (ed.) (1915) Manchester in Nineteen Hundred and Fifteen. Manchester U. P.; "Undertakings of the City Council; Social Amelioration in Manchester; Elementary Education in Manchester; Secondary Schools in Manchester; The Evening School System of Manchester", by E. D. Simon, et al.
  • Manchester City Council. "Concilio et Labore" Series. No. 1-11. (Each pamphlet describes part of the council's work, e.g. no. 4: the City Treasurer.
  • Redford, Arthur (1939) The History of City Government in Manchester; Vol. 2 & 3: Borough and City; The Last Half Century.
  • Simon, Ernest D. (1926) A City Council from Within. London: Longmans, Green
  • Simon, Shena D. (1938) A Century of City Government: Manchester 1838–1938. London: G. Allen & Unwin
  • Tomlinson, H. E. (1943) "The Heraldry of Manchester" in: Bulletin of the John Rylands Library; vol. XXVIII, pp. 207–27

External links

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