Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council

Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Stockport Metropolitan Borough Council
Type
Type	Metropolitan borough
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
Seats	63 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
Voting system	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

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]

Wards and councillors

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

Parliamentary constituency	Ward	Councillor	Party
Cheadle constituency	Bramhall North	Linda Holt style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2016–21
		Lisa Walker style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2018–22
		Alanna Vine style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2019–23
	Bramhall South and Woodford	Brian Bagnall style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2016–21
		John McGahan style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2018–22
		Mike Hurleston style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2019–23
	Cheadle and Gatley	Keith Holloway style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		Iain Roberts style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Graham Greenhalgh style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Cheadle Hulme North	John Pantall style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		David Meller style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour and Co-operative" \|	Labour Co-op	2018–22
		Tom Morrison style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Cheadle Hulme South	Mark Hunter style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		Helen Foster-Grime style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Suzanne Wyatt style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Heald Green	Anna Charles-Jones style="width: 2px; background-color: #66CC00;" data-sort-value="Heald Green Ratepayers" \|	Heald Green Ratepayers	2016–21
		Adrian Nottingham style="width: 2px; background-color: #66CC00;" data-sort-value="Heald Green Ratepayers" \|	Heald Green Ratepayers	2018–22
		Carole McCann style="width: 2px; background-color: #66CC00;" data-sort-value="Heald Green Ratepayers" \|	Heald Green Ratepayers	2019–23
	Stepping Hill	Mark Weldon style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		John Wright style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2018–22
		Grace Baynham style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
Denton and Reddish constituency	Reddish North	Kate Butler style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		David Wilson style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Roy Driver style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Reddish South	Yvonne Guariento style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Jude Wells style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Janet Mobbs style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
Hazel Grove constituency	Bredbury and Woodley	Christine Corris style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		Chris Gordon style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Stuart Corris style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Bredbury Green and Romiley	Lisa Smart style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		Angie Clark style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Mark Roberts style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Hazel Grove	Charles Gibson style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–21
		Paul Ankers style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Lou Ankers style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Marple North	Malcolm Allan style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2016–21
		Steve Gribbon style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Becky Senior style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Marple South and High Lane	Tom Dowse style="width: 2px; background-color: #0087DC;" data-sort-value="Conservative Party (UK)" \|	Conservative	2016–21
		Colin MacAlister style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Aron Thornley style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
	Offerton	Laura Booth style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Will Dawson style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2018–22
		Wendy Meikle style="width: 2px; background-color: #FAA61A;" data-sort-value="Liberal Democrats (UK)" \|	Liberal Democrats	2019–23
Stockport constituency	Brinnington and Central	Andy Sorton style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Becky Crawford style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Kerry Waters style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Davenport and Cale Green	Wendy Wild style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Elise Wilson style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Dickie Davies style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Edgeley and Cheadle Heath	Sheila Bailey style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Philip Harding style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Matt Wynne style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Heatons North	David Sedgwick style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		John Taylor style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Dena Ryness style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Heatons South	Colin Foster style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Tom McGee style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Dean Fitzpatrick style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2019–23
	Manor	Charlie Stewart style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2016–21
		Amanda Peers style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	Labour	2018–22
		Laura Clingan style="width: 2px; background-color: #E4003B;" data-sort-value="Labour Party (UK)" \|	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

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

External links

Official website

[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.

[MEN_130416-17] 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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