Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Third of council elected three years out of four
Type
Type|

Metropolitan borough council

History
Founded| 1 April 1974
Leadership

Mayor

John Clarke,
Labour
since 17 May 2024[1]

Leader

Stephen Houghton,
Labour
since 1996

Chief Executive

Sarah Norman
since July 2019

Structure
Seats| 63 councillors[2][3]

Political groups

Administration (48)
Labour (48)
Other parties (15)
Liberal Democrat (11)
Independents (2)
Conservative (1)
Reform UK (1)

Joint committees

| South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority
Elections

Voting system

| Plurality-at-large

Last election

| 2 May 2024

Next election

| 7 May 2026
Meeting place
Town Hall, Church Street, Barnsley, S70 2TA
Website
www.barnsley.gov.uk

Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley in South Yorkshire, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council is a member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority.

The council has been under Labour majority control since the modern borough was created in 1974. Council meetings are held at Barnsley Town Hall, and the council's main offices are in the adjoining Westgate Plaza One building.

## History

[edit]

The first elected council for the town of Barnsley was a local board of health established in 1853.[4] This replaced a body of improvement commissioners which had previously administered the town under a local Act of Parliament passed in 1822.[5] The local board in turn was replaced in 1869 when the town was made a municipal borough. In 1913 the borough was elevated to county borough status, making it independent from West Riding County Council.[6]

The current metropolitan borough of Barnsley was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It covered the former county borough of Barnsley plus parts of 13 other districts, which were all abolished at the same time.[7][8] The enlarged Barnsley district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Barnsley's series of mayors dating back to 1869.[9]

The Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley was initially a district-level authority, with South Yorkshire County Council providing county-level services. However, the metropolitan county councils, including South Yorkshire County Council, were abolished in 1986 under the Local Government Act 1985. Since 1986 Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council has therefore been responsible for most local government functions.[10]

Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (called the Sheffield City Region until 2021), led by the directly-elected Mayor of South Yorkshire since 2018.

## Governance

[edit]

### Political control

[edit]

The first election to the reconstituted borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into force on 1 April 1974. Labour has held a majority of the seats on the council since its creation.[11][12]

Party in control | Years

|

| Labour | 1974–present

### Leadership

[edit]

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Barnsley. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Councillor | Party | From | To

|
|
|

Brian Varley |  | Labour | 1974 | 1975
Ron Rigby |  | Labour | 1975 | 1976
Fred Lunn |  | Labour | 1976 | 1985
Ron Rigby |  | Labour | 1985 | 1988
Hedley Salt |  | Labour | 1988 | 1995
Jeff Ennis |  | Labour | 1995 | 1996
Stephen Houghton |  | Labour | 1996 |

### Composition

[edit]

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council is:[13]

Party  | Councillors

|

| Labour | 48
| Liberal Democrats | 11
| Independent | 2
| Conservative | 1
| Reform UK | 1
Total  | 63

The next election is due in May 2026.

## Premises

[edit]

Westgate Plaza One (on the right)

Council meetings are held at Barnsley Town Hall on Church Street, which had been completed in 1933 for the old borough council.[14] In 2007 the council moved most office staff to a new building called Westgate Plaza One on Westgate, just west of the Town Hall.[15]

## Elections

[edit]

See also: Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 63 councillors representing 21 wards, with each ward electing three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with a third of the council being elected at a time (one councillor for each ward) to serve a four-year term.[16]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Timlin, Josh (17 May 2024). "New Mayor 'honoured and humbled' to be appointed". Barnsley Chronicle. Retrieved 9 June 2024.
2. ^ "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections".
3. ^ "Councillors - Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council".
4. ^ "Barnsley Local Board of Health". Newcastle Courant. 8 July 1853. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
5. ^ "Barnsley Improvement Act 1822 (3 Geo 4 c. 25)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
6. ^ "Barnsley Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 18 June 2023.
7. ^ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 18 June 2023
8. ^ "The Metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1973/137, retrieved 18 June 2023
9. ^ "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 16 January 2012.
10. ^ "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 18 June 2023
11. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
12. ^ "Barnsley". BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 17 October 2009.
13. ^ "Barnsley election result". BBC News. 5 May 2024. Retrieved 25 May 2024.
14. ^ "Town Hall". Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
15. ^ "Cabinet report, 18 May 2022" (PDF). Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 19 June 2023.
16. ^ "The Borough of Barnsley (Electoral Changes) Order 2003", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2003/3090, retrieved 19 June 2023

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