Birmingham City Council

This article is about the council in England. For the council in the United States, see Birmingham City Council (Alabama).

Birmingham City Council
Coat of arms
Council logo post-2015
Type
Type	Metropolitan district
History
Founded	1 April 1974 (1974-04-01)
Preceded by	Birmingham City Council (County Borough of Birmingham) Sutton Coldfield Borough Council
Leadership
Lord Mayor	Chaman Lal, Labour since 23 May 2023 [1]
Leader	John Cotton, Labour since 23 May 2023 [2]
Chief Executive	Deborah Cadman since 14 June 2021
Structure
Seats	101 councillors [3]
Political groups	Administration (65)   Labour (65) Other parties (36)   Conservative (22)   Liberal Democrat (12)   Green (2)
Joint committees	West Midlands Combined Authority
Elections
Voting system	Plurality-at-large
Last election	2022 (all councillors)
Next election	2026 (all councillors)
Motto
Forward
Meeting place
Council House, Victoria Square, Birmingham, B1 1BB
Website
www.birmingham.gov.uk
Constitution
www.birmingham.gov.uk/constitution/

Birmingham City Council is the local government body responsible for the governance of the City of Birmingham in England, which has been a metropolitan district since 1974. It is the most populated local council area in the United Kingdom (excluding counties) with 101 elected councillors ^[4] representing over one million people, in 69 wards. ^[5] The council headquarters are at the Council House in the city centre. The council is responsible for running nearly all local services, with the exception of those run by joint boards. The provision of certain services has in recent years been devolved to several council constituencies, ^[6] which each have a constituency committee made up of councillors from that district. It is part of the West Midlands Combined Authority. On 6 September 2023, the council declared effective bankruptcy, ^[7] and central government commissioners were later appointed to run the council under emergency measures. ^[8]

History

Common seal of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Birmingham, used after 1838 and until 1889

The original charter of incorporation, dated 31 October 1838, was received in Birmingham on 1 November, then read in the Town Hall on 5 November with elections for the first Birmingham Town Council being held on 26 December. Sixteen aldermen and 48 councillors were elected and the borough was divided into 13 wards. William Scholefield became the first mayor and William Redfern was appointed as town clerk.

It was not until 14 January 1889 that another charter conferred the rank of city on Birmingham. On 9 November 1891, the districts of Balsall Heath, Harborne, Saltley and Little Bromwich were absorbed into the city. The dignity of a lord mayor was conferred in 1896 and Sir James Smith Kt was appointed as the first Lord Mayor of Birmingham on 3 June 1896. The parish of Quinton became part of Birmingham on 9 November 1909 and two years later, under what was termed 'The Greater Birmingham Scheme', the Boroughs of Aston Manor, the Urban Districts of Handsworth and of Erdington, part of the Urban District of Kings Norton and Northfield and the Rural District of Yardley were all incorporated. Such was the expansion involved that the Council Chamber, originally designed to accommodate 80 members, had to be modified to seat the representatives of the new wards. Further additions occurred on 1 April 1928 (most of the Perry Barr Urban District) and 1 April 1931 (parts of the Parishes of Solihull, Castle Bromwich, Minworth and Sheldon). By 1972, there were 39 Wards each represented by an alderman and three councillors, a total of 156 members.

A major national re-organisation of local government was implemented in 1974 and saw the City of Birmingham being combined with the Borough of Sutton Coldfield to form the new Birmingham District Council consisting of 42 Wards each with three elected councillors (in 1982 the number of Wards was reduced to 39). On 1 July 1986, the title was changed to Birmingham City Council. Part of Bromsgrove District known as Frankley and Kitwell Estates was added to the city on 1 April 1995. A review of the ward boundaries on 10 June 2004 resulted in an increase from 39 wards to 40 wards. ^[9]

On 5 September 2023, Birmingham City Council issued a Section 114 notice, effectively a bankruptcy, ^[10] and is to stop all future spending with the exception of money for statutory services including the protection of vulnerable people. The leader of the Labour authority stated that the notice was a necessary step to get Birmingham back into a sound financial footing. ^[7]

Women and minorities

The first woman elected to the council, on 1 November 1911, was Ellen Pinsent. ^[11] She represented the Edgbaston Ward as a Liberal Unionist. ^[11] She had earlier been co-opted as a member of the council's Education Committee and served as Chairman of the Special School Sub-Committee. ^[11] She stood down from the council in October 1913 upon appointment as Commissioner for the Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency. ^[11]

Pinsent's time on the council overlapped with that of Margaret Frances Pugh, who was elected on 22 November 1911 to serve in the North Erdington ward. ^[11] She resigned in November 1913. ^[11]

Birmingham's third woman councillor, Clara Martineau, was elected on 14 October 1913 in the Edgbaston ward, and served until 1932, when she died, aged 57. ^[11] Her father was former Mayor Sir Thomas Martineau, Lord Mayor Ernest Martineau was her brother, and Alderman Sir George Kenrick was her uncle. ^[11]

Mary E. Cottrell became the first female Labour councillor in February 1917, when she was elected unopposed to the Selly Oak ward.

The first female Lord Mayor, Marjorie Brown, held the post from 1973 to 1974. Theresa Stewart became the first female leader in October 1993, ^[12] until 1999; and Lin Homer the first female chief executive, was in post from 2002 until 2005.

Bert Carless, a migrant from Jamaica, was elected the City's first non-white councillor in 1979. He was later made an Honorary Alderman. ^{[13] [14]}

Political control

For historical political control and leadership, see Birmingham City Council elections.

Mike Whitby, leader of the council from June 2004 to May 2012

Sir Albert Bore, leader of the council from May 1999 to May 2004 and again from May 2012 to December 2015

John Clancy, leader of the council December 2015 to September 2017, seen in the Council House's 'Crystal Gallery

The council was run by a Labour administration between 1984 and 2004, with Sir Dick Knowles as Council Leader from 1984 to 1993, followed in turn by Theresa Stewart, and Sir Albert Bore. They lost overall control in 2003 but continued to run the council as a minority administration for the following year. At the election of 10 June 2004, the 121 seats were divided between the Labour, (53 councillors), Conservative (39) and Liberal Democrat (28) parties. The Conservative and Liberal Democrat groups then formed a governing coalition, moving Labour into opposition.

In 2005, Richard Mawrey QC (as an election commissioner) ruled invalid Birmingham City Council elections in two wards, Aston and Bordesley Green, held the year before, and required re-votes. He blamed most of the electoral fraud on absentee ballot manipulation, and implicated the returning officer and six Labour councillors. By-elections and defections in 2005 altered the distribution of seats within the council with Labour holding 46 seats, Conservatives holding 40, Liberal Democrats holding 30, the People's Justice Party holding 2 and independent councillors holding a further 2.

In 2006, the People's Justice Party disbanded, with their two councillors joining the Liberal Democrats, and Councillor Ann Holtom defected from Labour to the Liberal Democrats. In the 2006 local elections the British National Party initially gained a seat, but it soon transpired their candidate's election had been caused by a counting error and the result was subsequently overturned in favour of the previously third-placed Labour party candidate following an election petition. ^[15]

After the local elections on 1 May 2008, there remained no overall control, with the 120 seats divided between Conservative (49 councillors), Labour, (36), Liberal Democrat (32) and Respect (3). ^[16] After the 2010 elections the seats were divided between Conservative (45 councillors), Labour, (41), Liberal Democrat (31) and Respect (3). ^[16] The Conservatives' main local strongholds are in the Sutton Coldfield and Edgbaston constituencies. In the local elections on 5 May 2011, Labour won an extra 14 seats on the council but there continued to be no overall control, with the seats divided between Conservative (39 councillors), Labour, (55), Liberal Democrat (24) and Respect (3). ^[16]

Labour regained overall control in May 2012, gaining 20 seats for an overall majority on the council. ^[17] After the 2014 election, Labour were on 77 seats, having won 22, with the Conservatives on 31, winning 14 and the Lib Dems dropping to 12 seats, having won 5. ^{[18] [19]} Labour gained a further 2 seats in 2015, increasing their total to 79, gaining a seat from each of the Tories and Liberal Democrats. They won 80 seats in 2016, gaining one each from the Conservatives and Lib Dems again from their 78 before the election. Boundary changes took place in 2018 and an all-out-election took place, with Labour winning 67 seats, the Conservatives 25, the Liberal Democrats 8 and the Green Party winning one seat. Following the 2022 council election, Labour continues to hold control of the council, winning 65 seats, with the Conservative Party dropping to 22 seats, the Lib Dems gained 4 seats to go back up to 12 and the Greens won a second seat on the council.

Cabinet

Cabinet of Birmingham City Council ^{[20] [2]}

Portfolio	Cabinet Member		Ward	Term
Cabinet members of Birmingham City Council
Leader of Birmingham City Council Leader of the Labour Group		John Cotton	Glebe Farm & Tile Cross	May 2023 –present
Deputy Leader of Birmingham City Council Deputy Leader of the Labour Group		Sharon Thompson	North Edgbaston	May 2023 –present
Cabinet Member for Finance		Brigid Jones	Bournbrook and Selly Park	May 2023 –present
Cabinet Member for Housing & Homelessness		Jayne Francis	Harborne	May 2023 –present
Cabinet Member for Environment		Majid Mahmood	Bromford and Hodge Hill	July 2022 –present
Cabinet Member for Transport		Liz Clements	Bournville and Cotteridge	July 2022 –present
Cabinet Member for Children, Young People & Families		Karen McCarthy	Bournbrook and Selly Park	July 2022 –present
Cabinet Member for Health & Social Care		Mariam Khan	Alum Rock	July 2022 –present
Cabinet Member for Digital, Culture, Heritage & Tourism		Saim Suleman	Hall Green North	May 2023 –present
Cabinet Member for Social Justice, Community, Safety and Equalities		Nicky Brennan	Sparkhill	May 2023 –present

Affiliation		Members [3]
		Current
	Labour	65
	Conservative	22
	Liberal Democrats	12
	Green	2
Total number of seats		101
Actual majority		29

Wards and councillors

Following the boundary review, the number of wards was increased from 40 to 69. ^{[21] [5]}

Each ward is represented by either one or two councillors.

Ward	Councillor	Party		Council Service
Acocks Green	Roger Harmer		Liberal Democrats	1995–2001, 2008–2012, 2014–
	Penny Wagg		Liberal Democrats	2003–2011, 2022–
Allens Cross	Jack Deakin		Labour	2022–
Alum Rock	Mohammed Idrees		Labour	2002–
	Mariam Khan		Labour	2012–
Aston	Ayoub Khan		Liberal Democrats	2022–
	Mumtaz Hussain		Liberal Democrats	2022–
Balsall Heath West	Shehla Moledina		Labour	2022–
Bartley Green	Bruce Lines		Conservative	2003–
	Kerry Brewer		Conservative	2022–
Billesley	Phil Davies		Labour	2012–
	Katherine Iroh		Labour	2021–
Birchfield	Mahmood Hussain		Labour	1996–2011, 2012–
Bordesley and Highgate	Yvonne Mosquito		Labour	1996–
Bordesley Green	Raqeeb Aziz		Labour	2022–
Bournbrook and Selly Park	Brigid Jones		Labour	2011–
	Karen McCarthy		Labour	2012–
Bournville and Cotteridge	Liz Clements		Labour	2017–
	Fred Grindrod		Labour	2018–
Brandwood & King's Heath	David Sean Barker		Labour	2022–
	Lisa Trickett		Labour	2012–
Bromford and Hodge Hill	Diane Donaldson		Labour	2016–
	Majidd Mahmoob		Labour	2011–
Castle Vale	Ray Goodwin		Labour	2022–
Druids Heath and Monyhull	Julien Pritchard		Green	2018–
Edgbaston	Deirdre Alden		Conservative	1999–
	Matt Bennett		Conservative	2008–2012, 2015–
Erdington	Robert Alden		Conservative	2006–
	Gareth Moore		Conservative	2011–
Frankley Great Park	Simon Morrall		Conservative	2018–
Garretts Green	Saddak Miah		Labour	2018–
Glebe Farm and Tile Cross	Marj Bridle		Labour	1986–
	John Cotton		Labour	1999–2008, 2010–
Gravelly Hill	Mick Brown		Labour	2012–
Hall Green North	Akhlaq Ahmed		Labour Co-op	2018–
	Saima Suleman		Labour	2021–
Hall Green South	Timothy Huxtable		Conservative	2002–
Handsworth	Hendrina Quinnen		Labour	2009–
Handsworth Wood	Gurdial Singh Atwal		Labour	2004–
	Narinder Kaur Kooner		Labour	2006–
Harborne	Martin Brooks		Labour	1982–1999, 2022–
	Jayne Francis		Labour	2016–
Heartlands	Shafique Shah		Labour	2005–
Highter's Heath	Adam Higgs		Conservative	2018–
Holyhead	Rinkal Shergill		Labour	2022–
King's Norton North	Alex Aitken		Labour	2018–
King's Norton South	Rob Grant		Green	2022–
Kingstanding	Des Hughes		Labour	2010–2014, 2015–2018, 2022–
	Rick Payne		Conservative	2022–
Ladywood	Albert Bore		Labour	1980–
	Kath Hartley		Labour	1996–2000, 2002–
Longbridge and West Heath	Debbie Clancy		Conservative	2015–
	Ron Storer		Conservative	2014–
Lozells	Waseem Zaffar		Labour	2011–
Moseley	Kerry Jenkins		Labour	2014–
	Izzy Knowles		Liberal Democrats	2022–
Nechells	Lee Marsham		Labour	2022–
Newtown	Ziaul Islam		Labour	2006–
North Edgbaston	Marcus Bernasconi		Labour	2022–
	Sharon Thompson		Labour	2014–
Northfield	Kirsten Kurt-Elli		Labour	2022–
Oscott	Barbara Dring		Labour	2004–
	Darius Sandhu		Conservative	2021–
Perry Barr	Jon Hunt		Liberal Democrats	2003–
	Jan Morriam		Liberal Democrats	2017–
Perry Common	Joanne Bermingham		Labour	1995–2008, 2022–
Pype Hayes	Basharat Mahmood		Labour	2022–
Quinton	Sam Forsyth		Labour	2022–
	Lauren Rainbow		Labour	2022–
Rubery and Rednal	Adrian Delaney		Conservative	2004–2015, 2018–
Shard End	Ian Ward		Labour	1995–
Sheldon	Paul Tilsley		Liberal Democrats	1968–1982, 1988–
	Colin Green		Liberal Democrats	2022–
Small Heath	Shabina Bano		Labour	2022–
	Saqib Khan		Labour	2022–
Soho and Jewellery Quarter	Chaman Lal		Labour	1994–
	Sybil Spence		Labour	1986–
South Yardley	Zaker Choudhry		Liberal Democrats	2006–2010, 2014–
Sparkbrook and Balsall Heath East	Mohammed Azim		Labour	2004–2006, 2012–
	Shabrana Hussain		Labour	2016–
Sparkhill	Rashad Mahmood		Labour	2022–
	Nicky Brennan		Labour	2018–
Stirchley	Mary Locke		Labour	2016–
Stockland Green	Amar Khan		Labour	2022–
	Jane Jones		Labour	2022–
Sutton Four Oaks	Maureen Cornish		Conservative	2007–
Sutton Mere Green	Meirion Jenkins		Conservative	2012–
Sutton Reddicap	Richard Parkin		Conservative	2022–
Sutton Roughley	Ewan Mackey		Conservative	2014–
Sutton Trinity	David Pears		Conservative	1987–1991, 1992–1996, 2004–
Sutton Vesey	Rob Pocock		Labour	2012–
	Kath Scott		Labour	2018–
Sutton Walmley and Minworth	David Barrie		Conservative	2009–
	Ken Wood		Conservative	2008–2012, 2014–
Sutton Wylde Green	Alex Yip		Conservative	2015–
Tyseley and Hay Mills	Zafar Iqbal		Labour	2012–
Ward End	Bushra Bi		Labour	2022–
Weoley and Selly Oak	Miranda Perks		Labour	2022–
	Jamie Tennant		Labour	2022–
Yardley East	Deborah Harries		Liberal Democrats	2021–
Yardley West and Stechford	Baber Baz		Liberal Democrats	2018–

Council constituencies

From 5 April 2004, responsibility and budgets for a number of services were devolved to 11 district committees, as part of a growing trend in the UK to use area committees for large councils. From 1 June 2006 the districts were reduced from 11 to 10 to correspond with the revised Westminster constituency boundaries, and renamed "council constituencies". Each now comprises four wards. The council constituencies are: ^[6] As of 2018 these districts no longer serve as a devolved function.

• Edgbaston
• Erdington
• Hall Green
• Hodge Hill
• Ladywood
• Northfield
• Perry Barr
• Selly Oak
• Sutton Coldfield
• Yardley

Chief executives

Mark Rogers in 2014

Past chief executives have included:

• 1994 (1994) –2001 (2001): Sir Michael Lyons
• 2002 (2002) –2005 (2005): Lin Homer
• 2005 (2005) –2014 (2014): Stephen Hughes ^[22]
• 2014 (2014) –2017 (2017): Mark Rogers ^[23]
• 2017 (2017): Angela Probert (Acting) ^[24]
• 2017 (2017) –2018: Stella Manzie (Interim) ^{[24] [25]}
• 2018 (2018) –2019 (2019): Dawn Baxendale ^[26]
• 2019 – 2020 Clive Heaphy (Acting)
• 2020 – Chris Naylor (Interim)
• 2021 – Deborah Cadman

Services and facilities

Notable services provided and facilities managed by Birmingham City Council include:

• Library of Birmingham
• Public Library and Baths, Balsall Heath
• Birmingham Wholesale Markets
• Cemeteries
  • Brandwood End Cemetery
  • Handsworth Cemetery
  • Lodge Hill Cemetery
  • Witton Cemetery
• Council House
• Hall of Memory
• Parks
  • Brookvale Park
  • Calthorpe Park
  • Handsworth Park
  • Kings Heath Park
  • Swanshurst Park
  • Several country parks

Service Birmingham, set up in 2006, is a joint IT venture operated by Birmingham City Council and Capita under which Capita runs the city's ICT systems and council tax collection services and formerly ran its call centre. The Council and Capita have agreed to end the joint venture by March 2018. ^[27]

The city's museums were transferred to the independent Birmingham Museums Trust in 2012. The council sold its Ogwen Cottage Outdoor Pursuits Centre, by auction, in October 2014.

Highways

In 2010, Birmingham City Council agreed a 25 year deal with Amey plc to manage the city's highways, but, after allegations of sub-standard repairs to roads and pavements, the council invoked penalty clauses and entered into a prolonged legal dispute. ^[28] In December 2018, Amey parent Ferrovial put the business up for sale, ^[29] after allocating €237m for losses on Amey's highway maintenance contract with the Council. ^{[29] [30]} In February 2019, Amey was close to a deal to exit its Birmingham contract, liabilities from which were preventing the company's sale by Ferrovial. ^[31] A £215m deal to terminate Amey's Birmingham contract ^[32] was confirmed in July 2019. The council was set to receive £160m in 2019 with a further £55m paid over the next six years, with services continuing on an interim basis until September 2019, and potentially until March 2020. ^[33] However, in February 2020, it was announced the Birmingham contract would end in March 2020; Kier Group was appointed as interim contractor for 15 months while the council sought a permanent replacement for Amey. ^[34] In February 2022, the city council formally began the process of identifying a contractor to deliver £2.7 billion of works over 12 years, ^[35] and invited Kier and Canadian firm SNC-Lavalin to tender for the city’s restructured highways PFI contract, covering more than 2,500km of road and 5,000km of footway. However, in October 2023, the council claimed the government was preparing to "pull the plug" on £600m of highways funding. ^[36] Kier were awarded the restructured contract, set to start in February 2024, but the deal was subject to government approval. ^[37]

See also

• Government of Birmingham
• Birmingham City Council elections
• Birmingham Baths Committee
• Redevelopment of Birmingham
• City Architect of Birmingham

References

1. "City's first British-Indian Lord Mayor takes up office". Birmingham City Council. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
2. "Council's new Cabinet line-up confirmed". Birmingham City Council. 23 May 2023. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
3. "Councillors by Party | Birmingham City Council". www.birmingham.gov.uk.
4. "Councillors". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
5. "Wards and constituencies". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 26 March 2022.
6. "Birmingham City Council: Constituencies". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 31 March 2010.
7. "Residents fear a rise in crime and taxes as Birmingham declares 'bankruptcy'". BBC .
8. "Government sending in officials to run Birmingham City Council". BBC News. 19 September 2023. Retrieved 19 September 2023.
9. "History of the Council". Birmingham.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
10. "Birmingham City Council effectively declares bankruptcy after being hit by 760m bill". Sky News. 5 September 2023.
11. Roberts, Sian (4 March 2015). "'My whole time is given to the service of my fellow citizens' – the first women elected to Birmingham City Council". Library of Birmingham . Retrieved 10 March 2015.
12. "Women's Local Government Society". Women's Local Government Society. Archived from the original on 9 February 2012. Retrieved 24 April 2012.
13. "Death of Birmingham's First Black Councillor". Local Government Chronicle . 20 August 2003. Retrieved 16 December 2023.
14. Jolly, Bradley; Clarke, Nathan (13 December 2023). "Brum's first Black councillor to be honoured - but activist says 'it's too late'". Birmingham Live . Retrieved 16 December 2023.
15. Walker, Jonathan (27 July 2006). "BNP never won seat on city council". Birmingham Post. Retrieved 16 February 2010.
16. Birmingham City Council election service Birmingham.gov.uk
17. Robinson, Nick (4 May 2012). "Labour are back throughout country, says Ed Miliband". Bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
18. "Birmingham City Council stays in Labour control". ITV News. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
19. "The colour of the political map across Birmingham". ITV News. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
20. Haynes, Jane (22 May 2023). "Birmingham City Council's new leader picks his top team of eight women and two men". Birmingham Live. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
21. Birmingham City Council. "Local Government Boundary Review". www.birmingham.gov.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2019.
22. K, Sarah (20 December 2013). "New Chief Executive appointed". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 11 June 2014.
23. "Chief executive of Birmingham City Council Mark Rogers leaves role". BBC Online . 19 February 2017. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
24. Kirby, Sarah (20 March 2017). "Birmingham to name Stella Manzie as Interim Chief Executive". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 20 March 2017.
25. Ndikon, Uchenna. "Management structure". www.birmingham.gov.uk. Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 12 December 2017.
26. "Management structure". Birmingham City Council. Retrieved 4 May 2018.
27. Digital by Default News, Council to wind up joint IT venture, 19 May 2017, accessed 30 May 2017
28. Elkes, Neil (29 January 2015). "Gone to pot? City council in dispute with repairs contractor Amey over quality of roads". BusinessLive. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
29. "Amey up for sale". The Construction Index. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 3 December 2018.
30. Elkes, Neil (13 July 2016). "Legal dispute could cost Birmingham roads contractor £55 million". Birmingham Mail . Retrieved 29 July 2018.
31. Daniel, Alex (17 February 2019). "Amey eyes escape route from Birmingham road repair PFI contract". City A.M. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
32. Morby, Aaron (31 May 2019). "Amey to pay £215m to exit Brum highways PFI". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
33. Prior, Grant (1 July 2019). "Amey agrees to pay £215m to end Birmingham roads contract". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 1 July 2019.
34. Morby, Aaron (4 February 2020). "Kier stands in for Amey on Birmingham Highways upkeep". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
35. Morby, Aaron (9 February 2022). "Bidding to start for rejigged £2.7bn Birmingham highways job". Construction Enquirer. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
36. Knott, Jonathan (31 October 2023). "£600m Birmingham roads contract set to be axed, claims council". Construction News. Retrieved 31 October 2023.
37. Knott, Jonathan (2 November 2023). "Kier picked for restructured £2.7bn Birmingham roads contract". Construction News. Retrieved 2 November 2023.

External links

• Birmingham City Council
• Birmingham City Council news
• Birmingham City Council on OpenlyLocal