The first election to the reformed borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[6][7]
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Burnley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2006 have been:[8]
Following the 2023 UK local elections the Labour Party ran a minority administration in Burnley council, having 21 seats and 2 short of a majority. However on 5 November 2023 council leader Afrasiab Anwar and ten Labour colleagues resigned from the Labour Party in protest at Keir Starmer's refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza war.[11] This group was subsequently known as the Burnley Independent Group. On 17 November, the council was taken over by the new "Co-operative Alliance", which comprised the Burnley Independent Group, Green Party, and Liberal Democrat councillors and had enough seats to hold an overall majority on Burnley Council.[12]
Following the 2024 United Kingdom local elections, the Alliance fell one short of a majority, with only 22 councillors. Despite this, the Alliance members agreed to continue their arrangement and continue running the council, relying on the independent mayor to use his casting vote in their favour in case of a drawn vote with Labour and the Conservatives.[13]
The ten independent councillors sit together as the 'Burnley Independent Group', which forms part of the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats and Greens.[14] The next elections are due in 7 May 2026, where a third of seats will be up for election.
Since the last boundary changes in 2002 the council has comprised 45 councillors representing 15 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. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[15]
The district is represented on Lancashire County Council in six divisions: Burnley Central East, Burnley Central West, Burnley North East, Burnley South West, Burnley Rural and Padiham & Burnley West.[16]
The council is based at Burnley Town Hall on Manchester Road, which had been completed in 1888 for the old town council.[18] The council has additional offices nearby at the old Burnley Building Society building on Parker Lane.[19]
↑ "Contact us". Burnley Borough Council. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
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