History
The borough and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.
In March 2013, Brian Cookson retired from his position as Executive Director for Regeneration, a post he had held for nine years, in parallel with that of President of British Cycling from 2007 onwards. [5] He subsequently became the President of the Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI), the world governing body for sports cycling from 2013-2017.
In June 2017, a Conservative councilor, Rosemary Carroll, [6] was suspended after sending a racist post on social media comparing Asians to dogs. This controversy expanded after the local elections in 2018, when the councilor was readmitted into the Conservative Party, allowing the Conservative party to gain a majority on the council. The Pendle Labour party accused the Pendle Conservative Party of condoning racism after the reinstatement. The Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, Dawn Butler, called upon the Conservative Party Chairman, Brandon Lewis, to issue a statement saying that the councillor in question would not be part of the Conservative group on the council. This followed a statement from Lewis congratulating the Pendle Conservatives on winning a majority on the council. [7] [8]
In April 2024, all of Labour’s 11 borough councillors in Pendle, including the leader of the council, quit the party. [9] [10]
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since the 2023 election. A coalition of Labour and Liberal Democrat formed to run the council after that election. [11] Following the Labour group all leaving their party, the coalition became an independent and Liberal Democrat coalition in April 2024. [12]
The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements came into effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: [13] [14]
Leadership
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Pendle. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 2010 have been:
Composition
Following the 2024 election, [29] and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council was: [30]
Ten of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group", which forms the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats. The other two independents form the "Pendle's True Independents" group. [31] The next election is due in 2026. [30]
Premises
The council meets at Nelson Town Hall on Market Street in the centre of Nelson, which had been completed in 1881 for the old Nelson Local Board, predecessor of the Nelson Borough Council created in 1890. [32] It has its main administrative offices in a modern building at Number One Market Street, opposite the town hall. [33]
Elections
Since the last full review of boundaries took effect in 2021 the council has comprised 33 councillors representing 12 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held three years out of every four, with roughly a third of the council being elected each time for a four-year term. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections. [34]
Wider politics
The Pendle constituency was represented in Parliament by the Conservative Member of Parliament, Andrew Stephenson, from 2010-2024.
From the 2024 General Election, the constituency no longer covers the same area as the borough and is now represented by two MPs, Jonathan Hinder the Labour member for Pendle and Clitheroe and Oliver David Ryan the MP for Burnley, whose constituency includes parts of Reedley and Brierfield, which are in Pendle.
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