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The City of Manchester forms part of the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester, which had its county council abolished (along with the other metropolitan counties) in 1986. Manchester consists of several districts, but these districts do not represent a tier of government (though the names are used as political wards).
Manchester has long been associated with radical politics, including the Peterloo Massacre in 1819; the formation of the Anti-Corn Law League in 1839, as well as being the birthplace to some of the most influential works of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
Manchester currently sits on the left of the political spectrum, as shown by the make up of its City Council. The north of the city is considered a Labour stronghold , while the southern suburbs tend to be more hospitable to other parties. The last Conservative MP lost his seat in 1987.
Manchester City Council is the local authority for the metropolitan borough of Manchester. The borough is divided into 32 wards, which elect a total of 96 councillors, three for each ward. Currently, the council is controlled by the Labour Party and is led by Richard Leese. The opposition is formed by the Liberal Democrats and led by former Manchester MP John Leech.
| Party | Seats | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 January 2025 | ||||
| Labour | 87 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | |||
| Green | 3 | |||
| Workers Party | 1 | |||
| Independent | 1 | |||
There is only one civil parish in the metropolitan borough, Ringway, which was added in 1974. The entire area of the pre-1974 county borough is an unparished area.
Whilst not a directly elected body, the North West Regional Assembly was responsible for promoting the economic, environmental, and social well-being of the North West England region. It was made up of representatives from councils across the region, business organizations, public sector agencies, education and training bodies, trade unions and co-operatives and the voluntary and community sector. Regional assemblies were abolished in 2010. [1]
There are five UK Parliamentary constituencies that cover the City of Manchester, each of which elects one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons in London. These constituencies and their current MPs are:
North West England, as a single EU constituency, elected 8 representatives to the European Parliament. At the time of Britain's withdrawal from the European Union the Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) for the North West were:
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county which surrounds the City of Manchester. Including the City of Manchester, Greater Manchester is made up of ten metropolitan boroughs, with each borough having its own council. The ten boroughs are shown in the following map.
The larger towns in the Greater Manchester county include Altrincham, Ashton-under-Lyne, Bolton, Bury, Cheadle, Droylsden, Hyde, Middleton, Oldham, Rochdale, Sale, Stalybridge, Stockport, Stretford and Wigan.
Since 2017, there has been an elected Mayor of Greater Manchester, who sits on the Greater Manchester Combined Authority and has power over areas including planning, housing, transport, policing, waste management and skills. [2]
List of Mayors
| Colour key (for political parties) |
|---|
| Labour |
| Name | Portrait | Term of office | Elected | Political party | Previous and concurrent occupations | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tony Lloyd Interim Mayor |  | 29 May 2015 | 8 May 2017 | — | Labour | MP for Stretford (1983–1997) MP for Manchester Central (1997–2012) Greater Manchester Police and Crime Commissioner (2012–2017) | |
| Andy Burnham |  | 8 May 2017 | Incumbent | 2017 2021 2024 | Labour and Co-operative | MP for Leigh (2001–2017) Chief Secretary to the Treasury (2007–2008) Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (2008–2009) Secretary of State for Health (2009–2010) | |
Greater Manchester County Council was the top-tier local government body from 1974 to its abolition in 1986. The county still arranges some amenities and services on a county-wide basis. Greater Manchester Police and Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service offer law enforcement and fire protection, while public transport is the responsibility of Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM). These are overseen by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, established in 2011.
The City of Manchester is policed by the Greater Manchester Police, who have their headquarters at Chester House in Trafford. [3] The main police station in central Manchester is at Bootle Street, near to Albert Square. There are other stations in Salford, Hulme, Collyhurst, Withington, Chorlton-cum-Hardy, and Longsight. Manchester's railways are policed by the nationwide British Transport Police.
Manchester had its own police force until 1974, when its force and the lower divisions of Lancashire Constabulary merged to form the Greater Manchester Police. Each of the ten metropolitan boroughs of Greater Manchester has a Division within the county force.
Rusholme is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, two miles south of the city centre. The population of the ward at the 2011 census was 13,643. Rusholme is bounded by Chorlton-on-Medlock to the north, Victoria Park and Longsight to the east, Fallowfield to the south and Moss Side to the west. It has a large student population, with several student halls and many students renting terraced houses, and suburban houses towards Victoria Park.
Withington is a suburb of Manchester, Greater Manchester, England. Historically part of Lancashire, it lies 4 miles (6.4 km) from Manchester city centre, about 0.4 miles (0.6 km) south of Fallowfield, 0.5 miles (0.8 km) north-east of Didsbury and also 1 mile (1.6 km) east of Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Withington has a population of just over 14,000 people, reducing at the 2011 census to 13,422.
Fallowfield is a bustling area of Manchester with a population of 14,869 at the 2021 census. Historically in Lancashire, it lies 3 miles (5 km) south of Manchester city centre and is bisected east–west by Wilbraham Road and north–south by Wilmslow Road. The former Fallowfield Loop railway line, now a shared use path, follows a route nearly parallel with the east–west main road.
Burnage is an area of Manchester, in Greater Manchester, England, 4 miles (6.4 km) south of the city centre and bisected by Kingsway. The population at the 2011 census was 15,227. It lies within the Greater Manchester Metropolitan area, in the historic county of Lancashire, between Withington to the west, Levenshulme to the north, Heaton Chapel to the east and Didsbury and Heaton Mersey to the south.
Whalley Range is an area of Manchester, England; it is located about 2 miles (3.2 km) south-west of the city centre. The population at the 2011 census was 15,430. Historically in Lancashire, it was one of the earliest of the city's suburbs, built by local businessman Samuel Brooks.
Manchester Central is a parliamentary constituency in Greater Manchester created in 1974. The seat has been represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom since 2012 by Lucy Powell of the Labour Party and Co-operative Party. Powell currently serves as Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council.
Manchester Gorton was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. It was the safest Labour seat in Greater Manchester by numerical majority and one of the safest in the country.
Manchester Withington is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament since 2015 by Jeff Smith of Labour.
Wythenshawe and Sale East is a parliamentary constituency in the city of Manchester and the borough of Trafford. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system.
The ceremonial and metropolitan county of Greater Manchester is divided into 27 parliamentary constituencies—19 borough constituencies and 8 county constituencies. At the 2024 general election in Greater Manchester, Labour won 25 seats and the Liberal Democrats won 2.
Manchester City Council is the local authority for the city of Manchester in Greater Manchester, England. Manchester has had an elected local authority since 1838, which has been reformed several times. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.
Kenneth Eastham was a British Labour politician.
Stretford was a parliamentary constituency in North West England, which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
Manchester was an ancient ecclesiastical parish of the hundred of Salford, in Lancashire, England. It encompassed several townships and chapelries, including the then township of Manchester. Other townships are now parts of the Anglican Diocese of Manchester and/or Greater Manchester.
Manchester Rusholme is a parliamentary constituency centred on the Rusholme district of Manchester. It returns one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post system. Since 2024, it has been represented by Labour's Afzal Khan, who was MP for Manchester Gorton from 2017 to 2024.
The Manchester Football Association is the governing body for association football in the centre of the city of Manchester, England. They are responsible for the governance and development of football at all levels in the area.
The Wilmslow Road bus corridor is a 5.5 miles (8.9 km)-long section of road in Manchester that is served by a large number of bus services. The corridor runs from Parrs Wood to Manchester city centre along Wilmslow and Oxford Roads, serving Didsbury, Withington, Fallowfield and Rusholme.
The 2023 Manchester City Council elections took place on 4 May 2023 alongside other local elections across the United Kingdom. One third of councillors (32) on Manchester City Council were elected, along with a mid-term vacancy in the Ardwick ward.
