The town of Rochdale had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1825.[4] In 1856 the town was incorporated as a municipal borough, governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Rochdale', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council.[5] When elected county councils were established in 1889, Rochdale was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire.[6]
Rochdale Town Hall: Completed 1871 for old borough council and served as modern council's headquarters until 2013. Still used by council for annual mayor-making ceremony.
The larger Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of ten metropolitan districts within the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. The first election was held in 1973. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area's six outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Rochdale, Heywood and Middleton and the urban district councils of Littleborough, Milnrow and Wardle. The new metropolitan district and its council formally came into being on 1 April 1974, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.[7]
The metropolitan district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Rochdale's series of mayors dating back to 1856.[8] The council styles itself Rochdale Borough Council rather than its full formal name of Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council.[9]
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Greater Manchester's ten borough councils, including Rochdale, with some services provided through joint committees.[10]
Since 2011 the council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across Greater Manchester, notably regarding transport and town planning, but Rochdale Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.[11][12]
Governance
Rochdale Borough Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the leader of Rochdale Council sits on the combined authority as Rochdale's representative.[13] There are no civil parishes in the borough.[14]
Political control
Rochdale has been under Labour majority control since 2011.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[15][16]
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Rochdale. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:
Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 60 councillors representing 20 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.[47]
Wards and councillors
Each ward of the council's 20 wards is represented by three councillors.[48]
The council is based at Number One Riverside on Smith Street in the centre of Rochdale. It was purpose-built for the council and opened in 2013.[49][50] Prior to 2013 the council met and had some offices at Rochdale Town Hall, which had been completed in 1871 for the old borough council, with additional offices spread across numerous other buildings.[51] The Town Hall is still used for certain ceremonial functions, including the annual council meeting when new mayors are appointed.[52]
↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Rochdale" in search box to see specific results.)
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