Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council
Coat of arms
Corporate logo
Type
Type	Metropolitan borough council
Leadership
Mayor	Debbie Parkinson, Labour since 22 May 2024 [1]
Leader	David Molyneux, Labour since 23 May 2018
Chief Executive	Alison McKenzie-Folan since 6 March 2019
Structure
Seats	75 councillors
Political groups	Administration (64)   Labour (64) Other parties (11)   Community Independent alliance (6)   Independent Together (4)   Conservative (1)
Joint committees	Greater Manchester Combined Authority Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Motto
Progress with Unity
Meeting place
Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1YN
Website
wigan.gov.uk

Wigan Council, or Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.

The council has been under Labour majority control since the metropolitan borough was created in 1974. It meets at Wigan Town Hall and has its main offices at the adjoining Wigan Life Centre.

History

Further information: County Borough of Wigan

The town of Wigan was an ancient borough, having been granted a charter in 1246. From around 1350 the borough was led by a mayor. The borough was reformed to become a municipal borough under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835, which standardised how most boroughs operated across the country. It was then governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Wigan', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. ^[2]

Old Town Hall, King Street: Built 1867, vacated 1990 and demolished 2013

When elected county councils were established in 1889, Wigan was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire. ^[3]

The larger Metropolitan Borough of Wigan 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 fourteen outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Wigan and Leigh, the urban district councils of Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Atherton, Billinge and Winstanley, Golborne, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Orrell, Standish-with-Langtree, and Tyldesley, and the Wigan Rural District Council. 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. ^[4]

The metropolitan district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Wigan's series of mayors dating back to the 14th century. ^[5] The council styles itself Wigan Council rather than its full formal name of Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council. ^[6]

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 Wigan, with some services provided through joint committees. ^[7]

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 Wigan Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions. ^{[8] [9]}

Governance

Wigan Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the leader of Wigan Council sits on the combined authority as Wigan's representative. ^[10] There are three civil parishes in the borough at Haigh, Shevington and Worthington which form an additional tier of local government for their areas; the rest of the borough is unparished. ^[11]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 1974 reforms. ^{[12] [13]}

Party		Period
	Labour	1974–present

Leadership

The role of Mayor of Wigan is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1991 have been: ^[14]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Peter Smith		Labour	1991	23 May 2018
David Molyneux		Labour	23 May 2018

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the composition of the council was: ^[15]

Party		Councillors
	Labour	64
	Independent	10
	Conservative	1
Total		75

Four of the independent councillors are supported by the Independent Network and sit together as a group, another four form the 'Independent Together' group and the remaining two do not form part of a group. ^[16] The next routine election is due in May 2026.

Elections

See also: Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 75 councillors representing 25 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. ^[17]

Wards and councillors

The councillors as at December 2024 were: ^[18]

Ward	Party		Councillor	Offices
Abram		Labour Co-op	Nazia Rehman	Portfolio Holder for Finance, Resources & Transformation
		Labour	Eunice Smethurst	Chairman - Confident Council Scrutiny Committee
		Labour Co-op	Martyn Smethurst	Lead Member - Armed Forces & Veterans
Ashton-in-Makerfield South		Labour	Andrew Bullen
		Labour	Jenny Bullen	Portfolio Holder for Children and Families / Deputy Mayor
		Labour	Danny Fletcher	Lead Member - Leisure & Public Health
Aspull, New Springs and Whelley		Labour	Ronald Josef Conway	Chair of the Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee
		Labour	Laura Flynn	Lead Member - Youth Opportunities
		Labour	Christopher Ready	Portfolio Holder - Communities & Neighbourhoods
Astley		Labour	Christine Lillian Roberts
		Labour	Barry John Taylor	Vice-Chair of the Confident Places Scrutiny Committee
		Labour	Paula Wakefield	Lead Member for Equalities and Domestic Abuse
Atherton North		Independent Network	Stuart Andrew Gerrard
		Independent Network	Jamie Hodgkinson
		Independent Network	James Paul Watson
Atherton South and Lilford		Labour	John Harding	Vice Chair of Planning Committee
		Labour	Lee McStein
		Labour	Debra Susan Ann Wailes
Bryn with Ashton-in-Makerfield North		Independent	Steve Jones
		Independent	Scarlett Myler
		Independent	Sylvia Wilkinson
Douglas		Labour	Mary Callaghan	Vice-Chair of the Confident Council Scrutiny Committee
		Labour	Matt Dawber
		Labour	Pat Draper	Vice-Chair of the Audit, Governance and Standards Committee
Golborne and Lowton West		Labour	Susan Gambles	Portfolio Holder for Housing and Welfare
		Labour	Yvonne Klieve	Lead Member - District Centres and Night Time Economy
		Labour	Gena Merrett	Vice-Chair of the Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee
Hindley		Labour	Paul John Blay	Vice-Chair of the Licensing and Regulation Committee
		Labour	Jim Churton
		Labour	James Talbot
Hindley Green		Independent	Bob Brierley
		Labour	James Palmer
		Labour	John Melville Vickers
Ince		Labour	David Trevor Molyneux	Executive Leader and Portfolio Holder for Economic Development
		Independent	Maureen O'Bern
		Independent	Tony Whyte
Leigh Central and Higher Folds		Labour	Keith Cunliffe	Deputy Leader Portfolio Holder for Adult Social Care
		Labour	Shelley Guest
		Labour	Fredrick Bown Walker
Leigh South		Labour Co-op	Kevin Anderson	Chair of Licensing and Regulation Committees
		Labour Co-op	Charles Rigby	Chair of Audit, Governance and Standards Committee
		Labour	Barbara Caren
Leigh West		Labour	Dane Anderton	Portfolio Holder for Police, Crime and Civil Contingencies
		Labour	Samantha Brown
		Labour	Susan June Greensmith
Lowton East		Labour	Jenny Gregory
		Labour	Garry Lloyd
		Labour	Mike Smith
Orrell		Labour	Anne Collins
		Labour	Jim Nicholson
		Labour	Mark Tebbutt
Pemberton		Labour	Jeanette Prescott
		Labour	Paul Prescott	Portfolio Holder for Planning, Environmental Services and Transport
		Labour	Eileen Winifred Rigby
Shevington with Lower Ground and Moor		Labour	Paul Anthony Collins
		Labour	Michael John Crosby
		Labour	Vicky Galligan
Standish with Langtree		Labour	Terry Mugan
		Labour	Debbie Parkinson	Mayor
		Conservative	Raymond Whittingham
Tyldesley and Mosley Common		Labour	Jess Eastoe	Vice-Chair of Children and Young People Scrutiny Committee
		Independent Network	James Fish
		Labour	Joanne Marshall	Lead Member for Greener Wigan
Wigan Central		Labour	George Davies
		Labour	Lawrence Hunt	Lead Member for Heritage and Building Conservation
		Labour	Michael McLoughlin
Wigan West		Labour	Phyllis Cullen
		Labour	Sheila Ramsdale
		Labour Co-op	David Wood
Winstanley		Labour Co-op	Paul Terence Kenny	Chair of the Planning Committee
		Labour	Clive William Morgan	Chair of Confident Places and Environment Scrutiny Committee
		Labour	Marie Morgan
Worsley Mesnes		Labour	David Hurst
		Labour	Paul Molyneux	Vice-Chair of Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee
		Labour	Helen O’Neill

Premises

The council meets at Wigan Town Hall on Library Street, which had been built in 1903 as the Wigan Mining and Technical College. ^[19] After the college moved to new premises, the building was converted into a town hall in 1990 to replace the Old Town Hall on King Street. ^[20]

Wigan Life Centre, The Wiend, Wigan, WN1 1NH: Council's main offices

The council's main offices are at the Wigan Life Centre on The Wiend, a modern building completed in 2012 behind the retained façade of the former Municipal Buildings facing Hewlett Street and Library Street. The building also incorporates the town's library. ^{[21] [22]}

Municipal Buildings, Hewlett Street: Retained façade of 1900 building, with Wigan Life Centre behind

Wigan Civic Centre, Millgate: Council's main offices 1970–2018

The old Wigan Borough Council had held its meetings at the Old Town Hall on King Street, which had been built as a courthouse in 1867 and had become the council's headquarters in 1882. By the 1950s the council had moved its main offices to the Municipal Buildings, being a converted row of shops and offices at the corner of Hewlett Street and Library Street, which had been built in 1900. ^[23] Meetings continued to be held at the Old Town Hall until the new Town Hall opened in 1990. The offices were supplemented by the construction of the Civic Centre on Millgate in 1970. After the council consolidated its offices at the Wigan Life Centre and Town Hall, the Civic Centre closed in 2018. ^[24]

References

1. Jackson, Nick (21 May 2024). "All change: meet Wigan's new mayor". Wigan Today. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
2. A History of the County of Lancaster: Volume 4. London: Victoria County History. 1911. pp. 68–78. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
3. "Wigan Municipal Borough / County Borough". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
4. "Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch.1), retrieved 30 May 2024
5. "District Councils and Boroughs". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard) . 28 March 1974. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
6. "Find your local council". gov.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
7. "Local Government Act 1985", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
8. "The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2011/908, retrieved 30 May 2024
9. "Understand how your council works". gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
10. "GMCA Members". Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
11. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
12. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 10 August 2022.
13. "Wigan". BBC News Online . 19 April 2008. Retrieved 14 March 2010.
14. "Council minutes". Wigan Council. Retrieved 30 August 2022.
15. "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian. 4 May 2024. Retrieved 21 May 2024.
16. "Your councillors by political grouping". Wigan Council. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
17. "The Wigan (Electoral Changes) Order 2022", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2019/1372, retrieved 4 June 2024
18. "Your Councillors by Ward". Wigan Council. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
19. Historic England. "Town Hall (formerly Wigan and District Mining and Technical College) and railings (Grade II) (1384483)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 June 2024.
20. "Mayors Handbook". Wigan Council. Archived from the original on 6 June 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
21. "Wigan Life Centre". Wigan Council. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
22. "Morgan Sindall completes £50m Wigan Life Centre". The Business Desk. 27 January 2012. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
23. Historic England. "Municipal Buildings, Hewlett Street (Grade II) (1384469)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 5 June 2024.
24. Dunton, Jim (8 February 2024). "Shedkm cleared to turn brutalist former council HQ into start-up space". Building Design. Retrieved 5 June 2024.

External links

• Official website