Bury Council, also known as Bury Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Bury 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 2011. It is based at Bury Town Hall.
History
The town of Bury had been governed by improvement commissioners from 1846. They were replaced in 1876 when the town was incorporated as a municipal borough, after which it was governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Bury', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Bury 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.
The larger Metropolitan Borough of Bury 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 Bury, Prestwich and Radcliffe, and the urban district councils of Ramsbottom, Tottington and Whitefield. 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.
The metropolitan district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Bury's series of mayors dating back to 1876. The council styles itself Bury Council rather than its full formal name of Bury Metropolitan Borough Council.
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 Bury, with some services provided through joint committees.
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 Bury Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.
Governance Bury Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the leader of Bury Council sits on the combined authority as Bury's representative. There are no civil parishes in the borough; the whole area is unparished.
Political control The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows: (Put "Bury" in search box to see specific results.)
Party in control Years 1974–1975 1975–1986 1986–1992 1992–1995 1995–2006 2006–2008 2008–2010 2010–2011 2011–present
Leadership The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Bury. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1986 have been:
Councillor Party From To Albert Little Apr 1974 May 1986 Laurie Bullas May 1986 May 1988 Colin Jones May 1988 May 1993 John Byrne May 1993 May 1997 Derek Boden May 1997 May 2001 John Byrne May 2001 18 May 2005 Wayne Campbell 18 May 2005 16 May 2007 Bob Bibby 16 May 2007 18 May 2011 Mike Connolly 18 May 2011 18 May 2016 Rishi Shori 18 May 2016 10 Jul 2019 David Jones 10 Jul 2019 20 May 2020 Eamonn O'Brien 20 May 2020
Composition Following the 2026 election and subsequent changes up to September 2026, the composition of the council is:
The next election is due in 2027.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 51 councillors representing 17 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.
Wards and councillors Each ward is represented by three councillors.
Parliamentary constituencyWardCouncillor PartyTerm of office Bury North constituency Bury EastAyesha Arif 2026-30Ummrana Farooq 2023-27Gavin McGill 2024-28 Bury WestShahbaz Arif (Conservative Group Leader) 2023-27David Hill 2026-30Dene Vernon 2024-28 EltonMartin Hayes 2024-28Charlotte Morris 2023-27Jack Rydeheard 2026-30 MoorsideCiaron Boles 2024-28Babar Ibrahim 2023-27vacancy 2026 North ManorJulie Anne Southworth 2026-30Khalid Hussain 2023-27John Southworth 2024-28 Radcliffe North and AinsworthPaul Davies 2026-30Andrea Booth 2024-28Jo Lancaster 2023-27 RamsbottomCharlotte Hunt 2026-30Tom Pilkington 2024-28Gareth Staples-Jones 2023-27 RedvalesShabaz Imtiaz Shamim 2026-30Shaheena Haroon 2023-27Tamoor Tariq (Labour Group Deputy Leader) 2024-28 TottingtonIain Gartside 2023-27George Martin 2026-30Yvonne Wright 2026-30 Bury South constituency BessesNoel Bayley 2026-30Miriam Rahimov 2024-28Lucy Smith 2023-27 HolyroodAdnan Chudary 2026-30Imran Rizvi 2024-28Lynn Ryder 2023-27 Pilkington ParkShadman Zaman 2026-30Elizabeth Fitzgerald 2024-28Michael Rubinstein 2023-27 Radcliffe EastCarol Birchmore (Radcliffe First Group Leader)Radcliffe First2022-26Ken SimpsonRadcliffe First2024-28Mary WalshRadcliffe First2023-27 Radcliffe WestDes Duncalfe (Radcliffe First Group Deputy Leader)Radcliffe First2024-28Judi SheppardRadcliffe First2026-30Mike Smith (Deputy Mayor)Radcliffe First2023-27 SedgleyRichard Gold 2026-30Alan Quinn 2024-28Debbie Quinn 2023-27 St. Mary'sDebra Green 2024-28Eamonn O'Brien (Labour Leader and Leader of the Council) 2026-30Sean Thorpe 2023-27 UnsworthJodie Hook 2024-28Jerome Roith 2026-30Tahir Rafiq (Mayor) 2023-27
Premises The council is based at the Town Hall on Knowsley Street in Bury. The building was officially opened in 1954 for the old Bury Borough Council; construction had begun fifteen years earlier but had been interrupted by the Second World War. In 2023 the council announced plans to refurbish the building, allowing the council to consolidate its other offices into the Town Hall, notably from Knowsley Place opposite.
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