West Midlands County Council

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Script error: No such module "Infobox".Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters". West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England.

History

The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 and was abolished on 31 March 1986. It was abolished along with five other metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council by the government of Margaret Thatcher under the Local Government Act 1985.[1]

The WMCC was a strategic authority running regional services such as transport, emergency services, and strategic planning. Elections were held to the council in 1973, 1977 and 1981. Elections were due to be held in 1985 but were cancelled due to the council's impending abolition. The Labour Party controlled the council from 1974 to 1977, with the Conservatives controlling it 1977–81. It reverted to Labour control for the last term 1981–86.[2]

Premises

File:County Hall - Lancaster Circus (geograph 3354898).jpg
County Hall, 1 Lancaster Circus, Birmingham: Council's headquarters

The first meeting of the shadow authority was held on 30 April 1973 at Council House, Birmingham.[3] Meetings were held at Council House throughout the county council's existence.[4] The county council established its main administrative offices at County Hall, 1 Lancaster Circus, in central Birmingham. After the county council's abolition in 1986, County Hall was occupied, but not as its headquarters, by Birmingham City Council,[5] until it was sold in 2022 to private investors.[6]

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1986 was as follows:[7]

Party in control Years
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1974–1977
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1977–1981
Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1981–1986

Leadership

The leaders of the council were:

Councillor Party From To
Stan Yapp[3][8] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". 1 Apr 1974 May 1977
John Taylor[9][10] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". May 1977 Jul 1979
Gilbert Richards[11][12] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". Jul 1979 27 Jun 1980
Alan Hope[13][14] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". Jul 1980 May 1981
Gordon Morgan[15][16][17] Script error: No such module "Party name with color". May 1981 31 Mar 1986

Council elections

Elections were held to the West Midlands County Council three times, in 1973, 1977, and 1981.[7]

Year Conservative Labour Liberal Other
style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"|
1973 27 73 4 0
1977 82 18 3 1
1981 25 74 5 0
style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"| style="background:Template:Party color"|

Elections were due to be held in 1985 but these were cancelled due to the council's impending abolition. Those councillors elected in 1981 had their terms of office extended until the council's abolition on 31 March 1986.[18]

See also

References

<templatestyles src="Reflist/styles.css" />

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ Local Elections Handbook pp. 2–3
  3. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "Citation/CS1".Script error: No such module "London Gazette util".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1". (Put "West Midlands" in search box to see specific results.)
  8. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  16. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  17. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  18. ↑ Template:Cite legislation UK

Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters".

Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Former county councils of England Template:West Midlands elections Script error: No such module "Authority control".

Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=West_Midlands_County_Council&oldid=4832156"