Salford City Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Stephen Young since 1 September 2025[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 60 councillors plus elected mayor[3] |
 | |
Political groups |
|
Joint committees | Greater Manchester Combined Authority Greater Manchester Police, Fire and Crime Panel |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Motto | |
| Salus populi suprema lex (The welfare of the people is the highest law) | |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Salford Civic Centre, Chorley Road,Swinton,Manchester, M27 5AW | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Salford City Council is thelocal authority for theCity of Salford, ametropolitan borough withcity status inGreater Manchester, England. It is ametropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of theGreater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.
The council has been underLabour majority control since the metropolitan borough was created in 1974. Since 2012 the council has been led by the directly electedMayor of Salford, which post has been held byPaul Dennett of the Labour Party since 2016. The council is based atSalford Civic Centre inSwinton.
The settlement ofSalford had anciently been administered as atownship within theparish of Manchester, which in turn formed part of theSalford Hundred.[4] Around 1230 the settlement was given a charter byRanulf de Blondeville, 6th Earl of Chester, who was thelord of the manor at the time, making it aseigneurial borough with a limited degree of self-government.[5] In 1791 a body ofimprovement commissioners was established to administer the town, largely superseding the old manorial authorities.[6]
Salford was incorporated as amunicipal borough in 1844, after which it was governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Salford', generally known as the corporation or town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Salford was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services, and so it was made acounty borough, independent from the newLancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of thegeographical county of Lancashire.[7] Salford was granted city status in 1926, after which the corporation was also known as the city council.[8][9]
The larger metropolitan district of Salford and its council were created in 1974 under theLocal Government Act 1972 as one of ten metropolitan districts within the newmetropolitan 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 five outgoing authorities, being the borough councils ofSalford,Eccles andSwinton and Pendlebury and theurban district councils ofIrlam andWorsley. 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.[10] Salford's borough and city statuses both passed to the new district, allowing the council to take the name Salford City Council and appoint a mayor, continuing Salford'sseries of mayors dating back to 1844.[11][12]
From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by theGreater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Greater Manchester's ten borough councils, including Salford City Council, with some services provided through joint committees.[13]
Between 2005 and 2020 some services, including property, highways and infrastructure, planning and building control were provided by Urban Vision, apublic-private partnership formed between the city council,Capita andGalliford Try.[14] The contract with Urban Vision finished in 2020 and was not renewed, with services being brought back in-house to the council.[15]
Since 2011 the council has been a member of theGreater Manchester Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly electedMayor 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 Salford City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.[16][17]
In 2012 the council changed to having adirectly elected mayor as its political leader. The position is called theMayor of Salford, or the "city mayor". Prior to 2012 the title Mayor of Salford had been used for the council's chairperson and ceremonial figurehead, performing non-political civic duties. The more ceremonial role continues, but now renamed theceremonial mayor.[18]
Salford City Council providesmetropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the Mayor of Salford sits on the combined authority as Salford's representative.[19] There are nocivil parishes in the city.[20]
The council has been under Labour majority control since the 1974 reforms.[21][22]
| Party | Period | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–present | |
Prior to 2012, political leadership was provided by theleader of the council. The leaders from 1974 to 2012 were:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Les Hough[23] | Labour | 1974 | 26 Apr 1987 | |
| Ken Edwards[24][25] | Labour | 20 May 1987 | May 1988 | |
| Bill Hinds[25][26] | Labour | May 1988 | May 2003 | |
| John Merry[27][28] | Labour | May 2003 | 6 May 2012 | |
In 2012 the council changed to having a directly elected mayor as its political leader. The mayors since 2012 have been:[a]
| Mayor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ian Stewart[30][31] | Labour | 7 May 2012 | 8 May 2016 | |
| Paul Dennett[31] | Labour | 9 May 2016 | ||
Following the2024 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council (including the city mayor's seat) was:[32][33][34]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 49[b] | |
| Conservative | 7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | |
| Independent | 3 | |
| Total | 61 | |
One of the independents sits in a group with the Liberal Democrats. The next election is due in May 2026.[35]
Since the last boundary changes took effect in 2021, the council has comprised 60councillors representing 20wards, 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.[36]
| Ward | Councillor | Party | Term of office | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Barton and Winton | John Mullen | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| David Lancaster | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Jacqui Fahy | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Blackfriars and Trinity | vacant[c] | |||
| Emma Cammell | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Jane Hamilton | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Boothstown and Ellenbrook | Les Turner | Conservative | 2022-26 | |
| Darren Ward | Conservative | 2023-27 | ||
| Bob Clarke | Conservative | 2024-28 | ||
| Broughton | John Merry | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Jim King | Labour Co-op | 2023-27 | ||
| Maria Brabiner | Labour Co-op | 2024-28 | ||
| Cadishead and Lower Irlam | Yolande Amana-Ghola | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Hannah Robinson-Smith | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Lewis Nelson | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Claremont | Neil Reynolds | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Mike Pevitt | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Barbara Bentham | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Eccles | Nathaniel Tetteh | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Mike McCusker | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Sharmina August | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Higher Irlam and Peel Green | Mishal Saeed | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| John David Walsh | Labour Co-op | 2023-27 | ||
| Tracy Kelly | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Kersal and Broughton Park | Avrohom Walters | Independent | 2022-26 | |
| Ari Leitner | Conservative | 2023-27 | ||
| Arnold Saunders | Conservative | 2024-28 | ||
| Little Hulton | Teresa Pepper | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Rob Sharpe | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Tony Davies | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Ordsall | Benjamin Grogan | Labour | 2023-27 | |
| Brendan Kerville | Labour | 2024-26 | ||
| Tanya Burch | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Pendlebury and Clifton | Chioma Mgbeokwere | Labour | 2023-26 | |
| Barry Warner | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Su Matthews | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Pendleton and Charlestown | John Warmisham | Independent | 2022-26 | |
| Wilson Nkurunziza | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Michelle Barnes | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Quays | Jake Rowland | Labour | 2023-27 | |
| Paul Heilbron | Liberal Democrats | 2024-26 | ||
| Jonathan Moore | Liberal Democrats | 2024-28 | ||
| Swinton and Wardley | Gina Reynolds | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Bill Hinds | Independent[d] | 2023-27 | ||
| Jim Dawson | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Swinton Park | Stuart Dickman | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Jim Cammell | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Heather Fletcher | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Walkden North | Jack Youd | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Samantha Bellamy | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Adrian Brocklehurst | Labour Co-op | 2024-28 | ||
| Walkden South | Irfan Syed | Labour | 2022-26 | |
| Hilaria Asumu | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Joshua Brooks | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Weaste & Seedley | Alexis Shama | Labour Co-op | 2022-26 | |
| Charlotte Youd | Labour | 2023-27 | ||
| Philip Cusack | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
| Worsley and Westwood Park | Adam Kealey | Conservative | 2022-26 | |
| Robin Garrido | Conservative | 2023-27 | ||
| James Prady | Labour | 2024-28 | ||
The council is based atSalford Civic Centre on Chorley Road inSwinton. The building had been completed in 1938 as Swinton and Pendlebury Town Hall, originally serving as the headquarters of Swinton and Pendlebury Borough Council.[39] For postal purposes, Swinton comes under theManchester post town, although the council itself quotes the Civic Centre's address as "Swinton, Salford" (administratively accurate but not postally) rather than the postally correct "Swinton, Manchester".[40] The council has additional offices at Turnpike House at 631 Eccles New Road.[41]
