Sheffield City Council | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Kate Josephs since January 2021[2] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 84 councillors[3] |
 | |
Political groups | Administration (77)
Other groups (7)
|
Joint committees | South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority |
| Elections | |
| First past the post | |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Meeting place | |
.jpg) | |
| Town Hall, Pinstone Street, Sheffield, S1 2HH | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Sheffield City Council is thelocal authority for theCity of Sheffield, ametropolitan borough withcity status inSouth Yorkshire, England. The council consists of 84 councillors, elected to represent 28wards, each with three councillors. It is currently underno overall control, withLabour, theLiberal Democrats and theGreen Party each holding chair positions in a proportionate number of committees.[4]
The town ofSheffield was incorporated as amunicipal borough in 1843. The borough was run by theCorporation of Sheffield, also known as the town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under theLocal Government Act 1888, Sheffield was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it was made acounty borough, independent fromWest Riding County Council.[5] The town was awarded city status in 1893.[6]
In 1974 the county borough of Sheffield was abolished under theLocal Government Act 1972, being replaced by a largermetropolitan borough of Sheffield, covering the area of the former county borough plus the abolishedStocksbridge Urban District and the parishes ofBradfield andEcclesfield. Sheffield's city status was extended to cover the whole area of the new borough.[7]
From 1974 to 1986 Sheffield was a district-level authority, with county-level services provided bySouth Yorkshire County Council. In 1986, theabolition of metropolitan county councils saw Sheffield City Council become aunitary authority, the modern equivalent of the county borough it had been before 1974.[8]
Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of theSouth Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (called the Sheffield City Region until 2021), led by thedirectly electedMayor of South Yorkshire since 2018.
In April 2014, the Sheffield City Council voted to recognize the right to self-determination ofSomaliland, anautonomous region in northwesternSomalia, the first city council to do so. The gesture is purely ceremonial and carries no legal weight.[9] The UK government and the international community officially recognise Somaliland as a part of Somalia.
In August 2019, a governance petition was submitted to the council, asking for a referendum on changing the council's governance system.[10] The petition, organised by the Sheffield community group It's Our City!, was signed by over 26000 people (approximately 6.6% of the Sheffield City Council electorate). In September 2019 this petition was accepted as valid under the provisions of theLocalism Act 2011, forcing the council to hold a referendum on changing the council'sexecutive arrangements from the Leader and Cabinet system to a Committee system.[11] The referendum was postponed from May 2020 (due to theCOVID-19 pandemic) and took place on 6 May 2021, with 65% voting for change to a Committee system.[12]
In 2023 the council leader Terry Fox stood down as leader at the request of the national Labour Party, amid controversy around the council's response to theSheffield street tree scandal.[13][14]
Since 2021 the council has been underno overall control. At the2021 elections,Labour lost its majority on the council, and its leader, Bob Johnson, lost his seat on the council. A coalition between Labour and theGreens was formed to run the council, with Labour's new leader Terry Fox taking the role ofleader of the council.[15] Following the2022 election, theLiberal Democrats joined Labour and the Greens in the ruling administration.[16] The 'rainbow coalition' of Labour, The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party has continued following the2023 election.
The first election to the reconstituted city council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new arrangements took effect on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[17]
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1974–1999 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1999–2002 | |
| No overall control | 2002–2003 | |
| Labour | 2003–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–2008 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 2008–2010 | |
| No overall control | 2010–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–2021 | |
| No overall control | 2021–present | |
The role ofLord Mayor of Sheffield is largely ceremonial and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by theleader of the council. The leaders since 1901 have been:[18][19][20]
County Borough
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Clegg | Liberal | 1901 | 1903 | |
| Herbert Hughes | Conservative | 1903 | 1905 | |
| William Clegg | Liberal | 1905 | 1907 | |
| Herbert Hughes | Conservative | 1907 | 1911 | |
| William Clegg | Liberal | 1911 | 1920 | |
| Citizens | 1920 | 1926 | ||
| Ernest Rowlinson | Labour | 1926 | 1932 | |
| Arthur Blanchard | Municipal Progressive | 1932 | 1933 | |
| Ernest Rowlinson | Labour | 1933 | 1941 | |
| William Asbury | Labour | 1941 | 1942 | |
| Frank Thraves | Labour | 1942 | 1946 | |
| John Henry Bingham | Labour | 1946 | 1960 | |
| Grace Tebbutt | Labour | 1960 | 1966 | |
| Ron Ironmonger | Labour | 1966 | 1968 | |
| Harold Hebblethwaite | Conservative | 1968 | 1969 | |
| Ron Ironmonger | Labour | 1969 | 1974 | |
The last leader of the city council before the 1974 reforms, Ron Ironmonger, went on to be the first leader ofSouth Yorkshire County Council.
Metropolitan Borough
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Wilson | Labour | 1974 | 1980 | |
| David Blunkett | Labour | 1980 | 1987 | |
| Clive Betts | Labour | 1987 | 1992 | |
| Mike Bower | Labour | 1992 | 1998 | |
| Jan Wilson | Labour | 1998 | 1999 | |
| Peter Moore | Liberal Democrats | 1999 | 2002 | |
| Jan Wilson | Labour | 2002 | 21 May 2008 | |
| Paul Scriven | Liberal Democrats | 21 May 2008 | 18 May 2011 | |
| Julie Dore | Labour | 18 May 2011 | 6 Jan 2021 | |
| Bob Johnson | Labour | 6 Jan 2021 | 9 May 2021 | |
| Terry Fox[21] | Labour | 19 May 2021 | 5 May 2023 | |
| Tom Hunt | Labour | 17 May 2023 | ||
Following the2024 election the composition of the council was:[22]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 36 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 27 | |
| Green | 14 | |
| Independent | 7 | |
| Total | 84 | |
Six of the independent councillors sit together as the "Sheffield Community Councillors" group.[23] The next election is due in May 2026.
The council meets atSheffield Town Hall on Pinstone Street in the city centre. The building was purpose-built for the council and was completed in 1897. It is a Grade Ilisted building.[24] The council also uses a modern office building nearby at Howden House, 1 Union Street, as additional offices and the main customer service centre. There are also smaller offices and area offices across the city.[25]
Since the last boundary changes in 2016, the council has comprised 84councillors representing 28wards, 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) being elected each time for a four-year term.[26]
Sheffield City Council provides approximately 550 services to its citizens. It is also a major employer in the city, with more than 8,000 employees, including all state school staff in its role as Local Education Authority (LEA). In April 2021 theSheffield Star published a list of seven Council employees earning more than £100k-a-year.[27]
Services and employees are organised into four portfolios:[28]
The council is responsible for 16cemeteries across the city.[29]
