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63-687: Liverpool City Council is the local authority for the city of Liverpool in Merseyside , England. Liverpool has had a local authority since 1207, which has been reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council . It provides the majority of local government services in the city. The council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority since 2014. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. It meets at Liverpool Town Hall and has its main offices at

126-495: A Mayor of London and 25-member London Assembly . The first mayoral and assembly elections took place in 2000. The former Leader of the Greater London Council , Ken Livingstone , served as the inaugural Mayor, until he was defeated by future Prime Minister Boris Johnson in 2008 . The incumbent, Sadiq Khan , was first elected in 2016 . The Mayor's functions include chairing Transport for London , holding

189-523: A capitalist running a property company in Cyprus and driving a £60,000 Range Rover, justifying his change in attitude as "My days in politics were a very long time ago and I lost interest in it after I was expelled from the city council". Hatton gave another interview in the same year to the Liverpool Daily Post in which he reasserted his intention to seek selection as a parliamentary Labour candidate for

252-625: A constituency in Liverpool or elsewhere in the North West at some point in the future. Hatton stated that he may challenge "one of the neo-Tory types currently representing Liverpool, like Maria Eagle maybe". On 28 May 2015, it emerged that Hatton had attempted to rejoin the Labour Party on 9 May, two days after Labour's defeat in the 2015 general election . His application was rejected by Iain McNicol ,

315-483: A county council and a district council, which would share local authority functions. In May 2022, 21 non-metropolitan county councils and 164 non-metropolitan district councils remain. These are better known as simply county councils and district councils. The Local Government Act 1985 also abolished metropolitan county councils, but there are still 36 metropolitan district councils as of May 2022. There are also (as of April 2023) 62 unitary authorities. These carry out

378-547: A devolution deal, which are usually reserved to combined authorities for additional functions and funding. And, like some combined authorities and parish councils, local authorities do have a general power of competence . Separate to combined authorities, two or more local authorities can also work together through joint boards (for legally-required services: fire, public transport and waste disposal), joint committees (voluntarily) or through contracting out and agency arrangements. The Greater London Authority Act 1999 established

441-518: A firefighter and later joined the Labour Party and Militant , a Trotskyist organisation then following an entryist strategy within the Labour Party. As deputy leader of Liverpool City Council from 1983, Hatton was the most vocal and prominent member of the council's leadership. The then Leader of the Council was John Hamilton , a soft-spoken and widely admired local politician. Hatton joined

504-510: A local authority. Ten currently exist, with more planned. Parish councils form the lowest tier of local government and govern civil parishes . They may also be called a 'community council', 'neighbourhood council', 'village council', 'town council' or (if the parish holds city status) 'city council', but these names are stylistic and do not change their responsibilities. As of December 2021 there are 10,475 parishes in England, but they do not cover

567-620: A parish council must meet certain conditions of quality. Civil parishes developed in the nineteenth century and were based on the Church of England's parishes , which until then had both ecclesiastical and local government functions; parish councils were created by the Local Government Act 1894 ( 56 & 57 Vict. c. 73). The ecclesiastical parishes continue to exist, but neither they nor their parochial church councils have any local government role. There are 317 local authorities covering

630-549: A whole has limited revenue-raising powers compared to other G7 countries. In the 20th century, local authorities found that the costs of providing services exceeded the revenues raised from local taxes and so grants from the UK Government (specifically the Treasury ) gradually increased. However, UK Government grants were cut by 40% in real terms between the financial years 2009/10 and 2019/20, although grant income did grow due to

693-481: Is a public interest in disclosing information about local government investments which will generally outweigh any concerns about whether disclosure could affect an investment's performance or be protected by confidentiality requirements. Local authorities cannot borrow money to finance day-to-day spending and so must rely on yearly income or reserves for this type of expenditure, although they can borrow to fund capital expenditure. Local government in England as

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756-517: Is clear both practically and democratically that the overly centralised arrangements of government in England are problematic" and that reform was also needed of funding structures. As of May 2024, the various combined authorities, county, district, and sui generis councils formed an administrative hierarchy as shown in the table below. Unitary authorities are legally either district councils which also perform county functions or county councils which also perform district functions; they therefore straddle

819-455: Is the regional authority for Greater London , with responsibility for transport, policing, fire and rescue, development and strategic planning. Combined authorities are statutory bodies which allow two or more local authorities to voluntarily pool responsibilities and negotiate a devolution deal with the UK Government for the area they cover, giving it powers beyond those typically held by

882-453: The 2023 election the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027. Since the last boundary changes in 2023, 85 councillors have been elected from 64 wards , with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years. These are the wards since the 2023 local elections. Council meetings are held at Liverpool Town Hall at the junction of High Street, Dale Street and Water Street, which

945-549: The COVID-19 pandemic . Local government receives two types of grants: the Revenue Support Grant, which can be spent on any service according to the wishes of the local government body in question, and specific grants, which are usually 'ring fenced' to specifically defined service areas. Council tax was introduced in 1993 to replace the ' poll tax '. It is a domestic property tax, based on eight bands (A to H) depending on

1008-687: The Commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and London Fire Commissioner to account and keeping strategies up to date, including the London Plan . Meanwhile, it is the Assembly's role to regularly hold the Mayor and their key advisers to account and it can also amend the budget or a strategy by a two-thirds majority, though this has not ever happened as of March 2022. Combined authorities can be created at

1071-547: The Cunard Building . Liverpool was an ancient borough , having been granted its first charter by King John in 1207. It had a mayor from at least 1292. Liverpool was reformed to become a municipal borough in 1836 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

1134-542: The Localism Act 2011 . In every area, one local authority acts as the billing authority (the district council in two-tier areas), which prepares and collects council tax bills. Other parts of local government (like county councils in two-tier areas, police and crime commissioners, fire authorities, parish councils and combined authorities) act as precepting authorities, which notify the relevant billing authority of their decision on council tax and later receive this money from

1197-611: The membership referendum in June 2016: "I can't believe Corbyn is arguing for Labour MPs to vote with the most reactionary and xenophobic Tory government we've seen for a long time. This shows a real lack of leadership on his part and does now make me have serious doubts about him". Hatton applied to rejoin Labour in September 2018. The application was approved in February 2019. He was suspended from

1260-477: The rate-capping rebellion in 1985 as the council refused to make a rate increase. In June, the council changed tactics and set an illegal "deficit budget" which committed it to spending £30 million more than its income, claiming that the excess represented grant "stolen" by central government. Once adopted by the Liverpool District Labour Party and 49 councillors, this policy catapulted Hatton and

1323-623: The sui generis City of London Corporation . The other sui generis local authorities are the Council of the Isles of Scilly , Middle Temple and Inner Temple . Outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly , the Local Government Act 1972 divided England into metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties, which would have one county council and multiple district councils each. That meant that each area would be covered by two tiers of local authorities - both

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1386-608: The 1980s and was a member of the Trotskyist Militant group . Hatton attended the Liverpool Institute for Boys from 1959 to 1964. Notable names at the school included Paul McCartney , George Harrison , Peter Sissons , Bill Kenwright and Steven Norris . His subsequent academic success was limited, but he enjoyed sports and appeared on stage as Gratiano in a school production of The Merchant of Venice with future theatre producer Bill Kenwright . Hatton became

1449-464: The 1980s, the Militant group gained control of Liverpool's Labour Party. Under their leadership the council attempted to challenge the national government on several issues, including refusing to set a budget in 1985. The leadership of the national Labour Party was drawn into the controversy, ultimately expelling members of Militant, including the council's deputy leader, Derek Hatton , in 1986. In 2012

1512-559: The Electoral Commission has recommended that all authorities use whole council elections every 4 years. Local authorities have a choice of executive arrangements under the Local Government Act 2000 : mayor and cabinet executive, leader and cabinet executive, a committee system or bespoke arrangements approved by the Secretary of State. As of April 2023, just 15 local authorities have directly-elected mayors . Some functions are just

1575-466: The Labour Party as of 2024 except for Tees Valley . Each combined authority's executive consists of a representative from each of its constituent local authorities, plus (if applicable) the mayor. Functions can be devolved directly to the mayor, to the combined authority as a whole, or have a different decision-making requirement. The budget and functions of each combined authority can be vastly different, but possible functions include responsibility for

1638-482: The Labour Party's constitution. Hatton argued that Militant was a legitimate Marxist tendency within the Labour Party, but the National Executive Committee voted to expel him by twelve votes to six. In 1993, Hatton was accused of corruption as deputy leader of Liverpool City Council. After a lengthy trial, at Mold Crown Court , he was found not guilty. Hatton, along with others, believes that he

1701-515: The Merseyside pension fund too. In 2020, it was reported that the city council's accounts since 2015 had not been signed off by its auditors on account of the 'complex ongoing police investigation'. In December 2020, the elected mayor, Joe Anderson , was arrested as part of an anti-corruption investigation. The Labour Party suspended Anderson on news of his arrest. He did not resign as mayor but stood back from active duties, handing effective control to

1764-622: The Secretary of State the power to provide for a directly-elected combined authority mayor . And, as of May 2022, nine out of the 10 combined authorities have mayors, including Andy Burnham in Greater Manchester and Andy Street in the West Midlands . In the 2024 local elections , new Combined Authorities were elected; they were the new York and North Yorkshire Combined Authority , North East Mayoral Combined Authority , East Midlands Combined County Authority . They are all controlled by

1827-405: The agreement of the relevant local authorities, and under the Localism Act 2011 eligible parish councils can be granted a " general power of competence " (GPC) which allows them within certain limits the freedom to do anything an individual can do provided it is not prohibited by other legislation, as opposed to being limited to the powers explicitly granted to them by law. To be eligible for this

1890-555: The area are provided by the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority; the leader of Liverpool City Council sits on the combined authority as Liverpool's representative. There are no civil parishes in the city. The council has been under Labour majority control since 2010. In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the council was run by the Conservatives. Labour councillors were first elected to

1953-594: The billing authority. Between financial years 2009/10 and 2021/22, council tax rates increased by 30% in real terms, in light of reduced grants from the UK Government. Business rates is a tax on business premises. It is based on the rateable value of the premises (set by the Valuation Office Agency ) and a business rate multiplier. It is set and collected by billing authorities. Reforms in 2013 now mean that local authorities keep 50% of business rate revenues raised locally. The UK Government then distributes

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2016-436: The borough of Liverpool', generally known as the corporation or town council. As part of the same reforms, the borough boundaries were enlarged to match the larger Liverpool parliamentary constituency , which had been expanded in 1832 to include the neighbouring parishes of Everton and Kirkdale and part of West Derby . The corporation created a police force in 1836. Liverpool was granted city status in 1880, after which

2079-484: The city council into massive media attention and conflict with the then Conservative government . In 1986, Hatton and 46 other councillors were subsequently found to have committed wilful misconduct by the district auditor, ordered to repay the costs incurred by the council due to the failure to set a rate as a surcharge, and disqualified from office. Hatton was expelled from the Labour Party in 1986 for belonging to Militant, which had earlier been found to be in breach of

2142-625: The corporation was also known as the city council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Liverpool 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 . In 1893 the city was granted the right to appoint a lord mayor . The city boundaries were enlarged on several occasions, notably gaining Wavertree , Walton and parts of Toxteth and West Derby in 1895, Fazakerley in 1905, Allerton , Childwall and Woolton in 1913,

2205-601: The council . Between 2012 and 2023 the council had a directly elected Mayor of Liverpool (a separate post from the Lord Mayor) instead of a leader. The directly elected mayor position was abolished in 2023 and the position of leader reinstated. The leaders since 1918 have been: County Borough leaders The last leader of the council before the 1974 reforms, Bill Sefton, went on to be the first leader of Merseyside County Council . Metropolitan Borough leaders Directly elected mayors Metropolitan Borough leaders Following

2268-489: The council has been a member of the Liverpool City Region Combined Authority , which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of the Liverpool City Region since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the region, but Liverpool City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions. The council's chief executive, Ged Fitzgerald,

2331-447: The council in 1905, but Liverpool was one of the last major cities in the UK in which the Labour Party gained control, which first occurred in 1955. Municipal borough Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows: Metropolitan borough The role of Lord Mayor of Liverpool is largely ceremonial role. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of

2394-460: The council introduced the position of Mayor of Liverpool as a directly elected mayor to serve as the council's political leader instead of having a leader of the council chosen by the councillors. The position was separate from the more ceremonial role of the Lord Mayor. The directly elected mayor position was abolished in 2023 and the position of leader of the council was reinstated. Since 2014

2457-518: The county and district columns. Metropolitan districts and London boroughs are also shown straddling the county and district columns. In much of the country there is also a lower tier of civil parishes . This administrative hierarchy differs from the ceremonial hierarchy . Derek Hatton Derek Anthony Hatton (born 17 January 1948) is a British former politician, later a broadcaster, property developer and businessman. He gained national prominence as deputy leader of Liverpool City Council in

2520-466: The deputy mayor, Wendy Simon , for the remainder of his term of office to May 2021. As of April 2024 no charges had been brought against him, but the investigation had yet to conclude. On 24 March 2021, the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government , Robert Jenrick , announced that he was appointing commissioners to oversee some of the authority's functions for at least 3 years. This

2583-632: The entirety of England, and are responsible for services such as education, transport, planning applications, and waste collection and disposal. In two-tier areas a non-metropolitan county council and two or more non-metropolitan district councils share responsibility for these services. In single-tier areas a unitary authority , London borough , or metropolitan borough provides all services. The City of London and Isles of Scilly have unique local authorities. The London boroughs, metropolitan boroughs, and some unitary authorities collaborate through regional authorities. The Greater London Authority (GLA)

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2646-576: The financial year 2019/20, local authorities received 22% of their funding from grants, 52% from council tax and 27% from retained business rates. In the financial year 2023/24, 51% of revenue expenditure is expected to come from UK Government grants, 31% from council tax and 15% from retained business rates. Local government can also receive some money from fees and charges for the use of services, returns and interest from investments , commercial income, fixed penalty notices and capital receipts. The Information Commissioner's Office has ruled that there

2709-689: The functions of both county and district councils and have replaced two-tier local government in some areas. The creation of these first became possible under the Local Government Act 1992 , but now takes place under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 . In the 2023/24 financial year, 33% of budgeted service expenditure across local government as a whole is set to be on education , 19% on adult social care , 13% on police , 11% on children's social care and 24% on all other services. Notably, Cornwall Council has been subject to

2772-475: The new metropolitan county of Merseyside. Liverpool's borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty passed to the reformed district and its council. From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by Merseyside County Council . The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Merseyside's five borough councils, including Liverpool, with some services provided through joint committees. During

2835-470: The party's general secretary. In September 2015, Hatton endorsed Jeremy Corbyn 's campaign in the Labour Party leadership election . He wrote: "For the first time since the Eighties we have a clear choice between a Tory party supported by big business, and a Labour party based on the trade unions . This might sound very old fashioned, but it's simply a return to the obvious split that has always existed. It

2898-523: The people within government are unsure at times where powers and responsibility, and hence accountability, rest, this lack of clarity is magnified for individuals who have little knowledge or experience of the structures. This has the potential to leave individuals less likely to be able to access what they need from government, leaving them often unable to know who is responsible, and as a result are not properly able to hold their democratic representatives to account. The Committee also said that "[t]he evidence

2961-773: The relevant police force and/or fire brigade , bus franchising and spatial strategy. Lower-tier of a two-tier system. Upper-tier of a two-tier system. De facto unitary authorities since abolition of metropolitan county councils . Metropolitan county councils were abolished in 1986 and most of their functions were devolved to the metropolitan boroughs making them unitary authorities in all but name. Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. South Yorkshire . Some combined and regional authorities may assume responsibility for policing, e.g. Greater Manchester . In England, local authorities have three main sources of funding: UK Government grants, council tax and business rates . In

3024-469: The remaining 50% of business rate revenues according to its own judgement. It was initially planned to increase the proportion of business rates that local authorities retain to 100%, but this was indefinitely delayed in 2021. In 2022, the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee said that it had "significant concerns about the current governance arrangements for England": If

3087-520: The request of two or more local authorities. Combined authorities do not replace the local authorities in question, but can receive separate functions and funding. As of May 2022, there are 10 combined authorities covering some of England. The Secretary of State was first granted the power to create combined authorities by the Local Democracy, Economic Development and Construction Act 2009 . The Cities and Local Government Devolution Act 2016 gave

3150-503: The responsibility of the executive of a local authority, but local authorities must also have at least one overview and scrutiny committee to hold the executive to account. The London Government Act 1963 established 32 London borough councils. It also established the Greater London Council , covering the whole of Greater London , but this was later abolished by the Local Government Act 1985 . Greater London also includes

3213-471: The rest of West Derby in 1928, and Speke in 1932. Liverpool's first female councillor was Eleanor Rathbone , elected in 1909. Eighteen years later, Margaret Beavan became the first female Lord Mayor in 1927. The city was reformed to become a metropolitan district in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 . It kept the same boundaries as the former county borough (which had last been adjusted in 1956) and became one of five metropolitan districts within

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3276-592: The transfer of most offices to the Cunard Building. 53°24′25.9″N 2°59′30″W  /  53.407194°N 2.99167°W  / 53.407194; -2.99167 Local government in England Civil parishes are the lowest tier of local government, and primarily exist in rural and smaller urban areas. The responsibilities of parish councils are limited and generally consist of providing and maintaining public spaces and facilities. Local authorities cover

3339-411: The value of the property on 1 April 1991. Various discounts are set out in law and exist at the discretion of billing authorities. On a yearly basis, local government bodies review and consider whether to increase or decrease the level of council tax to fund their spending plans. The level at which a local authority can increase council tax each year without holding a local referendum is regulated by

3402-560: The whole of England. There are five main types of local authorities: London borough councils , two-tier county and district councils , metropolitan district councils and unitary authorities . Some local authorities have borough , city or royal borough status, but this is purely stylistic. All local authorities are made up of councillors , who represent geographical wards . There are 7,026 wards as of December 2021. Local authorities run on four year cycles and councillors may be elected all at once, by halves or by thirds; although

3465-430: The whole of the country as many urban parishes were abolished in 1974. The only specific statutory function of parish councils, which they must do, is establishing allotments . However, there are a number of other functions given by powers in the relevant legislation, which they can do, such as providing litter bins and building bus shelters . Their statutory functions are few, but they may provide other services with

3528-531: Was a card-carrying member of the Labour Party. He supported the campaign of Jeremy Corbyn to lead the Labour Party. However, the Labour Party denied this, insisting instead that Hatton had been sent a membership card automatically but had not been permitted to join. At the end of January 2017, in an article for the Liverpool Echo , Hatton wrote that he had voted against Britain leaving the European Union in

3591-737: Was a director of Rippleffect Studios Limited from 1999 to 2008 It was reported in the Liverpool Daily Post in 2007 that Hatton had rejoined the Labour Party and intended to seek selection as a prospective parliamentary candidate in the North West . Hatton made clear that he is no longer a Trotskyist, but maintains that he remains firmly on the left of the party, expressing his belief that Labour has to abandon New Labour ideology (or "neo- Tory ", as Hatton puts it) and return to its traditional values. In October 2008, during an interview with The Sunday Telegraph , Hatton revealed that he had become

3654-423: Was artificially camouflaged under New Labour. It's an exciting time for the whole country, but I fear that the pressure which will be brought to bear from the 'New Labour dinosaurs' and from much of the media will be massive, and Jeremy Corbyn will need strength and support in abundance in order to resist it." In a BBC Newsnight broadcast on 27 July 2015 Hatton claimed not to be a property developer, and that he

3717-579: Was built between 1749 and 1754. The council's main administrative offices are located in the Cunard Building at Pier Head , which had been completed in 1917 as the headquarters of the Cunard Line . The council bought the building in 2013. From 1868 until 2016 the council's main offices were the Municipal Buildings on Dale Street. The Municipal Buildings were sold in 2016 after the council decided they were too large and costly to maintain and following

3780-543: Was following an investigation, commissioned in December 2020 that found there were "multiple apparent failures" and a "deeply concerning picture of mismanagement" in the council. The commissioners remained in post until June 2024. Following improvements in the council's performance and management, the intervention was then scaled back to less direct supervision, due to last until March 2025. Liverpool City Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in

3843-406: Was suspended in 2017 and subsequently resigned in 2018 following an investigation by Lancashire Constabulary into financial irregularities relating to a joint project between Lancashire County Council and British Telecom (BT) during Fitzgerald's tenure as chief executive of the county council. The police investigation subsequently widened to investigate alleged criminality at the city council and

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3906-462: Was the inspiration behind the character of Michael Murray in the G.B.H. series aired by Channel Four. Hatton presented the lunchtime phone-in on 105.4 Century FM when it launched in 1998, titled "The Degsy Debate". The BBC Two fly-on-the-wall documentary Trouble at the Top followed the station's launch, and Hatton's training. In the 1990s, he worked as Talk Radio 's morning phone-in presenter. He

3969-550: Was the subject of a BBC documentary, My Brilliant Career in 1996. In the 1990s, Hatton starred in a series of adverts for Sekonda watches. He also appeared on an episode of BBC panel show Have I Got News for You in 1993, alongside Conservative MP and panellist Edwina Currie , also a Liverpudlian. In 2010, Hatton appeared in Channel 4 's Alternative Election Night Special episode of Come Dine with Me alongside Brian Paddick , Edwina Currie and Rod Liddle .   Hatton

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