Middlesbrough Council

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title: "Middlesbrough Council" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["politics-of-middlesbrough", "unitary-authority-councils-of-england", "local-authorities-in-england-with-elected-mayor", "local-education-authorities-in-england", "billing-authorities-in-england", "leader-and-cabinet-executives", "local-authorities-in-north-yorkshire"] description: "Local authority for the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England" topic_path: "politics" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middlesbrough_Council" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Local authority for the Borough of Middlesbrough, North Yorkshire, England ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox legislature"]

Field	Value
name	Middlesbrough Council
coa_pic	Coat of Arms of the District Council of Middlesbrough.svg
coa_res	150
coa_caption	Coat of arms
logo_pic	Middlesbrough Council - Logo.svg
logo_res	150
logo_caption	Logo
leader1_type	Chair
leader1	Jack Banks
party1
Labour
election1	21 May 2025
leader2_type	Mayor
leader2	Chris Cooke
party2
Labour
election2	8 May 2023
leader3_type	Chief Executive
leader3	Erik Scollay
party3
election3	27 November 2024
structure1	United Kingdom Middlesbroug Council 2025.svg
structure1_res	250px
seats	47 (46 councillors plus elected mayor)
:	border
; Other parties (22){{cite web	title
:	border
:	border
:	border
:	border
:	border
:	border
joint_committees	Tees Valley Combined Authority
voting_system1	First past the post
last_election1	4 May 2023
next_election1	6 May 2027
session_room	Middlesbrough Town Hall Summer 2013.jpg
session_res	250
session_alt	Middlesbrough Town Hall is the meeting place of Middlesbrough Council
meeting_place	Middlesbrough Town Hall
website
::

| name = Middlesbrough Council | coa_pic = Coat of Arms of the District Council of Middlesbrough.svg | coa_res =150 | coa_caption = Coat of arms | logo_pic = Middlesbrough Council - Logo.svg | logo_res = 150 | logo_alt = | logo_caption = Logo | leader1_type = Chair | leader1 = Jack Banks | party1 = Labour | election1 = 21 May 2025 | leader2_type = Mayor | leader2 = Chris Cooke | party2 =
Labour | election2 = 8 May 2023 | leader3_type = Chief Executive | leader3 = Erik Scollay | party3 = | election3 = 27 November 2024 | structure1 = United Kingdom Middlesbroug Council 2025.svg | structure1_res = 250px | seats = 47 (46 councillors plus elected mayor) | political_groups1 = ; Administration (25) : Labour (25) ; Other parties (22) : : : : : :

| joint_committees = Tees Valley Combined Authority | voting_system1 = First past the post | last_election1 = 4 May 2023 | next_election1 = 6 May 2027 | session_room = Middlesbrough Town Hall Summer 2013.jpg | session_res = 250 | session_alt = Middlesbrough Town Hall is the meeting place of Middlesbrough Council | meeting_place = Middlesbrough Town Hall | website = | footnotes = Middlesbrough Council, also known as Middlesbrough Borough Council, is the local authority for the Borough of Middlesbrough in North Yorkshire, England. Since 1996 the council has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council. Following the 2023 local elections, Labour has held majority control of the council, which meets at the Town Hall. It is led by the directly-elected Mayor of Middlesbrough (Chris Cooke since 2023). The council is a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

History

The town of Middlesbrough had been incorporated as a municipal borough in 1853. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Middlesbrough 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 North Riding County Council, whilst remaining part of the North Riding of Yorkshire for ceremonial purposes.

The original borough of Middlesbrough was abolished in 1968, merging with several neighbouring authorities to become the County Borough of Teesside. That proved to be a short-lived local authority, being abolished just six years later when a new borough of Middlesbrough was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new borough covered the wards from Teesside which generally corresponded to both the pre-1968 borough and the former parishes of Hemlington, Marton and Stainton (which had all been abolished and absorbed into Teesside in 1968), plus the parish of Nunthorpe from the Stokesley Rural District. The re-created borough was a lower-tier district, being one of four districts within the new county of Cleveland. The county council provided county-level functions.

Cleveland County Council was abolished in 1996 following the Banham Review and the borough council took over county-level functions, in effect restoring Middlesbrough to the powers it had held prior to 1968 when it had been a county borough. The way the 1996 change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county of Middlesbrough covering the same area as the existing borough, but with no separate county council; instead the existing borough council took on county functions, making it a unitary authority. At the same time the borough was transferred for ceremonial purposes to North Yorkshire, but as a unitary authority it has always been independent from North Yorkshire Council.

Governance

The council calls itself Middlesbrough Council, although the longer name Middlesbrough Borough Council is also sometimes used. It provides both county-level and district-level services. There are two civil parishes in the borough at Nunthorpe and Stainton and Thornton which form a second tier of local government for their areas; while the rest of the borough is unparished.

Since 2016, the council has been a member of the Tees Valley Combined Authority.

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since the 2023 election.

Political control of the council since it was re-established in 1974 has been as follows:

Non-metropolitan district ::data[format=table]

Party in control	Years
	1974–1996
::

Unitary authority ::data[format=table]

Party in control	Years
	1996–2019
	2019–2023
	2023–present
::

Leadership

Since 2002, political leadership on the council has been provided by the directly elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. Prior to 2002 the council was led by a leader of the council, and the mayor had a more ceremonial role. The leaders from 1981 to 2002 were: ::data[format=table]

Councillor	Party	From	To
Walter Ferrier		1981	1983
Michael Carr		1983	1995
Ken Walker		1995	5 May 2002
::

The directly elected mayors since 2002 have been: ::data[format=table]

Mayor	Party	From	To
Ray Mallon		6 May 2002	10 May 2015
Dave Budd		11 May 2015	5 May 2019
Andy Preston		6 May 2019	7 May 2023
Chris Cooke		8 May 2023
::

Composition

Following the 2023 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to May 2025, the composition of the council (excluding the elected mayor's seat) was:

::data[format=table]

Party	Councillors	Total	46
	24
	4
	2
	16
::

Of the sixteen independent councillors, ten sit together as the "Middlesbrough Independent Councillors Association" and two form the "Marton East Independent Group"; the other four do not belong to a group. The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015 the council has comprised 43 councillors representing 20 wards, with each ward electing one, two or three councillors. Elections are held every four years.

The Executive

Middlesbrough Council's senior decision making body is a committee known as the Executive. Similar to a cabinet, the Executive consists of the Mayor and up to nine councillors appointed by the Mayor, as of November 2024 they are as follows:

• Chris Cooke, Mayor
• Philippa Storey, Deputy Mayor and Executive Member for Education and Culture
• Jan Ryles, Executive Member for Public Health
• Peter Gavigan, Executive Member for Environment and Sustainability
• Theo Furness, Executive Member for Development
• Ian Blades, Executive Member for Neighbourhoods
• Nicky Walker, Executive Member for Finance
• Julia Rostron, Executive Member for Adult Social Care
• Luke Henman, Executive Member for Children's Services

Premises

The council is based at Middlesbrough Town Hall on Albert Road in the centre of Middlesbrough. The building is in two parts, being the main hall on the corner of Corporation Road (primarily an entertainment venue) and the Municipal Buildings to the south of the hall, facing Centre Square, which were built together between 1883 and 1889. The council has additional offices in modern buildings near the Town Hall, notably at Middlesbrough House at 50 Corporation Road, which includes the customer centre, and at Fountain Court at 119 Grange Road.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Municipal_office,Middlesbrough-geograph.org.uk-_5469154.jpg" caption="The Civic Centre served as the council's main offices between 1973 and 2022"] ::

The council's main offices were previously at the Civic Centre on Centre Square, immediately east of the Municipal Buildings and linked to them by a first floor bridge. The Civic Centre was completed in 1973. The council vacated the Civic Centre in 2022 after purchasing nearby Fountain Court and relocating staff there.

Coat of arms

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7d/Flag_flown_above_Middlesbrough_town_hall.svg" caption="Middlesbrough’s flag consists of the coat of arms on a red background"] ::

The motto Erimus ("We shall be" in Latin) was adopted, it reflects Fuimus ("We have been") of the Bruce clan which were Cleveland's mediaeval lords.

The original arms was granted to the Middlesbrough Rural District in 1911 by William Hylton Dyer Longstaffe. The town's coat of arms were three ships representing shipbuilding and maritime trade and an azure (blue) lion, the latter also from the Bruce clan. It was regranted in 1996 with slight modifications after the dissolution of Cleveland county: a star replaced the middle ship, this is from Captain James Cook's coat of arms.

References

References

1. "Middlesbrough's coat of arms".
2. (27 May 2025). "Jack Banks - who is Middlesbrough's new chair of the council?". Teesside Live.
3. (14 November 2024). "Middlesbrough Council set to appoint former Royal Navy Lieutenant as new permanent chief executive". Teesside Gazette.
4. "Your councillors".
5. "Middlesbrough Improvement Act 1856". The National Archives.
6. {{cite legislation UK. (1888)
7. {{cite legislation UK. (1972)
8. {{cite legislation UK. (1995)
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1995)
10. {{cite legislation UK. (1997)
11. "Find your local council".
12. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
13. {{cite legislation UK. (2016)
14. (2023-05-06). "RECAP: Labour gain control of Middlesbrough Council".
15. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
16. (9 March 2015). "Councillor Walter Ferrier who spent 57 years serving the people of Middlesbrough has died". Teesside Live.
17. (10 October 2014). "Middlesbrough councillor receives OBE at Buckingham Palace". Teesside Live.
18. (6 April 2009). "Ex Middlesbrough Council leader tells of his regrets". Teesside Live.
19. (1 May 2002). "Leader's mission to modify is over at last". Northern Echo.
20. {{cite legislation UK. (2001)
21. (3 May 2002). "It's a fair cop". The Guardian.
22. (8 May 2015). "'We're about to find out if town was voting FOR Ray Mallon, or simply to stop Labour'". Teesside Live.
23. (8 May 2015). "Dave Budd wins tight Middlesbrough mayoral election by just 256 votes". Teesside Live.
24. (3 May 2019). "Local elections 2019: Independent mayor elected in Middlesbrough". BBC News.
25. (5 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: Labour's Chris Cooke ousts Andy Preston as Middlesbrough mayor". BBC News.
26. (9 May 2023). "Local elections 2023: live council results for England". The Guardian.
27. (18 August 2023). "Independent councillor elected to Middlesbrough Council in by-election". Teesside Live.
28. "Middlesbrough". Thorncliffe.
29. "Your councillors by party".
30. {{cite legislation UK. (2014)
31. "MIDDLESBROUGH COUNCIL COMMITTEES, MEMBERSHIPS AND TERMS OF REFERENCE FOR THE EXECUTIVE (EXCLUDING PORTFOLIOS) AND COMMITTEES OF THE COUNCIL 2021/2022".
32. (29 July 2023). "Committee details – Executive".
33. {{NHLE
34. "Middlesbrough House Customer Centre".
35. "Services provided by the council".
36. (2020). "Brutal North: Post-war modernist architecture in the North of England". September Publishing.
37. (9 March 2021). "Former call centre emerges as frontrunner to become council's new home". Teesside Live.
38. [http://www.genuki.org.uk/big/eng/YKS/NRY/Middlesbrough/Middlesbrough90.html GENUKI: Middlesbrough Parish information from Bulmers' 1890]
39. "Heraldry Society".
40. "Robert Young's Civic Heraldry website".
41. "Middlesbrough Borough Council". Civic Heraldry of England and Wales.

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