Sheffield City Council

History

The town of Sheffield was incorporated as a municipal borough in 1843. The borough was run by the Corporation of Sheffield, also known as the town council. When elected county councils were established in 1889 under the Local Government Act 1888, Sheffield was considered large enough to run its own county-level services and so it was made a county borough, independent from West Riding County Council. The town was awarded city status in 1893.

In 1974 the county borough of Sheffield was abolished under the Local Government Act 1972, being replaced by a larger metropolitan borough of Sheffield, covering the area of the former county borough plus the abolished Stocksbridge Urban District and the parishes of Bradfield and Ecclesfield. Sheffield's city status was extended to cover the whole area of the new borough.

From 1974 to 1986 Sheffield was a district-level authority, with county-level services provided by South Yorkshire County Council. In 1986, the abolition of metropolitan county councils saw Sheffield City Council become a unitary authority, the modern equivalent of the county borough it had been before 1974.

Since 2014 the council has been a constituent member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority (called the Sheffield City Region until 2021), led by the directly elected Mayor of South Yorkshire since 2018.

In April 2014, the Sheffield City Council voted to recognize the right to self-determination of Somaliland, an autonomous region in northwestern Somalia, the first city council to do so. The gesture is purely ceremonial and carries no legal weight. 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. 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 the Localism Act 2011, forcing the council to hold a referendum on changing the council's executive arrangements from the Leader and Cabinet system to a Committee system. The referendum was postponed from May 2020 (due to the COVID-19 pandemic) and took place on 6 May 2021, with 65% voting for change to a Committee system.

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 the Sheffield street tree scandal.

Governance

Political control

Since 2021 the council has been under no overall control. At the 2021 elections, Labour lost its majority on the council, and its leader, Bob Johnson, lost his seat on the council. A coalition between Labour and the Greens was formed to run the council, with Labour's new leader Terry Fox taking the role of leader of the council. Following the 2022 election, the Liberal Democrats joined Labour and the Greens in the ruling administration. The 'rainbow coalition' of Labour, The Liberal Democrats and the Green Party has continued following the 2023 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:

Leadership

The role of Lord Mayor of Sheffield is largely ceremonial and is usually held by a different councillor each year. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1901 have been:

County Borough

The last leader of the city council before the 1974 reforms, Ron Ironmonger, went on to be the first leader of South Yorkshire County Council.

Metropolitan Borough

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was:

Four of the independent councillors sit together as the "Sheffield Community Councillors" group. The next election is due in May 2026.

Premises

The council meets at Sheffield 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 I listed building. 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.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2016, the council has comprised 84 councillors representing 28 wards, 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.

Council as service provider and employer

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 the Sheffield Star published a list of seven Council employees earning more than £100k-a-year.

Services and employees are organised into four portfolios:

• Resources Portfolio – responsible for corporate resources and organisational development.
• Children, Young People and Families's Portfolio – equivalent to an LEA and responsible for early years, primary, secondary and special schools, children and families' social care, looked-after children and youth offending.
• Place Portfolio – responsible for planning, housing, maintaining and repairing the social housing stock, environmental regulation, parks and countryside, street maintenance and cleanliness, and cultural activities.
• Communities Portfolio – responsible for libraries, local governance, community safety and adult social services, including physical disability, learning disability and older people.

The council is responsible for 16 cemeteries across the city.

References

References

1. (19 May 2025). "New mayor honoured to be 'first black woman wearing a hijab' elected to post".
2. "Council minutes, 19 May 2025".
3. (12 August 2020). "Kate Josephs appointed Chief Executive of Sheffield City Council". The Sheffield Guide.
4. "Elected representatives". Sheffield City Council.
5. (18 May 2022). "Labour, Greens and the Liberal Democrats agree collaborative way". Sheffield News.
6. "Sheffield Municipal Borough / County Borough". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
7. (21 February 1893). "The City of Sheffield: Arrival of letters patent". Evening Telegraph and Star.
8. {{London Gazette. (31 May 1974)
9. {{cite legislation UK. (1985)
10. (5 April 2014). "Somaliland Hails British Step Forward in Independence Bid". VOA.
11. (23 August 2019). "Sheffield City Council's deputy leader quits over referendum calls". BBC News.
12. (23 September 2019). "Democracy petition forces Sheffield to hold referendum". BBC News.
13. "Sheffield City Council Governance Referendum". Sheffield City Council.
14. Williams, Molly. (5 May 2023). "Terry Fox responds to Labour plans to force him out as leader of Sheffield Council". The Star.
15. Ford, Gregory. (16 March 2023). "Sheffield council leader urged to resign as tree felling row grows more heated".
16. (19 May 2021). "Sheffield City Council: Labour and Green coalition to run authority". BBC News.
17. (18 May 2022). "Labour, Greens and the Liberal Democrats agree collaborative way forward". Sheffield City Council.
18. (19 May 2025). "Three parties to lead Sheffield City Council for third year".
19. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
20. Clyde Binfield et al., ''The History of the City of Sheffield 1843–1993. Volume I: Politics''
21. (1993). "The History of the City of Sheffield". Sheffield Academic Press.
22. (2007). "Sheffielders Born or Bred".
23. (2007). "Sheffielders Born or Bred".
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27. (2 May 2018). "Five shock election wins we didn't expect". The Star.
28. (14 September 2010). "Jan Wilson obituary". The Guardian.
29. (2 May 2008). "Lib Dems take power in Sheffield". BBC News.
30. "Council minutes, 21 May 2008".
31. (10 May 2011). "Sheffield's Lib Dem leader Paul Scriven stands down". BBC News.
32. "Council minutes, 18 May 2011".
33. "Council minutes, 6 January 2021".
34. (8 May 2021). "Election 2021: Sheffield City Council moves to no overall control as leader ousted". BBC News.
35. "Council minutes, 19 May 2021".
36. (5 May 2023). "Sheffield City Council Labour leader Terry Fox resigns before election result". ITV News.
37. "Council minutes, 17 May 2023".
38. (4 May 2024). "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian.
39. "Sheffield". Thorncliffe.
40. "Your Councillors by Party".
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42. "Council offices". Sheffield City Council.
43. {{cite legislation UK. (2015)
44. Bent, Lloyd. (7 April 2021). "The seven workers who earn over £100k-a-year at Sheffield city council – full list".
45. "Management Team". Sheffield City Council.
46. "Cemeteries". Sheffield City Council.