Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

History

Until 1932, the town of Solihull was administered as a rural parish with a parish council subordinate to the larger Solihull Rural District Council. As Solihull rapidly developed in the twentieth century, it was promoted to higher statuses within the administrative hierarchy, becoming an urban district in 1932, then a municipal borough in 1954, and then a county borough in 1964, taking over county-level functions from Warwickshire County Council.

The modern metropolitan borough and its council were established in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, as one of seven boroughs in the new metropolitan county of the West Midlands. The new borough covered the combined area of the old county borough of Solihull plus ten parishes from the Meriden Rural District and one parish (Hockley Heath) from the Stratford-on-Avon Rural District. The enlarged district was named Solihull, and the borough status previously held by the county borough passed to the new district on its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Solihull's series of mayors dating back to its first incorporation as a borough in 1954.

From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the West Midlands County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the county's seven borough councils, including Solihull, with some services provided through joint committees.

Since 2016 the council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of the West Midlands since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the county, but Solihull Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.

Governance

Solihull Council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the West Midlands Combined Authority; the leader and deputy leader of the council sit on the board of the combined authority as Solihull's representatives. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas.

Political control

The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2011.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Solihull. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Composition

Following the 2024 election, and subsequent changes of allegiance up to September 2025, the composition of the council was:

Four of the independents formed the "Solihull Independents" group after defecting from the Conservatives in May 2025. Three of these later joined Reform UK in September 2025 and the "Solihull Independents" group was disbanded at the same time. The next election is due in May 2026.

The Green Party has been the largest opposition party since 2014.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2004, the council has comprised 51 councillors representing 17 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) elected each time for a four-year term of office.

Premises

The council is based at the Council House on Manor Square in the centre of Solihull and adjoining buildings, notably including Church Hill House and the Civic Suite. The latter includes the council chamber and forms part of the same building as the town's register office. Church Hill House was completed in 1967 and the Civic Suite followed in 1968, both being purpose-built for the old borough council. The Council House (originally called Orchard House) was subsequently built in front of Church Hill House, opening in 1989.

References

References

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2. "Open Council Data UK - compositions councillors parties wards elections".
3. "Solihull Urban District / Municipal Borough / County Borough". GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth.
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5. {{cite legislation UK. (1973)
6. (28 March 1974). "District Councils and Boroughs".
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8. {{cite legislation UK. (2016)
9. "Understand how your council works".
10. "Contact details WMCA Board".
11. "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey.
12. "Compositions Calculator". University of Exeter.
13. (2009-04-19). "Solihull". [[BBC News Online]].
14. (10 November 1973). "Settle homes dispute, plea to Rippon". Birmingham Post.
15. (8 May 1982). "New Tory leader". Birmingham Mail.
16. (19 October 1990). "New leader 'set for challenge'". Solihull News.
17. (30 April 1993). "All change round at council house". Solihull Times.
18. (3 May 1996). "Tories face reshuffle as leader loses". Solihull Times.
19. (13 May 1996). "Tory rule ends after 22 years". Evening Mail.
20. (13 May 1999). "Tories set to seize back Solihull". Black Country Evening Mail.
21. (18 May 1999). "Solihull back under control of Tories". Birmingham Post.
22. (4 May 2007). "Tories lose control of Solihull". Business Live.
23. "Council minutes, 15 May 2007".
24. "Member and Committee Information".
25. "Council minutes, 25 May 2010".
26. (26 May 2010). "Lib Dem and Labour coalition agreed at Solihull council". BBC News.
27. "Council minutes, 24 May 2011".
28. "Council minutes, 10 June 2014".
29. (10 April 2019). "Solihull Council leader Bob Sleigh quits". Solihull Observer.
30. "Council minutes, 14 May 2019".
31. (16 May 2025). "Solihull Council leader stands down after six years". Solihull Observer.
32. "Council minutes, 13 May 2025".
33. (4 May 2024). "Local elections 2024: full mayoral and council results for England". The Guardian.
34. (12 June 2024). "Solihull Councillor crosses the floor to join Conservatives". Solihull Observer.
35. "Solihull". Thorncliffe.
36. Greenway, Sam. (2025-09-09). "Council rebel's Reform UK stance becomes clear as trio join party".
37. "Greens Celebrate Becoming 2nd Largest Party on Solihull Council".
38. {{cite legislation UK. (2003)
39. (11 September 1967). "Council's new HQ in use today". Birmingham Post.
40. (21 May 1968). "Public must feel welcome - Mayor". Birmingham Post.
41. (24 March 1989). "Shape of things to come". Solihull News.
42. (2015). "Church Hill House Refurbishment: Heritage Report". Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council.