Metropolitan borough

A metropolitan borough is a type of local government district in England, and is a subdivision of a metropolitan county. Created in 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972, metropolitan boroughs are defined in English law as metropolitan districts. However, all of them have been granted or regranted royal charters to give them borough status (as well as, in some cases, city status). Metropolitan boroughs have been effectively unitary authority areas since the abolition of the metropolitan county councils by the Local Government Act 1985. However, metropolitan boroughs pool much of their authority in joint boards and other arrangements that cover whole metropolitan counties, such as combined authorities.

History

The term "metropolitan borough" was first used for administrative subdivisions of the County of London between 1900 and 1965. However, the present boroughs of Greater London, which have different boundaries and functions, and are much larger in area, are known as London Boroughs rather than metropolitan boroughs.

Metropolitan Borough of Sefton

The Borough of Sefton is a metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England and its local authority is Sefton Council. Sefton was formed by the Local Government Act 1972 on 1 April 1974, by the amalgamation of the former county boroughs of Bootle and Southport, and, from the administrative county of Lancashire, the municipal borough of Crosby, the urban districts of Formby and Litherland, and part of the Rural District of West Lancashire. It also formed part of the new county of Merseyside. The borough consists of a coastal strip of land on the Irish Sea, and extends from Bootle in the south, to Southport in the north. In the south-east, it extends inland to Maghull. The district is bounded by Liverpool to the south, Knowsley to the south-east, and West Lancashire to the east.

It is named after the village and parish of Sefton, near Maghull, that had formerly served as the seat of the Molyneux family and the watermill located there served as inspiration for Sefton Council's Crest. When the borough was created in the Local Government Act 1972 a name was sought that would not unduly identify the borough with any of its constituent parts, particularly the former county boroughs of Bootle and Southport. The locality had strong links with both the Earl of Sefton and the Earl of Derby, resident of Knowsley Hall, and given the fact that the immediately adjacent borough was subsequently named Knowsley it seems equally likely that the choice of name was derived from the names of the local nobility. A Sefton Rural District covering some of the villages in the district had existed from 1894 to 1932.

Sefton

Sefton may refer to:

People

Places

Other

See also

Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council

Sefton Council is the governing body for the Metropolitan Borough of Sefton in Merseyside, north-western England. The council was under no overall control from the 1980s until 2012 when the Labour Party took control. It is a constituent council of Liverpool City Region Combined Authority.

Wards

It consists of sixty-six councillors, three for each of the borough's twenty-two wards which are as listed:

Political makeup

Elections are usually by thirds, in three of every four years.

Elections since 2000

Since 2000 the borough has been divided into 22 wards, each returning 3 councillors. This necessitated an election of the whole council in 2000, returning to a system of elections by thirds thereafter.