Walsall Council, formally Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council, is the local authority for the Metropolitan Borough of Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The town of Walsall had been a borough from medieval times, which was reformed on numerous occasions. Since 1974 the council has been a metropolitan borough council. It provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the West Midlands Combined Authority since 2016.
The council has been under Conservative majority control since 2019. The council meets at Walsall Council House and has its main offices at the adjoining Civic Centre.
When elected county councils were established in 1889, Walsall was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a county borough, independent from the new Staffordshire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Staffordshire. The borough was enlarged in 1966 to take in Darlaston and Willenhall.
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 Walsall plus the neighbouring Aldridge-Brownhills Urban District. The metropolitan district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Walsall's series of mayors dating back to the fourteenth century. The council styles itself Walsall Council rather than its full formal name of Walsall Metropolitan Borough Council.
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 Walsall, 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 Walsall Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.
Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: (Put "Walsall" in search box to see specific results.)
1974–1976 |
1976–1980 |
1980–1982 |
1982–1988 |
1988–1992 |
1992–1995 |
1995–1996 |
1996–1999 |
1999–2000 |
2000–2004 |
2004–2011 |
2011–2019 |
2019–present |
May 1982 |
May 1986 |
17 Jun 1988 |
Apr 1990 |
May 1992 |
May 1995 |
12 Dec 1995 |
22 Jan 1996 |
29 Nov 1998 |
May 1999 |
May 2000 |
Oct 2001 |
May 2007 |
May 2009 |
11 Aug 2014 |
3 Jun 2015 |
25 May 2016 |
23 May 2018 |
8 May 2024 |
3 Jun 2024 |
21 May 2025 |
37 | |
13 | |
10 | |
Aldridge Central and South | 10.73 | |
Aldridge North and Walsall Wood | 16.43 | |
Bentley and Darlaston North | 31.19 | |
Birchills Leamore | 33.05 | |
Blakenall | 33.86 | |
Bloxwich East | 29.99 | |
Bloxwich West | 38.15 | |
Brownhills | 17.45 | |
Darlaston South | 36.64 | |
Paddock | 23.92 | |
Palfrey | 39.71 | |
Pelsall | 28.74 | |
Pheasey Park Farm | 13.76 | |
Pleck | 31.53 | |
Rushall-Shelfield | 20.37 | |
Short Heath | 30.05 | |
St. Matthew's | 34.64 | |
Streetly | 17.66 | |
Willenhall North | 53.41 | |
Willenhall South | 28.70 | |
Total | 24.39 | |
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