West Midlands County Council

Template:Short description Template:Use British English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox legislature West Midlands County Council (WMCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for the West Midlands county, a metropolitan county in England.

History

The WMCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972 and was abolished on 31 March 1986. It was abolished along with five other metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council by the government of Margaret Thatcher under the Local Government Act 1985.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The WMCC was a strategic authority running regional services such as transport, emergency services, and strategic planning. Elections were held to the council in 1973, 1977 and 1981. Elections were due to be held in 1985 but were cancelled due to the council's impending abolition. The Labour Party controlled the council from 1974 to 1977, with the Conservatives controlling it 1977–81. It reverted to Labour control for the last term 1981–86.<ref>Local Elections Handbook pp. 2–3</ref>

Premises

County Hall, 1 Lancaster Circus, Birmingham: Council's headquarters

The first meeting of the shadow authority was held on 30 April 1973 at Council House, Birmingham.<ref name=firstmeeting>Template:Cite news</ref> Meetings were held at Council House throughout the county council's existence.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The county council established its main administrative offices at County Hall, 1 Lancaster Circus, in central Birmingham. After the county council's abolition in 1986, County Hall was occupied, but not as its headquarters, by Birmingham City Council,<ref>Template:London Gazette</ref> until it was sold in 2022 to private investors.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Political control

The first election to the council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council from 1974 until its abolition in 1986 was as follows:<ref name=compositions>Template:Cite web (Put "West Midlands" in search box to see specific results.)</ref>

Party in control		Years
Template:Party name with colour	1974–1977
Template:Party name with colour	1977–1981
Template:Party name with colour	1981–1986

Leadership

The leaders of the council were:

Councillor	Party		From	To
Stan Yapp<ref name=firstmeeting/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	1 Apr 1974	May 1977
John Taylor<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	May 1977	Jul 1979
Gilbert Richards<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	Jul 1979	27 Jun 1980
Alan Hope<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	Jul 1980	May 1981
Gordon Morgan<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>	Template:Party name with colour	May 1981	31 Mar 1986

Council elections

Elections were held to the West Midlands County Council three times, in 1973, 1977, and 1981.<ref name=compositions/>

Year	Conservative	Labour	Liberal	Other
	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|
1973	27	73	4	0
1977	82	18	3	1
1981	25	74	5	0
	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|	style="background:Template:Party color"|

Elections were due to be held in 1985 but these were cancelled due to the council's impending abolition. Those councillors elected in 1981 had their terms of office extended until the council's abolition on 31 March 1986.<ref>Template:Cite legislation UK</ref>

See also

• West Midlands Combined Authority
• West Midlands Passenger Transport Executive