Burnley Borough Council

Burnley Borough Council
Logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1 April 1974
Leadership
Saeed Chaudhary,
Independent
since 21 May 2026
Afrasiab Anwar,
Independent
since 19 May 2021
Lukman Patel
since July 2023[1]
Structure
Seats45 councillors
Graph of the party split among 45 seats.
Political groups
Administration (19)
  Burnley Independent Group (10)
  Liberal Democrats (6)
  Green (3)
Other parties (26)
  Reform UK (12)
  Labour (10)
  Conservative (3)
  Restore (1)
Elections
First past the post
Last election
7 May 2026
Next election
 BDC to be Abolished
Meeting place
Town Hall, Manchester Road, Burnley, BB11 9SA
Website
www.burnley.gov.uk

Burnley Borough Council provides district-level services for the Borough of Burnley, in Lancashire, in North West England. County-level services are provided by Lancashire County Council. Much of the borough is also covered by civil parishes, which form a third tier of local government.[2]

History

The town of Burnley had been incorporated as a municipal borough in 1861. The larger modern borough and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2019.

Following the 2023 election, Labour ran a minority administration in Burnley council, having 21 seats, leaving them two seats short of an overall majority. On 5 November 2023, council leader Afrasiab Anwar and ten Labour colleagues resigned from the Labour Party in protest at Keir Starmer's refusal to demand a ceasefire in the Gaza war.[3] This group was subsequently known as the Burnley Independent Group. On 17 November, the council was taken over by the new "Co-operative Alliance", which comprised the Burnley Independent Group, Green Party, and Liberal Democrat councillors and had enough seats to hold an overall majority on Burnley Council.[4]

Following the 2024 United Kingdom local elections, the Alliance fell one short of a majority, with only 22 councillors. Despite this, the Alliance members agreed to continue their arrangement and continue running the council, relying on the independent mayor to use his casting vote in their favour in case of a drawn vote with Labour and the Conservatives.[5]

The first election to the reformed borough council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities before coming into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[6][7]

PartyPeriod
Labour1974–2000
No overall control2000–2001
Labour2001–2004
No overall control2004–2008
Liberal Democrats2008–2011
No overall control2011–2012
Labour2012–2019
No overall control2019–present

Leadership

The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Burnley. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1980 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
John Entwistle[8][9]LabourMay 1980
Peter Pike[8][10][11]LabourMay 1980May 1983
Ken McGeorge[12][13]Labour19831987
Jesse Bradshaw[13]Labour1987May 1989
Ken McGeorge[13][14][15]LabourMay 1989May 1994
Kath Reade[14][16]LabourMay 1994May 1998
Stuart Caddy[16][17][18][19]LabourMay 199825 Aug 2004
Labour29 Sep 2004May 2006
Gordon Birtwistle[19][20]Liberal DemocratsMay 20062010
Charlie Briggs[21]Liberal Democrats20102012
Julie Cooper[22]Labour20122014
Mark Townsend[23][24]Labour201415 May 2019
Charlie Briggs[25][26]Burnley and Padiham Independent Party29 May 201918 Sep 2020
Mark Townsend[27][28]Labour30 Sep 2020May 2021
Afrasiab Anwar[29][30]Labour19 May 20215 Nov 2023
Independent5 Nov 2023

Composition

As of May 2026, the council's composition was:[31]

Party Councillors
Reform 12
Liberal Democrats 8
Labour 8
Conservative 3
Green 3
Restore 1
Independent 10
Total 45

Ten of the independent councillors sit together as the 'Burnley Independent Group', which forms part of the council's administration with the Liberal Democrats and Greens.[32] The next elections are due on 7 May 2026, where a third of seats will be up for election.[33]

On 11 September 2025, independent Councillor Fiona Wild resigned from the Council following a series of posts on her Facebook account in response to the assassination of American political activist and commentator Charlie Kirk. Wild's posts said "good riddance" and that Kirk had "brought this on himself".[34][35]

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2002 the council has comprised 45 councillors representing 15 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. Lancashire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no borough council elections.[36]

The wards are:

  • Bank Hall
  • Briercliffe
  • Brunshaw
  • Cliviger with Worsthorne
  • Coal Clough with Deerplay
  • Daneshouse with Stoneyholme
  • Gannow
  • Gawthorpe
  • Hapton with Park
  • Lanehead
  • Queensgate
  • Rosegrove with Lowerhouse
  • Rosehill with Burnley Wood
  • Trinity
  • Whittlefield with Ightenhill

The district is represented on Lancashire County Council in six divisions: Burnley Central East, Burnley Central West, Burnley North East, Burnley South West, Burnley Rural and Padiham & Burnley West.[37]

The boundaries of the Burnley Parliamentary constituency are the same as those of the borough.[38]

Premises

The council is based at Burnley Town Hall on Manchester Road, which had been completed in 1888 for the old town council.[39] The council has additional offices nearby at the old Burnley Building Society building on Parker Lane.[40]

References

  1. ↑ Jacobs, Bill (24 March 2023). "Burnley Council chooses new boss from town hall ranks". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  2. ↑ "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 31 May 2023
  3. ↑ "Leader of Burnley Council and 10 councillors resign from Labour Party over Starmer's Gaza ceasefire stance". Sky News. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  4. ↑ "Labour loses control of council as Independents form new coalition". Lancashire Telegraph. 2023-11-17. Retrieved 2023-11-17.
  5. ↑ Longworth, Laura (9 May 2024). "Co-operative Alliance agrees to stay in charge of Burnley Council". Burnley Express. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
  6. ↑ "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Burnley" in search box to see specific results.)
  7. ↑ "Burnley". BBC News Online. 2008-04-19. Retrieved 2009-12-20.
  8. 1 2 "The year that was - but what a way to start a decade!". Evening Star. Burnley. 27 December 1980. p. 4. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  9. ↑ "Priest hails courage of former Burnley council leader John Entwistle". Lancashire Telegraph. 5 April 2013. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  10. ↑ Calvert, Andrew (3 June 1983). "Who will come out on top?". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. p. 7. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  11. ↑ Langdon, Julia (10 January 2022). "Peter Pike obituary". The Guardian. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  12. ↑ "Council pledge over parking". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 25 August 1983. p. 3. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  13. 1 2 3 "Ken McGeorge back as leader of the council". Burnley Express. 9 May 1989. p. 3. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  14. 1 2 Smyth, Catherine (25 May 1994). "New town hall power trio". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. p. 17. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  15. ↑ Evans, Nick (27 July 2007). "Tributes paid to former council leader". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  16. 1 2 "Ousted leader's pledge". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 11 May 1998. p. 10. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  17. ↑ "Labour quits council cabinet rule". BBC News. 26 August 2004. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  18. ↑ Greaves, Andrew (1 October 2004). "Former leader back in charge". Burnley Express. p. 3. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  19. 1 2 "Coalition to run Burnley: Liberals make history". Lancashire Telegraph. Blackburn. 12 May 2006. pp. 1–2. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  20. ↑ "BIRTWISTLE, Gordon". Who's Who. Vol. 2024 (online ed.). A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
  21. ↑ Jacobs, Bill (18 September 2023). "Two Burnley councillors defect to leave town on knife edge". Lancashire Telegraph. Archived from the original on 19 September 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  22. ↑ "Julie Cooper". Labour Party. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  23. ↑ "Council minutes, 15 May 2019" (PDF). 30 July 2025.
  24. ↑ Townsend, Mark (20 May 2021). "I look back on my time in office with pride". Burnley Express. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  25. ↑ "Council minutes, 29 May 2019". Burnley Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  26. ↑ Farnworth, Amy (18 September 2020). "Burnley Council leader, Cllr Charlie Biggs resigns due to 'petty squabbling plaguing the administration'". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 25 August 2022.
  27. ↑ "Council minutes, 30 September 2020". Burnley Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  28. ↑ Deehan, John (7 May 2021). "Burnley Council Elections 2021: Labour leader sad to lose 'really talented and hard-working' councillors". Burnley Express. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  29. ↑ "Council minutes, 19 May 2021". Burnley Council. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  30. ↑ "Leader of Burnley Council and 10 councillors resign from Labour Party over Starmer's Gaza ceasefire stance". Sky News. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 5 November 2023.
  31. ↑ "Your Councillors". burnley.moderngov.co.uk. 2026-05-21. Retrieved 2026-05-20.
  32. ↑ Jacobs, Bill (8 May 2024). "Burnley Council's three-way coalition to stay as minority". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Burnley". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 30 July 2025.
  34. ↑ Jacobs, Bill (11 September 2025). "Charlie Kirk shooting: Burnley councillor urged to resign". Lancashire Telegraph. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  35. ↑ Collis, Dominic (11 September 2025). "Independent Burnley councillor Fiona Wild resigns over 'vile' Charlie Kirk comments on social media". Burnley Express. Retrieved 20 September 2025.
  36. ↑ "The Borough of Burnley (Electoral Changes) Order 2001", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2001/2473, retrieved 5 October 2023
  37. ↑ "County Councillors by Local Community". Lancashire County Council. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  38. ↑ "Election Maps". Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  39. ↑ Historic England. "Town Hall, Burnley (1244910)". National Heritage List for England. Retrieved 9 July 2020.
  40. ↑ "Contact us". Burnley Borough Council. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
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