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Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council, also known as Tameside Council, is the local authority of the Metropolitan Borough of Tameside in Greater Manchester, England. It is a metropolitan borough council and provides the majority of local government services in the borough. The council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority since 2011.

The council has been under no overall control since the 2026 election, having previously been under Labour majority control since 1979.[2] It is based at Tameside One in Ashton-under-Lyne.

History

The Metropolitan Borough of Tameside and its council were created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972 as one of ten metropolitan districts within the new metropolitan county of Greater Manchester. The first election was held in 1973. For its first year the council acted as a shadow authority alongside the area’s nine outgoing authorities, being the borough councils of Ashton-under-Lyne, Dukinfield, Hyde, Mossley and Stalybridge, and the urban district councils of Audenshaw, Denton, Droylsden and Longdendale. The new metropolitan district and its council formally came into being on 1 April 1974, at which point the old districts and their councils were abolished.[3]

The metropolitan district was awarded borough status from its creation, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor.[4]

From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to Greater Manchester’s ten borough councils, including Tameside, with some services provided through joint committees.[5]

Since 2011 the council has been a member of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected Mayor of Greater Manchester since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across Greater Manchester, notably regarding transport and town planning, but Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.[6][7]

The council was documented in the 2014 BBC Television series Call the Council, which showed its workers carrying out their duties.[8]

Tameside duty of inquiry

Tameside duty of inquiry derives its name from Secretary of State for Education and Science v Tameside MBC,[9] “commonly described as a duty to make sufficient or due inquiry”.[9][10]

…the duty requires the decision-maker to have “(asked) himself the right question and take reasonable steps to acquaint himself with the relevant information to enable him to answer it correctly”[9] – Lord Diplock

Governance

The council provides metropolitan borough services. Some strategic functions in the area are provided by the Greater Manchester Combined Authority; the leader of Tameside Council sits on the combined authority as Tameside’s representative.[11] There is one civil parish in the borough at Mossley, which forms an additional tier of local government for that area; the rest of the borough is unparished.[12]

Political control

The council has been under Labour majority control since 1979.

Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms took effect has been as follows:[13][14]

Party in control Years
Labour 1974–1976
Conservative 1976–1979
Labour 1979–present

Leadership

The council splits the functions usually exercised by a mayor into two roles: a ‘civic mayor’ who acts as a ceremonial figurehead and represents the council at civic functions, and a ‘chair of council business’ who presides at council meetings.[15] Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council, now also called the ‘executive leader’. The leaders since 1974 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Percy Travis[16][17] Labour 1 Apr 1974 May 1976
Colin Grantham[18][19] Conservative May 1976 May 1979
George Newton[20][21] Labour May 1979 May 1980
Roy Oldham[21][22][23] Labour May 1980 25 May 2010
Kieran Quinn[22][24][25] Labour 25 May 2010 25 Dec 2017
Brenda Warrington[26][27] Labour 31 Jan 2018 16 May 2022
Ged Cooney[28][29] Labour 24 May 2022 10 Oct 2024
Eleanor Wills[30] Labour 24 Oct 2024 incumbent

Composition

Following the 2026 election, the composition of the council was:[31]

Party Councillors
Labour 25
Reform 19
Independent 8
Conservative 5
Total 57

The next election is due in May 2027.[32]

Elections

See also: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2023, the council has comprised 57 councillors representing 19 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.[33]

Wards and councillors

Each ward is represented by three councillors.[34]

Council Wards
1 Ashton Hurst
2 Ashton St. Michael’s
3 Ashton Waterloo
4 Droylsden East
5 Droylsden West
6 St Peter’s
7 Audenshaw
8 Denton North East
9 Denton South
10 Denton West
11 Dukinfield
12 Dukinfield / Stalybridge
13 Hyde Godley
14 Hyde Newton
15 Hyde Werneth
16 Longdendale
17 Mossley
18 Stalybridge North
19 Stalybridge South
Ward Councillor Party Term of office
Ashton Hurst Mike Glover Labour 2023-27
Dan Costello Conservative 2023-26
Mohammed Karim Labour 2024-28
Ashton St Michael’s Andrew McLaren Labour 2023-27
Bill Fairfoull Labour 2023-26
Jean Drennan Labour 2024-28
Ashton Waterloo Vimal Choksi Labour 2023-27
Dave Howarth Labour 2023-26
Sangita Patel Labour 2024-28
Audenshaw Charlotte Martin Independent[a] 2023-27
Nick Axford Labour 2023-26
Teresa Smith Labour 2024-28
Denton North East Allison Gwynne Labour 2023-27
Denise Ward Labour 2023-26
Vincent Ricci Independent[a] 2024-28
Denton South George Newton Independent[a] 2023-27
Vacant Vacant 2023-26
Jack Naylor Independent[a] 2024-28
Denton West George Jones Labour 2023-27
Brenda Warrington Labour 2023-26
Mike Smith Labour 2024-28
Droylsden East David Mills Labour 2023-27
Susan Quinn Labour 2023-26
Laura Boyle Labour 2024-28
Droylsden West Ged Cooney Independent 2023-27
Ann Holland Independent 2023-26
Barrie Holland Independent 2024-28
Dukinfield Jackie Lane Labour 2023-27
John Taylor Labour 2023-26
Naila Sharif Labour 2024-28
Dukinfield Stalybridge Leanne Feeley Labour 2023-27
David Sweeton Labour 2023-26
Eleanor Wills Labour 2024-28
Hyde Godley Joe Kitchen Labour 2023-27
Betty Affleck Labour 2023-26
Andrea Colbourne Conservative 2024-28
Hyde Newton Helen Bowden Labour 2023-27
Peter Robinson Labour 2023-26
Hugh Roderick Labour 2024-28
Hyde Werneth Phil Chadwick Conservative 2023-27
Shibley Alam Labour 2023-26
Christopher Halligan Conservative 2024-28
Longdendale Allan Hopwood Reform 2025-27[b]
Gary Ferguson Independent[c] 2023-26
Jacqueline Owen Labour 2024-28
Mossley Jack Homer Labour 2023-27
Tafheen Sharif Labour 2023-26
Stephen Homer Labour 2024-28
St Peter’s Joyce Bowerman Labour 2023-27
Warren Bray Labour 2023-26
Kaleel Khan Independent 2024-28
Stalybridge North Christine Beardmore Labour 2023-27
Adrian Pearce Labour 2023-26
Steven Barton Independent 2024-28
Stalybridge South Doreen Dickinson Conservative 2023-27
Liam Billington Conservative 2023-26
David Tilbrook Conservative 2024-28
  1. ^ a b c d Elected as a Labour councillor, but was suspended by the party in February 2025.[35]
  2. ^ Elected in a by-election on 10 April 2025.[36]
  3. ^ Elected as a Labour councillor, but resigned from the party in April 2025.[37]

Premises

The council has its headquarters at Tameside One, which also includes a library and part of Tameside College. The building was completed in 2019.[38][39]

Former council offices at Ashton-under-Lyne, demolished to make way for current ‘Tameside One’ headquarters

The council’s former offices, known as the Tameside Administrative Centre, had been built on the same site in 1981. That building was demolished in 2016 to make way for Tameside One.[40] The site is immediately behind Ashton Town Hall, one of the buildings inherited from the council’s predecessors.

Dukinfield Town Hall, used for the council’s annual meetings when mayors are appointed

The annual council meeting when new civic mayors are appointed is usually held at Dukinfield Town Hall.[41]

Coat of arms

Coat of arms of Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council
Crest
Out of a mural crown Gules a demi-lion guardant Or resting the sinister forepaw on an escutcheon of the arms, mantled Gules doubled Or.
Escutcheon
Per bend Or and Vert a bend barry wavy Argent and Azure between in chief a rose Gules barbed and seeded Proper and in base a Garb Or.
Supporters
On the dexter a lion Or gorged with a chain pendent therefrom a mullet pierced Sable and on the sinister a male griffin Gules armed, beaked, irradiated and gorged with a chain pendent therefrom a cogwheel Or.
Motto
‘Industry And Integrity’[42]

References

  1. ^ Carter, Gemma (27 May 2026). “Tameside unveils new Civic Mayor for 2026/27”. Tameside Correspondent.
  2. ^ Lythgoe, George (11 May 2026). “Reform UK brutally ends Labour’s 47-YEAR hold of Tameside – now what?”. Manchester Evening News.
  3. ^ “Local Government Act 1972: Schedule 1”, legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1972 c. 70 (sch. 1), retrieved 30 May 2024
  4. ^ “District Councils and Boroughs”. Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 28 March 1974. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  5. ^ “Local Government Act 1985”, legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1985 c. 51, retrieved 5 April 2024
  6. ^ “The Greater Manchester Combined Authority Order 2011”, legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2011/908, retrieved 30 May 2024
  7. ^ “Understand how your council works”. gov.uk. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  8. ^ Dorsett, Bethan. “Tameside Council workers return to TV with second series of the BBC’s Call the Council”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 30 November 2014.
  9. ^ a b c “Judicial review—the Tameside duty | Legal Guidance”. LexisNexis. Retrieved 2 April 2026.
  10. ^ “High Court hands down judgment in regulatory judicial review”. Landmark Chambers. 18 February 2026. Retrieved 2 April 2026. ILI applied for judicial review, contending GEMA’s decision was in breach of procedural fairness and/or the Tameside duty of inquiry.
  11. ^ “GMCA Members”. Greater Manchester Combined Authority. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  12. ^ “Election Maps”. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 30 May 2024.
  13. ^ “Compositions Calculator”. The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put “Tameside” in search box to see specific results.)
  14. ^ “Tameside”. BBC News Online. 19 April 2008. Retrieved 27 September 2009.
  15. ^ “Your Council at work”. Tameside Council. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  16. ^ Jackson, Norman (29 October 1973). “Men of the future”. Manchester Evening News. p. 10. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  17. ^ Brown, Gerald (12 May 1976). “11-plus bombshell for 3,000 pupils”. Manchester Evening News. pp. 1, 24. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  18. ^ Hornby, Derek (8 May 1976). “Maggie’s war on waste”. Daily Express. p. 1. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  19. ^ Thomas, David (23 April 1979). “Turnabout may put £3m on rates”. Manchester Evening News. p. 5. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  20. ^ “Parties clash over new Mayor”. Manchester Evening News. 9 May 1979. p. 11. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  21. ^ a b “Tory protest over Socialist mayor”. Manchester Evening News. 21 May 1980. p. 13. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  22. ^ a b Carr, Sue (17 May 2010). “Council leader Roy Oldham ousted after 30 years”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  23. ^ Pleasant, Steven (22 July 2010). “Roy Oldham obituary”. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  24. ^ Rucki, Alexandra (26 December 2017). “Tameside council leader Kieran Quinn dies after suffering heart attack whilst delivering Christmas cards”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  25. ^ Pleasant, Steven (5 February 2018). “Kieran Quinn obituary”. The Guardian. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  26. ^ “Council minutes, 31 January 2018” (PDF). Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  27. ^ “Tameside Council leader resigns after ‘hostile takeover’“. BBC News. 17 May 2022. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  28. ^ “Council minutes, 24 May 2022” (PDF). Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  29. ^ Gawne, Ewan; Fitzpatrick, Kevin (11 October 2024). “Council in turmoil as leader and deputy resign”. BBC News. Retrieved 14 October 2024.
  30. ^ “Council minutes, 24 October 2024” (PDF). Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council. Retrieved 26 July 2025.
  31. ^ “Tameside election result – Local Elections 2026”. BBC News.
  32. ^ “Tameside”. Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 7 June 2026.
  33. ^ “The Stockport (Electoral Changes) Order 2022”, legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 2022/1135, retrieved 3 June 2024
  34. ^ “Your Councillors by Ward”. tameside.moderngov.co.uk. Tameside MBC. Retrieved 29 December 2017.
  35. ^ Rogers, Alexander (11 February 2025). “Labour suspends 11 councillors over WhatsApp scandal”. Sky News.
  36. ^ Lythgoe, George (11 April 2025). “Reform storm to victory to gain first-ever elected politician in Greater Manchester”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  37. ^ Lythgoe, George (9 April 2025). “Councillor hits out at ‘toxic’ Labour party a week after shock resignation”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 11 April 2025.
  38. ^ “Council opens services in £48m Tameside One”. Place North West. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  39. ^ “Where to find us”. Tameside Council. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  40. ^ McMahon, Teresa (24 May 2016). “Watch: Drone footage shows derelict council building being demolished in Tameside”. Manchester Evening News. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  41. ^ “Council meeting, 21 May 2024”. Tameside Council. 21 May 2024. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
  42. ^ “Tameside”. Heraldry of the World. Retrieved 18 September 2022.