Editing Birmingham City Council (section)

==History==
{{further|Government of Birmingham}}
Until the 18th century, Birmingham was governed by [[manorial court]]s and its parish [[vestry]]. A body of [[improvement commissioners]] called the [[Birmingham Street Commissioners]] was established in 1769 to provide services in the rapidly growing town. Birmingham was incorporated as a [[municipal borough]] in 1838, after which it was governed by a body formally called 'the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Birmingham', generally known as the corporation or town council. [[William Scholefield]] became the first mayor and William Redfern was the first town clerk. The corporation absorbed the functions of the street commissioners in 1852.<ref>{{cite book |title=A History of the County of Warwick: Volume 7, The City of Birmingham |date=1964 |publisher=Victoria County History |location=London |pages=318–353 |url=https://www.british-history.ac.uk/vch/warks/vol7/pp318-353 |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref>

[[File:Common seal of the Mayor, Aldermen + Burgesses of the Borough of Birmingham.jpg|thumb|left|Common seal of the Mayor, Aldermen and Burgesses of the Borough of Birmingham, used 1838–1889]]

Birmingham was granted [[City status in the United Kingdom|city status]] on 14 January 1889, after which the corporation was also known as the city council{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}}. When elected county councils were established in April 1889, Birmingham was considered large enough to provide its own county-level services, and so it became a [[county borough]], independent from the new [[Warwickshire County Council]], whilst remaining part of the [[Ceremonial counties of England#Geographical counties 1889–1974|geographical county]] of [[Warwickshire]].<ref name=VoB>{{cite web |title=Birmingham Municipal Borough / County Borough |url=https://visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10101001 |website=A Vision of Britain through Time |publisher=GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth |access-date=10 June 2024}}</ref> The dignity of a [[lord mayor]] was conferred in 1896, with James Smith being appointed the first [[Lord Mayor of Birmingham]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Lord Mayor's Office |url=https://www.birmingham.gov.uk/info/20158/lord_mayor/318/lord_mayors_office |website=Birmingham City Council |access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref>

The city boundaries have been enlarged many times. Notable expansions were in 1891 ([[Balsall Heath]], [[Harborne]], [[Saltley]] and [[Little Bromwich]]), 1909 ([[Quinton, Birmingham|Quinton]]), 1911 ([[Aston Manor]], [[Erdington]], [[Handsworth, West Midlands|Handsworth]], [[Kings Norton]], [[Northfield, Birmingham|Northfield]] and [[Yardley, Birmingham|Yardley]]), 1928 ([[Perry Barr]]), 1931 ([[Sheldon, West Midlands|Sheldon]] and parts of other parishes), and 1974 ([[Sutton Coldfield]]).<ref name=VoB/>

The county borough was abolished in 1974 under the [[Local Government Act 1972]], being replaced by a [[metropolitan district]] of Birmingham, covering the area of the old county borough plus the borough of Sutton Coldfield. The new district was one of seven metropolitan districts within the new [[metropolitan county]] of the West Midlands.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1972|year=1972|chapter=70|schedule=1|access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref> Birmingham's borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty passed to the new district and its council.<ref>{{cite web |title=District Councils and Boroughs |url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/written-answers/1974/mar/28/district-councils-and-boroughs#S5CV0871P0_19740328_CWA_145 |website=[[Hansard|Parliamentary Debates (Hansard)]] |access-date=30 May 2024 |date=28 March 1974}}</ref><ref>{{London Gazette|issue=46334|page=7419|date=28 June 1974}}</ref>

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 Birmingham City Council, with some services provided through joint committees.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=act|act=Local Government Act 1985|year=1985|chapter=51|access-date=5 April 2024}}</ref> In 1995, [[New Frankley]] and the Kitwell Estate were transferred into the city from the parish of [[Frankley]] in [[Bromsgrove District]].<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The Hereford and Worcester and West Midlands (County Boundaries) Order 1993|year=1993|number=2971|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref>

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 Birmingham City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.<ref>{{cite legislation UK|type=si|si=The West Midlands Combined Authority Order 2016|year=2016|number=653|access-date=11 June 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Understand how your council works |url=https://www.gov.uk/understand-how-your-council-works |website=gov.uk |access-date=30 May 2024}}</ref>

On 5 September 2023, Birmingham City Council issued a [[Section 114 notice]], being the local government equivalent of bankruptcy, stopping all future spending with the exception of money for statutory services, including the protection of vulnerable people.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Birmingham City Council effectively declares bankruptcy after being hit by 760m bill|url=https://news.sky.com/story/birmingham-city-council-effectively-declares-bankruptcy-after-being-hit-by-760m-bill-12955400 |website=Sky News|date=September 5, 2023}}</ref> The leader of the Labour authority stated that the notice was a necessary step to get Birmingham back into a sound financial footing.<ref name="bankruptcy">{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-66777536|title=Residents fear a rise in crime and taxes as Birmingham declares 'bankruptcy'|website=[[BBC]]|date=11 September 2023 }}</ref> The government subsequently appointed commissioners to oversee the running of the council under emergency measures.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-09-19 |title=Government sending in officials to run Birmingham City Council |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-birmingham-66852048 |access-date=2023-09-19}}</ref> The bankruptcy has been ascribed to [[equal pay]] liabilities plus a disastrous implementation of an [[Enterprise resource planning|ERP]] system.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wallis |first1=William |last2=Williams |first2=Jennifer |title=Birmingham to settle equal pay claim that tipped council into bankruptcy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/f6786106-0c4d-4135-8083-e14e89bd1cee |access-date=25 February 2025 |publisher=Financial Times |date=9 December 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Saran |first1=Cliff |title=Birmingham City Council's Oracle implementation explained: What went wrong? |url=https://www.computerweekly.com/news/366572935/Birmingham-City-Councils-Oracle-implementation-explained-What-went-wrong |access-date=25 February 2025 |publisher=Computer Weekly |date=11 March 2024}}</ref>

=== Women and minorities ===
The first woman elected to the council, on 1 November 1911, was [[Ellen Pinsent]].<ref name="Roberts">{{cite web|url=https://theironroom.wordpress.com/2015/03/04/my-whole-time-is-given-to-the-service-of-my-fellow-citizens-the-first-women-elected-to-birmingham-city-council/|title='My whole time is given to the service of my fellow citizens' – the first women elected to Birmingham City Council|last=Roberts|first=Sian|date=4 March 2015|publisher=[[Library of Birmingham]]|access-date=10 March 2015}}</ref> She represented the Edgbaston Ward as a [[Liberal Unionist]].<ref name="Roberts" /> She had earlier been co-opted as a member of the council's Education Committee and served as Chairman of the Special School Sub-Committee.<ref name="Roberts" /> She stood down from the council in October 1913 upon appointment as Commissioner for the [[Board of Control for Lunacy and Mental Deficiency]].<ref name="Roberts" />

Pinsent's time on the council overlapped with that of Margaret Frances Pugh, who was elected on 22 November 1911 to serve in the North Erdington ward.<ref name="Roberts" /> She resigned in November 1913.<ref name="Roberts" />

Birmingham's third woman councillor, [[Clara Martineau]], was elected on 14 October 1913 in the Edgbaston ward, and served until 1932, when she died, aged 57.<ref name="Roberts" /> Her father was former Mayor Sir [[Thomas Martineau]], Lord Mayor Ernest Martineau was her brother, and Alderman [[George Hamilton Kenrick|Sir George Kenrick]] was her uncle.<ref name="Roberts" />

Mary Cottrell became the first female [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] councillor in February 1917, when she was elected unopposed to the Selly Oak ward. The first female Lord Mayor, Marjorie Brown, held the post from 1973 to 1974. [[Theresa Stewart]] became the first female leader in October 1993,<ref name="WLGS">{{cite web|url=http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/db/index.php |title=Women's Local Government Society |publisher=[[Women's Local Government Society]] |access-date=24 April 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209142043/http://www.womeninlocalgovernment.org.uk/db/index.php |archive-date=9 February 2012 }}</ref> until 1999; and [[Lin Homer]] the first female chief executive, was in post from 2002 until 2005.

[[Bert Carless]], a migrant from Jamaica, was elected the City's first non-white councillor in 1979. He was later made an [[Honorary Alderman]].<ref name="LGC">{{cite web |title=Death of Birmingham's First Black Councillor |url=https://www.lgcplus.com/archive/death-of-birminghams-first-black-councillor-20-08-2003/ |website=[[Local Government Chronicle]] |access-date=16 December 2023 |date=20 August 2003}}</ref><ref name="JollyClarke">{{cite news |last1=Jolly |first1=Bradley |last2=Clarke |first2=Nathan |title=Brum's first Black councillor to be honoured - but activist says 'it's too late' |url=https://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/midlands-news/birminghams-first-black-councillor-finally-28281945 |access-date=16 December 2023 |work=[[Birmingham Live]] |date=13 December 2023 }}</ref>

=== 2025 Bin Strike ===
{{Main|Birmingham bin strike}}
On 11 March 2025, Members of the [[Unite the Union|Unite union]] went out on strike due to a long-running dispute over the role of waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) position being removed. The union claims the move will leave about 150 members £8,000 worse off. Birmingham City Council declared a major incident on 31 March 2025, saying the "regrettable" move was taken in response to public health concerns, as picket lines were blocking depots and preventing waste vehicles from collecting rubbish.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Birmingham bin strike: Why are workers striking and how long will it last? |url=https://news.sky.com/story/birmingham-bin-strike-why-are-workers-striking-and-how-long-will-it-last-13339621 |access-date=2025-04-11 |website=Sky News |language=en}}</ref>