Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the local authority of Blackburn with Darwen in the ceremonial county of Lancashire, England. Since 1998 it has been a unitary authority, being a district council which also performs the functions of a county council; it is independent from Lancashire County Council. The borough council has been a member of the Lancashire Combined County Authority since its formation in 2025.
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council | |
|---|---|
| Type | |
| Type | Unitary authority |
| Leadership | |
Mayor | Jacquie Slater, Conservative since 15 May 2025 |
Leader | Phil Riley, Labour since 19 May 2022 |
Chief Executive | Denise Park since May 2019 |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 51 councillors |
Political groups |
|
Length of term | 4 years |
| Elections | |
Voting system | First-past-the-post |
Last election | 2 May 2024 |
Next election | 7 May 2026 |
| Motto | |
| Arte et Labore | |
| Meeting place | |
| Town Hall, King William Street, Blackburn, BB1 7DY | |
| Website | |
| www | |
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011. It is based at Blackburn Town Hall.
History
The town of Blackburn was governed by a body of improvement commissioners from 1803. The town was incorporated to become a municipal borough in 1851, after which it was governed by a body formally called the 'mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Blackburn', generally known as the corporation, town council or borough council. When elected county councils were established in 1889, Blackburn was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services, and so it was made a county borough, independent from the new Lancashire County Council, whilst remaining part of the geographical county of Lancashire.
A larger Blackburn district was created in 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. It gained the neighbouring town of Darwen and several other rural parishes, and became a non-metropolitan district, with Lancashire County Council providing county-level services. Blackburn's borough status was transferred to the enlarged district, allowing the chair of the council to take the title of mayor, continuing Blackburn's series of mayors dating back to 1851.
The borough was renamed Blackburn with Darwen in May 1997.
The council became a unitary authority on 1 April 1998. The way the change was implemented was to create a new non-metropolitan county covering the same area as the borough, but with no separate county council; instead, the existing borough council took on county council functions. Blackburn with Darwen remains part of the ceremonial county of Lancashire for the purposes of lieutenancy.
In 2025, the council became a member of the new Lancashire Combined County Authority.
Governance
As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council provides both district-level and county-level functions. Parts of the borough are covered by civil parishes, which form an additional tier of local government for their areas. The exceptions are the main part of the Blackburn urban area (roughly corresponding to the pre-1974 borough) and the Hoddlesden area, which are unparished.
Political control
The council has been under Labour majority control since 2011.
Political control of the council since the 1974 reforms has been as follows:
Lower tier non-metropolitan district
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| No overall control | 1974–1983 | |
| Labour | 1983–1984 | |
| No overall control | 1984–1986 | |
| Labour | 1986–1987 | |
| No overall control | 1987–1988 | |
| Labour | 1988–1998 | |
Unitary authority
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1998–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007–2011 | |
| Labour | 2011–present | |
Leadership
The role of mayor is largely ceremonial in Blackburn with Darwen. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1989 have been:
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Frank Higham | Labour | 11 May 1989 | ||
| Peter Greenwood | Labour | 11 May 1989 | 15 Feb 1994 | |
| Malcolm Doherty | Labour | Feb 1994 | Jun 2001 | |
| Bill Taylor | Labour | Jun 2001 | Jun 2004 | |
| Kate Hollern | Labour | 1 Jul 2004 | May 2007 | |
| Colin Rigby | Conservative | May 2007 | Jan 2009 | |
| Michael Lee | Conservative | Jan 2009 | 14 Sep 2010 | |
| Kate Hollern | Labour | 14 Sep 2010 | 31 Mar 2015 | |
| Mohammed Khan | Labour | 21 May 2015 | May 2022 | |
| Phil Riley | Labour | 19 May 2022 | ||
Composition
Following the 2024 election the composition of the council was:
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 29 | |
| Independent | 13 | |
| Conservative | 9 | |
| Total | 51 | |
Of the independent councillors, 12 sit together as the '4 BwD' group, and the other does not belong to a group. The next election is due in May 2026.
Elections
Since the last boundary changes in 2018, the council has comprised 51 councillors elected from 17 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) being elected each time for a four-year term.
Premises
The council is based at Blackburn Town Hall on King William Street in the centre of Blackburn. The building was built for the old Blackburn Borough Council and completed in 1856. A tower block annexe was added in 1969, linked to the old building by a bridge. The council also maintains an area office at Darwen Town Hall, completed in 1882 for the old Darwen Borough Council.
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