Merseyside County Council#Leadership
{{Short description|Former English council}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}}
{{Infobox legislature
| name = Merseyside County Council
| native_name =
| transcription_name =
| coa_pic = Arms of the Merseyside Metropolitan County Council.svg
| coa_res = 150px
| coa_caption = Coat of arms of the Merseyside County Council
| house_type = County council of Merseyside
| houses =
| legislature =
| established = 1 April 1974
| preceded_by =
| succeeded_by = Knowsley
Liverpool
Sefton
St Helens
Wirral
| disbanded = 31 March 1986
| leader1_type = Leader
| leader1 =
| leader2_type =
| leader2 =
| members = 99
| committees =
| house1 =
| house2 =
| house3 =
| voting_system1 =
| voting_system2 =
| voting_system3 =
| last_election1 = 1981
| last_election2 =
| last_election3 =
| session_room = Liverpool Townhall (7684898060).jpg
| session_res =
| meeting_place = Liverpool Town Hall
| website =
| footnotes =
}}
Merseyside County Council (MCC) was, from 1974 to 1986, the upper-tier administrative body for Merseyside, a metropolitan county in North West England.
MCC existed for a total of twelve years. It was established on 1 April 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. However, along with the other five metropolitan county councils and the Greater London Council it was abolished on 31 March 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985.{{cite web|url=https://merseysidelieutenancy.weebly.com/merseyside.html|title=The Ceremonial County of Merseyside|publisher=The Merseyside Lieutenancy|access-date=15 September 2019}}
Premises
File:Liverpool Echo building 13 March 2013 004 stitch.jpg
The county council had its main administrative offices at Metropolitan House at 95 Old Hall Street in Liverpool, renting part of the building from its owners, the Liverpool Echo and Daily Post newspaper group. The county council held its meetings at Liverpool Town Hall.{{cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/public-service-management-end-of-the-metropolitan-line-county-councils-face-an-uncertain-future-1540037.html|title=End of the metropolitan line: County councils face an uncertain future |work=The Independent|date=13 August 1992|access-date=6 October 2019|first=Andrew|last=Evans}}
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 1973 until its abolition in 1986 was held by the following parties:
| class="wikitable"
! colspan=2|Party in control | Years |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1973–1977 |
| {{Party name with colour|Conservative Party (UK)}} | 1977–1981 |
| {{Party name with colour|Labour Party (UK)}} | 1981–1986 |
=Leadership=
Until 1980, the leader of the council also held the formal role of chairman of the council. In 1980 the two roles were separated, with the chairmanship becoming largely ceremonial whilst political leadership was provided by the leader of the council. The first leader and chairman of the county council, Bill Sefton, had been the last leader of Liverpool City Council before the 1974 reforms took effect. The leaders of Merseyside County Council were:
Council elections
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Local authorities in Merseyside}}
{{Merseyside elections}}
{{Former county councils of England}}
{{Coord|53.415|-2.992|display=title}}
Category:History of Merseyside
Category:Local authorities in Merseyside
Category:1986 disestablishments in England