Borough Council
The borough council was initially composed of a mayor, eighteen councillors and six aldermen. The borough was divided into three wards, with six councillors and two aldermen returned for each ward. The first town council was controlled by the Liberal Party, with Conservatives forming an opposition group. Although there were annual elections of one third of the councillors, these were uncontested in many years. In 1892 the first Labour members joined the council, when three aldermen were returned unopposed.
From 1905 borough elections were contested. The Liberals retained their majority, with the Conservative and Labour parties also represented in the council. A private act of parliament promoted by Heywood Corporation in 1908 increased the number of wards, councillors and aldermen. The size of the council was increased to thirty-six, consisting of twenty-four councillors and eight aldermen.
No party held a majority on the council for many years. By 1949 the composition was sixteen Conservatives, thirteen Liberals, six Labour and one Independent. The three main parties were to have approximate parity on the council until 1958, when Labour gained control. The Conservatives and Liberals formed an anti-Labour alliance which took control at the 1959 election. The council then alternated between Labour (1963–1965), Conservative/Liberal (1965–1967) and Conservative (1968–1970) administrations. For the last four years of the council's existence, no party had a majority, with Labour the largest party from 1972.
Read more about this topic: Municipal Borough Of Heywood
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