Blackburn with Darwen
Borough of Blackburn with Darwen | |
---|---|
Borough and Unitary Authority | |
Shown within ceremonial Lancashire | |
Sovereign state |
|
Constituent country |
|
Region | North West England |
Ceremonial county |
|
Admin. HQ | Blackburn |
Government | |
• Type | Unitary authority |
• Body | Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council |
• Leader | Cllr Mohammed Khan[1] |
• Mayor | Cllr Colin Rigby[2] |
• MP for Blackburn | Kate Hollern |
• MP for Rossendale and Darwen | Jake Berry |
Area | |
• Total | 137.0 km2 (52.9 sq mi) |
Area rank | 196th |
Population mid-2017 est.[3] | |
• Total | 148,800 Ranked 132nd |
• Density | 1,085/km2 (2,810/sq mi) |
• Ethnicity |
69.1% White 28.1% S.Asian 0.6% Black 0.8% Other 1.2% Mixed |
Time zone | UTC+0 (GMT) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+1 (British Summer Time) |
ONS code |
00EX (ONS) E06000008 (GSS) |
Website | blackburn.gov.uk |
Blackburn with Darwen is a unitary authority area in Lancashire, North West England. It consists of Blackburn, the small town of Darwen to the south of it, and the surrounding countryside. The population of the Unitary Authority taken at the 2011 census was 147,489.[4]
Formation
It was founded in 1974 as the Lancashire borough of Blackburn, from the County Borough of Blackburn, the Borough of Darwen, parts of Turton Urban District (chiefly the villages of Belmont, Chapeltown and Edgworth) and parts of Blackburn Rural District. It was renamed in May 1997, in preparation for a split from Lancashire County Council. On 1 April 1998 it became a unitary authority.
Demographics
The proportion of Muslim population (19.4% or 26,674 people) is the third highest among all local authorities in the United Kingdom and the highest outside London. 20.4% of the districts population belongs to any South Asian ethnic group, making it the highest percentage in the region, and almost four times higher than national average of South Asians.[5]
According to the 2011 census, the proportion of Muslims increased to 27%.
Local elections
Following boundary changes in 2018, there are currently 51 seats on the council (decreased from 64), with the borough divided up into 17 wards (decreased from 23). The wards are: Audley and Queens Park, Bastwell and Daisyfield, Billinge and Beardwood, Blackburn Central, Blackburn South and Lower Darwen, Blackburn South East, Darwen East, Darwen South, Darwen West, Ewood, Little Harwood with Whitebirk, Livesey with Pleasington, Mill Hill and Moorgate, Roe Lee, Shear Brow and Corporation Park, Wensley Fold, and West Pennine.
Local elections
Parties | Seats | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 37 | |
Conservative | 13 | |
Liberal Democrat | 1 | |
Total | 51 |
The council was shaken in 2004 when six Labour councillors quit the ruling group one month after an election and became independent representatives, and the council temporarily fell into no overall control.[6][7] The councillors, who eventually re-joined the party, left over an internal row reportedly sparked by the demotion of particular councillors in a post-election reshuffle.[6] Allegations of vote-rigging and corruption have dogged the council, with members of the Muslim community reportedly being "strong-armed by mosque leaders and councillors to vote Labour" during elections.[8] The possibility of corruption has been eased by reforms to postal voting which have made electoral fraud "childishly simple" in the UK according to a European watchdog.[9] The number of postal votes registered in Blackburn in 2005 was 20,000, compared to 7,600 in 2001.[8] In April 2005, local councillor Mohammed Hussain was jailed for three years for rigging the 2002 town hall election by stealing at least 230 postal vote ballots in his ward.[10]
The local elections of May 2007 saw a coalition of parties take control of the council from Labour. The small For Darwen party and independents held the fine balance of power on the council in a partnership with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Like its predecessor, the ruling administration also attracted controversy; one of its councillors being suspended following a conviction for benefit fraud[11] and another following allegations of domestic abuse.[12] Tensions over the presence of former England First Party member Michael Johnson within the coalition as part of For Darwen rose to the surface when Johnson was quoted in The Sun newspaper in October 2007 blaming his unemployment on "all the immigrants flooding this country." "These people take our jobs and it will only get worse", he said.[13] Three weeks before local elections in May 2008, a Liberal Democrat candidate for Shear Brow ward caused a stir by defecting to Labour.[14]
In 2010, two For Darwen Party councillors resigned and withdrew their support for the coalition, and after a vote of no confidence the Labour Party regained control of the council.[15] In 2011 Labour gained control of the council.
Economy
This is a chart of trend of regional gross value added of Blackburn with Darwen at current basic prices published (pp. 240–253) by Office for National Statistics with figures in millions of British Pounds Sterling.
Year | Regional Gross Value Added[lower-alpha 1] | Agriculture[lower-alpha 2] | Industry[lower-alpha 3] | Services[lower-alpha 4] |
---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 1,496 | 3 | 755 | 737 |
2000 | 1,597 | 3 | 678 | 916 |
2003 | 1,785 | 4 | 647 | 1,134 |
Neighbouring districts and political control
The authority borders with boroughs administered as within the Greater Manchester and Lancashire upper-tier local authorities: Chorley in the west and then (clockwise) South Ribble, Ribble Valley, Hyndburn and Rossendale in Lancashire; Bury and Bolton in Greater Manchester. The data below is based on June 2012.
The local government districts that surround Blackburn with Darwen | |||
---|---|---|---|
South Ribble Conservative |
Ribble Valley Conservative |
Hyndburn Labour | |
Chorley Labour |
Blackburn with Darwen | ||
Rossendale Labour | |||
Bury Labour | |||
Bolton Labour |
Settlements
Civil parishes
- Darwen (town council)
- Eccleshill
- Livesey
- North Turton
- Pleasington
- Tockholes
- Yate and Pickup Bank
Education
As a unitary authority, Blackburn with Darwen authority has a statutory responsibility for educational standards and schooling within its boundaries.[16]
Transport
Blackburn with Darwen Council has a stated transport policy of "making roads traffic free".[17]
See also
Notes
References
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Borough of Blackburn with Darwen. |
- ↑ "Cllr Mohammed Khan". Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ↑ "Cllr Colin Rigby". Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
- ↑ "Population Estimates for UK, England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, Mid-2017". Office for National Statistics. 28 June 2018. Retrieved 28 June 2018.
- ↑ "Unitary Authority population 2011". Retrieved 15 January 2016.
- ↑ Neighbourhood Statistics. "Neighbourhood Statistics". Neighbourhood Statistics. Retrieved 7 May 2012.
- 1 2 WE QUIT! Six labour councillors leave, Lancashire Evening Telegraph, 16 June 2004.
- ↑ Labour councillors ditching party, BBC News, 16 June 2004
- 1 2 Straw's seat is a hot-spot of postal vote fraud claims, Anne Penketh, The Independent, 4 May 2005
- ↑ Voting open to 'childishly simple' fraud, says watchdog, Andrew Sparrow, The Guardian, 22 January 2008
- ↑ Vote-rigging Crackdown, Lancashire Telegraph, 24 January 2007. Retrieved 31 January 2007.
- ↑ Benefit fraud councillor 'should quit now', Tom Moseley, Lancashire Telegraph, 17 November 2008
- ↑ Lib Dem councillor suspended by his party, Tom Moseley, Lancashire Telegraph, 25 March 2008
- ↑ Burning issue: Immigration, The Sun, 18 October 2007
- ↑ Election in turmoil as LibDem candidate says: I'm a Labour supporter, Tom Moseley, Lancashire Telegraph, 9 April 2008
- ↑ Labour back in control of Blackburn with Darwen, David Watkinson, Lancashire Telegraph, 14 September 2010
- ↑ Types of Council
- ↑ Blackburn with Darwen Council. "Transport & streets policies & strategies". Retrieved 27 May 2017.
External links
- Blackburn with Darwen Council
- Blackburn with Darwen council news
- Blackburn Muslim Association : Serving the community