Wrexham County Borough Council

Wrexham County Borough Council (Cyngor Bwrdeistref Sirol Wrecsam) is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area.

History
Wrexham County Borough Council was created in 1996 under the Local Government (Wales) Act 1994. The new county borough of Wrexham covered all of the district of Wrexham Maelor and a small part of the Glyndŵr district, both of which were part of the county of Clwyd. On 1 April 1996 the new Wrexham County Borough Council took over the county-level functions previously performed by Clwyd County Council and the district-level functions from the two district councils, which were abolished.

On 1 September 2022 the county borough was awarded city status, but the council continues to style itself "Wrexham County Borough Council".

In November 2023, a councillor's annual basic salary was £17,600, with the council proposing an increase of 6% to £18,666.

Political control
The council has been under no overall control since 1999. Since the 2022 election the council has been led by a coalition of the "Independent Group", comprising 21 of the independent councillors, and the Conservatives. The council's one Liberal Democrat councillor joined the administration in December 2022.

The first election to the new council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority before coming into its powers on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows:

Leadership
The role of Mayor of Wrexham is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

Composition
Following the 2022 election the composition of the council was:

Of the independent councillors, 21 sit as the "Independent Group" which also includes the one Liberal Democrat councillor. The other two independent councillors do not belong to any group as at July 2023. The next election is due in 2027.

In July 2024 two Plaid Cymru Councillors left the Plaid Cymru group, one citing "a number of ongoing issues with Plaid Cymru". They now sit as non-aligned independents.

Elections
Since 2012, elections have taken place every five years. The last election was 5 May 2022.

Party with the most elected councillors in bold. Coalition agreements in notes column.

Premises
The council is based at the Guildhall off Rhosddu Road in the centre of Wrexham, overlooking the open space of Llwyn Isaf. The Guildhall was built between 1959 and 1961 for the original Wrexham Borough Council. It subsequently served as the headquarters of Wrexham Maelor Borough Council between 1974 and 1996, when the current Wrexham County Borough Council was created.

Electoral divisions
The county borough is divided into forty-nine electoral wards returning fifty-six councillors. There are 35 communities in the county borough, some of which have their own elected council.