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The metropolitan borough was created on 1 April, 1974 by the Local Government Act 1972. It was formed from the former county borough of Wigan along with following existing local government units from the administrative county of Lancashire [1],[2]:
Wigan Metropolitan Borough's new coat of arms is based on various elements from the arms of the predecessor districts.
Prior to its creation, the name Wigan-Leigh was used in the Redcliffe-Maud Report. It was then suggested that the new metropolitan borough be named Makerfield (with reference to Makerfield). However both names were rejected for Wigan, by a vote of 12 to 2[3].
From 1974, local government was under a two-tier system, with Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council covering most functions, and the Greater Manchester County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985.
The population of the borough has stayed roughly static since the 1970s at around 300,000[4].
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Four parliamentary constituencies cover the borough: Wigan, Makerfield, Leigh, and Worsley. Worsley also covers parts of Salford. New constituencies boundaries recommended by the Boundary Commission will see the link to Salford broken, and part of the borough (the Atherton ward) included in the Bolton West constituency[5]. All four seats are considered safe seats for the Labour Party, and they or predecessors have returned Labour members consistently since the Second World War. Makerfield is the only constituency to have returned Labour MPs continuously since 1906[6].
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The first elections to the borough council were held on 10 May 1973[7]. Each ward has three councillors, and elections are by third, with one councillor from each ward up for re-election in each election year[1]. The 2004 election was for all seats, as ward boundaries had changed[8]. The next elections are planned for 2007[9].
The borough council has a leader and cabinet system. The current leader is Peter Smith, who also sits in the House of Lords as a Labour Party life peer, under the title Lord Smith of Leigh. He first became leader in 1991[10]. The council rejected the idea of a directly-elected mayor following a consultation in 2001[11].
The Metropolitan Borough of Wigan is traditionally a Labour stronghold - the council has been Labour Party-controlled since its creation[12]. The local elections in 1998 resulted in a council with only 2 non-Labour members.
Labour have a majority with 43 seats as of the 2006 election. The second largest party on the council is the local Community Action Party, also active in St Helens and Warrington, which had 15 seats. Community Action first contested Wigan elections in 2002, and won 18 seats in the 2004 election following the re-warding - their councilors are for wards in the middle of the borough, between Wigan and Leigh. The Conservative Party has nine seats, and the Liberal Democrats eight[12],[13].
The council uses Wigan Town Hall as its main headquarters[14]. Leigh Town Hall is used as a secondary base[15].
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The borough is divided into 25 electoral wards, each of which elect three councillors. The present wards were adopted in 2003, following a review by the Boundary Commission : the previous review took place in 1979. The borough was formerly divided in 24 wards[16]. The wards are as follows[17]:
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Component areas of the borough include Wigan itself, Abram, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Astley, Atherton, Bryn, Golborne, Haigh, Higher End, Hindley, Ince-in-Makerfield, Leigh, Lowton, Orrell, Platt Bridge, Standish, Shevington and Tyldesley.
The ONS identify a Wigan Urban Area as being the west of the district, including Skelmersdale and Upholland in West Lancashire, with a population of 166,840. It considers towns in the east of the borough to be part of the Greater Manchester Urban Area. Ashton-in-Makerfield, Aspull, Golborne and Shevington are identified as standalone urban areas[18].
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Wigan Council has divided the borough into ten areas by the name of townships, with a Township Manager and a Township Forum each[19]. The townships are as follows:
Aspull-New Springs-Whelley; Shevington with Lower Ground; Standish with Langtree
Tyldesley / Astley
Astley-Mosley Common; Tyldesley
Wigan North
Ince; Wigan Central; Wigan West
Wigan South
Douglas; Pemberton; Worsley Mesnes
Démographie
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With a population of around 300,000, Wigan is the second most populous borough of Greater Manchester, after Manchester itself. It also has one of the lowest non-white populations, with the 2001 census reporting 98.7% of the population as white. Unemployment is around average for England and Wales. 9.5% of the population is "permanently sick or disabled" compared to an average of 5.5%[20].
Le tableau ci-dessous présente l’évolution de la population du district de Wigan depuis 1801. Bien que le district ait une existence propre seulement depuis 1974, les statistiques démographiques pour les décennies antérieures ont pu être établies en combinant les données de recensement émanant des villes, villages et paroisses constitutives du district.
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According to an opinion poll, 26% of 299 residents surveyed felt they belonged "very strongly" or "fairly strongly" (4% very strongly) to Greater Manchester, 64% (28% very strongly) to the borough of Wigan, and 63% (31% very strongly) to Lancashire[22].
Other stations are Atherton, Bryn (Ashton in Makerfield), Gathurst (Shevington), Hindley, Ince, Orrell, and Pemberton. There is also a long running campaign for Golborne railway station to be re-opened.
The Leeds and Liverpool Canal passes through the borough, as does the M6 motorway, which runs through the west of the borough, and serves Ashton-in-Makerfield (junctions 23 and 24 (north only) and 25 (south only)), Wigan 25 (south only), Wigan and Orrell (26) and Standish (27). The M58 motorway, to northern Liverpool, terminates at junction 26 of the M6 (Orrell). The A580 (East Lancashire Road), Liverpool to Manchester link, passes through the south of the borough.
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