Until the 18th century, Birmingham was governed by
manorial courts and its parish
vestry. A body of
improvement commissioners called the
Birmingham Street Commissioners was established in 1769 to provide services in the rapidly growing town. Birmingham was incorporated as a
municipal borough in 1838, after which it was governed by a body formally called 'the mayor, aldermen and burgesses of the borough of Birmingham', generally known as the corporation or town council.
William Scholefield became the first mayor and William Redfern was the first town clerk. The corporation absorbed the functions of the street commissioners in 1852. Birmingham was granted
city status on 14 January 1889, after which the corporation was also known as the city council. When elected county councils were established in April 1889, Birmingham was considered large enough for its existing council to provide county-level services, and so it was made a
county borough, independent from the new
Warwickshire County Council, whilst remaining part of the
geographical county of
Warwickshire. The dignity of a
lord mayor was conferred in 1896, with James Smith being appointed the first
Lord Mayor of Birmingham. The city boundaries have been enlarged many times. Notable expansions were in 1891 (
Balsall Heath,
Harborne,
Saltley and
Little Bromwich), 1909 (
Quinton), 1911 (
Aston Manor,
Erdington,
Handsworth,
Kings Norton,
Northfield and
Yardley), 1928 (
Perry Barr), 1931 (
Sheldon and parts of other parishes), and 1974 (
Sutton Coldfield). Birmingham's borough and city statuses and its lord mayoralty passed to the new district and its council. From 1974 until 1986 the council was a lower-tier authority, with upper-tier functions provided by the
West Midlands County Council. The county council was abolished in 1986 and its functions passed to the county's seven borough councils, including Birmingham City Council, with some services provided through joint committees. In 1995,
New Frankley and the Kitwell Estate were transferred into the city from the parish of
Frankley in
Bromsgrove District. Since 2016 the council has been a member of the
West Midlands Combined Authority, which has been led by the directly elected
Mayor of the West Midlands since 2017. The combined authority provides strategic leadership and co-ordination for certain functions across the county, but Birmingham City Council continues to be responsible for most local government functions.
Women and minorities The first woman elected to the council, on 1 November 1911, was
Ellen Pinsent. She represented the Edgbaston Ward as a
Liberal Unionist. until 1999; and
Lin Homer the first female chief executive, was in post from 2002 until 2005.
Bert Carless, a migrant from Jamaica, was elected the City's first non-white councillor in 1979. He was later made an
Honorary Alderman.
2023 section 114 finances notice On 5 September 2023, Birmingham City Council issued a
section 114 notice, being the local government equivalent of bankruptcy, stopping all future spending with the exception of money for statutory services, including the protection of vulnerable people. The leader of the Labour authority stated that the notice was a necessary step to get Birmingham back into a sound financial footing. The government subsequently appointed commissioners to oversee the running of the council under emergency measures. The bankruptcy has been ascribed to
equal pay liabilities plus a disastrous implementation of an
ERP system. When the council issued the section 114 notice, it had forecast the reserves would go into a nominal £677.9 million deficit, but when the 2022-2024 accounts were published in July 2025 they showed the reserves had been £784.7 million in credit, more that £1 billion better than forecast. Independent accountants said the forecast had been "based on unaudited and materially incorrect information", and a group of 34 experts in accounting, finance and local government called for a public inquiry to investigate the section 114 notice decision. As of 3 February 2026, Birmingham City Council is no longer effectively bankrupt, though
The Guardian reported the negative effect of the period, which includes raising council tax by 17.5% over two years, cutting services previously provided by the council, and sales of council-owned assets bringing in £750 million. As of February 2026, the council is planning more spending and investment in services.
2025 bin strike On 11 March 2025, Members of the
Unite union went out on strike due to a long-running dispute over the role of waste recycling and collection officer (WRCO) position being removed. The union claims the move will leave about 150 members £8,000 worse off. Birmingham City Council declared a major incident on 31 March 2025, saying the "regrettable" move was taken in response to public health concerns, as picket lines were blocking depots and preventing waste vehicles from collecting rubbish. ==Governance==