The Council and democracy How we make decisions

We make decisions through three main bodies:

The Executive (Cabinet)

The Council runs through 'Executive Arrangements'. This means our Leader and Cabinet make most day-to-day business and major decisions. The Cabinet has 10 elected members who manage key council responsibilities. Find out more about The Executive on democracy.manchester.gov.uk.

Scrutiny committees

Our six scrutiny committees:

  • review council policies and their effectiveness
  • check Executive decisions
  • help shape new policies.

Regulatory committees

These committees handle specific decisions that can't be made by the Executive. They're responsible for matters such as planning applications and licensing decisions.

Find out more about our committees on democracy.manchester.gov.uk.

Full council meetings

All 96 councillors meet, chaired by our Lord Mayor. These meetings:

  • set the annual budget
  • agree council tax levels
  • approve major policy decisions.

Find out more about full council meetings on democracy.manchester.gov.uk.

Current council members

Council seats are currently held by:

  • Labour: 87
  • Liberal Democrat: 4
  • Green: 3
  • Workers Party of Britain: 1
  • Independent: 1

Manchester's Members of Parliament

Manchester has six MPs representing our city:

  • Blackley and Middleton South: Graham Stringer MP
  • Gorton and Denton: Andrew Gwynne MP
  • Manchester Central: Lucy Powell MP
  • Manchester Rusholme: Afzal Khan MP
  • Manchester Withington: Jeff Smith MP
  • Wythenshawe and Sale East: Mike Kane MP
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