| Darwen Town Council | |
| Logo Res: | 250px |
| Logo Alt: | Logo |
| Foundation: | [1] |
| House Type: | Parish council |
| Leader1 Type: | Mayor |
| Leader1: | Stephanie Brookfield |
| Leader2 Type: | Leader |
| Leader2: | Jonathan Hamer |
| Leader3 Type: | Clerk |
| Leader3: | Rebecca Hay |
| Party1: | (Labour) |
| Party2: | (Labour) |
| Party3: | (non-political post) |
| Members: | 13 councillors |
| Seats1 Title: | Labour Party |
| Seats2 Title: | Conservative Party |
| Structure1 Res: | 250px |
| Last Election1: | 2 May 2024 |
| Next Election1: | TBA |
| Term Length: | Whole council elected every four years |
| Voting System1: | First-past-the-post |
| Meeting Place: | Darwen Town Hall |
| Session Room: | File:Darwen Town Hall.jpg |
Darwen Town Council is the parish council covering the town of Darwen, England. It serves 27,200 residents.[2] The council has its headquarters at Darwen Town Hall.
On 16 October 2008 a referendum was held in Darwen on the creation of a town council. Of the 20,495 electors eligible to vote, a total of 4,198 took part in the referendum. The result of the referendum was as follows: 2,378 voted yes, 1,725 (8.42%) voted no, 95 ballot papers were rejected and turnout was 20.49%.[3]
In December, following the referendum Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council approved the creation of the council.[4] the council was created on 2 April 2009 with the first election in June.[1]
The town council receives funding by levying a "precept" on the council tax paid by the residents of the civil parish. The council runs events and projects to promote Darwen and also provide funding in the community for projects and parks.
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| 2009–2012 | ||
| 2012–2021 | ||
| 2021–2024 | ||
| 2024–present | ||
At the first elections to the council in June 2009, the For Darwen Party took control, winning 7 seats, the Liberal Democrats won 4 and the Conservative Party and Labour Party won one each.[4] [5] At the second election in May 2012 For Darwen lost all their seats with Labour taking control with 8 seats to the Lib Dems 5.[4] In the 2016 elections Labour won 7, Lib Dems 4 and Conservatives 2.[6]
In the 6 May 2021 election seats were as follows; 5 Labour, 4, Conservative and 4 Lib Dem.[7]
On the 2 May 2024 elections, Labour took back firm control by winning 12 of the 13 seats with the Conservatives winning the other remaining seat.[8]
Since 2009, Darwen is served by a Town Council, which since 2018 is divided into 4 Wards, 3 of which are represented by four town councillors and the other by one town councillor.[9]
| Current town council | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Ward | Councillor | Party | |
| Darwen East Ward | |||
| Darwen South Ward | |||
| Darwen South Rural Ward | |||
| Darwen West Ward | |||
| List of mayors of Darwen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | Name | Party | class=unsortable | Notes | |
| [10] | |||||
| [11] | |||||
| [12] | |||||
| [13] | |||||
| 2019–2022 | |||||
| 2022–present | [14] | ||||
| List of leaders of Darwen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | Name | Party | class=unsortable | Notes | |
| [15] | |||||
| [16] | |||||
| 2017–2024 | |||||
| 2024–present | [17] | ||||