Sutton Coldfield - Governance

Governance

In 1528, a charter of King Henry VIII gave the town the right to be known for ever as "The Royal Town of Sutton Coldfield" and to be governed by a warden and society. The charter was secured by Bishop John Vesey. This unreformed corporation survived until 1885, when it was replaced by a municipal borough. Although the title "Royal Town" was still used, the municipality created in 1885 was not itself a Royal Borough. The town and borough were ceremonially part of Warwickshire until 1974, when it was amalgamated into the City of Birmingham and the metropolitan county of the West Midlands. The formal Mayoral chains of office are now on display in Birmingham Council House.

Sutton Coldfield forms the Sutton Coldfield parliamentary constituency, the largest Parliamentary Constituency in Birmingham whose Member of Parliament since 2001 has been Andrew Mitchell (Conservative). Within the City of Birmingham metropolitan borough, it comprises the wards of Sutton Four Oaks, Sutton Trinity, Sutton Vesey and Sutton New Hall. Sutton Trinity ward was created in June 2004, at which time the other three wards' boundaries were changed. From 5 April 2004, it has been a council constituency, with many local services managed by a district committee made up of all Sutton's councillors.