Sir Stephen Houghton CBE | Leader Barnsley Metropolitan Borough Council

Sir Steve has been an Elected Member of Barnsley MBC since 1988 and Leader of the Council since 1996, including when Barnsley MBC was awarded Council of the Year 2023 and Local Authority Council of the Year 2023 - the only ever Council to win both in the same year.

Sir Steve is the Chair of Barnsley 2030 Partnership Board and a Member of the Yorkshire Leaders’ Board. Alongside this, he has been a Member of the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority since 2011.

Sir Steve also holds a range of other external roles, both regionally and nationally. He has Chaired the Special Interest Group of 48 Municipal Authorities (SIGOMA) since 1999 and is the Chair of Migration Yorkshire.

He has also been the LGA Labour Regional Improvement Peer since 2006, a LGA Executive Member since 2010 and LGA Labour National Lead Improvement Peer since 2016 and is a Political Advisor to the Office for Local Government. 

Sir Steve received a CBE for Services to Local Government in 2004 and a Knighthood for Parliamentary Services in 2013. He also has a Master’s Degree (MSc) Local Governance from the University of Birmingham.