City of Leeds

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Region: Yorkshire and The Humber
Country: England

§ This page provides an overview of an officially designated city in the UK, bringing together various information to help you better understand this city.

Leeds gained city status in 1893 at the height of its textile, engineering and commercial expansion, later absorbing suburbs into a larger conurbation. Local government shifted in 1974 to the metropolitan City of Leeds within West Yorkshire, consolidating the former county borough and neighbouring districts under Leeds City Council. Since 2014 the area has also been part of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, with a directly elected metro mayor since 2021, adding a strategic tier for transport, skills and investment while the council continues to deliver most local services across one of England’s largest city districts.

City Council Status

Leeds City Council is a metropolitan district council for a large single-tier area; it is a member of the West Yorkshire Combined Authority, which has a directly elected mayor.

Civic Honours: Lord Mayors & Lord Provost

Leeds received a Lord Mayoralty by Letters Patent dated 12 July 1897 (Diamond Jubilee year).

In the UK, city status and the dignity of Lord Mayor (or Lord Provost in Scotland) are separate honours, each granted by the monarch via letters patent. Of the 76 cities, 28 have a Lord Mayoralty and 4—Scotland’s four cities—have a Lord Provost; these titles don’t automatically follow from city status. A Lord Mayoralty exists in 24 cities in England, 2 in Wales, and 2 in Northern Ireland.

Only 24 cities in England have Lord Mayors: Birmingham, Bradford, Bristol, Canterbury, Chester, Coventry, Exeter, Kingston-upon-Hull, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, the City of London, Manchester, Newcastle upon Tyne, Norwich, Nottingham, Oxford, Plymouth, Portsmouth, Sheffield, Southampton, Stoke-on-Trent, the City of Westminster, and York.

In the UK, a city is not defined by size or population but by formal status granted by the monarch, often through historical charters or, more recently, civic honours competitions. There are 76 officially recognised cities, some of which are relatively small compared to other urban areas. In contrast, local authority districts (361 in total) are administrative areas created for local government purposes and may include a mix of urban centres, suburbs, and rural communities. Within districts, there may be one or more towns, which generally refer to sizeable urban settlements but do not hold city status unless it has been formally granted. In practice, a city can exist within a district, and a district can cover multiple towns, showing the clear distinction between legal status, administrative boundaries, and everyday usage.

Cities in Yorkshire and The Humber