Wakefield was anciently a market and parish town in the Agbrigg division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley in the West Riding of Yorkshire.
It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the Reform Act 1832.
In 1836 the Wakefield Poor Law Union was formed following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 with an elected board of guardians.
The town was incorporated as a municipal borough with elected councillors in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.

Wakefield was the de facto seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the Local Government Act 1888.
After Wakefield was elevated to a diocese in 1888, Wakefield council sought city status which was granted the same year.
Wakefield became a county borough in 1913.
In 1974, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the City of Wakefield district.

Today the city is the headquarters of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and West Yorkshire Police.
Since 1987, the district council has been based in County Hall.

Wakefield is covered by four electoral wards (Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield South and Wakefield West) of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council.
Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority.
In 2015 all the councillors elected for Wakefield East, North and West were members of the Labour Party and the councillors for Wakefield South represent the Conservative Party.

Wakefield's MP is Imran Ahmad-Khan  who has represented the parliamentary seat for the Conservative Party since the 2019 general election, after defeating the incumbent MP, Mary Creagh, by 3,358 votes.
The seat had been held by the Labour Party continuously since 1932.
The Wakefield South ward covering Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue, is in the Hemsworth constituency, represented by the Labour party's Jon Trickett since 1996.
He was re-elected in May 2010.
and returned in 2015 with 51.3% of the vote.
The seat has been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1918.

Wakefield's young people are represented by two members of Youth Parliament, William Dixon and Alex Parkinson.
These two young people are supported in a committee of young people, called the Wakefield youth council.
Wakefield was anciently a market and parish town in the Agbrigg division of the wapentake of Agbrigg and Morley in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It became a parliamentary borough with one Member of Parliament after the Reform Act 1832. In 1836 the Wakefield Poor Law Union was formed following the Poor Law Amendment Act 1834 with an elected board of guardians. The town was incorporated as a municipal borough with elected councillors in 1848 under the Municipal Corporations Act 1835.
Wakefield was the de facto seat of regional government in Yorkshire for two centuries and became the county headquarters of the West Riding County Council created by the Local Government Act 1888. After Wakefield was elevated to a diocese in 1888, Wakefield council sought city status which was granted the same year. Wakefield became a county borough in 1913. In 1974, under the terms of the Local Government Act 1972, the county borough became defunct as it merged with surrounding local authorities to become the City of Wakefield district.
Today the city is the headquarters of Wakefield Metropolitan District Council, Yorkshire Ambulance Service and West Yorkshire Police. Since 1987, the district council has been based in County Hall.
Wakefield is covered by four electoral wards (Wakefield East, Wakefield North, Wakefield South and Wakefield West) of the Wakefield Metropolitan District Council. Each ward elects three councillors to the 63-member metropolitan district council, Wakefield's local authority. In 2015 all the councillors elected for Wakefield East, North and West were members of the Labour Party and the councillors for Wakefield South represent the Conservative Party.
Wakefield's MP is Imran Ahmad-Khan  who has represented the parliamentary seat for the Conservative Party since the 2019 general election, after defeating the incumbent MP, Mary Creagh, by 3,358 votes. The seat had been held by the Labour Party continuously since 1932. The Wakefield South ward covering Sandal, Kettlethorpe, Agbrigg and Belle Vue, is in the Hemsworth constituency, represented by the Labour party's Jon Trickett since 1996. He was re-elected in May 2010. and returned in 2015 with 51.3% of the vote. The seat has been held by the Labour Party since its creation in 1918.
Wakefield's young people are represented by two members of Youth Parliament, William Dixon and Alex Parkinson. These two young people are supported in a committee of young people, called the Wakefield youth council.
Wakefield