Councillor Elise Wilson

Councillor Elise Wilson is the Leader of the Labour Group on Stockport Council, and business owner.

Born and raised in Stockport, Councillor Wilson runs a local business in the borough and is married with three children. She is multilingual and proud of her French heritage having read European Studies at both Derby University and La Sorbonne in Paris. She was elected as a Labour Councillor in 2014 and Leader of the controlling Labour on Stockport Council in 2019.

In July 2020, she was appointed the Economic Lead for Greater Manchester. She focused on GM’s economic recovery, building upon Local Industrial Strategy, as the region contended with the covid pandemic, post-Brexit fallout and addressing climate change. 

Additionally, Elise served as Vice Chair of the Local Enterprise Partnership, has led on the new GM Economic Vision, a plan for innovation, green growth and addressing inequalities, and is a strong advocate for good employment and championing the GM Good Employment Charter. She is also focusing on improving international relations and attracting inward investment. 

She has been leader of the opposition on Stockport Council since May 2022, a Council under No Overall Control, and plays an active part in local, regional and national policy discussions around the economy, work and place-making. She attended the Community Union bi-annual conference and spoke on how local government can impact positively.

Elise also sits on the LGA City-region board, where she champions devolution, and on Stockport’s Mayoral Development Corporation board. The MDC aims to deliver Stockport’s Newest Coolest Greenest urban neighbourhood, regenerating Stockport’s Town Centre by creating modern homes, providing employment opportunities and developing sustainable transport, including paving the way for Metrolink to arrive in Stockport. It's the only MDC of its kind outside of a city and a blueprint for Town Centre regeneration. 

Cllr Wilson has a passion for delivering positive change so people can live happy healthy lives, and as Leader of Stockport Council, Elise led on the One Stockport Borough Plan, which sets out the long-term vision and priorities for Stockport, and all its partners, until 2030. This work will see Stockport Council, its anchor institutions and other partners are implementing the principles of Community Wealth Building.

Previously Elise was the Greater Manchester Digital City region lead, launching the Greater Manchester Digital Blueprint. The blueprint aims to cement GM’s credentials as the UK’s second biggest tech cluster outside London through an ambitious £5bn digital ecosystem. 

Before becoming Leader of Stockport Council, Elise served as the Cabinet Member for Reform and Governance. In her role she oversaw corporate and support services, which included the insourcing of estates management after the collapse of Carillion and the roll out of Stockport’s inclusive digital transformation programme DigiKnow, which has been recognised nationally.