Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides

public service A public service is any service intended to address specific needs pertaining to the aggregate members of a community. Public services are available to people within a government jurisdiction as provided directly through public sector agencies ...

s, including

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...

, social care,

waste management Waste management or waste disposal includes the processes and actions required to manage waste from its inception to its final disposal. This includes the collection, transport, treatment and disposal of waste, together with monitorin ...

libraries A library is a collection of Document, materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or electronic media, digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a ...

and

planning Planning is the process of thinking regarding the activities required to achieve a desired goal. Planning is based on foresight, the fundamental capacity for mental time travel. The evolution of forethought, the capacity to think ahead, is c ...

. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic

property tax A property tax or millage rate is an ad valorem tax on the value of a property.In the OECD classification scheme, tax on property includes "taxes on immovable property or net wealth, taxes on the change of ownership of property through inher ...

, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax. Councils are made up of

councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s who are directly elected by the residents of the area they represent. Each council area is divided into a number of wards, and three or four councillors are elected for each ward. There are currently 1,227 elected councillors in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Local elections are normally held every five years and use the

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

electoral system. The most recent election was the 2022 Scottish local elections and the next election will be the 2027 Scottish local elections. Council administrations typically comprise a group of councillors within the council who are able to command majority support. Minority administrations and majority administrations may be formed. Although coalition administrations are more typical, occasionally a majority administration is formed by a single

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

, but this is uncommon due to the proportional voting system used in Scottish local elections. Despite being uncommon on the Scottish mainland, it is possible for

independent politician An independent or non-partisan politician is a politician not affiliated with any political party or bureaucratic association. There are numerous reasons why someone may stand for office as an independent. Some politicians have political views th ...

s to form an administration. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) is an

umbrella organisation An umbrella organization is an association of (often related, industry-specific) institutions who work together formally to coordinate activities and/or pool resources. In business, political, and other environments, it provides resources and ofte ...

formed in 1975 to represent the views of Scotland's thirty-two councils to central government.

History

Origins

The history of Scottish local government mainly surrounds involves the

counties of Scotland The shires of Scotland ( gd, Siorrachdan na h-Alba), or counties of Scotland, are historic subdivisions of Scotland established in the Middle Ages and used as administrative divisions until 1975. Originally established for judicial purposes (bei ...

. The counties have their origins in the

sheriffdoms A sheriffdom is a judicial district in Scotland, led by a sheriff principal. Since 1 January 1975, there have been six sheriffdoms. Each sheriffdom is divided into a series of sheriff court districts, and each sheriff court is presided over by a r ...

shire Shire is a traditional term for an administrative division of land in Great Britain and some other English-speaking countries such as Australia and New Zealand. It is generally synonymous with county. It was first used in Wessex from the begin ...

s over which a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly transla ...

(a contraction of ''shire reeve'') exercised jurisdiction. Malcolm III appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of replacing native "

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic" forms of government with

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

and

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

feudal Feudalism, also known as the feudal system, was the combination of the legal, economic, military, cultural and political customs that flourished in medieval Europe between the 9th and 15th centuries. Broadly defined, it was a way of structur ...

structures. This was continued by his sons

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and '' gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, r ...

Alexander I Alexander I may refer to: * Alexander I of Macedon, king of Macedon 495–454 BC * Alexander I of Epirus (370–331 BC), king of Epirus * Pope Alexander I (died 115), early bishop of Rome * Pope Alexander I of Alexandria (died 320s), patriarch of A ...

and in particular

David I David I may refer to: * David I, Caucasian Albanian Catholicos c. 399 * David I of Armenia, Catholicos of Armenia (728–741) * David I Kuropalates of Georgia (died 881) * David I Anhoghin, king of Lori (ruled 989–1048) * David I of Scotland ...

. David completed the division of the country into sheriffdoms by the conversion of existing thanedoms. From the seventeenth century the shires started to be used for local administration apart from judicial functions. In 1667

Commissioners of Supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

were appointed in each sheriffdom to collect the land tax. The commissioners eventually assumed other duties in the county. In 1858, police forces were established in each county under the

Police (Scotland) Act 1857 The Police (Scotland) Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict c 72) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was one of the Police (Scotland) Acts 1857 to 1890. The legislation made the establishment of a police force mandatory in the counties of S ...

. As a result of the dual system of local government,

burgh A burgh is an autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland and Northern England, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when King David I created the first royal burghs. Bur ...

s (of which there were various types) often had a high degree of autonomy.

Modern history

Between 1890 and 1975 local government in Scotland was organised with

county councils A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Ireland The county councils created under British rule in 1899 continue to exist in Irela ...

(including four ''counties of cities'') and various lower-level units. Between 1890 and 1929, there were parish councils and town councils, but with the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929, the functions of parish councils were passed to larger district councils and a distinction was made between large burghs (i.e. those with a population of 20,000 or more) and small burghs. This system was further refined by the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947. Effective from 1975, the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

passed by the

Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

government of Edward Heath introduced a system of two-tier local government in Scotland (see Local government areas of Scotland 1973 to 1996), divided between large regional councils and smaller district councils. The only exceptions to this were the three island councils,

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coast ...

Shetland Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the n ...

and

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

which had the combined powers of regions and districts. The Conservative government of

John Major Sir John Major (born 29 March 1943) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 1990 to 1997, and as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon, formerly Hunting ...

(1990–1997) decided to abolish this system and merge their powers into new unitary authorities. The new councils vary wildly in size – some are the same as counties, such as

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; sco, Clackmannanshire; gd, Siorrachd Chlach Mhannainn) is a historic county, council area, registration county and Lieutenancy area in Scotland, bordering the council areas of Stirling, Fife, and Perth & Kinross and the ...

, some are the same as former districts, such as

Inverclyde Inverclyde ( sco, Inerclyde, gd, Inbhir Chluaidh, , "mouth of the Clyde") is one of 32 council areas used for local government in Scotland. Together with the East Renfrewshire and Renfrewshire council areas, Inverclyde forms part of the hi ...

, and some are the same as the former regions, such as

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

. The changes took effect in 1996 with shadow councillors elected in 1995 to oversee the smooth transition of control. In 2007, council elections moved to the

system, with wards represented by either three or four councillors. The transition has resulted in no uncontested seats and has ended single-party controlled councils. In 2016 there were ward boundary changes in 25 local authority areas, following the Scottish Government accepting some of the recommendations of

Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland Boundaries Scotland is an independent body in Scotland created as the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. According to its website, it is responsible for: carrying out reviews of boun ...

Responsibilities

* Council Tax * Non-domestic rates collection * Maintenance of all roads and pavements (except trunk roads which are the responsibility of Transport Scotland) * Primary and secondary schooling * The Planning System, and Section 75 *

Parking Parking is the act of stopping and disengaging a vehicle and leaving it unoccupied. Parking on one or both sides of a road is often permitted, though sometimes with restrictions. Some buildings have parking facilities for use of the buildings' ...

* Bus stops * Supporting non-commercial bus services * Provides some Community Transport * Nurseries *

Care of the elderly Elderly care, or simply eldercare (also known in parts of the English-speaking world as aged care), serves the needs and requirements of senior citizens. It encompasses assisted living, adult daycare, long-term care, nursing homes (often call ...

, * Protection of vulnerable children and adults * Refuse collection and disposal * Licensing of hours of sale for alcohol * Licensing of cultural music parades * Licensing of taxis and private hire vehicles * Licensing of window cleaners, market traders, scrap metal merchants, and street hawkers * Licensing of sexual entertainment venues * Food Hygiene inspections * Regulation of landlords * Arm's Length Council leisure centres and swimming baths * Public parks * Administering the Scottish Welfare Fund

Map

Governance and administration

The power vested in local authorities is administered by elected councillors. There are currently 1,227 councillors, each paid a part-time salary for the undertaking of their duties. In total, there are 32 unitary authorities, the largest being the City of Glasgow with more than 600,000 inhabitants, the smallest, Orkney, with just over 20,000 people living there (population of 21,670 in 2015).

Councillor A councillor is an elected representative for a local government council in some countries. Canada Due to the control that the provinces have over their municipal governments, terms that councillors serve vary from province to province. Unl ...

s are subject to a Code of Conduct instituted by the Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 and enforced by the Standards Commission for Scotland. If a person believes that a councillor has broken the code of conduct they make a complaint to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland (CESPLS). The Commissioner makes a determination on whether there is a need for an investigation, and then whether or not to refer the matter to the Standards Commission.

Convener (Provost)

Each council elects a

convener The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the grou ...

from among the members of the council to chair meetings and to act as a figurehead for the area.s.4, Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. A council may also elect a depute convener, though this is not required. In the four city councils in Scotland –

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

and

Dundee Dundee (; sco, Dundee; gd, Dùn Dè or ) is Scotland's fourth-largest city and the 51st-most-populous built-up area in the United Kingdom. The mid-year population estimate for 2016 was , giving Dundee a population density of 2,478/km2 or ...

– the convener is called a Lord Provost, whilst in other councils the council may choose another title for their conveners. Most councils use the term ' provost'. The office of provost or convener is roughly equivalent to that of a

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well ...

in other parts of the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

. Traditionally these roles are ceremonial and have no significant administrative functions. Lord provosts in the four city councils have the additional duty of acting as

Lord Lieutenant A lord-lieutenant ( ) is the British monarch's personal representative in each lieutenancy area of the United Kingdom. Historically, each lieutenant was responsible for organising the county's militia. In 1871, the lieutenant's responsibilit ...

for their respective city.

Leader of the Council

The Leader of the Council is elected as the leader of the largest political grouping of councillors. The Leader of the Council has no executive or administrative powers designated by statute, but the position is salaried. There is also a Depute Leader of the Council appointed. Each political group within the council typically appoints a leader, with the largest grouping's leader becoming 'Leader of the Council', and being the central figure of ''de facto'' political authority.

Officers

Officers of a council are administrative, non-political staff of the council. Generally the composition of the council's officers are a matter for the council, but there are a number of statutory officers whose roles are defined by the central government. The most significant of these officers is the Head of Paid Service, usually titled the

Chief Executive A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

. The Chief Executive is similar in function to a

city manager A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief exec ...

, though certain councillors have executive authority and there is no clear

division of powers Separation of powers refers to the division of a state's government into branches, each with separate, independent powers and responsibilities, so that the powers of one branch are not in conflict with those of the other branches. The typ ...

.http://www.gov.scot/library/documents3/ethic-07.htm There is also a statutory Monitoring Officer, who usually heads the Legal Services division of the council, as well as a Chief Financial Officer.

2022 election results

, - style="background-color:#E9E9E9; ! scope="col" colspan="2" rowspan=2 , Party ! scope="col" colspan="3" , First-preference votes ! scope="col" colspan="2" , Councils ! scope="col" colspan="2" , 2017 seats ! scope="col" colspan="3" , 2022 seats , - ! scope="col" , Count ! scope="col" , Of total (%) ! scope="col" , Change ! scope="col" , Count ! scope="col" , Change ! scope="col" , Count ! scope="col" , Of total (%) ! scope="col" , Count ! scope="col" , Of total (%) ! scope="col" , Change , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , No overall control , colspan=3 , 27 , style="background-color:#ffe8e8;", 2 , colspan=2 , colspan=3 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , SNP , 633,252 , 34.1% , 1.8% , 1 , style="background-color:#dfd;", 1 , 431 , 37.0% , 453 , 35.1% , style="background-color:#dfd;", 22 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Labour , 403,243 , 21.7% , 1.6% , 1 , style="background-color:#dfd;", 1 , 262 , 21.4% , 281 , 23.1% , style="background-color:#dfd;", 19 , - , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 364,824 , 19.6% , 5.7% , 0 , , 276 , 22.5% , 214 , 17.5% , style="background-color:#ffe8e8", 62 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Liberal Democrats , 159,815 , 8.6% , 1.7% , 0 , , 67 , 5.5% , 87 , 7.1% , style="background-color:#dfd;", 20 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Independents , 156,815 , 8.4% , 2.0% , 3 , , 168 , 14.1% , 152 , 12.2% , style="background-color:#ffe8e8;", 15 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combin ...

, 110,791 , 6.0% , 1.9% , 0 , , 19 , 1.6% , 35 , 2.9% , style="background-color:#dfd", 16 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed into the Kin ...

, 12,335 , 0.7% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Scottish Family , 6,857 , 0.4% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , West Dunbartonshire Community , 1,462 , 0.1% , , 0 , , , , 1 , 0.1% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Scottish Socialist , 1,058 , 0.1% , 0.1% , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

TUSC Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is a socialist electoral alliance launched in Britain for the 2010 general election. TUSC's co-founder was the RMT union general secretary Bob Crow. Members of the PCS, NUT, FBU and POA uni ...

, 1,022 , 0.1% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

British Unionist Unionism in the United Kingdom, also referred to as British unionism, is a political ideology favouring the continued unity of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as one sovereign state, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Nort ...

, 859 , 0.1% , , 0 , , , , 1 , 0.1% , style=background-color:#dfd, 1 , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Rubbish , 787 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , 1 , 0.1% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Independence for Scotland , 742 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Libertarian Libertarianism (from french: libertaire, "libertarian"; from la, libertas, "freedom") is a political philosophy that upholds liberty as a core value. Libertarians seek to maximize autonomy and political freedom, and minimize the state's en ...

, 698 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Freedom Alliance , 555 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Volt UK Volt UK (officially: Volt United Kingdom) is a pro-European political party in the United Kingdom. It is the British branch of Volt Europa, a political movement that operates on a European level. History Volt UK was founded in London on 6 J ...

, 421 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Socialist Labour , 381 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , UKIP , 372 , 0.0% , 0.2% , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Women's Equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making; and the state of valuing d ...

, 228 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Social Democratic Social democracy is a political, social, and economic philosophy within socialism that supports political and economic democracy. As a policy regime, it is described by academics as advocating economic and social interventions to promote so ...

, 222 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Sovereignty Sovereignty is the defining authority within individual consciousness, social construct, or territory. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within the state, as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the perso ...

, 154 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Communist Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...

, 119 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Pensioner's , 75 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Vanguard The vanguard (also called the advance guard) is the leading part of an advancing military formation. It has a number of functions, including seeking out the enemy and securing ground in advance of the main force. History The vanguard derives f ...

, 74 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Workers , 61 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Scottish Eco-Federalist , 24 , 0.0% , , 0 , , , , , 0.0% , , - class=sortbottom style="background-color:#E9E9E9; font-weight:bold;" ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total , 1,889,658 , 100.0 , ±0.0 , 32 , , 1,223 , 1,227 , 1,227 , 100.00 ,

Council control

''Last updated 11 August 2022.''

2017 election results

Following boundary changes: , -style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" !colspan="2" rowspan="2" width="175", Party !colspan="3" rowspan="2" width="175", First-preference votes ! scope="col" rowspan="2", Councils ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width: 30px;", +/- ! colspan="2" , 2012 seats ! colspan="2" , 2017 seats ! colspan="2" , Seat change , - ! Seats won ! Notional ! Seats won ! Seat % ! vs Notional , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from th ...

, 610,454 , 32.3% , 0.0 , 0 , 1 , 425 , 438 , 431 , 35.1% , 7 , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 478,073 , 25.3% , 12.0% , 0 , , 115 , 112 , 276 , 22.5% , 164 , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Labour , 380,957 , 20.2% , 11.4% , 0 , 3 , 394 , 395 , 262 , 21.4% , 133 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Independents , 199,261 , 10.5% , 1.3% , 3 , , 196 , 198 , 172 , 14.1% , 26 , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Liberal Democrats , 128,821 , 6.8% , 0.2% , 0 , , 71 , 70 , 67 , 5.5% , 3 , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

Scottish Greens The Scottish Greens (also known as the Scottish Green Party; gd, Pàrtaidh Uaine na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Green Pairtie) are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the ...

, 77,682 , 4.1% , 1.8% , 0 , , 14 , 14 , 19 , 1.6% , 5 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , No Overall Control , — , — , — , 29 , 4 , — , — , — , — , — , - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 1,889,658 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 100.0 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , ±0.0 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 32 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 1,223 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 1,227 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 1,227 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 100.00 , style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Note: There were boundary changes in many of these councils. Notional seats and seat change are based on a notional 2012 result calculated by the BBC. The methodology was officially revealed on 9 May 2017. The relevant explanation is available on th
BBC Website
Comparisons with the actual results from 2012 are inconsistent, as the number of seats and seat changes will be different because of an increase in council seats across the country from 1,223 to 1,227 and the different boundaries. , -style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" ! colspan="2" , Party ! 2012 seats ! 2012 notional , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 425 , 438 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 115 , 112 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Labour , 394 , 395 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Liberal Democrats , 71 , 70 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" ,

, 14 , 14 , - , - style="text-align:right;" , style="background-color:", , style="text-align:left;" , Others , 204 , 198 , - , - ! colspan="2" style="text-align:left;" , Total , 1,223 , 1,227 , -

Council control

Political control may be held by minority governments (min), coalitions (co), joint leadership arrangements (j.l.) or partnership working arrangements (p.w.). ''Last update 13 February 2022.''

2012 election results

Council control

The 32 unitary authorities were controlled as follows. The figures incorporate the results from the 2012 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections.

2007 election results

Following the introduction of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 local elections are held using the

, with this taking place for the first time in 2007. This change in voting system saw all but five councils end up with no one party in control. Labour retained control of the City of Glasgow and North Lanarkshire, while

and

Na h-Eileanan Siar The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

continue to be controlled by Independent councillors.

Council control

The 32 unitary authorities are controlled as follows. The figures incorporate the results from the 2007 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections.

Community councils

Community council A community council is a public representative body in Great Britain. In England they may be statutory parish councils by another name, under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007, or they may be non-statutory bodies. I ...

s represent the interests of local people. Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult community councils on planning, development and other issues directly affecting that local community. However, the community council has no direct say in the delivery of services. In many areas they do not function at all, but some work very effectively at improving their local area. Elections for community councils are determined by the local authority but the law does state that candidates cannot stand on a party-political ticket.

References

External links

Local Government
''Scottish Government''
Local Government Boundary Commission for ScotlandMap of the UK counties and unitary administrationsMap of all UK local authorities
{{DEFAULTSORT:Local Government In Scotland Administrative divisions of Scotland

History

Origins

Modern history

Responsibilities

Map

Governance and administration

Convener (Provost)

Leader of the Council

Officers

2022 election results

Council control

2017 election results

Council control

2012 election results

Council control

2007 election results

Council control

Community councils

See also

References

External links