Politics in the
Dundee City
Dundee City Council is the local government authority for the City of Dundee. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
History
Dundee City became a single-tier council in 1996, under the Local Government e ...
(''Mòr-bhaile Dhùn Dèagh'' in
Gaelic
Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...
) council area are evident in the deliberations and decisions of Dundee City Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
(
Holyrood) and the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
(
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
).
In the
European Parliament
The European Parliament (EP) is one of the legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it adopts ...
, the
city
A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...
area was within the
Scotland constituency, which covered all of the 32
council areas
For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...
of
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 the ...
.
Dundee City became a single-tier
council
A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
in 1996, under the
Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994
The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland.
It abolished the two-tie ...
, with the boundaries of the City of Dundee
district
A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...
of the
Tayside
Tayside ( gd, Taobh Tatha) was one of the nine regions used for local government in Scotland from 15 May 1975 to 31 March 1996. The region was named for the River Tay.
It was created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, following recom ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
, minus a
Monifieth
Monifieth is a town and former police burgh in the council area of Angus, Scotland. It is situated on the north bank of the Firth of Tay on the east coast. In 2016, the population of Monifieth was estimated at 8,110, making it the fifth larges ...
area and part of a Sidlaw area, which were transferred from the city area to the new council area of
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
. The city district was also the administrative centre for the region.
The new city council area was named ''The City of Dundee'' in the legislation of 1994, but this was changed to ''Dundee City'' by a council resolution on 29 June 1995, under section 23 of 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 ...
(c. 65). In terms of area, it is the smallest of Scotland's council areas.
The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include: the former
county of city
County of city (or county of a city) was a term used for certain local government areas in Scotland between 1890 and 1975 which performed the functions of both a county council and the town council of a burgh. There were four such areas, covering t ...
of Dundee; a Monifieth area, including the
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. Burg ...
of Monifieth (but not Newtyle and Kettins areas), previously within the
county of Angus
Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include ag ...
; and a Longforgan area previously within the
county of Perth
Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...
.
The county of city was created in 1894, and the city area has included the
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. Burg ...
of
Broughty Ferry
Broughty Ferry (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach Tatha''; Scots: ''Brochtie'') is a suburb of Dundee, Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until ...
since 1913. Dundee has been a
royal burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
since 1191.
City council
Council meetings take place in the
City Chambers, located in City Square. They were opened in 1933. The council executive is based in Dundee House on North Lindsay Street. The civic head and chair of the council is known as the Lord Provost. In 2017, Scotland's longest serving councillor, Ian Borthwick MBE became the Lord Provost of Dundee. A number of councillors are appointed as ceremonial bailies.
The Leader of the Council, as head of the largest political grouping, is Councillor John Alexander (SNP).
Composition and control
The council consists of 29
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:
The SNP gained a majority on the council after the 2012 elections. In the previous council, the SNP had the largest number of seats but the council was initially controlled by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, with the support of the Conservatives. This changed after a March 2009 by-election result which tipped the balance further in the SNPs direction.
[''Dundee City Council Political Make-up''](_blank)
, Dundee City Council website
However
the 2017 contest saw the SNP lose their majority, although they remained the largest party with 14 councillors. Labour also lost one seat, while the Conservatives gained two seats and Liberal Democrats gained an additional councillor.
Until 2019, the council was governed by an SNP-led minority administration, with the support of Ian Borthwick, the sole independent member.
John Alexander SNP group leader was also the Leader of Dundee City Council.
In a 2019 by-election, the SNP won a seat from Labour, giving it an overall majority. The SNP lost its majority again a few weeks later when Councillor Gregor Murray quit the party after accusing it of being transphobic. Shortly after this announcement, Councillor Murray was suspended from the council for two months by the
Standards Commission for Scotland
The Standards Commission for Scotland is an independent body that has the purpose of advancing high ethical standards in public life. Its main tool is the promotion and enforcement of Codes of Conduct for councillors (approved by the Scottish Parl ...
for using a "derogatory word" in an online forum which was judged to be "highly offensive and inappropriate".
Murray, whose
preferred gender pronouns are they/them, complained to the
Scout Association
The Scout Association is the largest Scouting organisation in the United Kingdom and is the World Organization of the Scout Movement's recognised member for the United Kingdom. Following the origin of Scouting in 1907, the association was for ...
of being misgendered by campaigner
Maya Forstater
Maya Forstater (born 3 July 1973) is a British business studies and international development researcher who is the claimant in '' Maya Forstater v Centre for Global Development''. The case established that gender critical views are protected as ...
during an online discussion about the Scouts' transgender policy. Although an initial investigation found against Forstater, the association subsequently apologised to Forstater, saying "it is clear you did not deliberately misgender the complainant".
At the 2022 election, the SNP regained their majority, gaining a seat in the West End ward which helped them reach the 15 seats needed to form a majority administration. The Liberal Democrats gained two seats whilst the Conservatives dropped to fourth, losing all but one of their seats on the council. The sole Alba representative, Alan Ross, who defected from the SNP was not returned.
The council has a history of Labour Party domination.
George Galloway
George Galloway (born 16 August 1954) is a British politician, broadcaster, and writer who is currently leader of the Workers Party of Britain, serving since 2019. Between 1987 and 2010, and then between 2012 and 2015, Galloway was a Member o ...
was leader for a time, and was responsible for organising Dundee's
twinning with the
Palestinian
Palestinians ( ar, الفلسطينيون, ; he, פָלַסְטִינִים, ) or Palestinian people ( ar, الشعب الفلسطيني, label=none, ), also referred to as Palestinian Arabs ( ar, الفلسطينيين العرب, label=non ...
city of
Nablus
Nablus ( ; ar, نابلس, Nābulus ; he, שכם, Šəḵem, ISO 259-3: ; Samaritan Hebrew: , romanized: ; el, Νεάπολις, Νeápolis) is a Palestinian city in the West Bank, located approximately north of Jerusalem, with a populati ...
.
Elections
Elections to the council are held every five years where voters elect three or four councillors to the eight multi-member wards across the city. The last election was held on
5 May 2022.
Independence referendum
![Dundee pro-indy demo](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/aa/Dundee_pro-indy_demo.jpg)
Dundee returned the highest proportion of Yes votes of any area in Scotland in the
2014 independence referendum, with 53,620 Yes votes to 39,880 No votes. It was among only four local authority areas that backed independence. In Summer 2014, First Minister
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
said Dundee was moving "towards being Scotland's Yes city", and it retained that designation in the run-up to the referendum. Housing schemes in Dundee canvassed by Yes activists indicated levels of support of up to 80 per cent in favour of independence.
Headlines were made in the final week of the campaign when a
Better Together event in Dundee was crashed by a piper lead demonstration involving Yes activists and members of the
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland.
The party was founded in 1998. It c ...
, who marched from the event they were having in Albert Square to sing protest songs at Labour party representatives at the foot of Reform Street.
Scottish Parliament
For elections to the
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
(
Holyrood) the city area is divided between two constituencies. The
Dundee City East (Holyrood) constituency and the
Dundee City West (Holyrood) constituency are entirely within the city area.
Both constituencies are within the
North East Scotland electoral region. The region elects a total of ten
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
constituency
Members of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The add ...
(MSPs) and seven
additional members, to produce a form of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
for the region as a whole.
Boundaries date from 1999, when the parliament itself was created.
Currently,
Shona Robison
Shona McRory Robison (born 26 May 1966) is a Scottish politician serving as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, Housing and Local Government since 2021. A member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), she has been the Member of the Scottish ...
(SNP) is MSP for the Dundee City East constituency and,
Joe FitzPatrick
Joseph Martin FitzPatrick (born 1 April 1967) is a Scottish politician who is a member of the Scottish National Party (SNP), and has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dundee City West since the 2007. He is Convener of the Sc ...
(SNP) is MSP for the Dundee City West constituency.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
For elections to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. ...
of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
(
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
), the city area is divided between the
Dundee East (Westminster) constituency and the
Dundee West (Westminster) constituency. These constituencies also include portions of the
Angus
Angus may refer to:
Media
* ''Angus'' (film), a 1995 film
* ''Angus Og'' (comics), in the ''Daily Record''
Places Australia
* Angus, New South Wales
Canada
* Angus, Ontario, a community in Essa, Ontario
* East Angus, Quebec
Scotland
* An ...
council area.
[''Fifth Periodical Review of Constituencies''](_blank)
, Boundary Commission for Scotland
The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions:
* Boundary Commission for E ...
, in which review-period boundaries for Westminster constituencies are those of now existing Holyrood constituencies
Current boundaries date from 2005. Prior to the
2005 general election, the constituencies had the boundaries of now existing
Scottish Parliament constituencies
The Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood), created by the Scotland Act 1998, has used a system of constituencies and electoral regions since the first general election in 1999.
The parliament has 73 constituencies, each electing one Member of th ...
, with north-eastern and north-western portions of the city area being covered by the
Angus (Westminster) constituency.
Currently,
Stewart Hosie
Stewart Hosie PC (born 3 January 1963) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee East since 2005. He has served as the SNP Treasury Spokesperson since December 2022. He served as the SNP Sh ...
(
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 ...
) is
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
(MP) for the Dundee East constituency, and
Chris Law
Christopher Murray Alexander Law (born 21 October 1969) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Dundee West since 2015. He was first elected at the 2015 general election, winning a seat ...
(
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 ...
) is MP for the Dundee West constituency.
Historic constituencies
As a
royal burgh
A royal burgh () was a type of Scottish burgh which had been founded by, or subsequently granted, a royal charter. Although abolished by law in 1975, the term is still used by many former royal burghs.
Most royal burghs were either created by ...
, Dundee was represented as a component of the
Perth Burghs constituency from 1708 to 1832, when the
Dundee burgh constituency was created. In 1868 the burgh constituency became a two-member constituency.
East and West single-member constituencies have existed, with varying boundaries, since 1950.
See also
*
Politics of Aberdeen
The Politics of Aberdeen, Scotland have changed significantly in recent years. In 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, Grampian Regional Council and Aberdeen District Council were dissolved, creating the new unitary Aberdeen ...
*
Politics of Edinburgh
The politics of Edinburgh are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of the City of Edinburgh Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the UK Parliament.
Also, as Scotland's capital city, Edinburgh is host to the ...
*
Politics of Glasgow
The politics of Glasgow, Scotland's largest city by population, are expressed in the deliberations and decisions of Glasgow City Council, in elections to the council, the Scottish Parliament and the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, UK Parli ...
*
Politics of Scotland
The politics of Scotland operate within the constitution of the United Kingdom, of which Scotland is a home nation. Scotland is a democracy, being represented in both the Scottish Parliament and the Parliament of the United Kingdom since the S ...
*
Politics of the Highland council area
The politics of the Highland council area in Scotland are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the Highland Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminst ...
Notes and references
External links
Local political parties:
Dundee Liberal DemocratsDundee Scottish National Party
{{Former local government regions of Scotland