Strathclyde ( in Gaelic, meaning "strath (valley) of the

River Clyde The River Clyde ( gd, Abhainn Chluaidh, , sco, Clyde Watter, or ) is a river that flows into the Firth of Clyde in Scotland. It is the ninth-longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third-longest in Scotland. It runs through the major cit ...

") was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by 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 ...

and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The Strathclyde region had 19

districts 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 ...

. The region was named after the medieval Kingdom of Strathclyde but covered a broader geographic area than its namesake.

Functions

The area was on the west coast of Scotland and stretched from the Highlands in the north to the Southern Uplands in the south. As a local government region, its population, in excess of 2.5 million, was by far the largest of the regions and contained half of the nation's total. The Region was responsible for education (from nursery to colleges); social work; police; fire; sewage;

strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to attain strategic goals. It may also extend to control mechanisms for guiding the implementation of the st ...

; roads; transport – and, therefore, employed almost 100,000 public servants (almost half were teachers, lecturers and others in the education service). The regional administrative headquarters was in the city of Glasgow, and politics were by and large dominated by the Labour Party. The first regional council convener was the Reverend Geoff Shaw, who died in 1978. It was largely due to his leadership that the Region forged its innovative strategy on

multiple deprivation Multiple may refer to: Economics * Multiple finance, a method used to analyze stock prices *Multiples of the price-to-earnings ratio *Chain stores, are also referred to as 'Multiples' *Box office multiple, the ratio of a film's total gross to th ...

, which remained its central commitment to the end of the Region's life through "Social Strategy for the Eighties" (1982) and "SS for the 90s". Having lain empty for some years, the Strathclyde Regional Council headquarters' debating chambers were used for a short period in 2000 by 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 ...

, with its new permanent home at Holyrood under construction and the temporary buildings in Edinburgh booked out. The Strathclyde HQ buildings were eventually demolished in the 2010s.

Emergency services

Until April 2013, the area was also used as a police force area, covered by Strathclyde Police, and a fire service area, covered by

Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service Strathclyde Fire & Rescue was, between 1975 and 2013, the statutory fire and rescue service for the area of Strathclyde, Scotland. It was the largest fire and rescue service in Scotland, and one of the largest in Europe. Its territory ranged fro ...

. Both have now been replaced by single services ( Police Scotland and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service).

Transport

The name is still in use as a transport area, covered by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport. The area covered by SPT however is smaller than the region, as most of Argyll and Bute lies outside its remit.

Boundaries

The region was formed from the county of the City of Glasgow, the counties of Ayr,

Bute Bute or BUTE may refer to: People * Marquess of Bute, a title in the Peerage of Great Britain; includes lists of baronets, earls and marquesses of Bute * Lord of Bute, a title in medieval Scotland, including a list of lords * Lucian Bute (born ...

, Dunbarton, Lanark, and

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

, and parts of the counties of Argyll (all ''except the district of Ardnamurchan and the electoral divisions of

Ballachulish The village of Ballachulish ( or , from Scottish Gaelic ) in Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, is centred on former slate quarries. The name Ballachulish (Ballecheles, 1522 – Straits town) was more correctly applied to the area now called No ...

and Kinlochleven''), and the county of Stirling (the burgh of

Kilsyth Kilsyth (; Scottish Gaelic ''Cill Saidhe'') is a town and civil parish in North Lanarkshire, roughly halfway between Glasgow and Stirling in Scotland. The estimated population is 9,860. The town is famous for the Battle of Kilsyth and the relig ...

, Western No. 3 district, the electoral division of Kilsyth West, and the polling district of Kilsyth East (Banton)). Since 1996 the area of the region has been divided between 12 council areas: Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City (created as '' City of Glasgow''), Inverclyde,

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire,

South Ayrshire South Ayrshire ( sco, Sooth Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir a Deas, ) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire and North Ayrshire. On 30 June 2 ...

South Lanarkshire gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

, and West Dunbartonshire (created as '' Dumbarton and Clydebank''), all created to be entirely within the area of the region.

Sub-regions and districts

Except for Argyll and Bute and the City of Glasgow, the 19 districts were grouped to form 'sub-regions' or 'divisions', each named after a historic county. The Argyll and Bute district and the City of Glasgow district were sub-regions in their own right, and Argyll and Bute was named after two counties.

Council areas

Electoral history

District result maps

File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1982.svg, 1982 results map File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1986.svg, 1986 results map File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1990.svg, 1990 results map File:Strathclyde Regional Council election, 1994.svg, 1994 results map

Name

The region was named after the ancient British or Brythonic Damnonii Kingdom of Strathclyde. The kingdom broadly covered the northern end of the region, except an area now covered by the Scottish Argyll and Bute council area and the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

, which is now within the Scottish

council area, plus the Scottish

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

council area and part of the

English county The counties of England are areas used for different purposes, which include administrative, geographical, cultural and political demarcation. The term "county" is defined in several ways and can apply to similar or the same areas used by each ...

of Cumbria.

Council leadership

References

External links

* {{Coord, 55, 44, N, 5, 02, W, type:adm3rd_region:GB_dim:100000, display=title Regions of Scotland 1996 disestablishments in Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland sv:Strathclyde