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 Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-lo ...

regions 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 ...

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 th ...

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 county, counties, several municipality, municipa ...

. The region was named after the medieval

Kingdom of Strathclyde Strathclyde (lit. " Strath of the River Clyde", and Strað-Clota in Old English), was a Brittonic successor state of the Roman Empire and one of the early medieval kingdoms of the Britons, located in the region the Welsh tribes referred to a ...

but covered a broader geographic area than its namesake.

Functions

The area was on the west coast of Scotland and stretched from the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

in the north to the

Southern Uplands The Southern Uplands ( gd, Na Monaidhean a Deas) are the southernmost and least populous of mainland Scotland's three major geographic areas (the other two being the Central Lowlands and the Grampian Mountains and the Highlands, as illustrate ...

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 s ...

; 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 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 pop ...

, 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 Holy ...

, with its new permanent home at Holyrood under construction and the temporary buildings in

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 ...

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 A fire department (American English) or fire brigade ( Commonwealth English), also known as a fire authority, fire district, fire and rescue, or fire service in some areas, is an organization that provides fire prevention and fire suppression ...

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 Police Scotland ( gd, Poileas Alba), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist service ...

and

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS; gd, Seirbheis Smàlaidh agus Teasairginn na h-Alba) is the national fire and rescue service of Scotland. It was formed by the merger of eight regional fire services in the country on 1 April 2013. ...

Transport

The name is still in use as a transport area, covered by

Strathclyde Partnership for Transport Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT) is a Transport Scotland#Regional Transport Partnerships, regional transport partnership for the Strathclyde area of western Scotland. It is responsible for planning and coordinating regional transport ...

. The area covered by SPT however is smaller than the region, as most of

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 202 ...

lies outside its remit.

Boundaries

The region was formed from the

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

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 Lanark (; gd, Lannraig ; sco, Lanrik) is a town in South Lanarkshire, Scotland, located 20 kilometres to the south-east of Hamilton. The town lies on the River Clyde, at its confluence with Mouse Water. In 2016, the town had a population of 9 ...

, 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 (historic), Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the House of Stewart, Royal Stewarts" ...

, and parts of the counties of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

(all ''except the district of

Ardnamurchan Ardnamurchan (, gd, Àird nam Murchan: headland of the great seas) is a peninsula in the ward management area of Lochaber, Highland, Scotland, noted for being very unspoiled and undisturbed. Its remoteness is accentuated by the main acces ...

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 ...

and Kinlochleven''), and the county of

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

(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 religi ...

, 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:

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire ( sco, Aest Ayrshire; gd, Siorrachd Àir an Ear) is one of thirty-two council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headq ...

East Dunbartonshire East Dunbartonshire ( sco, Aest Dunbartanshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Bhreatainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the north of Glasgow and contains many of the affluent areas to the north of the city, including Bear ...

East Renfrewshire East Renfrewshire ( sco, Aest Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù an Ear) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. Until 1975, it formed part of the county of Renfrewshire for local government purposes along with the modern council areas o ...

, Glasgow City (created as '' City of Glasgow''),

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 his ...

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 an ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It als ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Re ...

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 ...

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 West Dunbartonshire ( sco, Wast Dunbairtonshire; gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann an Iar, ) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the west of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's commuter to ...

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

Sub-regions and districts

Except for

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 The Damnonii (also referred to as Damnii) were a Brittonic people of the late 2nd century who lived in what became the Kingdom of Strathclyde by the Early Middle Ages, and is now southern Scotland. They are mentioned briefly in Ptolemy's ''Ge ...

. The kingdom broadly covered the northern end of the region, except an area now covered by the Scottish

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 historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Ki ...

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 ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. ...

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