Moray Council

Last updated

Moray Council
Coat of arms of Moray Area Council.svg
Coat of arms
The Moray Council.svg
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Preceded byMoray District Council
Leadership
Civic Leader
John Cowe,
Independent
since 10 August 2022
Kathleen Robertson,
Conservative
since 18 May 2022 [1]
Chief Executive (interim)
John Mundell
since May 2024 [2]
Structure
Seats26 councillors
Moray Council 2023.svg
Political groups
Administration (9)
  Conservative (9)
Other parties (17)
  SNP (8)
  Independent (5)
  Labour (3)
  Green (1)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Headquarters - geograph.org.uk - 3925590.jpg
Council Offices, High Street, Elgin, IV30 1BX
Website
www.moray.gov.uk

Moray Council is the local authority for Moray, one of the 32 council areas in Scotland. The council is based in Elgin. The Moray Firth lies off the area's north coast.

Contents

History

Moray District Council had been created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. It became one of the newly created single tier local authorities in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. [3]

Political control

The first election to Moray District Council was held in 1974, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A shadow authority was again elected in 1995 ahead of the reforms which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1975 has been as follows: [4]

Moray District Council

Party in controlYears
Independent 1975–1988
No overall control 1988–1996

Moray Council

Party in controlYears
SNP 1996–1999
No overall control 1999–2002
Independent 2002–2007
No overall control 2007–present

Leadership

Since 2012, political leadership has been provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since then have been: [5]

CouncillorPartyFromToNotes
Allan Wright Conservative 9 May 20121 Jan 2015
Stewart Cree [6] Independent 1 Jan 2015May 2017
George Alexander Independent 24 May 201713 Jun 2018
Graham Leadbitter SNP 13 Jun 201818 May 2022
Neil McLennan [7] Conservative 18 May 202211 Jul 2022Joint leaders
Kathleen Robertson Conservative
Kathleen Robertson Conservative 11 Jul 2022

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was: [8] [9]

PartyCouncillors
Conservative 9
SNP 8
Independent 5
Labour 3
Scottish Green 1
Total26

One of the independent councillors describes themselves as a "non-aligned Conservative". [10] The next election is due in 2027. [11]

Premises

Council Annexe, 2-10 High Street, Elgin Elgin - Council Offices (15182141468).jpg
Council Annexe, 2–10 High Street, Elgin

The council meets at the Council Offices on High Street in Elgin. The older part of the building facing High Street was completed in 1952 adjoining Elgin Sheriff Court for the former joint Moray and Nairn County Council. [12] Large extensions were later added to the south of the building, facing Greyfriars Street. In 2012 the council opened an additional annexe nearby at 2–10 High Street in a converted supermarket. [13]

Elections

Wards

Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration) Moray UK ward map 2017 (blank).svg
Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)
Ward
number
NameLocationSeats
1 Speyside Glenlivet Speyside and Glenlivet.svg 3
2 Keith and Cullen Keith and Cullen.svg 3
3 Buckie Buckie.svg 3
4 Fochabers Lhanbryde Fochabers Lhanbryde.svg 3
5 Heldon and Laich Heldon and Laich.svg 4
6 Elgin City North Elgin City North.svg 3
7 Elgin City South Elgin City South.svg 3
8 Forres Forres.svg 4

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberdeen City Council</span> Unitary authority council in Aberdeen, Scotland

Aberdeen City Council is the local authority for Aberdeen City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Aberdeen was formerly governed by a corporation from when it was made a burgh in the twelfth century until 1975. Between 1975 and 1996 the city was governed by City of Aberdeen District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Grampian region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Local government in Scotland</span> System of state administration on a local level in Scotland

Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. 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, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">County of Moray</span> Historic county in Scotland

The County of Moray, or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic county's area has been included in the Moray council area. The historic county boundaries are still used for certain functions, being a registration county. There is also a Moray lieutenancy area, covering a slightly smaller area than the historic county. The historic county borders Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east, and has a coast onto the Moray Firth to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dover District</span> Non-metropolitan district in England

Dover is a local government district in Kent, England. It is named after its largest town, the port town of Dover. The council is based in Whitfield on the outskirts of Dover. The district also covers the towns of Deal, Sandwich and Walmer as well as the surrounding rural areas.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Badenoch and Strathspey</span> Local government ward in Scotland

Badenoch and Strathspey was a local government district, created in 1975 as one of eight districts within the Highland region in Scotland. The district was abolished in 1996 when Highland was made a single-tier council area. Since then, the Highland Council has had a Badenoch and Strathspey area committee covering the area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fife Council</span> Scottish unitary authority council in Fife, Scotland, UK

Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 75 elected council members.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Lothian Council</span>

East Lothian Council is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards.

Elections to The Moray Council were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as the Scottish Parliament election. The election was the first using the eight new wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. 26 councillors were elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system. Previously there were single-member wards which used the first past the post electoral system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2012 Moray Council election</span> 2012 Scottish local government election

Elections to the Moray Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other 31 local authorities in Scotland. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Glasgow City Council election</span> 2017 Scottish local government election

The Glasgow City Council election of 2017 was held on 4 May 2017, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election was the first to use 23 new wards, created as a result of the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland's 5th Review. Each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation used since the 2007 election and according to the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2017 Moray Council election</span> 2017 Scottish local government election

The 2017 elections to Moray Council were held on Thursday 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. It was the third successive Local Council election to run under the STV Electoral System. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.

The 2022 Moray Council election was held on 5 May 2022, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 Councillors elected. Each ward elects either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Dumfries and Galloway Council election</span> Dumfries and Galloway Council election

Elections to Dumfries and Galloway Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Elections to North Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 South Ayrshire Council election</span> South Ayrshire Council election

Elections to South Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Argyll and Bute Council election</span> Argyll and Bute Council election

Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV)—a form of proportional representation—in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference. New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021, which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 34. However, these were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the boundaries used at the previous election remained in place.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Aberdeenshire Council election</span> Aberdeenshire Council election

Elections to Aberdeenshire Council took place on Thursday 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

Elections to North Lanarkshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

The 2022 East Renfrewshire Council election took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 5 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 18 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Graham Leadbitter</span> British politician

Graham Leadbitter is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey since 2024.

References

  1. "Moray Council leadership confirmed". The Moray Council. 18 May 2022.
  2. Clark, Jonny (26 March 2024). "Moray Council announces John Mundell OBE as interim chief executive". Northern Scot. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  3. See also Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine (OPSI home page Archived 18 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine )
  4. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  5. "Council minutes". Moray Council. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  6. "New Moray Council leader named as Stewart Cree". BBC News. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  7. McBlane, Lewis (11 July 2022). "Moray Tory group in chaos as new sole leader Cllr Kathleen Robertson says Cllr Neil McLennan was toppled in secret no confidence vote". Grampian Online. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  8. Gilmour, Lauren (11 July 2022). "Moray Council leader 'steps aside' from Conservative Party over 'poor behaviour'". Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. Whitfield, Alistair (17 August 2022). "Moray councillor leaves Tory administration". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  10. "Councillors". Moray Council. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  11. "Moray". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
  12. "A staff of 70 will look after John". Aberdeen Evening Express. 17 April 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  13. Whitfield, Alistair (14 September 2022). "Moray Council annexe building to reopen". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 16 July 2023.