Orkney Islands Council | |
---|---|
Type | |
Type | |
Leadership | |
Oliver Reid since January 2023 | |
Structure | |
Seats | 21 councillors |
Political groups | Independent (19) |
Length of term | Full council elected every 5 years |
Elections | |
Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 2027 |
Motto | |
Boreas domus mare amicus (Latin: "The north our home, the sea our friend") | |
Meeting place | |
Council Offices, School Place, Kirkwall, KW15 1NY | |
Website | |
www |
The Orkney Islands Council (Scottish Gaelic : Comhairle Eileanan Arcaibh), is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.
It provides services in the areas of Environmental Health, Roads, Social Work, Community Development, Organisational Development, Economic Development, Building Standards, Trading Standards, Housing, Waste, Education, Burial Grounds, Port and Harbours and others. [2] The council is allowed to collect Council Tax.
The council is also the harbour authority for Orkney and its Marine Services division manages the operation of the islands' 29 piers and harbours. [3]
The council is based at the Council Offices on School Place in Kirkwall. The building comprises the former Kirkwall Grammar School and the neighbouring former Paterson Church, with modern extensions linking the older buildings. The former Grammar School was built c. 1890 and converted to become the council's offices in 1978. [4] [5] The Paterson Church, or East Church, was built in 1847 and converted and incorporated into the council offices in the early 2000s. [6]
Between 2012 and 2017 the council consisted of 21 members, all of whom were independent; they did not stand as representatives of a political party. [7]
These members are elected in the following wards:
After the 2017 election there were 18 independents, 2 Orkney Manifesto Group (OMG) councillors and 1 Green councillor. [8] Of these, 18 councillors were actually elected; the remaining 3 were declared on the election day "as the result of the uncontested election in the Stromness and South Isles ward, where the number of candidates was equal to or less than the number of seats available". [9]
There were no official changes to the political composition of the council during the 2017–2022 term. However, independent councillor John Ross Scott (Kirkwall East) did announce he had joined the Greens in 2021, which did not change his affiliation on the council. [10] One by-election was held and resulted in an independent hold. [11]
The 2017 election elected these members: Candidates elected to form the new Council alongside Rob Crichton, James Stockan and Magnus Thomson in the uncontested Stromness and South Isles ward are:
Kirkwall East ward – David Dawson, Steven Heddle, John Ross Scott, Gwenda Shearer.
Kirkwall West and Orphir – Sandy Cowie, Barbara Foulkes, Leslie Manson, John Richards.
West Mainland – Harvey Johnston, Rachael King, Owen Tierney, Duncan Allan Tullock.
East Mainland – South Ronaldsay and Burray – Norman Craigie, Andrew Drever, Steve Sankey.
North Isles – Stephen Clackson, Graham Sinclair, Kevin Woodbridge. [12]
After the 2022 election there were 19 independents, and 2 Green councillors. [13]
In January 2024, council leader James Stockan announced he would stand down as councillor after leading the authority for six years. [14]
In February 2024, Heather Woodbridge was announced as the new leader for the council. She is the first woman to lead the Orkney Islands Council, and at 29 years old is the youngest local authority leader in Scotland [15]
Party | 2022 | |
---|---|---|
Independent | 19 | |
Scottish Greens | 2 | |
No. | Political Leader | Party | Period in office | Election | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | James Stockan | Independent | 2017–2024 | 2017 2022 | |
2 | Heather Woodbridge | Independent | 2024–present | 2024 | |
No. | Convener | Party | Period in office | Election | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | George Marwick | Independent | 1974–1978 | 1974 | |
2 | Edwin Eunson | Independent | 1978–1990 | 1978 1982 1986 | |
3 | Jackie Tait | Independent | 1990–1994 | 1994 | |
4 | Hugh Halcro-Johnston | Independent | 1994–2003 | 1994 1999 | |
5 | Stephen Hagan | Independent | 2003–2012 | 2003 2007 | |
6 | Steven Heddle | Independent | 2012–2017 | 2012 | |
7 | Harvey Johnston | Independent | 2017–2022 | 2017 | |
8 | Graham Bevan | Independent | 2022–present | 2022 | |
Orkney, 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 of the coast of Caithness and has about 70 islands, of which 20 are inhabited. The largest island, the Mainland, has an area of 523 square kilometres (202 sq mi), making it the sixth-largest Scottish island and the tenth-largest island in the British Isles. Orkney's largest settlement, and also its administrative centre, is Kirkwall.
The Mainland, also known as Hrossey and Pomona, is the main island of Orkney, Scotland. Both of Orkney's burghs, Kirkwall and Stromness, lie on the island, which is also the heart of Orkney's ferry and air connections.
South Ronaldsay is one of the Orkney Islands off the north coast of Scotland. It is linked to the Orkney Mainland by the Churchill Barriers, running via Burray, Glimps Holm and Lamb Holm.
Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Orkney. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall.
Orkney Ferries is a Scottish company operating inter-island ferry services in the Orkney Islands. The company operates ferry services across 15 islands.
The A961 is a single-carriageway road on the eastern side of Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands, connecting the town of Kirkwall on the Orkney Mainland to Burwick at the southern end of South Ronaldsay.
The 2012 Orkney Islands Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Orkney Council. The election used the six wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 21 Councillors being elected.
The Battle of Summerdale was fought on 19 May 1529, and was the last battle to take place on Orkney soil. The battle took place on the boundary of the parishes of Orphir and Stenness in Mainland, Orkney. The battle was fought between the Sinclairs of Orkney and Shetland and the Sinclairs of Caithness, who had the support of James V, King of Scotland.
The 2017 Orkney Islands Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Orkney Islands Council. The election used the six wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system a form of proportional representation, with 21 Councillors being elected.
Kirkwall Grammar School is a secondary school in Kirkwall, Orkney, Scotland. It was established in c. 1200. The current school building was opened in 2014. It is the largest school in the Orkney Islands.
The Orkney Manifesto Group (OMG) was a minor political party in Orkney, Scotland. The group advocated for politicisation of Orkney Islands Council, believing that party-based representation would offer more robust democratic governance than the current council of elected independents. The OMG started as an alliance of three Independents who campaigned on a joint manifesto for the 2012 election, before finally registering as a party in 2013.
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray is one of the six wards used to elect members of the Orkney Islands Council. It elects three Councillors.
Kirkwall West and Orphir is one of the six wards used to elect members of the Orkney Islands Council. It elects four Councillors.
Mary Anne Baikie (1861–1950) a Scottish suffragist who established the Orcadian Women's Suffrage Society (OWSS) and grew the membership and public interest in the debate, in the Orkney Isles, during the campaigns for Votes for Women.
Elections to the Orkney Islands Council were held on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the six wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 21 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.