Renfrewshire Council

Last updated
Renfrewshire
Coat of Arms of Renfrewshire.svg
Coat of arms
Renfrewshire Council logo.svg
Council logo
Leadership
Lorraine Cameron,
SNP
since 18 May 2017 [1]
Iain Nicolson,
SNP
since 18 May 2017
Alan Russell
since November 2021 [2]
Structure
Seats43 councillors
Scotland Renfrewshire Council 2025.svg
Political groups
Administration (20)
  SNP (20)
Other parties (23)
  Labour (12)
  Conservative (3)
  Reform UK (3)
  Liberal Democrat (1)
  Independent (4)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
 6 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Renfrewshire House Building, Paisley.jpg
Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN
Website
www.renfrewshire.gov.uk

Renfrewshire Council is the local authority for Renfrewshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It consists of 43 councillors who elect from among their number a provost to serve as the council's convener and ceremonial head and a leader of the council who is typically the head of the largest political group. The council is based at Renfrewshire House in Paisley.

Contents

The council meets collectively as a full council and carries out a number of functions. Its scheme of delegated functions sets out where the council has agreed to allow powers to be exercised by a committee (referred to as a "board" in Renfrewshire Council), a sub-committee, an officer of the council or a joint committee with one or more other councils. The council continues to reserve a number of functions that can only be carried out by the council acting as a whole. The council's staff is headed by a chief executive who is responsible to the elected council. [3]

Renfrewshire Council acts as the lead authority for Scotland Excel, a collaborative procurement vehicle established in 2008 to support the local authorities of Scotland. [4]

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since 2017. Following the 2022 election an SNP minority administration took control of the council with support from independent councillor Andy Doig on a confidence and supply basis. [5]

The first election to Renfrewshire Council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows: [6]

Party in controlYears
Labour 1996–2007
No overall control 2007–2012
Labour 2012–2017
No overall control 2017–present

Leadership

The role of provost is largely ceremonial in Renfrewshire. They chair full council meetings and act as the council's civic figurehead. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Hugh Henry [7] [8] Labour 1 Apr 1996May 1999
Jim Harkins [9] [10] Labour May 1999May 2007
Derek Mackay [11] [12] SNP May 2007May 2011
Brian Lawson [12] [13] SNP 26 May 2011May 2012
Mark MacMillan [14] [15] Labour May 2012May 2017
Iain Nicolson [1] SNP 18 May 2017

Council composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2025, the composition of the council was: [16] [17]

PartyCouncillors
SNP 20
Labour 12
Conservative 3
Reform UK 3
Liberal Democrats 1
Independent 4
Total43

The next election is due in 2027. [17]

Premises

The council is based at Renfrewshire House on Cotton Street in Paisley, which was built between 1969 and 1973 as the "County and Municipal Buildings", being a joint facility for the old Renfrewshire County Council and Paisley Town Council. [18] [19] [20] After the reforms of 1975 the building was shared between Renfrew District Council and Strathclyde Regional Council. Following the creation of Renfrewshire Council in 1996 the building was renamed Renfrewshire House. [21]

Elections

Since 2007 elections have been held every five years under the single transferable vote system, introduced by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. Election results since 1995 have been as follows: [6]

YearSeats SNP Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Independent / Other Notes
1995 401322230
1999 401521130New ward boundaries. [22]
2003 401521130
2007 401717240New ward boundaries. [23]
2012 401522111
2017 431913812New ward boundaries. [24]
2022 432115511

Electoral wards

Map of Renfrewshire's 12 wards, using 2017 boundaries Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 (blank).svg
Map of Renfrewshire's 12 wards, using 2017 boundaries

For the purposes of elections to Renfrewshire Council, the Renfrewshire area is divided geographically into a number of wards which then elect either three or four councillors each by the single transferable vote system. [25] The electoral system of local councils in Scotland is governed by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, which first introduced proportional representation to councils in Scotland.

These electoral wards, following a 2017 review and first used in the 2017 Renfrewshire Council election are as follows: [26] [27]

Ward numberWard NameLocationSeatsPopulation

(2020)

1 Renfrew North and Braehead Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Renfrew North and Braehead.svg 417,827
2 Renfrew South and Gallowhill Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Renfrew South and Gallowhill.svg 312,232
3 Paisley Northeast and Ralston Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Paisley Northeast and Ralston.svg 312,810
4 Paisley Northwest Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Paisley Northwest.svg 417,018
5 Paisley East and Central Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Paisley East and Central.svg 312,218
6 Paisley Southeast Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Paisley Southeast.svg 312,925
7 Paisley Southwest Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Paisley Southwest.svg 416,505
8 Johnstone South and Elderslie Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Johnstone South and Elderslie.svg 415,860
9 Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Johnstone North Kilbarchan Howwood and Lochwinnoch.svg 414,740
10 Houston, Crosslee and Linwood Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Houston Crosslee and Linwood.svg 419,152
11 Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Bishopton Bridge of Weir and Langbank.svg 310,040
12 Erskine and Inchinnan Renfrewshire UK ward map 2017 Erskine and Inchinnan.svg 418,063

References

  1. 1 2 "Council minutes, 18 May 2017". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  2. ↑ "Alan Russell - Renfrewshire Council's new Chief Executive". Mill Magazine. 22 December 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  3. ↑ "Scheme of Delegated Functions". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  4. ↑ "About us". Scotland Excel. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  5. ↑ "2022 LOCAL ELECTIONS:Renfrewshire Council". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  6. 1 2 "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "Renfrewshire" in search box to see specific results.)
  7. ↑ Gall, Charlie (15 April 1995). "Labour pick Hugh Henry". Paisley Daily Express. p. 3. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  8. ↑ "Paisley South". Scotland on Sunday. Edinburgh. 16 May 1999. p. 190. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  9. ↑ "Labour unveils its leaders". Paisley Daily Express. 21 May 1999. p. 3. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  10. ↑ "Council round-up: Renfrewshire". Glasgow Times. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  11. ↑ Jolly, Lynn (8 December 2011). "Derek's political career soars to see him named government minister". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  12. 1 2 Rennie, Alison (27 May 2011). "Councillor Brian Lawson is new leader of Renfrewshire Council". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  13. ↑ Hutcheson, John (30 April 2012). "Councillors take part in "emotional" last meeting before the election". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  14. ↑ Davidson, Jenni (1 November 2016). "Renfrewshire Council leader Mark Macmillan to stand down at local government elections". Holyrood.com. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  15. ↑ Taylor, Chris (29 March 2017). "An ex-Labour MP, a UKIPer and 12 Greens and a hospital campaigner are among the 95 candidates standing for election to Renfrewshire Council". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  16. ↑ Macdonald, Aidan (6 March 2025). "Second Renfrewshire Tory councillor defects to Reform UK". The Renfrewshire Gazette. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  17. 1 2 "Renfrewshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 7 March 2025.
  18. ↑ "Paisley, Cotton Street, County and Municipal Buildings". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  19. ↑ Glasgow Area Telephone Directory, October 1971, p. 709, Renfrewshire County Council, County Buildings, Cotton Street, Paisley
  20. ↑ "Renfrew County Council, Paisley Town Council and Police Station building". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  21. ↑ "Contact us". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  22. ↑ "The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1998/3249, retrieved 8 February 2023
  23. ↑ Scottish Parliament. The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  24. ↑ Scottish Parliament. The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  25. ↑ "Electoral wards".
  26. ↑ "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  27. ↑ Council Area | Renfrewshire, Scottish Government Statistics. Retrieved 22 April 2022
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