Renfrewshire | |
---|---|
![]() Coat of arms | |
![]() Council logo | |
Leadership | |
Alan Russell since November 2021 [2] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 43 councillors |
![]() | |
Political groups |
|
Elections | |
Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 6 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Meeting place | |
![]() | |
Renfrewshire House, Cotton Street, Paisley, PA1 1AN | |
Website | |
www |
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.
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]
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 control | Years | |
---|---|---|
Labour | 1996–2007 | |
No overall control | 2007–2012 | |
Labour | 2012–2017 | |
No overall control | 2017–present |
The leaders of the council since 1996 have been: [7]
Councillor | Party | From | To | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hugh Henry | Labour | 1 Apr 1996 | 1999 | |
Jim Harkins [8] | Labour | 1999 | May 2007 | |
Derek Mackay | SNP | 17 May 2007 | May 2011 | |
Brian Lawson | SNP | 26 May 2011 | May 2012 | |
Mark MacMillan | Labour | 17 May 2012 | May 2017 | |
Iain Nicolson | SNP | 18 May 2017 |
Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2024, the composition of the council was: [9] [10]
Party | Councillors | |
---|---|---|
SNP | 20 | |
Labour | 13 | |
Conservative | 5 | |
Independent | 4 | |
Liberal Democrats | 1 | |
Total | 43 |
The next election is due in 2027.
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. [11] [12] [13] 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. [14]
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]
Year | Seats | SNP | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Independent / Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1995 | 40 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
1999 | 40 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | New ward boundaries. [15] |
2003 | 40 | 15 | 21 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |
2007 | 40 | 17 | 17 | 2 | 4 | 0 | New ward boundaries. [16] |
2012 | 40 | 15 | 22 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |
2017 | 43 | 19 | 13 | 8 | 1 | 2 | New ward boundaries. [17] |
2022 | 43 | 21 | 15 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
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. [18] 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: [19] [20]
Ward number | Ward Name | Location | Seats | Population (2020) |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Renfrew North and Braehead | ![]() | 4 | 17,827 |
2 | Renfrew South and Gallowhill | ![]() | 3 | 12,232 |
3 | Paisley Northeast and Ralston | ![]() | 3 | 12,810 |
4 | Paisley Northwest | ![]() | 4 | 17,018 |
5 | Paisley East and Central | ![]() | 3 | 12,218 |
6 | Paisley Southeast | ![]() | 3 | 12,925 |
7 | Paisley Southwest | ![]() | 4 | 16,505 |
8 | Johnstone South and Elderslie | ![]() | 4 | 15,860 |
9 | Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch | ![]() | 4 | 14,740 |
10 | Houston, Crosslee and Linwood | ![]() | 4 | 19,152 |
11 | Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank | ![]() | 3 | 10,040 |
12 | Erskine and Inchinnan | ![]() | 4 | 18,063 |
West Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. The area lies to the north-west of the Glasgow City council area and contains many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. West Dunbartonshire also borders Argyll and Bute, East Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire and Stirling.
East Renfrewshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It was formed in 1996, as a successor to the Eastwood district of the Strathclyde region. The northeastern part of the council area is close to Glasgow and many of the council area's northern settlements fall into the Greater Glasgow urban area.
Renfrewshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern bank of the River Clyde. The current council area of Renfrewshire was established in 1996. The town of Paisley is the area's main settlement and centre of local government. The area also contains the historic county town of Renfrew.
Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was formerly governed by a corporation, also known as the town council, from the granting of its first burgh charter in the 1170s until 1975. From 1975 until 1996 the city was governed by City of Glasgow District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Strathclyde region.
Falkirk is one of 32 unitary authority council areas of Scotland. It was formed on 1 April 1996 by way of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 from the exact boundaries of Falkirk District, one of three parts of the Central region created in 1975, which was abolished at that time. Prior to the 1975 reorganisation, the majority of the council area was part of the historic county of Stirlingshire, and a small part, namely Bo'ness and Blackness, was part of the former county of West Lothian.
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.
The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland.
Eastwood was a local government district in the Strathclyde region. It was derived from the civil parish of Eastwood which had been within the county of Renfrewshire, though latterly included areas which had become annexed Lanarkshire and the expanding city of Glasgow. Established in 1975, it covered the parts of the parish outside Glasgow, plus adjoining areas to the south; it was abolished in 1996 to become part of East Renfrewshire.
Renfrew District was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.
South Lanarkshire Council is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and an annual budget of almost £1bn. The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town. The area was formed in 1996 from the areas of Clydesdale, Hamilton and East Kilbride districts, and some outer areas of Glasgow district ; all were previously within the Strathclyde region from 1975 but in historic Lanarkshire prior to that.
Renfrewshire or the County of Renfrew is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The lieutenancy area covers the three modern council areas of Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, and this area is occasionally termed Greater Renfrewshire to distinguish it from the modern council area called Renfrewshire. The historic county additionally included territory on the south-western edge of Glasgow which was gradually transferred to the administrative area of the city as it grew.
Inverclyde Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland, covering the Inverclyde council area. In its current form the council was created in 1996, replacing the previous Inverclyde District Council which existed from 1975 to 1996.
Dundee City Council is the local authority for Dundee City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Dundee was formerly governed by a corporation from when it was made a burgh in the late twelfth century until 1975. Between 1975 and 1996 the city was governed by City of Dundee District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Tayside region.
West Lothian Council is the local government authority for West Lothian council area.
Midlothian Council is the local authority for Midlothian, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, covering an area immediately south of the city of Edinburgh. The council is based in Dalkeith. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, eighteen councillors have been elected from six wards.
The Shetland Islands Council is the local authority for the Shetland Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of 1996.
The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for the Orkney Islands, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of 1996.
Renfrew is a town 6 miles (10 km) 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 royal house, Renfrew gained royal burgh status in 1397.
Renfrewshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, formally established in 1996 to succeed the Renfrew district within the Strathclyde region, both of which were abolished; the headquarters are at Paisley.
The 2022 Renfrewshire Council elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local authorities were up for election. The election used the 12 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 and last changed as a result of the 2015-16 Boundary Commission review, with 43 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.