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
Iain Nicolson,
SNP
since 18 May 2017 [1]
Alan Russell
since November 2021 [2]
Structure
Seats43 councillors
SNP
21 / 43
13 / 43
5 / 43
1 / 43
3 / 43
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 elected local authority for Renfrewshire council area. Its consists of 43 directly elected 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.

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 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: [5]

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

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 1996 have been: [6]

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Hugh Henry Labour 1 Apr 19961999
Jim Harkins [7] Labour 1999May 2007
Derek Mackay SNP 17 May 2007May 2011
Brian Lawson SNP 26 May 2011May 2012
Mark MacMillan Labour 17 May 2012May 2017
Iain Nicolson SNP 18 May 2017

Council composition

The most recent election was held in May 2022, following which an SNP led council was formed with the support on confidence and supply from Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch independent councillor Andy Doig. [8] As of November 2022 the full composition of the council is as follows:

PartyCouncillors
Scottish National Party 21
Labour 13†
Conservative Party 5
Independents3†
Liberal Democrat 1

Premises

The council is based at Renfrewshire House on Cotton Street in Paisley, which was completed between 1969 and 1973 as the "County and Municipal Buildings", being a joint facility for the old Renfrewshire County Council and Paisley Town Council. [10] [11] [12] 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. [13]

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: [5]

YearSeats SNP Labour Conservative Liberal Democrats Independent / Other Notes
1995 401322230
1999 401521130New ward boundaries. [14]
2003 401521130
2007 401717240New ward boundaries. [15]
2012 401522111
2017 431913812New ward boundaries. [16]
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. [17] 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: [18] [19]

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

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Dunbartonshire</span> Council area of Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Renfrewshire</span> Council area of Scotland

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfrewshire</span> Council area of Scotland

Renfrewshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland.

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

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.

<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">Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994</span> United Kingdom legislation

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Flintshire County Council</span> Local government of Flintshire, Wales

Flintshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Flintshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. It is based at County Hall in Mold.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfrew (district)</span>

Renfrew District was, between 1975 and 1996, one of nineteen local government districts in the Strathclyde region of Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Renfrewshire (historic)</span> Historic county and lieutenancy area of western Scotland

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.

<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">Inverclyde Council</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Denbighshire County Council</span> Local government authority in central north Wales

Denbighshire County Council is the unitary local authority for the county of Denbighshire, one of the principal areas of Wales. The council is based at County Hall in Ruthin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wrexham County Borough Council</span> Local government authority in north-east Wales

Wrexham County Borough Council is the governing body for Wrexham County Borough, a principal area with city status in north Wales, covering Wrexham and the surrounding area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Lothian Council</span> Local authority for West Lothian, Scotland

West Lothian Council is the local authority for the council area of West Lothian in Scotland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Powys County Council</span> Local government of Powys, Wales

Powys County Council is the local authority for Powys, one of the administrative areas of Wales. The County Hall is in Llandrindod Wells.

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


The 2017 Renfrewshire Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Renfrewshire Council. The election was first to use the twelve wards created as a result of the 2015-16 Boundary Commission review, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation, with 43 Councillors being elected, a net increase of 3 members compared to the 2012 Council.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avondale and Stonehouse (ward)</span>

Avondale and Stonehouse is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward initially elected four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system before a boundary review in 2017 reduced the number of councillors to three. It covers an area with a population of 17,749 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">East Kilbride West (ward)</span>

East Kilbride West is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 13,737 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wards of Renfrewshire</span>

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.

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

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 part of the 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.

References

  1. "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. 1 2 "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  6. "Council minutes". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  7. "Council round-up: Renfrewshire". Glasgow Times. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  8. "2022 LOCAL ELECTIONS:Renfrewshire Council". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  9. "Veteran Renfrewshire councillor quits Labour and fires astonishing 'backstabbing' blast". 2 November 2022. Retrieved 3 November 2022 via www.dailyrecord.co.uk.
  10. "Paisley, Cotton Street, County and Municipal Buildings". Canmore. Historic Environment Scotland. Retrieved 31 January 2023.
  11. Glasgow Area Telephone Directory, October 1971, p. 709, Renfrewshire County Council, County Buildings, Cotton Street, Paisley
  12. "Renfrew County Council, Paisley Town Council and Police Station building". Dictionary of Scottish Architects. Retrieved 8 February 2023.
  13. "Contact us". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  14. "The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1998/3249, retrieved 8 February 2023
  15. Scottish Parliament. The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  16. Scottish Parliament. The Renfrewshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk .
  17. "Electoral wards".
  18. "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  19. Council Area | Renfrewshire, Scottish Government Statistics. Retrieved 22 April 2022