West Lothian Council | |
|---|---|
 Coat of Arms | |
 West Lothian Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Graham Hope since September 2010 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 33 councillors |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Civic Centre, Howden South Road, Livingston, EH54 6FF | |
| Website | |
| www | |
West Lothian Council is the local authority for the council area of West Lothian in Scotland.
West Lothian District Council was created in 1975 as one of four districts within the Lothian region. The West Lothian district took its name from the historic county of West Lothian, which had covered a similar but not identical area. [3] The Lothian region was abolished in 1996, when the four districts in the region, including West Lothian, became unitary council areas. [4]
The first election to the West Lothian 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: [5]
West Lothian District Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1975–1977 | |
| No overall control | 1977–1980 | |
| Labour | 1980–1992 | |
| No overall control | 1992–1996 | |
West Lothian Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007– | |
The leaders of the council since 1996 have been: [6]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Graeme Morrice | Labour | 1 Apr 1996 | May 2007 | |
| Peter Johnston | SNP | 10 May 2007 | May 2012 | |
| John McGinty | Labour | 10 May 2012 | May 2017 | |
| Lawrence Fitzpatrick | Labour | 25 May 2017 | ||
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]
| Year | Seats | SNP | Labour | Conservative | Liberal Democrats | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 27 | 11 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Labour majority |
| 1999 | 32 | 11 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries. [7] Labour majority |
| 2003 | 32 | 12 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Labour majority |
| 2007 | 32 | 13 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 4 | New ward boundaries. [8] SNP-Conservative-Action to Save St. John's Hospital [9] |
| 2012 | 33 | 15 | 16 | 1 | 0 | 1 | Increase in number of councillors. [10] |
| 2017 | 33 | 13 | 12 | 7 | 0 | 1 | Labour minority with Conservative support. [11] |
| 2022 | 33 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 1 | Labour minority with Conservative-Independent-Liberal Democrat support. [12] |
The council is based at the West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston. The building was built in 2009 at a cost of £50 million to serve as a police headquarters and courthouse as well as offices for the council. [13] Prior to 2009 the council's offices had been divided between various buildings, including:
Lindsay House and West Lothian House were both demolished shortly after the new Civic Centre opened in 2009. [17] [18]
Like all Scottish Councils, West Lothian Council provides services such as Education, [19] Social Work, [20] Housing, [21] Highways, Street lighting [22] and Cleansing. [23]
The council is responsible for the co-ordination of the planning and provision of public services in West Lothian. It works closely with other public bodies such as police, fire and health, through its community planning partnership.
West Lothian Council operates country parks at Beecraigs, Polkemmet, and Almondell & Calderwood. [24]
During elections West Lothian Council is divided geographically into 9 wards which then elect either three or four councillors each by the Single Transferable Vote system. The electoral system of local councils in Scotland is governed by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, an Act of the Scottish Parliament which first introduced proportional representation to councils. These electoral wards are as follows:
| Ward Number | Ward Name | Location | Elected Members |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linlithgow |  | 3 |
| 2 | Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh |  | 4 |
| 3 | Livingston North |  | 4 |
| 4 | Livingston South |  | 4 |
| 5 | East Livingston and East Calder |  | 4 |
| 6 | Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley |  | 3 |
| 7 | Whitburn and Blackburn |  | 4 |
| 8 | Bathgate |  | 4 |
| 9 | Armadale and Blackridge |  | 3 |
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 Dunbartonshire is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders Glasgow City Council Area to the south, North Lanarkshire to the east, Stirling to the north, and West Dunbartonshire to the west. East Dunbartonshire contains many of the affluent areas north of Glasgow, including Bearsden, Milngavie, Milton of Campsie, Balmore, and Torrance, as well as many of Glasgow's commuter towns and villages. The council area covers parts of the historic counties of Dunbartonshire, Lanarkshire, and Stirlingshire.
West Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and was one of its historic counties. The county was called Linlithgowshire until 1925. The historic county was bounded geographically by the Avon to the west and the Almond to the east. The modern council area occupies a larger area than the historic county. It was reshaped following local government reforms in 1975: some areas in the west were transferred to Falkirk; some areas in the east were transferred to Edinburgh; and some areas that had formerly been part of Midlothian were added to West Lothian.
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.
Livingston is the largest town in West Lothian, Scotland. Designated in 1962, it is the fourth post-war new town to be built in Scotland. Taking its name from a village of the same name incorporated into the new town, it was originally developed in the then-counties of Midlothian and West Lothian along the banks of the River Almond. It is situated approximately fifteen miles (25 km) west of Edinburgh and thirty miles (50 km) east of Glasgow, and is close to the towns of Broxburn to the north-east and Bathgate to the north-west.
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.
Livingston is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, to which it returns one Member of Parliament (MP). Elections are held using the first-past-the-post voting system.
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.
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 City of Edinburgh Council is the local government authority covering the City of Edinburgh council area. Almost half of the council area is the area of Edinburgh, capital of Scotland. With a population of 526,470 in mid-2019, it is the second most populous local authority area in Scotland.
The 2012 West Lothian Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of West Lothian Council. The election will use the 9 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 33 Councillors being elected. The Bathgate Ward gained an additional seat for the 2012 elections. The election saw Labour remain the largest party on the Council as they gained 2 seats. The Scottish National Party also made 2 net gains and significantly increased their vote share, outpolling Labour in terms of votes cast. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party retained their single seat on the Council and so to did the Independents. The Action to Save St. John's Hospital group were completely wiped out from the authority losing all of their 3 seats.
The 2017 West Lothian Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of West Lothian Council. The election used the 9 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 33 Councillors being elected. The election resulted in no overall party majority, leading to the Labour Party and the Conservative Party forming a coalition administration.
Linlithgow is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the West Lothian Council. It elects four Councillors. In 2019, the population of the ward was 16,499.
Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the West Lothian Council. It elects four Councillors.
Livingston North is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the West Lothian Council. It elects four Councillors.
Livingston South is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the West Lothian Council. It elects four Councillors. In April 2020, Peter Johnson retired from West Lothian Council triggering a by-election on the 11th March 2021 where Maria MacAulay (SNP) was duly elected.
Bathgate is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the West Lothian Council. It elects four Councillors.
The 2022 West Lothian Council election took place on 5 May 2022. Elected positions in all 9 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 were up for election, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote (STV) system form of proportional representation, with 33 Councillors being elected in total.