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62-492: By the 1960s there was general agreement that the system of local government in Scotland was in need of reform. There were more than four hundred local authorities: 33 county councils (4 of which were paired as "joint county councils" for most purposes), 4 county of city corporations, 197 town councils (administering 21 large burghs and 176 small burghs ) and 196 district councils. These structures had mainly been introduced in

124-408: A "leader of the council" and a "civic head", who receive additional remuneration for holding those roles. The regulations direct that unless a council decides otherwise the leader is the convener and the civic head is the depute convener. In practice, most authorities appoint someone other than the convener as leader of the council, such that the political leader of the council is not also presiding over

186-481: A general election until the age of 25. Labour's number of votes, 12.2 million, was ironically the same amount they had needed to win in 1964. The Conservative vote surge cost Labour in many marginal seats. Rose suggested the absolute fall in the number of Labour votes suggested that many of the party's supporters had decided to abstain. He also noted that the Labour Party's local organisation was poorer than that of

248-471: A group of councillors within the council who are able to command majority support. Minority administrations and majority administrations may be formed. Although coalition administrations are more typical, occasionally a majority administration is formed by a single political party , but this is uncommon due to the proportional voting system used in Scottish local elections. Despite being uncommon on

310-783: A notional 2012 result calculated by the BBC. The methodology was officially revealed on 9 May 2017. The relevant explanation is available on the BBC Website . Comparisons with the actual results from 2012 are inconsistent, as the number of seats and seat changes will be different because of an increase in council seats across the country from 1,223 to 1,227 and the different boundaries. Political control may be held by minority governments (min), coalitions (co), joint leadership arrangements (j.l.) or partnership working arrangements (p.w.). Last update 13 February 2022. The 32 unitary authorities were controlled as follows. The figures incorporate

372-490: A number of interested parties. There was general agreement that there needed to be a reduction in the number of local authorities, and that a new two-tier structure should be formed. Among the bodies that gave evidence were: The commission published its report on 25 September 1969. In the report it was recognised that were four levels of community in Scotland: The majority of the commissioners, as expected, recommended

434-484: A swing of 4.7%, enough to give them a comfortable working majority. As for the smaller parties, they increased their number in the Commons from 2 to 6 seats. The Scottish National Party won its first ever seat at a general election (they had won several by-elections previously, going back as far as 1945 ), although they did lose Hamilton, which they won in a by-election in 1967. These declarations were covered live by

496-561: A tribute to Edward Heath after his death the previous day. Its most recent screening was on the 20th of June 2020, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of its first transmission. The BBC coverage was parodied by Monty Python's Flying Circus in its famous " Election Night Special " sketch. Both BBC and ITN carried their 1970 election night broadcasts in colour, although segments broadcast from some remote locations and some BBC and ITN regional bureaus were transmitted in black-and-white. Some ITV regions were not yet broadcasting in colour at

558-670: A two-tier structure, split between the regional and district level. However, they also suggested that the locality and parish levels could be given a "voice". This would be done by regional authorities choosing to establish "local committees" and by the creation of non-statutory community councils where there was demand. Community councils might be permitted to operate some local services on an agency basis on behalf of district or regional councils. Regions were to have powers over major planning, social services, housing, police and education; districts over local planning, planning applications, building control, libraries and licensing. All members of

620-688: A white paper with final decisions on structures, boundaries and functions. Following the 1970 general election the Conservatives returned to power, and in February 1971 produced a white paper Reform of Local Government in Scotland (Cmnd. 4583). This broadly accepted the report's recommendations but increased the number of regions to eight by separating the Borders from the South East region. There were some changes in regional boundaries while

682-485: Is administered by elected councillors. There are currently 1,227 councillors, each paid a part-time salary for the undertaking of their duties. In total, there are 32 unitary authorities, the largest being the Glasgow City with more than 600,000 inhabitants, the smallest, Orkney, with just over 20,000 people living there (population of 21,670 in 2015). Councillors are subject to a Code of Conduct instituted by

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744-497: Is divided into a number of wards , and three or four councillors are elected for each ward. There are currently 1,227 elected councillors in Scotland . Local elections are normally held every five years and use the single transferable vote electoral system. The most recent election was the 2022 Scottish local elections and the next election will be the 2027 Scottish local elections . Council administrations typically comprise

806-637: The Chief Executive . The Chief Executive is similar in function to a city manager , though certain councillors have executive authority and there is no clear division of powers . There is also a statutory Monitoring Officer, who usually heads the Legal Services division of the council, as well as a Chief Financial Officer. Last updated 10 March 2023. Following boundary changes: Note: There were boundary changes in many of these councils. Notional seats and seat change are based on

868-644: The Conservative government of Edward Heath introduced a system of two-tier local government in Scotland (see Local government areas of Scotland 1973 to 1996 ), divided between large regional councils and smaller district councils. The only exceptions to this were the three island councils, Western Isles , Shetland and Orkney which had the combined powers of regions and districts. The Conservative government of John Major (1990–1997) decided to abolish this system and merge their powers into new unitary authorities . The new councils vary wildly in size – some are

930-673: The Ethical Standards in Public Life etc. (Scotland) Act 2000 and enforced by the Standards Commission for Scotland . If a person believes that a councillor has broken the code of conduct they make a complaint to the Commissioner for Ethical Standards in Public Life in Scotland (CESPLS) . The Commissioner makes a determination on whether there is a need for an investigation, and then whether or not to refer

992-618: The High Court . The Prime Minister, Harold Wilson , visited Buckingham Palace on 18 May and asked the Queen to dissolve Parliament on 29 May, announcing that the election would be held on 18 June. The key dates were as follows: Summary of the final polling results before the general election. This was the first general election where 18-year-olds had the right to vote. Therefore, despite 1.1 million more people voting in 1970 compared to 1966, turnout actually fell by 3%. This 72% turnout

1054-458: The Police (Scotland) Act 1857 . As a result of the dual system of local government, burghs (of which there were various types) often had a high degree of autonomy. Between 1890 and 1975 local government in Scotland was organised with county councils (including four counties of cities ) and various lower-level units. Between 1890 and 1929, there were parish councils and town councils, but with

1116-721: The Secretary of State for Scotland in the new Labour Party administration, indicated in March 1965 that he did not intend to follow the policy of his predecessor. In February 1966 the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson , announced to the Commons that a royal commission would be appointed to review local administration in Scotland. The royal commission was appointed in May 1966, and had nine members: The Commission heard evidence from

1178-551: The UK officially joined the EC on 1 January 1973, along with the Republic of Ireland and Denmark. Frontbench Labour politicians George Brown and Jennie Lee were voted out at this election. This marked the end of a series of elections where both main parties won over 40% of the vote. This would not occur again for the Conservatives for nine years ; Labour would wait 27 . The result

1240-403: The sheriffdoms or shires over which a sheriff (a contraction of shire reeve ) exercised jurisdiction. Malcolm III appears to have introduced sheriffs as part of a policy of replacing native " Celtic " forms of government with Anglo Saxon and French feudal structures. This was continued by his sons Edgar , Alexander I and in particular David I . David completed the division of

1302-469: The 1970 election for the Tories ;... of all those who had switched their vote from one party to another, 50 per cent were working class Powellites". The Professor of Political Science Randall Hansen assessed a range of studies, including some which contended that Powell had made little or no difference to the result, but concluded that "At the very least, Powell's effect was likely to have fired up

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1364-594: The 50th anniversary of the election concluded that the late swing had been caused by the weak economic data and that there was "no evidence" that the World Cup had influenced the outcome. American pollster Douglas Schoen and Oxford University academic R. W. Johnson asserted that Enoch Powell had attracted 2.5 million votes to the Conservatives, although the Conservative vote only increased by 1.7 million. Johnson later stated "It became clear that Powell had won

1426-555: The Conservative vote in constituencies which would have voted Tory in any event". Election night commentators Michael Barratt and Jeffrey Preece dismissed any special "Powell factor", as did Conservative MPs Reginald Maudling , Timothy Raison and Hugh Dykes . The 1970–74 Parliament has to date been the only time since the 1924–29 Parliament in which the Conservative Party were only in government for one term before returning to opposition. The most notable casualty of

1488-433: The Conservatives a 3.4% lead and ended almost six years of Labour government, although Wilson remained leader of the Labour Party in opposition. Writing in the aftermath of the election, the political scientist Richard Rose described the Conservative victory as "surprising" and noted a significant shift in votes between the two main parties. The Times journalist George Clark wrote that the election would be "remembered as

1550-563: The Conservatives, but did not feel this was a significant factor in Labour supporters failing to come out to vote for the Party given that this organisational difference had been the case in past elections without having this effect. For the Liberals, a small 1% drop in their vote share saw them lose 6 seats, 3 of which were held by the narrowest of margins. In the end the Conservatives achieved

1612-605: The Scottish Government accepting some of the recommendations of Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland . The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 have given Boundaries Scotland increased flexibility to vary the size of wards. Mainland wards may now have between 2 and 5 councillors, and single councillor wards are permitted where such a ward includes an inhabited island. The power vested in local authorities

1674-411: The Scottish mainland, it is possible for independent politicians to form an administration. The Convention of Scottish Local Auuthorities (COSLA) is an umbrella organisation formed in 1975 to represent the views of Scotland's thirty-two councils to central government. The history of Scottish local government mainly surrounds involves the counties of Scotland . The counties have their origins in

1736-646: The UUP functioned as the Northern Ireland branch of the Conservative Party. However, hardline unionist Ian Paisley unseated the UUP incumbent in North Antrim , a clear sign that the UUP's complete dominance over unionist politics in Northern Ireland was already starting to weaken. In 1972, in protest over the permanent prorogation of the Parliament of Northern Ireland , Westminster UUP MPs withdrew from

1798-521: The Western Isles should have a special status between that of region and district. Following the publication of the report there was a twelve-week period in which the existing local authorities could give their response. The report was debated in the House of Commons on 14 October 1969. The Secretary of State stated that following the receipt of the councils' observations the government would produce

1860-609: The alliance. The date of 18 June was supposedly chosen because Harold Wilson wanted as Prime Minister to go to the polls before the introduction of decimal coinage in early 1971, for which his government had been responsible and which he thought was hugely unpopular, and because Wilson sought to gain some momentum by surprising the Conservatives , who were expecting an October election. Commentators believed that an unexpectedly bad set of balance of payments figures (a £31-million trade deficit) published three days before

1922-482: The by-elections between 1966 and 1970 had proved almost fruitless, with many Liberal candidates losing deposits. The one exception was its by-election gain of Birmingham Ladywood in June 1969; this was promptly lost in the 1970 general election. The party found itself struggling to introduce its new leader Jeremy Thorpe to the public, owing to the extensive coverage and attention paid to Enoch Powell . The election result

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1984-515: The campaign showing unemployment at its highest level since 1940. Interviewed by Robin Day , the outgoing Prime Minister Harold Wilson highlighted the possibility that "complacency engendered by the opinion polls" may have resulted in a poor turnout of Labour supporters. As defending world champions , England's venture in the World Cup attracted a much keener public interest than the general election did. However an analysis by pollster Matt Singh for

2046-455: The council, but there was no legislative basis for the role. Officers of a council are administrative, non-political staff of the council. Generally the composition of the council's officers are a matter for the council, but there are a number of statutory officers whose roles are defined by the central government. The most significant of these officers is the Head of Paid Service, usually titled

2108-410: The counties would be a second tier of councils (which were not named) formed by merging burghs and districts exercising powers over purely local services. It was envisaged that these council areas would have a population of not less than 40,000. The four counties of cities would continue as unitary authorities with enlarged boundaries where appropriate. Following a change of government, William Ross ,

2170-410: The country into sheriffdoms by the conversion of existing thanedoms . From the seventeenth century the shires started to be used for local administration apart from judicial functions. In 1667 Commissioners of Supply were appointed in each sheriffdom to collect the land tax. The commissioners eventually assumed other duties in the county. In 1858, police forces were established in each county under

2232-517: The debate at council meetings. The convener or provost usually takes the civic head role. The leader of the council is usually the leader of the largest political group, or in a coalition the leader of the largest party in that coalition. The Leader of the Council has no executive or administrative powers designated by statute. Prior to 2007 many authorities recognised the leader of the largest political group or coalition administration as being leader of

2294-439: The delivery of services. In many areas they do not function at all, but some work very effectively at improving their local area. Elections for community councils are determined by the local authority but the law does state that candidates cannot stand on a party-political ticket. 1970 United Kingdom general election Harold Wilson Labour Edward Heath Conservative The 1970 United Kingdom general election

2356-538: The districts of Shetland and Orkney were to become "special areas", with the Highlands and Islands region renamed "Highlands". The number of remaining districts was increased by 14 from 35 to 49. Local authorities were asked to make their observations on the proposals by 30 April 1971. On 22 December 1971 the Secretary of State, Gordon Campbell , made a parliamentary statement outlining the government's response to

2418-579: The election and a loss of national prestige after the England football team's defeat by West Germany on 14 June in the World Cup contributed to the Labour defeat. Other factors that were cited as reasons for the Conservative victory included union indiscipline, rising prices, the risk of devaluation, the imposition of Selective Employment Tax (SET), and a set of jobless figures released on final week of

2480-582: The election was George Brown , deputy leader of the Labour Party, who lost to the Conservative candidate in the Belper constituency. Brown had held the seat since 1945. Labour Minister for the Arts , Jennie Lee lost her Cannock seat, held by Labour since 1935 on a swing of 10.7% to the Conservatives in what Richard Rose called "the biggest upset" of the election. Unusually for the Liberal Party ,

2542-646: The late 19th century, and were largely based on units that dated back to the Middle Ages . There was also no clear division of functions between counties, burghs and districts. The Conservative government published a white paper in June 1963 entitled The Modernisation of Local Government in Scotland (Cmnd.2067). They proposed a reduction in the number of units by the amalgamation of existing authorities. The number of counties would be reduced to between 10 and 15, and they would be given responsibility for major services such as police, education and water supply. Below

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2604-546: 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. Councils are made up of councillors who are directly elected by the residents of the area they represent. Each council area

2666-541: The matter to the Standards Commission. Each council elects a provost from among the members of the council to chair meetings and to act as a figurehead for the area. A council may also elect a depute provost, though this is not required. In the four cities of Glasgow , Edinburgh , Aberdeen and Dundee the provost is called a Lord Provost , whilst in other councils the council may choose another title for their provost or conveners. Most councils use

2728-489: The new authorities were confirmed in a circular, along with suggested names. Among changes to regional names were Forth (South East), Strathclyde (West) Dumfries and Galloway (South West). The Local Government (Scotland) Bill was introduced to the Commons on 17 November 1972. During the passage of the Bill through parliament a number of changes were made: The Bill received the royal assent on 25 October 1973, and on 16 May 1975

2790-514: The observations received. The main points that had been raised were: The government accepted the formation of a Western Isles islands area, but rejected the creation of a Fife region. The number of districts on the mainland were to be unchanged, although there were 19 changes to district boundaries, including the transfer of Newport, Tayport and adjacent parishes transferred from Dundee district to North Fife. In addition there were to be six changes to regional boundaries. The number and boundaries of

2852-617: The occasion when the people of the United Kingdom hurled the findings of the opinion polls back into the faces of the pollsters". The result would provide the mandate for Heath as Prime Minister to begin formal negotiations for the United Kingdom to become a member state of the European Communities (EC)—or the "Common Market" as it was more widely known at the time, before it later became the European Union ;

2914-486: The passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 , the functions of parish councils were passed to larger district councils and a distinction was made between large burghs (i.e. those with a population of 20,000 or more) and small burghs . This system was further refined by the passing of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1947 . Effective from 1975, the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 passed by

2976-427: The proposed councils were to be directly elected, with a four-year term of office. It would be permissible to be a member of both a regional and district council, but an employee of the authority would be ineligible for election. There was to be no upper age limit for candidates. Elections were to be held every two years at either the regional or district level. Councillors were to receive payment for their services, as it

3038-404: The results from the 2007 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections. Community councils represent the interests of local people. Local authorities have a statutory duty to consult community councils on planning, development and other issues directly affecting that local community. However, the community council has no direct say in

3100-733: The results from the 2012 local government election, plus gains and losses from subsequent local by-elections, and party defections. Following the introduction of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 local elections are held using the single transferable vote , with this taking place for the first time in 2007. This change in voting system saw all but five councils end up with no one party in control. Labour retained control of Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire , while Orkney , Shetland and Na h-Eileanan Siar continue to be controlled by Independent councillors. The 32 unitary authorities are controlled as follows. The figures incorporate

3162-612: The same as counties, such as Clackmannanshire , some are the same as former districts, such as Inverclyde , and some are the same as the former regions, such as Highland . The changes took effect in 1996 with shadow councillors elected in 1995 to oversee the smooth transition of control. In 2007, council elections moved to the single transferable vote system, with wards represented by either three or four councillors. The transition has resulted in no uncontested seats and has ended single-party controlled councils. In 2016 there were ward boundary changes in 25 local authority areas, following

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3224-1148: The system of nine regions, 53 districts and 3 islands areas came into existence. Local government in Scotland Charles III William , Duke of Rothesay Swinney government The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP The Rt Hon John Swinney MSP Kate Forbes MSP Sixth session Alison Johnstone MSP Angela Constance MSP Dorothy Bain KC The Rt Hon Lord Carloway KC PC United Kingdom Parliament elections European Parliament elections Local elections Referendums Starmer ministry The Rt Hon Keir Starmer MP The Rt Hon Ian Murray MP 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

3286-432: The table below in terms of the existing counties and counties of cities. Central Two members of the commission (Anderson and Johnston) dissented on the number of districts that should be created and on the division of powers, feeling that local planning should be a regional function and that the second tier should be formed at the "locality" level with as many as 101 authorities. They also felt that Shetland, Orkney and

3348-504: The term ' provost ', some use the term 'convener'. The office of provost or convener is roughly equivalent to that of a mayor in other parts of the United Kingdom . Traditionally these roles are ceremonial and have no significant administrative functions. Lord provosts in the four city councils have the additional duty of acting as Lord Lieutenant for their respective city. Since 2007 each council has been required to designate

3410-428: The time of the 1970 elections. The right to vote in this election was widened by the Labour government's Sixth Reform Act , which reduced the voting age from 21 to 18 years. The United Kingdom was the first major democratic nation to extend suffrage to this age group. Case law subsequently established the right for undergraduate students to vote in the constituency of their university. This followed an appeal to

3472-469: Was cast as a two-party politics outcome, with no third party reaching 10% of the (total) vote. Such an outcome would not happen again until the 2017 election . The election was the last in which a nationwide UK party gained seats in Northern Ireland . The UUP sat with the Conservative Party at Westminster , traditionally taking the Conservative parliamentary whip . To all intents and purposes

3534-401: Was felt that local representatives often made considerable financial sacrifices, and there was no allowance for secretarial or administration costs. Both levels of council were to levy taxes to fund their activities, as this would make them more directly accountable to their electorates. The report divided Scotland into seven regions, subdivided into thirty-seven districts. They are described in

3596-546: Was held on Thursday 18 June 1970. It resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath , which defeated the governing Labour Party under Prime Minister Harold Wilson . The Liberal Party , under its new leader Jeremy Thorpe , lost half its seats. The Conservatives, including the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), secured a majority of 30 seats. This general election

3658-559: Was poor for the Liberals, with Thorpe only narrowly winning his own seat in North Devon . Indeed, of the six MPs returned, three (Thorpe, David Steel and John Pardoe ) were elected by a majority of less than 1,000 votes. The BBC's election coverage was led by Cliff Michelmore , along with Robin Day , David Butler and Robert McKenzie . There were periodic cutaways to the BBC regions. This coverage has been rerun on BBC Parliament on several occasions, including on 18 July 2005 as

3720-529: Was reported by Rose that an estimated 25% of 18- to 21-year-olds who were now eligible to vote had not put their names on the electoral register, meaning the turnout was even lower than the percentage figure suggested. Rose also argued that the turnout figures in Britain were "now among the lowest in the Western world." Because the previous election had been in 1966, some people had not had their chance to vote in

3782-533: Was the first in which people could vote from the age of 18, after passage of the Representation of the People Act the previous year, and the first UK election in which party affiliations of candidates were put on the ballots. Most opinion polls prior to the election indicated a comfortable Labour victory, and put Labour up to 12.4% ahead of the Conservatives. On election day, however, a late swing gave

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3844-537: Was the lowest since the 1935 general election and compared with a post-War high of 84% in 1950 . Professor Richard Rose described the low turnout, which he noted was "one of the lowest since the introduction of the democratic franchise", as surprising to politician and pollsters. Changes to electoral law as part of the Representation of the People Act 1969 had made postal voting easier and polling stations were open an hour later than in past elections, and this would have been expected to improve turnout. On top of this it

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