North Lanarkshire Council

North Lanarkshire Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland, covering the North Lanarkshire council area. The council is the second largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 77 members.

North Lanarkshire Council
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms
Logo
Council logo
Leadership
Kenneth Duffy,
Labour
since 25 August 2022[1]
Jim Logue,
Labour
since 11 August 2022[2]
Des Murray
since 2018[3]
Structure
Seats77
Results of the 2022 election:
36 / 77
32 / 77
5 / 77
2 / 77
1 / 77
1 / 77
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB
Website
www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since 2017. Since August 2022 the council has been led by a Labour minority administration.[4]

The first election to North Lanarkshire 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
Labour1996–2017
No overall control2017–present

Leadership

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

CouncillorPartyFromTo
Harry McGuiganLabour1 Apr 199617 Sep 1998
Jim McCabe[7]Labour17 Sep 199829 Feb 2016
Jim LogueLabour8 Mar 2016May 2022
Jordan Linden[8]SNP19 May 202227 Jul 2022
Jim LogueLabour11 Aug 2022

Composition

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Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to July 2023, the composition of the council was:

PartyCouncillors
Labour33
SNP25
Independent12
Conservative5
Scottish Green1
British Unionist1
Total77

Of the independent councillors, eight sit together as the "Progressive Change North Lanarkshire" group, all of whom had been elected as SNP councillors.[9] The other four independent councillors do not belong to any group.[10] The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

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The council is based at Motherwell Civic Centre on Windmillhill Street in Motherwell. The building was built between 1965 and 1970 for the former Motherwell and Wishaw Town Council, and was subsequently used as the headquarters of Motherwell District Council between 1975 and 1996.[11]

Elections

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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]

YearSeatsSNPLabourConservativeBUPGreenLiberal DemocratsIndependent / OtherNotes
19956975900003Labour majority
199970125600002New ward boundaries.[12] Labour majority
200370135400003Labour majority
200770234010015New ward boundaries.[13]
201270264100003Labour majority
2017773332100002New ward boundaries.[14] Labour minority
202277363251102SNP minority until August 2022, then Labour minority.

Wards

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Map of North Lanarkshire's 21 wards, using 2017 boundaries

The council is made up of 21 wards,[15][16] as follows:

Ward
Number
Ward NameLocationPopulation
(2017)
1Kilsyth 11,832
2Cumbernauld North 19,670
3Cumbernauld South 16,206
4Cumbernauld East 16,608
5Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead 11,623
6Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn 13,438
7Coatbridge North 15,320
8Airdrie North 20,062
9Airdrie Central 16,570
10Coatbridge West 14,213
11Coatbridge South 17,286
12Airdrie South 19,803
13Fortissat 15,706
14Thorniewood 13,916
15Bellshill 15,252
16Mossend and Holytown 12,799
17Motherwell West 14,129
18Motherwell North 18,667
19Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig 20,146
20Murdostoun 18,489
21Wishaw 18,225
Total339,960

References

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  1. ^ "Council minutes, 25 August 2022" (PDF). North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ "Council minutes, 11 August 2022" (PDF). North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ Tonner, Judith (19 June 2018). "North Lanarkshire Council appoint new chief executive". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ Elliards, Xander (11 August 2022). "Labour take control of North Lanarkshire Council from SNP thanks to BUP vote". The National. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  5. ^ a b "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Council minutes". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  7. ^ Braiden, Gerry (19 January 2016). "Veteran Labour council leader Jim McCabe announces surprise move to quit". The Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  8. ^ Gordon, Tom (27 July 2022). "SNP council leader Jordan Linden quits in 'sexual misconduct' row". The Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. ^ Pollock, Laura (24 May 2023). "North Lanarkshire: Progressive Change party reveals plans after leaving SNP". The National. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Member and committee information". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  11. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Motherwell Civic Centre complex (Category B Listed Building) (LB52545)". Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  12. ^ "The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3251, retrieved 24 January 2023
  13. ^ Scottish Parliament. The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  14. ^ Scottish Parliament. The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  15. ^ "2017 Wards: Boundaries, population and household numbers". North Lanarkshire Council. 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  16. ^ "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
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