East Lothian Council
East Lothian Council | |
|---|---|
| Full council election every 5 years. | |
 Coat of arms | |
 East Lothian Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Preceded by | East Lothian District Council |
| Leadership | |
Monica Patterson since 2020 | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 22 |
 | |
Political groups |
|
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Council Chamber, Haddington Town House | |
| Website | |
| www | |
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.
History
East Lothian District Council had been created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as one of four districts within the Lothian region (along with Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian, each having some differences from the territory of their corresponding historic counties). All four districts of Lothian became single tier local authorities in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, when the council adopted its current name as East Lothian Council.[1]
Political control
The first election to the East 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:[2]
East Lothian District Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1975–1996 | |
East Lothian Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007– | |
Leadership
The leaders of the council since 2007 have been:[3]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul McLennan | SNP | 2007 | May 2012 | |
| Willie Innes[4] | Labour | 15 May 2012 | 24 Oct 2021 | |
| Norman Hampshire | Labour | 16 Nov 2021 | ||
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:[2]
| Year | Seats | Labour | SNP | Conservative | Green | Liberal Democrats | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Labour majority |
| 1999 | 23 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[5] Labour majority |
| 2003 | 23 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Labour majority |
| 2007 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[6] SNP / Lib Dem coalition |
| 2012 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Labour / Conservative coalition |
| 2017 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | New ward boundaries.[7] Labour minority |
| 2022 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | Labour minority |
Premises
The council is based at John Muir House, Haddington, which forms a modern extension to the County Buildings, Haddington, which had been the headquarters of the pre-1975 East Lothian County Council. Council meetings are held at Haddington Town House.[8][9]
Wards
| Ward number |
Ward name | Location | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musselburgh | 
|
4 |
| 2 | Preston, Seton and Gosford | 
|
4 |
| 3 | Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry | 
|
4 |
| 4 | North Berwick Coastal | 
|
3 |
| 5 | Haddington and Lammermuir | 
|
4 |
| 6 | Dunbar and East Linton | 
|
3 |
| Total | 22 |
Notes
- ^ Appeared on Ballot as Labour and currently sits as a Labour councilor
References
- ^ See also Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine (OPSI home page Archived 18 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine)
- ^ a b "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Council minutes". East Lothian Council. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "Death of Council Leader Councillor Willie Innes". East Lothian Council. 25 October 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ "The East Lothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/2804, retrieved 22 December 2022
- ^ Scottish Parliament. The East Lothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ Scottish Parliament. The East Lothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ "£600,000 of work set to be carried out on Haddington Town House". East Lothian Courier. 15 June 2021. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
- ^ "Council Meeting Agenda". East Lothian Council. 29 October 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2021.
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