Midlothian Council
Logo
Type
Type
Leadership
Debbi McCall,
SNP
since 24 May 2022[1]
Kelly Parry,
SNP
since 24 May 2022[1]
Chief executive
Grace Vickers
since 26 June 2018[2]
Structure
Seats18[3]
Midlothian Council composition
Political groups
Administration
  SNP (8)
Other parties
  Labour (7)
  Conservative (3)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Midlothian House, Dalkeith.jpg
Midlothian House, 40–46 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith, EH22 1DN
Website
www.midlothian.gov.uk

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.

History

Midlothian District Council was created in 1975 as one of four districts within the Lothian region. The Midlothian district took its name from the historic county of Midlothian, which had covered a larger area.[4] The Lothian region was abolished in 1996, when the four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitary council areas.[5]

Political control

The first election to the Midlothian 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:[6]

Midlothian District Council

Party in control Years
Labour 1975–1977
No overall control 1977–1980
Labour 1980–1996

Midlothian Council

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2007
No overall control 2007–2008
Labour 2008–2012
No overall control 2012–present

Leadership

Midlothian Council operates a cabinet-based decision making model working collaboratively with the Council and Performance Review Committee. Each cabinet member has a portfolio of responsibilities. The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:[7]

Councillor Party From To
Adam Montgomery[8] Labour 2003 2007
Derek Milligan Labour 2007 22 May 2012
Lisa Beattie[9] SNP 22 May 2012 25 Jun 2012
Bob Constable SNP 3 Jul 2012 18 Nov 2013
Owen Thompson SNP 19 Nov 2013 22 Jun 2015
Cath Johnstone SNP 23 Jun 2015 23 May 2017
Derek Milligan Labour 23 May 2017 24 May 2022
Kelly Parry SNP 24 May 2022

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:[6]

Year Seats SNP Labour Conservative Green Liberal Democrats Independent / Other Notes
1995 15 2 13 0 0 0 0 Labour majority
1999 18 0 17 0 0 1 0 New ward boundaries.[10] Labour majority
2003 18 0 15 0 0 2 1 Labour majority
2007 18 6 9 0 0 3 0 New ward boundaries.[11]
2012 18 6 10 0 1 0 1 Labour / Labour majority
2017 18 6 7 5 0 0 0 New ward boundaries.[12] Labour minority
2022 18 8 7 3 0 0 0 SNP minority

Premises

The council is based at Midlothian House at 40–46 Buccleuch Street in Dalkeith. The building was purpose-built for the district council in 1991 at a cost of £6 million.[13]

Wards

Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)
Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)

The council is composed of 6 wards, each electing 3 councillors.[14]

Ward
number 		Ward name Seats
1 Penicuik 3
2 Bonnyrigg 3
3 Dalkeith 3
4 Midlothian West 3
5 Midlothian East 3
6 Midlothian South 3

References

  1. ^ a b Bowen, Phil (24 May 2022). "Midlothian's new Provost and Council Leader elected". Midlothian View.
  2. ^ "New chief executive revealed at Midlothian Council". Scottish Housing News. 26 June 2018.
  3. ^ "Midlothian Council > Councillors". midlothian.cmis.uk.com.
  4. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 24 December 2022
  5. ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 16 December 2022
  6. ^ a b "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Council minutes". Midlothian Council. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  8. ^ "Tributes to Midlothian Council Provost who died this morning". Edinburgh Evening News. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  9. ^ Swanson, Ian (27 June 2012). "Midlothian Council leader Beattie quits after just five weeks". The Scotsman. Retrieved 25 December 2022.
  10. ^ "The Midlothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3072, retrieved 25 December 2022
  11. ^ Scottish Parliament. The Midothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  12. ^ Scottish Parliament. The Midothian (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  13. ^ "Remember when". Edinburgh Evening News. 7 September 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2022.
  14. ^ "General election 2019 Midlothian County Constituency: Midlothian Wards" (PDF). Midlothian Council. Retrieved 25 December 2022.


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