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Aberdeen City Council

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Aberdeen City Council
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms
Logo
Council logo
Type
Type
History
Founded1996
Preceded by
  • City of Aberdeen District Council (1975-1996)
  • Aberdeen Corporation (pre-1153–1975)
Leadership
David Cameron,
SNP
since 18 May 2022[1]
Christian Allard,
SNP
since 23 May 2023[2]
Ian Yuill,
Liberal Democrat
since 18 May 2022
Angela Scott
since July 2014[3]
Structure
Seats45 councillors
Aberdeen City Council composition
Political groups
Administration (23)
  SNP (19)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
Other parties (22)
  Labour (11)
  Conservative (7)
  Independent (4)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Town House, Broad Street, Aberdeen, AB10 1FY
Website
www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

Aberdeen City Council (Scots: Aiberdeen Ceitie Cooncil, Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain) is the local authority for Aberdeen City, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Aberdeen was formerly governed by a corporation from when it was made a burgh in the twelfth century until 1975. Between 1975 and 1996 the city was governed by City of Aberdeen District Council, a lower-tier authority within the Grampian region.

The council has been under no overall control since 2002. Since 2022 it has been led by a Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrat coalition. It meets at Aberdeen Town House and has its main offices at the neighbouring Marischal College.

History

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Aberdeen Corporation

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Aberdeen was made a royal burgh by David I (reigned 1124–1153).[4] The burgh of Aberdeen was governed by a corporation, also known as the town council. Elections for the council were only introduced in 1833. Prior to that the council was not an elected body; when vacancies arose the existing council appointed successors. As Aberdeen grew, the council's powers were inadequate to cater for the needs of the growing urban area. A separate police commission was established in 1795 with powers to levy taxes and provide infrastructure ('police' in this context being its older meaning of civic government rather than law enforcement). The first police commission was short-lived, but it was resurrected in 1818 after the town council went bankrupt in 1817. From 1818 until 1871 there was a dual system of local government, with the town council and police commission having different roles in Aberdeen's administration. The police commission was eventually abolished in 1871 and its functions absorbed by the town council.[5]

Aberdeen Town House, built for the corporation in 1874

Aberdeen was historically part of Aberdeenshire, but the functions affecting the burgh which operated at county level were relatively few, largely being limited to judicial functions and lieutenancy. When elected county councils were created in 1890 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889, Aberdeen Corporation was deemed capable of running county-level local government functions, and so the burgh was excluded from the area administered by Aberdeenshire County Council.[6][7]

In 1891 Aberdeen's boundaries were significantly enlarged, absorbing the neighbouring burghs of Old Aberdeen and Woodside, plus the Torry area on the south bank of the River Dee. The act of parliament which expanded the burgh also confirmed that Aberdeen was entitled to be called a city; it had commonly been described as a city prior to that, but (like most Scottish cities) without official recognition.[8][9]

The historic county boundary between Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire in this area followed the River Dee. Following the absorption of Torry on the south bank of the river in 1891, the city straddled the two counties. Aberdeen was made a county of itself in 1899, removing the city from the two counties for lieutenancy and other purposes as well as local government functions.[10][11] The city boundaries were subsequently enlarged several times, gaining further territory from both Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire, notably in 1935, 1952 and 1970.[12]

City of Aberdeen District Council

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Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced the counties, burghs and landward districts with a two-tier system of regions and districts. One of the districts was called 'City of Aberdeen', which formed part of the Grampian region. City of Aberdeen District Council was therefore a lower-tier district authority, with upper-tier regional functions being provided by Grampian Regional Council.[13]

The City of Aberdeen district covered a larger area than the pre-1975 city, taking in the parishes of Dyce, Newhills, Old Machar, and Peterculter from Aberdeenshire and Nigg from Kincardineshire. All except Dyce had previously ceded territory to the city in pre-1975 boundary changes. The parish of Nigg added in 1975 just covered the residual rural parts of the old parish around Cove Bay; Nigg village itself had been absorbed into the city in 1935. The parish of Old Machar was named after St Machar's Cathedral in Old Aberdeen, which had been absorbed into the city in 1891; the parish of Old Machar that was absorbed in 1975 was just the residual part of the cathedral's old parish which lay north of the River Don, including Bridge of Don.[14][13]

Aberdeen City Council

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Local government was reorganised again in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, which abolished the regions and districts created in 1975 and established 32 single-tier council areas across Scotland. The existing City of Aberdeen District became one of the new council areas.[15] The 1994 Act named the new council area 'City of Aberdeen', but this was changed to 'Aberdeen City' by a council resolution on 9 May 1995, before the new council area came into force, allowing the new council to take the name 'Aberdeen City Council'.[16][17]

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since 2002. Following the 2022 election a Scottish National Party and Liberal Democrats coalition took control of the council.

The first election to the City of Aberdeen 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 change to council areas which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control since 1975 has been as follows:[18]

City of Aberdeen District Council

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

Aberdeen City Council

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2002
No overall control 2002–present

Leadership

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The role of Lord Provost of Aberdeen is largely ceremonial. Political leadership is instead provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:[19]

Councillor Party From To Notes
Margaret Smith Labour 1 Apr 1996 13 May 1999
Len Ironside Labour 13 May 1999 14 May 2003
Kate Dean Liberal Democrats 14 May 2003 1 Aug 2009
John Stewart Liberal Democrats 1 Aug 2009 29 Jun 2011
Callum McCaig SNP 29 Jun 2011 16 May 2012
Barney Crockett Labour 16 May 2012 14 May 2014
Jenny Laing Labour 14 May 2014 17 May 2017
Jenny Laing[a] Aberdeen Labour 17 May 2017 13 May 2021 Co-leaders
Douglas Lumsden Conservative
Jenny Laing Aberdeen Labour 13 May 2021 5 May 2022
Alex Nicoll SNP 18 May 2022 23 May 2023 Co-leaders
Ian Yuill Liberal Democrats
Christian Allard SNP 23 May 2023   Co-leaders
Ian Yuill Liberal Democrats

Composition

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Aberdeen City Council Chamber

Aberdeen City Council currently comprises 45 councillors, who represent the city's wards, and is headed by the Lord Provost.[20] Prior to the 2012 council election there were 43 members of Aberdeen City Council.

Between 2003 and 2007, the council was under the control of a Liberal Democrat and Conservative coalition, holding 23 of the 43 seats on the council. Prior to the 2003 election, the council had been considered a Labour stronghold.[21] Following the May 2007 election, contested for the first time using a system of proportional representation, the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party (SNP) formed a coalition to run the council, holding 27 of the 43 seats (following an SNP by election gain from the Conservatives on 16 August 2007, the coalition held 28 of the 43 seats). Two Liberal Democrat councillors became independents during this period due to personal controversies, while the four strong Conservative group split in August 2010, with two councillors forming the Scottish Conservative Group and two others the Aberdeen Conservative Group.

After the May 2012 election, the control of the council shifted back to the Labour Party, supported in a coalition by three Conservative and three Independent councillors, giving the administration 23 seats.[22]

The Labour/Conservative/Independent coalition continued after the 2017 election, but with a change in the balance of power within the coalition. Labour were reduced to nine councillors (subsequently suspended from membership by the Scottish Labour Party for forming a coalition with the Conservatives), whilst the Conservatives had eleven councillors elected.[23] These Conservative and suspended "Aberdeen Labour" councillors were joined in coalition by three Independent councillors, one of who had left the Liberal Democrats just days after the council election.

In December 2019 a councillor elected as a Conservative became an Independent following his conviction for sexual assault.[24] This led to the ruling coalition becoming a minority administration comprising only 22 of the 45 councillors.

Between 2017 and 2021 the council had Co-Leaders Douglas Lumsden (Conservative) and Jenny Laing (“Aberdeen Labour”) as a result of the coalition agreement. Following Douglas Lumsden's election to the Scottish Parliament in May 2021 Jenny Laing became sole Leader of the council.[23]

After the 2022 election the SNP and Liberal Democrats agreed to form a partnership to lead the Council for the next five years. At the Council's statutory meeting on 18 May 2022, SNP councillor David Cameron was elected Lord Provost and Liberal Democrat Councillor Steve Delaney was elected Depute Provost. SNP Group Leader Alex Nicoll and Liberal Democrat Group Leader Ian Yuill became Co-Leaders of the Council.

Following the 2022 election and a subsequent by-election in February 2023 and changes of allegiance up to October 2023, the composition of the council was:[25][26][27]

Party Councillors
SNP 19
Labour 11
Conservative 7
Liberal Democrats 4
Independent 4
Total 45

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises

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Marischal College: Council's main offices.

Council meetings are held at Aberdeen Town House on Broad Street, which was built in 1874 and substantially extended in 1975, including a new council chamber.[28] The council's main offices are now in the neighbouring Marischal College. The council moved into the renovated former college building in 2011.[29]

Council structure

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Before May 2007, councillors represented 43 single-member wards election on a first-past-the-post basis.

On 3 May 2007, the single transferable vote system was used for the first time and multi-member wards were introduced, each ward electing three or four councillors. The Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland completed its final recommendations for new wards for all the council areas of Scotland.

Aberdeen is divided into 13 multi-member wards, electing a total of 45 councillors. This system was introduced as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, and is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.[30]

Current multi-member ward system

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As of 4 May 2017, the current wards and representative numbers are:[31]

Current Aberdeen wards by number
Ward Number of councillors
1. Dyce/Bucksburn/Danestone 4 members
2. Bridge of Don 4 members
3. Kingswells/Sheddocksley/Summerhill 3 members
4. Northfield/Mastrick North 3 members
5. Hilton/Woodside/Stockethill 3 members
6. Tillydrone/Seaton/Old Aberdeen 3 members
7. Midstocket/Rosemount 3 members
8. George Street/Harbour 4 members
9. Lower Deeside 3 members
10. Hazlehead/Ashley/Queens Cross 4 members
11. Airyhall/Broomhill/Garthdee 3 members
12. Torry/Ferryhill 4 members
13. Kincorth/Nigg/Cove 4 members

Election results

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2022

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2022 Aberdeen City Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 20 1 0 Increase 1 44.4 35.0 23,472 Increase 2.8
  Labour 11 2 0 Increase 2 24.4 17.5 11,731 Decrease 0.2
  Conservative 8 0 3 Decrease 3 17.8 21.6 14,493 Decrease 3.1
  Liberal Democrats 4 1 1 Steady 8.9 14.0 9,404 Decrease 1.2
  Independent 2 1 1 Steady 4.4 5.3 3,569 Decrease 2.0
  Scottish Green 0 0 0 Steady 0 5.1 3,414 Increase 2.9
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.7 464 New
  Scottish Family 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.5 350 New
  Scottish Libertarian 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.1 56 Increase 0.1
Total 45 66,953

2017

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2017 Aberdeen City Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 19 - - +4 42.2% 32.6% 22,690 +1.3%
  Conservative 11 - - +8 24.4% 25.0% 17,427 +15.4%
  Labour 9 - - −8 17.8% 16.9% 11,784 −12.8%
  Liberal Democrats 4 - - −1 8.9% 15.4% 10,753 +0.3%
  Independent 2 - - −1 4.4% 7.5% 5,195 −3.7%
  Scottish Green 0 - - - 0 2.3% 1,538 −0.2%
  UKIP 0 - - - 0 0.3% 202 +0.2%
  National Front 0 - - - 0 39
  Scottish Libertarian 0 - - - 0 31
  Solidarity 0 - - - 0 28
Total 45 69,687

2012

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2012 Aberdeen City Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 17 7 0 7 39.5 29.7% 16,264
  SNP 15 4 1 3 34.9 31.3% 17,131
  Liberal Democrats 5 0 10 −10 11.6 15.1% 8,293
  Conservative 3 0 2 −2 7.0 9.7% 5,285
  Independent 3

Note: The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2007. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

2007

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2007 Aberdeen City Council election result[32]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Liberal Democrats 15 N/A N/A −5 34.9 26.9 20,845
  SNP 12 N/A N/A +6 27.9 29.5 22,791
  Labour 10 N/A N/A −3 23.3 24.6 19,003
  Conservative 5 N/A N/A +2 11.6 14.1 10,889
  Independent 1 N/A N/A 0 2.3 2.7 2,090
  Scottish Green 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 1.6 1,204
  Solidarity 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 0.3 248
  Scottish Socialist 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 0.3 218
  BNP 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 0.1 81

References

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  1. ^ On forming a coalition with the Conservatives in May 2017, all nine members of Aberdeen's Labour group were suspended from the national Labour Party. As such they became nominally independent councillors, but chose to continue to form a political group, called "Aberdeen Labour".
  1. ^ Topp, Kirstie (18 May 2022). "'I love this city': Local 'champion' David Cameron named new Lord Provost of Aberdeen". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 19 March 2023.
  2. ^ Britton, Ruaraidh (23 May 2023). "New Aberdeen City Council co-leader appointed as SNP's Christian Allard voted in". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  3. ^ "Angela Scott named new Aberdeen City Council chief executive". BBC News. 8 May 2014. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  4. ^ "Aberdeen Burgh". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  5. ^ Lee, Clive Howard (2000). Aberdeen, 1800–2000. Tuckwell Press. pp. 236–252. ISBN 9781862321083. Retrieved 14 August 2024.
  6. ^ Guide to local government in parishes, counties and burghs. Edinburgh: Royal College of Physicians. 1892. pp. xxiii–xxx. Retrieved 31 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Preparing for the elections in Scotland". The County Council Magazine. London: F. Warne and Company. 1890. p. 284. Retrieved 31 December 2021.
  8. ^ "Aberdeen Corporation Act 1891" (PDF). legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
  9. ^ Beckett, J. V. (2005). City Status in the British Isles, 1830–2002. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing. p. 16. ISBN 0-7546-5067-7.
  10. ^ "Aberdeen Corporation Act 1899 (c. 60)". legislation.gov.uk. The National Archives. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
  11. ^ "No. 11136". The Edinburgh Gazette. 13 October 1899. p. 958.
  12. ^ "Aberdeen Scottish County of City". A Vision of Britain through Time. GB Historical GIS / University of Portsmouth. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Quarter-inch Administrative Areas Maps: Scotland Sheet 5, 1969". National Library of Scotland. Ordnance Survey. Retrieved 15 August 2024.
  14. ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 6 August 2024
  15. ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 29 January 2023
  16. ^ "Scottish Statutory Instrument 2011 No. 443" (PDF).
  17. ^ "No. 23789". The Edinburgh Gazette. 26 May 1995. p. 1332.
  18. ^ "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  19. ^ "Council minutes". Aberdeen City Council. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  20. ^ "Aberdeen Provost says Labour coalition row will be resolved". BBC News. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  21. ^ David, Scott (30 December 2002). "Labour is set to lose council strongholds in elections". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 9 January 2006.
  22. ^ "Labour-Conservative administration to run Aberdeen City Council". BBC News. 9 May 2012.
  23. ^ a b "Labour councillors in Aberdeen suspended over Tory coalition". BBC News. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  24. ^ Gall, Charlie (14 December 2019). "Aberdeen Tory councillor's sex shame after male waiter left 'trembling'". Daily Record.
  25. ^ Hebditch, Jon (24 February 2023). "Labour win Aberdeen by-election as SNP vote share drops in traditional heartland". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  26. ^ Saunderson, Jamie (21 June 2023). "Ex-Aberdeen Lord Provost Barney Crockett quits Labour party over 'brutal' oil and gas plans". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  27. ^ Pollock, Laura (12 October 2023). "Kairin van Sweeden resigns membership amid 'New Scot' comment row". The National. Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  28. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Aberdeen Town House including Municipal Offices, Council Chambers, Court Houses and Tolbooth, Castle Street and 2 Broad Street, Aberdeen (Category A Listed Building) (LB19990)". Retrieved 16 April 2020.
  29. ^ "Aberdeen City Council's Marischal HQ opens to public". BBC News. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  30. ^ "Scottish elections 2007". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  31. ^ "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  32. ^ "Local Election Results 3rd May 2007" (PDF). Local Election Archive Project. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
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