Aberdeen City Council

Aberdeen City Council (Scots: Aiberdeen Ceitie Cooncil, Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain) is the local government authority for the city of Aberdeen, Scotland. It was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, though a sense of Aberdeen as a city, with its own city council, can be traced back to 1900, when the county of the city of Aberdeen was created.

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)
  • The County of the City of Aberdeen (1900–1975)
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
Aberdeen City Council composition
Political groups
Administration (24)
  SNP (20)
  Liberal Democrats (4)
Other parties (21)
  Labour (11)
  Conservative (7)
  Independent (3)
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

From 1900 to 1975 the area and its administrative body were called 'The County of the City of Aberdeen' but unofficially either as 'Aberdeen Corporation', 'The Corporation of Aberdeen', 'Corporation of the City of Aberdeen' or (more rarely) 'Aberdeen City Council'.

Letterhead of the Corporation of Aberdeen (1934) showing the city arms
Letterhead of the Corporation of Aberdeen (1934)

In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, counties of cities were abolished. The area of the former county of a city was combined with Bucksburn, Dyce, Newhills, Old Machar, Peterculter and the Stoneywood areas of the county of Aberdeen, and the Nigg area of the county of Kincardine, (including Cove Bay) to form the Aberdeen district of the Grampian region. The title of the administrative body was then "City of Aberdeen District Council."

This district became the now existing unitary council area in 1996. On 9 May 1995, by resolution under section 23 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the City of Aberdeen Council changed the name of the local government area of "City of Aberdeen" to "Aberdeen City"[4] and the administrative body's title to "Aberdeen City Council."

Political control

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:[5]

City of Aberdeen District Council

Party in controlYears
Labour1975–1977
No overall control1977–1980
Labour1980–1996

Aberdeen City Council

Party in controlYears
Labour1996–2002
No overall control2002–present

Leadership

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:[6]

CouncillorPartyFromToNotes
Margaret Smith Labour1 Apr 199613 May 1999
Len Ironside Labour13 May 199914 May 2003
Kate Dean Liberal Democrats14 May 20031 Aug 2009
John Stewart Liberal Democrats1 Aug 200929 Jun 2011
Callum McCaig SNP29 Jun 201116 May 2012
Barney Crockett Labour16 May 201214 May 2014
Jenny Laing Labour14 May 201417 May 2017
Jenny Laing[lower-alpha 1] Aberdeen Labour17 May 201713 May 2021Co-leaders
Douglas Lumsden Conservative
Jenny Laing Aberdeen Labour13 May 20215 May 2022
Alex Nicoll SNP18 May 202223 May 2023Co-leaders
Ian Yuill Liberal Democrats
Christian Allard SNP23 May 2023 Co-leaders
Ian Yuill Liberal Democrats

Composition
Aberdeen City Council Chamber

Aberdeen City Council currently comprises 45 councillors, who represent the city's wards, and is headed by the Lord Provost.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10] 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.[11] 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.[10]

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 change of allegiance in June 2023, the composition of the council was:[12][13]

Party Councillors
SNP20
Labour11
Conservative7
Liberal Democrats4
Independent3
Total 45

The next election is due in 2027.

Premises
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.[14] The council's main offices are now in the neighbouring Marischal College. The council moved into the renovated former college building in 2011.[15]

Council structure

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.[16]

Current multi-member ward system

As of 4 May 2017, the current wards and representative numbers are:[17]

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

2022
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
  Libertarian 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.1 56 Increase 0.1
Total 45 66,953

2017
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
  Libertarian 0 - - - 0 31
  Solidarity 0 - - - 0 28
Total 45 69,687

2012
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
2007 Aberdeen City Council election result[18]
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
  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. "Scottish Statutory Instrument 2011 No. 443" (PDF).
  5. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  6. "Council minutes". Aberdeen City Council. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  7. "Aberdeen Provost says Labour coalition row will be resolved". BBC News. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  8. David, Scott (30 December 2002). "Labour is set to lose council strongholds in elections". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 9 January 2006.
  9. "Labour-Conservative administration to run Aberdeen City Council". BBC News. 9 May 2012.
  10. "Labour councillors in Aberdeen suspended over Tory coalition". BBC News. 17 May 2017. Retrieved 21 May 2017.
  11. Gall, Charlie (14 December 2019). "Aberdeen Tory councillor's sex shame after male waiter left 'trembling'". Daily Record.
  12. Hebditch, Jon (24 February 2023). "Labour win Aberdeen by-election as SNP vote share drops in traditional heartland". Aberdeen Live. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  13. 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.
  14. 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.
  15. "Aberdeen City Council's Marischal HQ opens to public". BBC News. 21 June 2011. Retrieved 15 July 2023.
  16. "Scottish elections 2007". The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 27 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-08.
  17. "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  18. "Local Election Results 3rd May 2007" (PDF). Local Election Archive Project. Retrieved 5 April 2011.
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