Fife Council
Fife Council | |
|---|---|
| Full council election every 5 years. | |
 Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Ken Gourlay since July 2023[1] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 75 |
 | |
Political groups | Administration (19):
Other parties (56):
|
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes, KY7 5LT | |
| Website | |
| www | |
Fife Council is the local authority for the Fife area of Scotland and is the third largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 75 elected council members.[2]
Councillors make decisions at its regular council meetings, or at those of its nine other general committees (covering for example tourism and transportation, education, environment, housing, licensing etc.), two planning committees, and seven area committees.[3]
The council has been under no overall control since 2003. Following the 2022 election the Scottish National Party were the largest group on the council, but a minority Labour administration was formed with informal support from the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.
A Provost of Fife is elected from among the councillors every five years, who chairs the full council meetings and acts as ceremonial head of the council.[4] The current Provost is former football manager Jim Leishman MBE, who was first elected to the post in May 2012 and subsequently re-elected in 2017 and 2022.[5] Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council, with the current leader being Labour councillor David Ross, who has been leader since 2014, being co-leader with David Alexander of the SNP between 2017 and 2022 when he became sole leader again.
History
[edit]Fife was one of Scotland's historic counties, with a Fife County Council existing from 1890 to 1975. In 1975 Fife became a region with three lower-tier district councils: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, and North-East Fife.[6] Fife Regional Council and the three district councils were merged in 1996 to form a single council area, governed by Fife Council.[7]
Political control
[edit]The first election to Fife Regional 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:[8]
Fife Regional Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1975–1996 | |
Fife Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–present | |
Leadership
[edit]The leaders of the council since 1996 have been:[9][10]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Rowley | Labour | 1 April 1996 | 1998 | ||
| Christine May | Labour | 1998 | 2003 | ||
| Anne McGovern | Labour | 2003 | 2007 | ||
| Peter Grant | SNP | May 2007 | May 2012 | ||
| Alex Rowley | Labour | May 2012 | 20 Feb 2014 | ||
| David Ross[11] | Labour | 20 Feb 2014 | May 2017 | ||
| David Alexander | SNP | May 2017 | May 2022 | Co-leaders[12] | |
| David Ross | Labour | ||||
| David Ross | Labour | 19 May 2022 | |||
Premises
[edit]Fife Council is based at Fife House on North Street, Glenrothes. The building was built in 1969 for the Glenrothes Development Corporation, and became headquarters of Fife Regional Council on its creation in 1975. Prior to 1975 the old Fife County Council had been based at County Buildings, Cupar. Fife House passed to the new Fife Council on local government reorganisation in 1996.[13]
Elections
[edit]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:[8]
| Year | Seats | SNP | Labour | Liberal Democrats | Conservative | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 92 | 9 | 54 | 25 | 0 | 4 | |
| 1999 | 78 | 9 | 43 | 21 | 1 | 4 | New ward boundaries.[14] |
| 2003 | 78 | 11 | 36 | 23 | 2 | 6 | |
| 2007 | 78 | 23 | 24 | 21 | 5 | 5 | New ward boundaries.[15] |
| 2012 | 78 | 26 | 35 | 10 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2017 | 75 | 29 | 24 | 7 | 15 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[16][17] |
| 2022 | 75 | 34 | 20 | 13 | 8 | 0 | |
Wards
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References
[edit]- ^ Joint leader with David Alexander of SNP between 2017 and 2022
- ^ "Fife Council appoints new CEO". Fife Council. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
- ^ "Fife News : Fife Welcomes Cllr Lizz Mogg as Fife Deputy Provost". City Local. 20 December 2007. Retrieved 7 January 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Committees". Fife Council. Retrieved 5 May 2022.
- ^ "The Provost and his role". Fife Council. Retrieved 6 January 2018.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Jim Leishman elected as Fife's provost". BBC News. 17 May 2012. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
- ^ "Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1973 c. 65, retrieved 17 April 2023
- ^ "Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, 1994 c. 39, retrieved 21 April 2023
- ^ a b "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Council minutes". Fife Council. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Council Leader". Fife Council. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "David Ross lined up as new council leader". Central Fife Times. 31 January 2014. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ "Fife Council agree to SNP and Labour joint partnership". Dunfermline Press. 18 May 2017. Retrieved 21 April 2023.
- ^ Ferguson, Keith (1982). A New Town's Heritage: An Introduction to the Story of Glenrothes (1st ed.). Glenrothes: Glenrothes Development Corporation. p. 91.
- ^ "The Fife (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3243, retrieved 21 April 2023
- ^ Scottish Parliament. The Fife (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ Scottish Parliament. The Fife (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
- ^ "Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland's 5th Electoral Review" (PDF). Scottish Government. Retrieved 6 January 2018.
