Glasgow City Council


Glasgow City Council is the local government authority for the City of Glasgow, Scotland. It was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. Act 1994, largely with the boundaries of the post-1975 City of Glasgow district of the Strathclyde region.

History

The early city, a sub-regional capital of the old Lanarkshire county, was run by the old "Glasgow Town Council" based at the Tollbooth, Glasgow Cross. In 1895, the Town Council became "The Corporation of the City of Glasgow", around the same time as its headquarters moved to the newly built Glasgow City Chambers in George Square.
It retained this title until local government re-organisation in 1975, when it became the "City of Glasgow District Council", a second-tier body under Strathclyde Regional Council which was also headquartered in Glasgow. Created under the Local Government Act 1973, it included the former county of the city of Glasgow and a number of areas previously within the county of Lanark: Cambuslang, Rutherglen, part of a Carmunnock area and Baillieston, Carmyle, Garrowhill, Mount Vernon and Springboig.
The city council established in 1996 was one of the newly created single-tier local authorities, taking on the powers and responsibilities previously divided between the City of Glasgow District and Strathclyde Region bodies, which were abolished, and with boundaries somewhat different from those of the former: the Cambuslang, Halfway, Rutherglen and Fernhill areas were transferred from the city area to the new South Lanarkshire council area.

Council structure

The council is ceremonially headed by the Lord Provost of Glasgow, who is elected to convene the council and perform associated tasks as a general civic leader and Lord Lieutenant; the role has history dating from the 15th century. The current Lord Provost, elected in January 2020, is Philip Braat with previous incumbent Eva Bolander having resigned following criticism of her personal 'civic allowance' spending.
The council's executive branch is headed by a Leader of the Council, who is the leader of the largest political grouping, currently the Scottish National Party. The executive committee is usually formed of 19 members across all the elected parties proportionally, however this would have given the SNP a majority of 10 seats despite not gaining one through the election. The Greens proposed an amendment to add an additional seat for each party, making the SNP the biggest minority party. It was passed and so its composition of 23 seats is currently:

History of leaders and administrations

The council consists of 85 councillors elected for a five-year term from 23 wards. These wards were introduced for the 2017 election, replacing those introduced in 2007, and each returns three or four members by the single transferable vote system of election. This system was introduced by the Local Governance Act 2004, as a means of ensuring a reasonably proportionately representative outcome.
The most recent full council election took place on Thursday 4 May 2017. The Scottish National Party became the largest party but did not gain an overall majority; Labour returned fewer councillors and lost overall control, with increased numbers for the Conservatives and the Greens.

Previous elections

Since creation of Glasgow City Council
For previous ward compositions, see Wards of Glasgow#Previous ward systems
A new multi-member ward system was introduced for the 2017 council election:
WardNumber of councillorsPopulation
1. Linn4 members29,575
2. Newlands/Auldburn3 members23,144
3. Greater Pollok4 members30,729
4. Cardonald4 members29,639
5. Govan4 members26,769
6. Pollokshields4 members27,983
7. Langside4 members29,060
8. Southside Central4 members25,266
9. Calton4 members27,460
10. Anderston/City/Yorkhill4 members30,184
11. Hillhead3 members25,411
12. Victoria Park3 members20,950
13. Garscadden/Scotstounhill4 members30,565
14. Drumchapel/Anniesland4 members29,432
15. Maryhill3 members22,244
16. Canal4 members25,000
17. Springburn/Robroyston4 members27,237
18. East Centre4 members27,991
19. Shettleston4 members25,806
20. Baillieston3 members21,663
21. North East3 members20,457
22. Dennistoun3 members20,861
23. Partick East/Kelvindale4 members28,914

Ward notes

Footnotes