West Lothian Council () is the local government authority for West Lothian council area.

History

West Lothian District Council Local government across Scotland was reorganised in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, which replaced the counties and burghs with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. West Lothian became a district within the Lothian region. Under that system, the authority was named West Lothian District Council. West Lothian district took its name from the historic county of West Lothian, which had covered a similar but not identical area.

West Lothian Council 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, one being West Lothian.

In 2025, parts of the council were affected by a significant cyber attack.

Political control The council has been under no overall control since 2007, with a Labour leader since 2012.

The first election to West Lothian 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: (Put "West Lothian" in search box to see specific results.)

West Lothian District Council Party in controlYears 1975–1977 1977–1980 1980–1992 1992–1996

West Lothian Council Party in controlYears 1996–2007 2007–

Leadership The role of provost is largely ceremonial in West Lothian. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

Councillor Party From To Graeme Morrice 1 April 1996 May 2007 Peter Johnston 10 May 2007 May 2012 John McGinty 10 May 2012 May 2017 Lawrence Fitzpatrick 25 May 2017

Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to July 2026, the composition of the council was:

The next full council election is due in 2027.

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:

YearSeatsSNPLabourConservativeLiberal DemocratsIndependent / OtherNotes 1995 27 11 15 1 0 0 Labour majority 1999 32 11 20 1 0 0 New ward boundaries. Labour majority 2003 32 12 18 1 0 1 Labour majority 2007 32 13 14 1 0 4 New ward boundaries. SNP-Conservative-Action to Save St. John's HospitalLocal Single Issue Political Party to save St. John's Hospital in Livingston 2012 33 15 16 1 0 1 Increase in number of councillors. Labour minority. 2017 33 13 12 7 0 1 Labour minority with Conservative support. 2022 33 15 12 4 1 1 Labour minority with Conservative-Independent-Liberal Democrat support.

Premises

The council is based at the West Lothian Civic Centre in Livingston. The building was built in 2009 at a cost of £50 million to serve as a police headquarters and courthouse as well as offices for the council. Prior to 2009 the council's offices had been divided between various buildings, including: County Buildings in Linlithgow, which had been built in 1935 as the headquarters for the old West Lothian County Council. Lindsay House on South Bridge Street, Bathgate, built in 1966 as the Burgh Chambers for the old Bathgate Town Council. West Lothian House on Almondvale Boulevard in Livingston, which had been built in 1981 as Sidlaw House and had been the headquarters of the Livingston Development Corporation. Lindsay House and West Lothian House were both demolished shortly after the new Civic Centre opened in 2009.

Services Like all Scottish Councils, West Lothian Council provides services such as Education, Social Work, Housing, Highways, Street lighting and Cleansing.

The council is responsible for the co-ordination of the planning and provision of public services in West Lothian. It works closely with other public bodies such as police, fire and health, through its community planning partnership.

West Lothian Council operates country parks at Beecraigs, Polkemmet, and Almondell & Calderwood.

Wards

During elections West Lothian Council is divided geographically into 9 wards which then elect either three or four councillors each by the Single Transferable Vote system. The electoral system of local councils in Scotland is governed by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, an Act of the Scottish Parliament which first introduced proportional representation to councils. These electoral wards are as follows: +West Lothian Council WardsWard NumberWard NameLocationElected Members1Linlithgow32Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh43Livingston North44Livingston South45East Livingston and East Calder46Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley37Whitburn and Blackburn48Bathgate49Armadale and Blackridge3

References

External links West Lothian Council web site