Midlothian Council () is the local authority for Midlothian, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, covering an area immediately south of the city of Edinburgh. The council is based in Dalkeith. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, eighteen councillors have been elected from six wards.
History Midlothian District Council was created in 1975 as one of four districts within the Lothian region. The Midlothian district took its name from the historic county of Midlothian, which had covered a larger area. The Lothian region was abolished in 1996, when the four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitary council areas.
Political control The council has been under no overall control since 2012. Since the 2022 election it has been run by a Scottish National Party minority administration.
The first election to the Midlothian 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 "Midlothian" in search box to see specific results.)
Midlothian District Council Party in controlYears 1975–1977 1977–1980 1980–1996
Midlothian Council Party in controlYears 1996–2007 2007–2008 2008–2012 2012–present
Leadership Midlothian Council operates a cabinet-based decision making model working collaboratively with the Council and Performance Review Committee. Each cabinet member has a portfolio of responsibilities. The leaders of the council since 2003 have been:
Councillor Party From To Adam Montgomery 2003 2007 Derek Milligan 2007 May 2012 Lisa Beattie 22 May 2012 25 Jun 2012 Bob Constable 3 Jul 2012 18 Nov 2013 Owen Thompson 19 Nov 2013 22 Jun 2015 Cath Johnstone 23 Jun 2015 May 2017 Derek Milligan 23 May 2017 May 2022 Kelly Parry 24 May 2022
Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes up to August 2025, the composition of the council was:
Party Councillors 8 6 3 1Total18 The next 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:
YearSeatsSNPLabourConservativeGreenLiberal DemocratsIndependent / OtherNotes 1995 15 2 13 0 0 0 0 Labour majority 1999 18 0 17 0 0 1 0 New ward boundaries. Labour majority 2003 18 0 15 0 0 2 1 Labour majority 2007 18 6 9 0 0 3 0 New ward boundaries. 2012 18 8 8 0 1 0 1 SNP coalition 2017 18 6 7 5 0 0 0 New ward boundaries. Labour minority 2022 18 8 7 3 0 0 0 SNP minority
Premises The council is based at Midlothian House at 40–46 Buccleuch Street in Dalkeith. The building was purpose-built for the district council in 1991 at a cost of £6 million.
Wards
The council is composed of 6 wards, each electing 3 councillors.
Wardnumber Ward name Seats1Penicuik32Bonnyrigg33Dalkeith34Midlothian West35Midlothian East36Midlothian South3
References