South Lanarkshire Council () is the unitary authority serving the South Lanarkshire council area in Scotland. The council has its headquarters in Hamilton, has 16,000 employees, and an annual budget of almost £1bn. The large and varied geographical territory takes in rural and upland areas, market towns such as Lanark, Strathaven and Carluke, the urban burghs of Rutherglen, Cambuslang, and East Kilbride which was Scotland's first new town. The area was formed in 1996 from the areas of Clydesdale,Historical Timeline: 1975, The Lanark Website Hamilton and East Kilbride districts, and some outer areas of Glasgow district (Rutherglen/Fernhill, Cambuslang/Halfway and part of King's Park/Toryglen); all were previously within the Strathclyde region from 1975 but in historic Lanarkshire prior to that.People power kept the heart of a burgh beating, Daily Record, 19 April 2021
Political control The council has been under no overall control since 2017. Following the 2022 election a Labour-led partnership with the Liberal Democrats and some of the independent councillors formed to run the council.
The first election to South Lanarkshire Council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control of the council since 1996 has been as follows: (Put "South Lanarkshire" in search box to see specific results.)
Party in controlYears 1996–2007 2007–2013 2013–2017 2017–
Leadership The role of provost is largely ceremonial in South Lanarkshire. They chair full council meetings and have an ambassadorial role as the council's civic figurehead. The provost is chosen from among the councillors and is expected to be politically impartial, although they are given an additional casting vote in the event of a tie. The provosts since 1996 have been:
Sam Casserly (1995–1999) - previous provost of Hamilton district Alan Dick (1999–2003)20 Years Ago, East Kilbride News, 22 May 2019, via PressReader Mushtaq Ahmad (2003–2007) Russell Clearie (2007–2012) Eileen Logan (2012–2017) - previous provost of Clydesdale district Ian McAllan (2017–2022) Margaret Cooper (2022–present)
Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council, who chairs the council's executive committee. The first leader, Tom McCabe, was previously the leader of Hamilton District Council, one of the new council's predecessors. When McCabe was elected as an MSP in 1999, the role went to his deputy Eddie McAvoy - brother of one of the region's MPs Tommy McAvoy - who held the post for the next 18 years until his retirement at the 2017 election. The leaders of South Lanarkshire Council since 1996 have been:
Councillor Party From To Tom McCabe 1 Apr 1996 May 1999 Eddie McAvoy May 1999 May 2017 John Ross 18 May 2017 May 2022 Joe Fagan 18 May 2022
Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to March 2025, the composition of the council was as follows:
Party Councillors 25 25 5 3 2 1 3Total64 Two of the independent councillors sit together as the "Independent Group", and the other does not belong to a group. 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:
YearSeatsSNPLabourConservativeLiberal DemocratsGreenIndependent / OtherNotes 1995 73 8 61 2 2 0 0 Labour majority 1999 67 10 54 2 1 0 0 New ward boundaries. Labour majority 2003 67 10 50 2 2 0 3 Labour majority 2007 67 24 30 8 2 0 3 New ward boundaries. 2012 67 28 33 3 1 0 2 2017 64 27 22 14 1 0 0 New ward boundaries. 2022 64 27 24 7 3 1 2 Labour / Lib Dem minority administration
Premises The Council Headquarters building, on Almada Street, Hamilton, was built as the Lanark County Buildings in 1963, and designed by county architect David Gordon Bannerman., EmporisHamilton, Almada Street, Lanark County Buildings, CanmoreSouth Lanarkshire Council HQ, Skyscraper News The 17 storey, tower is the tallest building in the council area, is Category A-listed, and is a highly visible landmark across this part of the Clyde Valley. The modernist design was influenced by the United Nations building in New York City. At the front of the building is the circular council chamber, and a plaza with water features. Between 1975 and 1996 the building had been used as a sub-regional office of Strathclyde Regional Council, with Hamilton District Council using Hamilton Townhouse in that time. On the creation of South Lanarkshire Council in 1996 the new council chose to base itself at the Almada Street building.
Wards In the council's initial 12 years, individual wards (73 in 1995, adjusted down to 67 in 1999 and 2003) each electing one councillor using the First past the post method.Formation electoral arrangements in 1995: South Lanarkshire council area, Local Government Boundary Commission for ScotlandElectoral Arrangements for Local Government Areas in Scotland: South Lanarkshire Council Area, 3rd Reviews of Electoral Arrangements Maps: Wards 1999 - 2007: Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland
Since the 2007 South Lanarkshire Council election, there are 20 council wards in South Lanarkshire, each serving a population ranging from 13,000 to 20,000 and each ward represented on the council by 3 or 4 councillors elected using single transferable vote; in 2007 and 2012 this produced a total of 67 available seats, which was adjusted down to 64 in 2017 along with boundary adjustments, although the same number of wards overall.
NumberWard NameLocationSeats (2017)Population (2018)1Clydesdale West419,1242Clydesdale North314,7773Clydesdale East313,0654Clydesdale South314,6475Avondale and Stonehouse317,0896East Kilbride South316,6887East Kilbride Central South316,1778East Kilbride Central North316,7999East Kilbride West313,69510East Kilbride East314,30811Rutherglen South315,44812Rutherglen Central and North314,48913Cambuslang West314,17714Cambuslang East316,91515Blantyre316,12716Bothwell and Uddingston313,18717Hamilton North and East315,03618Hamilton West and Earnock418,61819Hamilton South421,79320Larkhall418,444Total64320,530
References