Politics of Dundee
Dundee
Dùn Dèagh | |
|---|---|
 | |
 | |
| Admin HQ | Dundee |
| Government | |
| • Body | Dundee City Council |
| • Control | SNP minority |
| • MPs | |
| • MSPs |
|
| Area | |
| • Total | 23.10 sq mi (59.83 km2) |
| Area rank | Ranked 32nd |
| Population (mid-2019 est.) | |
| • Total | 148,750 |
| • Rank | Ranked 14th |
| • Density | 6,400/sq mi (2,500/km2) |
| ONS code | S12000042 |
| ISO 3166 code | GB-DND |
| Website | www |
Politics in the Dundee City (Mòr-bhaile Dhùn Dèagh in Gaelic) council area are evident in the deliberations and decisions of Dundee City Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) and the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).
In the European Parliament, the city area was within the Scotland constituency, which covered all of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Dundee City became a single-tier council in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994,[1] with the boundaries of the City of Dundee district of the Tayside region, minus a Monifieth area and part of a Sidlaw area, which were transferred from the city area to the new council area of Angus. The city district was also the administrative centre for the region.
The new city council area was named The City of Dundee in the legislation of 1994, but this was changed to Dundee City by a council resolution on 29 June 1995, under section 23 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65).[2] In terms of area, it is the smallest of Scotland's council areas.
The district had been created in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to include: the former county of city of Dundee; a Monifieth area, including the burgh of Monifieth (but not Newtyle and Kettins areas), previously within the county of Angus; and a Longforgan area previously within the county of Perth.
The county of city was created in 1894, and the city area has included the burgh of Broughty Ferry since 1913. Dundee has been a royal burgh since 1191.
City council[]
Council meetings take place in the City Chambers, located in City Square. They were opened in 1933.
The council executive is based in Dundee House on North Lindsay Street.
Composition and control[]
The council consists of 29 councillors:
- Scottish National Party - 14 councillors
- Labour - 8 councillors
- Conservative - 3 councillors
- Liberal Democrat - 2 councillors
- Independent - 2 councillors
The SNP gained a majority on the council after the 2012 elections. In the previous council, the SNP had the largest number of seats but the council was initially controlled by a Labour and Liberal Democrat coalition, with the support of the Conservatives. This changed after a March 2009 By Election result which tipped the balance further in the SNPs direction.[3][4] However the 2017 contest saw the SNP lose their majority, although they remained the largest party with 14 councillors. Labour also lost one seat, while the Conservatives gained two seats and Liberal Democrats also gained an additional councillor.[5]
Until 2019, the council was governed by an SNP-led administration, with the support of the sole independent member. Councillor John Alexander. SNP group leader was also the leader of Dundee City Council.
In a 2019 by-election, the SNP won a seat from Labour, giving it an overall majority.[6] The SNP lost its majority again a few weeks later when Councillor Gregor Murray quit the party after accusing it of being transphobic.[7] Shortly after this announcement, Councillor Murray was suspended from the council for two months by the Standards Commission for Scotland for using a "derogatory word" in an online forum which was judged to be "highly offensive and inappropriate".[8]
The council has a history of Labour Party domination. George Galloway was leader for a time, and was responsible for organising Dundee's twinning with the Palestinian city of Nablus.[9]
Positions[]
The civic head and chair of the council is known as the Lord Provost. In 2017, Scotland's longest serving councillor, Ian Borthwick MBE became the Lord Provost of Dundee. A number of councillors are appointed as ceremonial bailies.
The Leader of the Council, as head of the largest political grouping, is Councillor John Alexander (SNP).
Elections[]
Former home of Dundee City Council, May 2004
Elections to the council are held on a four-year cycle. Councillors are elected from subdivisions of the city area called wards. They were previously elected from 29 single-member wards by the plurality (first past the post) voting system. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004,[10] eight new wards were introduced for the 2007 election, each electing three or four members by the single transferable vote system of election, to produce a form of proportional representation. The total number of councillors remained the same.
Wards[]
Caird Hall is the building at the back of the square
The building on the right is Dundee City Chambers, where the city council meets
1999 to 2007[]
29 wards, listed below, were first used for elections in 1999. The names and parties of the final councillors in these wards are also listed:[3]
| Ward | Councillor | Party |
|---|---|---|
| Ninewells | Nigel Don | Scottish National Party |
| Camperdown | John Letford | Labour |
| Balgay | Bob Duncan | Scottish National Party |
| Lochee West | Jill Shimi | Labour |
| Riverside | Neil Powrie | Conservative |
| Brackens | Ian Borthwick | Independent |
| Ardler | Kevin Keenan | Labour |
| Balgowan | Rikki Beattie | Scottish Nationalist |
| Claverhouse | Andrew Dawson | Scottish National Party |
| Whitfield | Willie Sawers | Scottish National Party |
| Longhaugh | Joe Fitzpatrick | Scottish National Party |
| Pitkerro | Christina Roberts | Scottish National Party |
| Douglas | George Regan | Labour |
| Barnhill | Bruce Mackie | Conservative |
| Balgillo | Roderick Wallace | Conservative |
| Broughty Ferry | Charles Webster | Conservative |
| West Ferry | Derek Scott | Conservative |
| Craigiebank | John Corrigan | Scottish National Party |
| Strathmartine | Helen Dick | Liberal Democrat |
| Lochee East | Charles Farquhar | Labour |
| Tay Bridges | Fraser Macpherson | Liberal Democrat |
| Logie | James Barrie | Scottish National Party |
| Law | Julia Sturrock | Labour |
| East Port | William Dawson | Scottish National Party |
| Baxter Park | Elizabeth Fordyce | Scottish National Party |
| Hilltown | Fiona Grant | Labour |
| Bowbridge | Christopher Hind | Labour |
| Stobswell | Joe Morrow | Labour |
| Fairmuir | Helen Wright | Labour |
Created in 2007[]
The first elections using 8 new multi-member wards with new boundaries and using the STV system to vote (still returning 29 councillors) were held on 3 May 2007. The results were:
| Ward | Seats | Councillors | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strathmartine | 4 | Stewart Hunter
Ian Borthwick Kevin Keenan Helen Dick |
SNP
Independent Labour Liberal Democrat |
| Lochee | 4 | Bob Duncan
Alan Ross[11] John Letford[12] Tom Ferguson |
SNP
SNP Labour Labour |
| West End | 4 | Jim Barrie
Donald Hay Richard McCready Fraser McPherson |
SNP
Conservative Labour Liberal Democrat |
| Coldside | 4 | Jimmy Black
Dave Bowes Mohammed Asif Helen Wright |
SNP
SNP Labour Labour |
| Maryfield | 3 | Liz Fordyce
Ken Lynn |
SNP
SNP SNP |
| North East | 3 | Andy Dawson
Willie Sawers Brian Gordon |
SNP
SNP Labour |
| East End | 3 | Will Dawson
Christina Roberts George Regan |
SNP
SNP Labour |
| The Ferry | 4 | Ken Guild
Laurie Bidwell Derek Scott Rod Wallace |
SNP
Labour Conservative Conservative |
2012 Results[]
| Ward | Seats | [15] | Party |
|---|---|---|---|
| Strathmartine | 4 | Stewart Hunter
Ian Borthwick Kevin Keenan John Alexander |
SNP
Independent Labour SNP |
| Lochee | 4 | Bob Duncan
Alan Ross Norma McGovern Tom Ferguson |
SNP
SNP Labour Labour |
| West End | 4 | Bill Campbell
Vari McDonald Richard McCready Fraser McPherson |
SNP
SNP Labour Liberal Democrat |
| Coldside | 4 | Jimmy Black
Dave Bowes Mohammed Asif Helen Wright |
SNP
SNP Labour Labour |
| Maryfield | 3 | Georgia Cruickshank
Ken Lynn Craig Melville |
Labour
SNP SNP |
| North East | 3 | Gregor Murray
Willie Sawers Brian Gordon |
SNP
SNP Labour |
| East End | 3 | Will Dawson
Christina Roberts Lesley Brennan |
SNP
SNP Labour |
| The Ferry | 4 | Ken Guild
Laurie Bidwell Derek Scott Kevin Cordell |
SNP
Labour Conservative SNP |
2017 Results[]
 | This section needs to be updated. (March 2020) |
Independence referendum[]
Dundee returned the highest proportion of Yes votes of any area in Scotland in the 2014 independence referendum, with 53,620 Yes votes to 39,880 No votes. It was among only four local authority areas that backed independence. In Summer 2014, First Minister Alex Salmond said Dundee was moving "towards being Scotland's Yes city",[16] and it retained that designation in the run-up to the referendum.[17] Housing schemes in Dundee canvassed by Yes activists indicated levels of support of up to 80 per cent in favour of independence.[18]
Headlines were made in the final week of the campaign when a Better Together event in Dundee was crashed by a piper lead demonstration involving Yes activists and members of the Scottish Socialist Party, who marched from the event they were having in Albert Square to sing protest songs at Labour party representatives at the foot of Reform Street.[19]
Scottish Parliament[]
For elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) the city area is divided between two constituencies. The Dundee City East (Holyrood) constituency and the Dundee City West (Holyrood) constituency are entirely within the city area.
Both constituencies are within the North East Scotland electoral region. The region elects a total of tenfirst past the post constituency Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and seven additional members, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Boundaries date from 1999, when the parliament itself was created.
Currently, Shona Robison (SNP) is MSP for the Dundee City East constituency and, Joe FitzPatrick (SNP) is MSP for the Dundee City West constituency.
Parliament of the United Kingdom[]
For elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), the city area is divided between the Dundee East (Westminster) constituency and the Dundee West (Westminster) constituency. These constituencies also include portions of the Angus council area.[20]
Current boundaries date from 2005. Prior to the 2005 general election, the constituencies had the boundaries of now existing Scottish Parliament constituencies, with north-eastern and north-western portions of the city area being covered by the Angus (Westminster) constituency.
Currently, Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party) is Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dundee East constituency, and Chris Law (Scottish National Party) is MP for the Dundee West constituency.
Historic constituencies[]
As a royal burgh, Dundee was represented as a component of the Perth Burghs constituency from 1708 to 1832, when the Dundee burgh constituency was created. In 1868 the burgh constituency became a two-member constituency.
East and West single-member constituencies have existed, with varying boundaries, since 1950.
See also[]
- Politics of Aberdeen
- Politics of Edinburgh
- Politics of Glasgow
- Politics of Scotland
- Politics of the Highland council area
Notes and references[]
- ^ Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, full text, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website
OPSI home page - ^ Edinburgh Gazette, 7 July 1995
- ^ Jump up to: a b Dundee City Council Political Make-up Archived 8 April 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Dundee City Council website
- ^ Dundee Tory leader hits out at critic Archived 6 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine, Evening Telegraph (publisher DC Thomson), 28 February 2005
- ^ Lord, Dave. "Council elections: SNP lose majority in Dundee". The Courier. D C Thomson Co Ltd. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
- ^ Brady, Jon (3 May 2019). "BREAKING: SNP reclaims Dundee council majority as Steven Rome wins North East by-election". Dundee Evening Telegraph. DC Thomson. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
- ^ Morkis, Stefan. "EXCLUSIVE: Dundee councillor Gregor Murray quits SNP over party's 'institutional transphobia'". The Courier. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ "Councillor suspended over 'inappropriate' online comments". BBC News. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
- ^ As council leader, he flew the Palestinian flag over Dundee, according to Torcuil Crichton in Kebabs Over Baghdad? Archived 25 September 2006 at the Wayback Machine, Sunday Herald, 25 April 2004
- ^ Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, full text, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website
- ^ Nigel Don was originally elected; however he was also elected as an MSP for North-East Scotland. A by-election in late 2007 elected Alan Ross to replace him.
- ^ John Letford resigned from the Labour group on 24th March 2009 and now sits as an independent councillor Archived 3 May 2009 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Won the March 2009 By Election. Replaced Joe Morrow (Labour)
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 March 2009. Retrieved 13 March 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ [1]
- ^ "Alex Salmond: 'Dundee is Scotland's Yes city'". The Courier. 4 June 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Referendum fever takes hold in Dundee, dubbed Yes City". The Herald. 12 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "Canvass blitz through Dundee, 'Yes capital' of Scotland". 18 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ "VIDEO: Yes and No campaigners in Dundee city centre stand-off". 13 September 2014. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
- ^ Fifth Periodical Review of Constituencies Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Boundary Commission for Scotland, in which review-period boundaries for Westminster constituencies are those of now existing Holyrood constituencies
External links[]
Local political parties:
| show Local government areas of Scotland, in use 1973 to 1996 |
|---|
- Politics of Dundee