City of Glasgow
The
City of Glasgow Council (
Mòr-bhaile Ghlaschu in
Gaelic) is one of the 32
Scottish unitary authorities, formerly
Glasgow District Council and
Glasgow Corporation in
Glasgow,
Scotland.
History
Glasgow Corporation
Originally called the
Glasgow Corporation or
City Corporation until
1975, it was governed by councilors, and led by the
Lord Provost. Glasgow Corporation Transport, a public body, ran the local buses and traditional Glasgow Trams, until the creation of the District Council.
Glasgow District Council
Between 1975 and 1996, following the creation of a two-tier
local government structure of
regions and districts, the local services were split between two councils.
Glasgow District council maintained refuse collection, museums, libraries and housing , while
Strathclyde Regional Council took control of the police, fire service, water, education, social work and transport.
Unitary Authority
The current
City of Glasgow Council is one of the 32
Scottish unitary authorities and came into being in
1996. It has roughly the same area as the old Glasgow District Council and assumed the powers of that body, as well as taking on those of the old
Strathclyde Regional Council for the
Glasgow area.
The new district is actually slightly smaller than the old one, having lost
Rutherglen,
Fernhill,
Cambuslang,
Halfway, some of
King's Park, and
Toryglen, which now form part of
South Lanarkshire. [
1]
Powers and Structure
The Council is comprised of 79 elected councillors who each represent a ward. They are elected with the single-plurality electoral system (more commonly referred to as '
first past the post'). This electoral system has led to a disproportionate representation on the council, with 69 of the 79 councillors representing the
Labour Party although they gained only around half the votes cast. The
Scottish National Party gained the second largest number of votes cast (some 20% or so) and is represented by four councillors.
The Council has responsibility for a number of functions, including parks, refuse collection, local education, museums and libraries.
It is lead by the Leader of the Council and elects a civic leader, called the
Lord Provost (equivalent to the
Lord Mayor). The current
Lord Provost of Glasgow is
Liz Cameron, who replaced
Alex Mosson in May,
2003.
Boundaries
It borders onto
Renfrewshire,
West Dunbartonshire,
East Dunbartonshire,
North Lanarkshire,
South Lanarkshire and
East Renfrewshire.
Wards
Since the last reorganisation, the current wards are:-
Anderston |
Anniesland |
Ashfield |
Baillieston |
Barlanark |
Battlefield |
Blairdardie |
Braidfauld |
Bridgeton/Dalmarnock |
Calton |
Cardonald |
Carntyne |
Carnwadric |
Castlemilk |
Cathcart |
Cowlairs |
Crookston |
Darnley |
Dennistoun |
Drumoyneour |
Drumry |
Easterhouse |
Firhill |
Garrowhill |
Gartcraig |
Garthamlock |
Glenwood |
Govan |
Govanhill |
Greenfield |
Hayburn |
Hillhead |
Hutchesontown |
Hyndland |
Ibrox |
Jordanhill |
Kelvindale |
Kelvingrove |
Keppochhill |
King's Park |
Kingston |
Knightswood Park |
Knightswood South |
Langside |
Maryhill |
Maxwell Park |
Merchant City |
Milnbank |
Milton |
Mosspark |
Mount Florida |
Mount Vernon |
Newlands |
Nitshill |
North Cardonald |
North Kelvin |
Parkhead |
Partick |
Penilee |
Pollok |
Pollokshaws |
Pollokshields East |
Queenslie |
Robroyston |
Scotstoun |
Shettleston |
Springburn |
Strathbungo |
Summerhill |
Summerston |
Tollcross |
Toryglen |
Victoria |
Wallacewell |
Woodlands |
WyndfordMain article:
Glasgow (Scottish Parliament electoral region).The
Glasgow electoral region of the Scottish Parliament covers the City of Glasgow, the
Rutherglen area of
South Lanarkshire and a small eastern area of
Renfrewshire. It elects ten of the parliament's 73
first past the post constituency members and seven of the 56
additional members. Both kinds of member are known as
Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The system of election is designed to produce a form of
proportional representation.
Until the
United Kingdom general election, 2005, the first past the post seats were the same for the
Scottish Parliament (
Holyrood) as for the
United Kingdom Parliament (
Westminster) (apart from
Orkney and
Shetland, which formed separate constituencies at Holyrood, but not Westminster). In 2005 the number of Westminster
Members of Parliament (MPs) was cut to 59, with new constituencies being formed, while the existing number of MSPs was retained at Holyrood.
First past the post constituencies
The ten Scottish Parliament constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region are:-
*
Glasgow Anniesland*
Glasgow Baillieston*
Glasgow Cathcart*
Glasgow Govan*
Glasgow Kelvin*
Glasgow Maryhill*
Glasgow Pollok*
Glasgow Rutherglen*
Glasgow Shettleston*
Glasgow SpringburnAdditional members
The current additional member MSPs are:
*
Sandra White (
Scottish National Party)
*
Nicola Sturgeon (Scottish National Party)
*
Tommy Sheridan (
Scottish Socialist Party)
*
Rosie Kane (Scottish Socialist Party)
*
Robert Brown (
Liberal Democrat)
*
Bill Aitken (
Conservative)
*
Patrick Harvie (
Scottish Green Party)
See also United Kingdom constituencies.Following reform of constituencies of the
House of Commons of the
United Kingdom Parliament (
Westminster) in 2005, which reduced the number of Scottish
Members of Parliament (MPs), the current Westminster constituencies in Glasgow are:-
