Moray Council

Moray Council is the local authority for Moray, one of the 32 council areas in Scotland. The council is based in Elgin. The Moray Firth lies off the area's north coast.

Moray Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary authority
History
Preceded by	Moray District Council
Leadership
Civic Leader	John Cowe, Independent since 10 August 2022
Leader	Kathleen Robertson, Conservative since 18 May 2022[1]
Chief Executive (interim)	John Mundell since May 2024[2]
Structure
Seats	26 councillors
Political groups	Administration (9)   Conservative (9) Other parties (17)   SNP (8)   Independent (5)   Labour (3)   Green (1)
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Council Offices, High Street, Elgin, IV30 1BX
Website
www.moray.gov.uk

History

Moray District Council had been created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. It became one of the newly created single tier local authorities in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.^[3]

Political control

The first election to Moray 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:^[4]

Moray District Council

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1975–1988
	No overall control	1988–1996

Moray Council

Party in control		Years
	SNP	1996–1999
	No overall control	1999–2002
	Independent	2002–2007
	No overall control	2007–present

Leadership

Since 2012, political leadership has been provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since then have been:^[5]

Councillor	Party		From	To	Notes
Allan Wright		Conservative	9 May 2012	1 Jan 2015
Stewart Cree[6]		Independent	1 Jan 2015	May 2017
George Alexander		Independent	24 May 2017	13 Jun 2018
Graham Leadbitter		SNP	13 Jun 2018	18 May 2022
Neil McLennan[7]		Conservative	18 May 2022	11 Jul 2022	Joint leaders
Kathleen Robertson		Conservative
Kathleen Robertson		Conservative	11 Jul 2022

Composition

Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to July 2024, the composition of the council was:^[8][9]

Party		Councillors
	Conservative	9
	SNP	8
	Independent	5
	Labour	3
	Scottish Green	1
Total		26

One of the independent councillors describes themselves as a "non-aligned Conservative".^[10] The next election is due in 2027.^[11]

Premises

Council Annexe, 2–10 High Street, Elgin

The council meets at the Council Offices on High Street in Elgin. The older part of the building facing High Street was completed in 1952 adjoining Elgin Sheriff Court for the former joint Moray and Nairn County Council.^[12] Large extensions were later added to the south of the building, facing Greyfriars Street. In 2012 the council opened an additional annexe nearby at 2–10 High Street in a converted supermarket.^[13]

Elections

See also: Category:Moray Council elections

Wards

Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)

Ward number	Name	Location	Seats
1	Speyside Glenlivet		3
2	Keith and Cullen		3
3	Buckie		3
4	Fochabers Lhanbryde		3
5	Heldon and Laich		4
6	Elgin City North		3
7	Elgin City South		3
8	Forres		4

References

1. "Moray Council leadership confirmed". The Moray Council. 18 May 2022.
2. Clark, Jonny (26 March 2024). "Moray Council announces John Mundell OBE as interim chief executive". Northern Scot. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
3. See also Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, Office of Public Sector Information (OPSI) website Archived 1 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine (OPSI home page Archived 18 April 2008 at the Wayback Machine)
4. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
5. "Council minutes". Moray Council. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
6. "New Moray Council leader named as Stewart Cree". BBC News. 18 November 2014. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
7. McBlane, Lewis (11 July 2022). "Moray Tory group in chaos as new sole leader Cllr Kathleen Robertson says Cllr Neil McLennan was toppled in secret no confidence vote". Grampian Online. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
8. Gilmour, Lauren (11 July 2022). "Moray Council leader 'steps aside' from Conservative Party over 'poor behaviour'". Independent. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
9. Whitfield, Alistair (17 August 2022). "Moray councillor leaves Tory administration". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
10. "Councillors". Moray Council. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
11. "Moray". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 30 July 2024.
12. "A staff of 70 will look after John". Aberdeen Evening Express. 17 April 1952. p. 4. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
13. Whitfield, Alistair (14 September 2022). "Moray Council annexe building to reopen". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 16 July 2023.