Midlothian Council

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.

Midlothian Council
Coat of arms
Council logo
Type
Type	Unitary authority
Leadership
Provost	Debbi McCall, SNP since 24 May 2022[1]
Leader	Kelly Parry, SNP since 24 May 2022[1]
Chief Executive	Grace Vickers since 26 June 2018[2]
Structure
Seats	18 councillors[3]
Results of the 2022 election:
Political groups	Administration   SNP (8) Other parties   Labour (7)   Conservative (3)
Elections
Voting system	Single transferable vote
Last election	5 May 2022
Next election	6 May 2027
Meeting place
Midlothian House, 40–46 Buccleuch Street, Dalkeith, EH22 1DN
Website
www.midlothian.gov.uk

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.^[4] The Lothian region was abolished in 1996, when the four districts in the region, including Midlothian, became unitary council areas.^[5]

Political control

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:^[6]

Midlothian District Council

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1975–1977
	No overall control	1977–1980
	Labour	1980–1996

Midlothian Council

Party in control		Years
	Labour	1996–2007
	No overall control	2007–2008
	Labour	2008–2012
	No overall control	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:^[7]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Adam Montgomery[8]		Labour	2003	2007
Derek Milligan		Labour	2007	22 May 2012
Lisa Beattie[9]		SNP	22 May 2012	25 Jun 2012
Bob Constable		SNP	3 Jul 2012	18 Nov 2013
Owen Thompson		SNP	19 Nov 2013	22 Jun 2015
Cath Johnstone		SNP	23 Jun 2015	23 May 2017
Derek Milligan		Labour	23 May 2017	24 May 2022
Kelly Parry		SNP	24 May 2022

Elections

Main article: Midlothian Council 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:^[6]

Year	Seats	SNP	Labour	Conservative	Green	Liberal Democrats	Independent / Other	Notes
1995	15	2	13	0	0	0	0	Labour majority
1999	18	0	17	0	0	1	0	New ward boundaries.[10] Labour majority
2003	18	0	15	0	0	2	1	Labour majority
2007	18	6	9	0	0	3	0	New ward boundaries.[11]
2012	18	8	8	0	1	0	1	SNP coalition
2017	18	6	7	5	0	0	0	New ward boundaries.[12] 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.^[13]

Wards

Map of the area's wards (2017 configuration)

The council is composed of 6 wards, each electing 3 councillors.^[14]

Ward number	Ward name	Seats
1	Penicuik	3
2	Bonnyrigg	3
3	Dalkeith	3
4	Midlothian West	3
5	Midlothian East	3
6	Midlothian South	3