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North Lanarkshire Council

North Lanarkshire Council
Coat of arms or logo
Coat of arms
Logo
Council logo
Leadership
Kenneth Duffy,
Labour
since 25 August 2022[1]
Jim Logue,
Labour
since 11 August 2022
Des Murray
since 2018[2]
Structure
Seats77 councillors
Political groups
Administration (32)
  Labour (32)
Other parties (45)
  SNP (24)
  Progressive Change (7)
  Conservative (5)
  BUP (1)
  Green (1)
  Independent (7)
Elections
Single transferable vote
Last election
5 May 2022
Next election
6 May 2027
Meeting place
Civic Centre, Windmillhill Street, Motherwell, ML1 1AB
Website
www.northlanarkshire.gov.uk

North Lanarkshire Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland, covering the North Lanarkshire council area. The council is the second largest Scottish council by number of councillors, having 77 members. The council has been under no overall control since 2017 and has been led by a Labour minority administration since 2022. It is based at Motherwell Civic Centre.

Political control

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The council has been under no overall control since 2017. Since August 2022 the council has been led by a Labour minority administration.[3]

The first election to North 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:[4]

Party in control Years
Labour 1996–2017
No overall control 2017–present

Leadership

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The role of provost is largely ceremonial in North Lanarkshire. They preside at full council meetings and act as the council's civic figurehead. Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:

Councillor Party From To
Harry McGuigan[5][6] Labour 1 Apr 1996 17 Sep 1998
Jim McCabe[7][8] Labour 17 Sep 1998 29 Feb 2016
Jim Logue[9][10] Labour 8 Mar 2016 May 2022
Jordan Linden[11][12] SNP 19 May 2022 27 Jul 2022
Jim Logue[13][14] Labour 11 Aug 2022

Composition

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Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance and by-elections up to July 2025, the composition of the council was:[15]

Party Councillors
Labour 32
SNP 24
Progressive Change North Lanarkshire 7
Conservative 5
British Unionist Party 1
Green 1
Independent 7
Total 77

Progressive Change North Lanarkshire was registered as a political party in July 2024.[16] It had previously been a group of independents, all of whom had been elected as SNP councillors.[17][18] The next election is due in 2027.[15]

Premises

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The council is based at Motherwell Civic Centre on Windmillhill Street in Motherwell. The building was built between 1965 and 1970 for the former Motherwell and Wishaw Town Council, and was subsequently used as the headquarters of Motherwell District Council between 1975 and 1996.[19]

Elections

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Main article: North Lanarkshire 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:[4]

Year Seats SNP Labour Conservative BUP Green Liberal Democrats Independent / Other Notes
1995 69 7 59 0 0 0 0 3 Labour majority
1999 70 12 56 0 0 0 0 2 New ward boundaries.[20] Labour majority
2003 70 13 54 0 0 0 0 3 Labour majority
2007 70 23 40 1 0 0 1 5 New ward boundaries.[21]
2012 70 26 41 0 0 0 0 3 Labour majority
2017 77 33 32 10 0 0 0 2 New ward boundaries.[22] Labour minority
2022 77 36 32 5 1 1 0 2 SNP minority until August 2022, then Labour minority.

Wards

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Map of North Lanarkshire's 21 wards, using 2017 boundaries

The council is made up of 21 wards,[23][24] as follows:

Ward
Number 		Ward Name Location Population
(2017)
1 Kilsyth 11,832
2 Cumbernauld North 19,670
3 Cumbernauld South 16,206
4 Cumbernauld East 16,608
5 Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead 11,623
6 Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn 13,438
7 Coatbridge North 15,320
8 Airdrie North 20,062
9 Airdrie Central 16,570
10 Coatbridge West 14,213
11 Coatbridge South 17,286
12 Airdrie South 19,803
13 Fortissat 15,706
14 Thorniewood 13,916
15 Bellshill 15,252
16 Mossend and Holytown 12,799
17 Motherwell West 14,129
18 Motherwell North 18,667
19 Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig 20,146
20 Murdostoun 18,489
21 Wishaw 18,225
Total 339,960

References

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  1. ^ "Council minutes, 25 August 2022" (PDF). North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  2. ^ Tonner, Judith (19 June 2018). "North Lanarkshire Council appoint new chief executive". Daily Record. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  3. ^ Elliards, Xander (11 August 2022). "Labour take control of North Lanarkshire Council from SNP thanks to BUP vote". The National. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  4. ^ a b "Compositions Calculator". The Elections Centre. University of Exeter. Retrieved 21 May 2025. (Put "North Lanarkshire" in search box to see specific results.)
  5. ^ "Council minutes, 21 April 1995". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  6. ^ Tait, Robert (20 August 1998). "McGuigan had showdown with Dewar". The Scotsman. Edinburgh. p. 2. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  7. ^ "Council minutes, 17 September 1998". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  8. ^ Braiden, Gerry (19 January 2016). "Veteran Labour council leader Jim McCabe announces surprise move to quit". The Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  9. ^ "Council minutes, 8 March 2016". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  10. ^ Tonner, Judith (19 May 2022). "SNP to take office in North Lanarkshire Council after minority administration plans binned". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  11. ^ "Council minutes, 19 May 2022". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  12. ^ Gordon, Tom (27 July 2022). "SNP council leader Jordan Linden quits in 'sexual misconduct' row". The Herald. Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  13. ^ "Council minutes, 11 August 2022" (PDF). North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  14. ^ "Labour retakes North Lanarkshire council after SNP leader quits". BBC News. 11 August 2022. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  15. ^ a b "North Lanarkshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
  16. ^ "Progressive Change North Lanarkshire". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  17. ^ Pollock, Laura (24 May 2023). "North Lanarkshire: Progressive Change party reveals plans after leaving SNP". The National. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  18. ^ "Member and committee information". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  19. ^ Historic Environment Scotland. "Motherwell Civic Centre complex (Category B Listed Building LB52545)". Retrieved 23 January 2023.
  20. ^ "The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 1998", legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives, SI 1998/3251, retrieved 24 January 2023
  21. ^ Scottish Parliament. The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2006 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  22. ^ Scottish Parliament. The North Lanarkshire (Electoral Arrangements) Order 2016 as made, from legislation.gov.uk.
  23. ^ "2017 Wards: Boundaries, population and household numbers". North Lanarkshire Council. 2018. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  24. ^ "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
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