Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

City of Glasgow

The City of Glasgow is one of the 32 Scottish unitary authorities and came into being in 1995. 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 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 71 of the 79 councillors representing the Labour Party although they gained only around half the votes cast. This contrasts vividly to the Scottish National Party which gained the second largest number of votes cast (some 20% or so) but returned only 3 councillors.

The Council has responsibility for a number of functions, including parks, refuse collection, local education, museums and libraries.

It borders onto Renfrewshire, West Dunbartonshire, East Dunbartonshire, North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and East Renfrewshire.

See also: