East Lothian Council
Comhairle Lodainn an Ear
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|---|---|
| Full council election every 5 years. | |
Coat of arms
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East Lothian Council logo
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| Type | |
| Type | |
| History | |
| Preceded by | East Lothian District Council |
| Leadership | |
John McMillan, | |
Norman Hampshire, | |
Monica Patterson | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 22 |
 | |
Political groups |
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| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
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| Council Chamber, Haddington Town House | |
| Website | |
| www | |
East Lothian Council (Scottish Gaelic: Comhairle Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 local government councils in Scotland covering the East Lothian area. Since the last boundary changes in 2017, 22 councillors have been elected from 6 wards.
East Lothian District Council had been created in 1975 under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, as one of four districts within the Lothian region (along with Edinburgh, Midlothian and West Lothian, each having some differences from the territory of their corresponding historic counties). All four districts of Lothian became single tier local authorities in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, when the council adopted its current name as East Lothian Council.[1]
The first election to the East Lothian 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:[2]
East Lothian District Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1975–1996 | |
East Lothian Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2007 | |
| No overall control | 2007– | |
The leaders of the council since 2007 have been:[3]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paul McLennan | SNP | 2007 | May 2012 | |
| Willie Innes[4] | Labour | 15 May 2012 | 24 Oct 2021 | |
| Norman Hampshire | Labour | 16 Nov 2021 | ||
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:[2]
| Year | Seats | Labour | SNP | Conservative | Green | Liberal Democrats | Independent / Other | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | 18 | 15 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Labour majority |
| 1999 | 23 | 17 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[5] Labour majority |
| 2003 | 23 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | Labour majority |
| 2007 | 23 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | New ward boundaries.[6] SNP / Lib Dem coalition |
| 2012 | 23 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | Labour / Conservative coalition |
| 2017 | 22 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | New ward boundaries.[7] Labour minority |
| 2022 | 22 | 9 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | Labour minority |
The council is based at John Muir House, Haddington, which forms a modern extension to the County Buildings, Haddington, which had been the headquarters of the pre-1975 East Lothian County Council. Council meetings are held at Haddington Town House.[8][9]
| Ward number |
Ward name | Location | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Musselburgh | 
|
4 |
| 2 | Preston, Seton and Gosford | 
|
4 |
| 3 | Tranent, Wallyford and Macmerry | 
|
4 |
| 4 | North Berwick Coastal | 
|
3 |
| 5 | Haddington and Lammermuir | 
|
4 |
| 6 | Dunbar and East Linton | 
|
3 |
| Total | 22 |
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Council elections in East Lothian
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|---|---|
| East Lothian Council |
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| Lothian Regional Council |
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