West Dunbartonshire Council is the local authority for West Dunbartonshire, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based in Dumbarton. It has alternately been under no overall control and under Labour control since 1996.
The council comprises 22 councillors elected from 6 wards.
Administrative history West Dunbartonshire was created in 1996 under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The 1994 act originally named the new district "Dumbarton and Clydebank", but the shadow authority elected in 1995 requested a change of name to "West Dunbartonshire", which was agreed by the government before the new council area came into force. (See downloadable boundary-legislation-changes-from-1973.xls spreadsheet.)
Governance Political control At the 2022 election, Labour won a majority of the seats on the council. After by-elections and changes of allegiance, Labour lost its majority in August 2024 and resigned the leadership of the council. After the other parties and independent councillors were unable to agree an alternative administration, Labour was reinstated to the council's leadership positions in September 2024, running the council as a minority administration.
The first election 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 West Dunbartonshire Council since 1996 has been as follows: (Put "West Dunbartonshire" in search box to see specific results.)
Party in controlYears 1996–2007 2007–2012 2012–2017 2017–2022 2022–2024 2024-present
Leadership The role of provost is largely ceremonial in West Dunbartonshire. They chair 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 Mary Campbell 1 Apr 1996 4 Jun 1997 Andy White 4 Jun 1997 20 Dec 2006 Martin Rooney 20 Dec 2006 12 Mar 2007 Denis Agnew 12 Mar 2007 May 2007 Iain Robertson 16 May 2007 26 May 2010 Ronnie McColl 26 May 2010 May 2012 Martin Rooney 16 May 2012 May 2017 Jonathan McColl 17 May 2017 May 2022 Martin Rooney 18 May 2022 28 Aug 2024 Martin Rooney 25 Sep 2024
Composition Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to August 2024, the composition of the council was:
Party Councillors 10 7 4 1Total22
The next election is due in 2027.
Premises The council is based at the former Burgh Hall at 16 Church Street in Dumbarton. It also has an area office in the main shopping centre in Clydebank.
When the council was created in 1996, it inherited several buildings from its predecessors, including Municipal Buildings and Crosslet House from Dumbarton District Council, Clydebank Town Hall and the nearby Council Offices on Rosebery Place from Clydebank District Council, and the County Buildings, Dumbarton from Strathclyde Regional Council.
The council gradually consolidated its offices, with Crosslet House being demolished in 2015, the Rosebery Place offices being demolished in 2017, and the County Buildings being demolished in 2019.
In 2018 the council consolidated most of its offices to Burgh Hall, which had been vacant for some years. The front part of the 1866 building was retained and a modern office complex built to the rear. The Municipal Buildings in Dumbarton are still used by the council as a register office, whilst Clydebank Town Hall is now primarily an events venue.
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:
YearSeatsLabourSNPConservativeIndependent / OtherNotes 1995 22 14 7 0 1 1999 22 14 7 0 1 New ward boundaries. 2003 22 17 3 0 2 2007 22 10 9 0 3New ward boundaries. 2012 22 12 6 0 4 2017 22 8 10 2 2 New ward boundaries. 2022 22 12 9 0 1
Wards
Six multi-member wards were created for the 2007 election, replacing 22 single-member wards which had been in place since the creation of the council in 1995:
Ward number Ward Location Largest settlement Additional settlements Seats1Lomond Balloch Gartocharn, Jamestown, Levenvale, Mill of Haldane32Leven Alexandria Bonhill, Dalmonach, Renton, Dumbarton (northern parts)43Dumbarton Dumbarton Milton, Bowling44Kilpatrick Duntocher Faifley, Hardgate35Clydebank Central Clydebank46Clydebank Waterfront Clydebank Old Kilpatrick4
References