Dundee City Council controls Dundee City council area, which is one of Scotland's 32 council areas. The council area is divided into eight wards, used to elect members to the council to provide local government services to the council area.

The boundaries for all Scottish council areas and their sub divisional wards are regulated and regularly reviewed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. The current ones were created in 2007 after the 29 existing single member wards were merged into 8 multi-member wards. Each of the eight wards in Dundee elects 3 or 4 councillors every five years in the Scottish local council elections. The most recent elections were held in 2022.

Summary

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Ward number Ward name[1] Seats 2022 result
SNP Lab LD Con
1 Strathmartine 4 2 1 1 0
2 Lochee 4 2 [3]* 2 [1]* 0 0
3 West End 4 2 0 2 0
4 Coldside 4 2 2 0 0
5 Maryfield 3 2 1 0 0
6 North East 3 2 1 0 0
7 East End 3 2 1 0 0
8 The Ferry 4 1 1 1 1
Total 29 15 [16]* 9 [8]* 4 1
Bold in " 2022 results" indicates largest party in the ward.

*numbers in [] brackets indicate current 2024 makeup[2] following by-elections.[3]

Strathmartine

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Strathmartine is situated in the north-west of the city. Population 15,191

In the 2007 election, Helen Dick, Stewart Hunter, Kevin Keenan and Ian Borthwick were all elected. At the 2012 election, John Alexander won a seat in the ward, becoming the youngest councillor in Scotland and by the 2017 election, becoming the group leader of the SNP and shortly after, leader of Dundee City Council.[4] At the 2022 election, John Alexander was re-elected and Ian Borthwick retired after sixty years as a local councillor.[5][6][7] Borthwick's seat was eventually won by Daniel Coleman of the Liberal Democrats.

On 9 July 2024, John Alexander announced his intention to resign as council leader and councillor, triggering a by-election for the Strathmartine ward. The by-election was held on 3 October 2024 and the SNP held the seat.

Election Councillors
2007 Helen Dick
(Liberal Democrats)
Stewart Hunter
(SNP)
Kevin Keenan
(Labour)
Ian Borthwick
(Ind.)
2012 John Alexander
(SNP)
2017
2022 Daniel Coleman
(Liberal Democrats)
2024[a] Jimmy Black
(SNP)

Lochee

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Lochee is situated in the west of the city. Population 15,376

In the 2007 election, John Letford, Tom Ferguson, Bob Duncan and Nigel Don were elected.[8] In November 2007 , a by-election was held following the resignation of Nigel Don who was elected to the Scottish Parliament in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election for the North East Scotland electoral region.[9] Alan Ross subsequently won the by-election.

At the 2012 election, Norma McGovern replaced John Letford whilst the remaining councillors were all re-elected. In 2017 , Norma McGovern, Tom Ferguson and Bob Duncan stepped down and Charlie Malone was elected.

In February 2022, Alan Ross, who was first elected in a by-election for the ward in 2007 defected to Alba, becoming the first Alba representative on Dundee City Council.[10][11][12] He subsequently lost his seat to the SNP at the 2022 election.

At the 2022 election, Wendy Sculin replaced Michael Marra as a result of Marra being elected to the Scottish Parliament after the 2021 Scottish Parliament election for the North East Scotland electoral region.[13]

In July 2024, Charlie Malone passed away, triggering a by-election to be held. The by-election was held on 3 October 2024 and the SNP gained the seat from Labour.

Election Councillors
2007 John Letford
(Labour)
Tom Ferguson
(Labour)
Bob Duncan
(SNP)
Nigel Don
(SNP)
Nov 2007[b] Alan Ross
(SNP/
Alba)
2012 Norma McGovern
(Labour)
2017 Charlie Malone
(Labour)
Michael Marra
(Labour)
Roisin Smith
(SNP)
Feb 2022 [c]
2022 Wendy Sculin
(Labour)
Siobhan Tolland
(SNP)
2024[d] Lee Mills
(SNP)

West End

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West End is situated in the south-west of the city. Population 11,941

In the 2007 election, Richard McCready, James Walker Barrie, Donald Hay and Fraser Macpherson were elected.[8] At the 2012 election, James Walker Barrie was replaced by Bill Campbell and Donald Hay lost his seat to Vari McDonald of the SNP. At the 2017 election, Donald Hay won the seat back amid a surge in Conservative support across Scotland.

At the 2022 election, Richard McCready lost his seat to Nadia El-Nakla of the SNP,[14] who is wife of Humza Yousaf, the Health Secretary in the Scottish Parliament.[15][16] Donald Hay was once again defeated, having been beaten by Michael Critchon of the Liberal Democrats.[14]

Election Councillors
2007 Richard McCready
(Labour)
James Walker Barrie
(SNP)
Donald Hay
(Conservative)
Fraser MacPherson
(Liberal Democrats)
2012 Bill Campbell

(SNP)

Vari McDonald
(SNP)
2017 Donald Hay
(Conservative)
2022 Nadia El-Nakla
(SNP)
Michael Crichton
(Liberal Democrats)

Coldside

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Coldside is situated in the centre/west of the city. Population 16,731

In the 2007 election, Helen Wright, Mohammed Asif, James Black and Dave Bowes were elected.[8]

At the 2012 election, Mohammed Asif was replaced by George McIrvine and James Black was replaced by Mark Flynn who would later go on to be Dundee City Council's head of city development.[17]

At the 2017 election, Anne Rendall replaced Dave Bowes as the fourth councillor on the ward.

Heather Anderson, who was briefly a Member of the European Parliament[18] for the SNP before the United Kingdom left the European Union, was elected to replace Anne Rendall after she retired at the 2022 election.[14]

Election Councillors
2007 Helen Wright
(Labour)
Mohammed Asif
(Labour)
James Black
(SNP)
Dave Bowes
(SNP)
2012
2017 George McIrvine
(Labour)
Mark Flynn
(SNP)
Anne Rendall
(SNP)
2022 Heather Anderson
(SNP)

Maryfield

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Maryfield is situated in the centre/east of the city. Population 15,230

In the 2007 election, Joe Morrow, Elizabeth Fordyce and Ken Lynn were elected.[8] A by-election took place following the resignation of Joe Morrow where Craig Melville of the SNP gained the seat from Labour.[19] At the 2012 election, Georgia Cruickshank replaced Elizabeth Fordyce as the second councillor in the ward.[17]

In 2016, another by-election was held following Craig Melville's resignation. The seat was won by Lynne Short.[citation needed] Short, Cruickshank and Lynn were all subsequently re-elected at the 2017 and 2022 elections.[20][13]

Election Councillors
2007 Joe Morrow
(Labour)
Elizabeth Fordyce
(SNP)
Ken Lynn
(SNP)
2009 Craig Melville
(SNP)
2012 Georgia Cruickshank
(Labour)
2016 Lynne Short
(SNP)
2017
2022

North East

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North East is situated in the north-east of the city. Population 11,591

In the 2007 election, Brian Gordon, Andy Dawson and Willie Sawers were elected, all three previously served in three of the previous 29 single member wards. At the election in 2012 , Brian Gordon was re-elected alongside Willie Sawers with Gregor Murray winning a seat which was previously held by Andy Dawson. In 2017 , all three councillors were re-elected.

In 2019, Brian Gordon died and a by-election was held which resulted in the SNP gaining the seat from Labour which was won by Steven Rome. Gregor Murray who was elected as an SNP councillor, resigned from the party and sat as an independent for the remainder of the term.[21][22]

In 2022, Labour gained Gregor Murray's seat whilst Steven Rome and Willie Sawers were re-elected.[13]

Election Councillors
2007 Brian Gordon
(Labour)
Andy Dawson
(SNP)
Willie Sawers
(SNP)
2012 Gregor Murray
(SNP /
Independent)
2017
2019[e][f] Steven Rome
(SNP)
2022 Jax Finnegan
(Labour)

East End

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East End is situated in the south-east of the city. Population 12,715

In the 2007 election, George Regan, Will Dawson and Christina Roberts were elected.[8] At the 2012 election, Regan was replaced by Lesley Brennan[17] who in turn was replaced by Margaret Richardson at the 2017 election.[20] Dorothy McHugh succeeded Richardson after she retired after the 2022 election.[13]

Election Councillors
2007 George Regan
(Labour)
William Dawson
(SNP)
Christina Roberts
(SNP)
2012 Lesley Brennan
(Labour)
2017 Margaret Richardson
(Labour)
2022 Dorothy McHugh
(Labour)

The Ferry

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The Ferry is situated in the east of the city, covering Broughty Ferry. Population 16,609

In the 2007 election, Laurie Bidwell, Ken Guild, Derek Scott and Rod Wallace were elected.[8] Ken Guild, who was the SNP group leader on the council became the leader of Dundee City Council after holding his seat at the 2012 election.[17] At the same time, Bidwell and Scott retained their seats whilst the fourth seat was won by Kevin Cordell of the SNP.[17]

Following Guild's retirement as councillor at the 2017 election, his seat was won by Philip Scott of the Conservatives. The 2017 election also saw Craig Duncan of the Liberal Democrats replace Laurie Bidwell.[20] At the 2022 election, Phillip Scott lost his seat to Pete Shears of Labour. The Liberal Democrats replaced the Conservatives as the largest party in the ward in terms of vote share following the collapse of the party overall in Scotland.[14]

Election Councillors
2007 Laurie Bidwell
(Labour)
Ken Guild(SNP) Derek Scott
(Conservative)
Rod Wallace
(Conservative)
2012 Kevin Cordell
(SNP)
2017 Craig Duncan
(Liberal Democrats)
Philip Scott
(Conservative)
2022 Pete Shears
(Labour)

Footnotes

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  1. ^ By-election held following John Alexander's resignation as council leader and councillor.
  2. ^ By-election held
  3. ^ Alan Ross, who was originally elected as a Scottish National Party councillor, defected to the Alba Party on 5 February 2022
  4. ^ By-election held following the passing of Charlie Malone.
  5. ^ By-election held following the death of Brian Gordon
  6. ^ Gregor Murray resigned from the Scottish National Party on 15 May 2019

References

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  1. ^ "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
  2. ^ "Dundee City Council Political Makeup". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  3. ^ "Lochee By Election - Election Results". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  4. ^ Morkis, Stefan (17 April 2017). "Dundee's youngest councillor named SNP group leader". The Courier. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  5. ^ "Dundee election results 2022 : SNP take overall control of city council". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  6. ^ Moncur, James (4 May 2022). "'Absolute privilege' Dundee Lord Provost retires after nearly 60-years service". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  7. ^ "Dundee council veteran bows out after six decades of service". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  8. ^ a b c d e f "Local Elections Archive Project - 2007 - Dundee". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  9. ^ "Nationalist MSP quits dual role as councillor". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Former SNP city development chief defects to the Alba party". Yahoo UK News. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Former SNP city development chief unveiled as latest defector to Alba party". Herald Scotland. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  12. ^ Healey, Derek (4 February 2022). "EXCLUSIVE: Ex-SNP convener unveiled by Alex Salmond as Dundee's first Alba councillor". The Courier. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  13. ^ a b c d "Local Elections 2022 - Results". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  14. ^ a b c d Moncur, James; Brady, Jon (6 May 2022). "SNP regains control in Dundee after five years of coalition". Daily Record. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  15. ^ "SNP gain in Dundee as Nadia El-Nakla wins seat". The National. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  16. ^ Flett, Amie (6 May 2022). "Nadia El-Nakla vows to 'invest in women' after securing seat for SNP in Dundee's local election". The Courier. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  17. ^ a b c d e "Elections Results 2012 - More Detailed Information". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  18. ^ "New Scottish MEP Heather Anderson starts role four days before Brexit". Sky News. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Local Elections Archive Project — Maryfield Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  20. ^ a b c "City Council 2017 Election Results". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  21. ^ "SNP win majority on Dundee City Council after by-election win". HeraldScotland. 3 May 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
  22. ^ Morkis, Stefan (15 May 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Dundee councillor Gregor Murray quits SNP over party's 'institutional transphobia'". The Courier. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
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