Perth and Kinross (; ) is one of the 32

council areas of Scotland For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" (), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Sc ...

, and a lieutenancy area. It is bordered by

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

and

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

to the north,

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, and

Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...

to the east,

Clackmannanshire Clackmannanshire (; ; ), or the County of Clackmannan, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county, Council areas of Scotland, council area, registration counties, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland ...

to the south, and

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

and

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

to the west. Geographically the area is split by the Highland Boundary Fault into a more mountainous northern part and a flatter southern part. The northern area is a popular tourist spot, while agriculture makes an important contribution to the southern part of the area. The area is run by Perth and Kinross Council, which is based in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

History

The area takes its name from the two historical shires of

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

and Kinross-shire. Each was administered by a

sheriff A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland, the , which is common ...

from medieval times, supplemented by

commissioners of supply Commissioners of Supply were local administrative bodies in Scotland from 1667 to 1930. Originally established in each sheriffdom to collect tax, they later took on much of the responsibility for the local government of the counties of Scotland. ...

from 1667 and then by a

county council A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries. Australia In the Australian state of New South Wales, county councils are special purpose ...

from 1890. Perthshire was one of the largest counties, whereas Kinross-shire was one of the smallest; it was the least populous Scottish county in the 1921 census. In 1930 the county councils for Perthshire and Kinross-shire were combined for most purposes. The two councils continued to be elected as separate bodies, but operated together as the 'Perth and Kinross Joint County Council', serving the combined area of the two counties. Local government was reformed in Scotland in 1975 under the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament (UK), act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government of Scotland, local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The act followed and largely impleme ...

. Mainland Scotland's counties,

burgh A burgh ( ) is an Autonomy, autonomous municipal corporation in Scotland, usually a city, town, or toun in Scots language, Scots. This type of administrative division existed from the 12th century, when David I of Scotland, King David I created ...

s and landward districts were replaced with a two-tier structure of upper-tier regions and lower-tier districts. Perth and Kinross was created as one of the districts within the Tayside region. As established in 1975, Perth and Kinross covered the whole of Kinross-shire, and the majority of the pre-1975 Perthshire, with three exceptions: a large area in the south-west of the county which went to the new

district, Muckhart which went to Clackmannan district, and Longforgan which went to the city of

. Perth and Kinross also included the parish of Kettins from

. A lieutenancy area covering the same area as the new district was created at the same time. In 1996, local government in Scotland was reformed again under the

Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that created the current Local government in Scotland, local government structure of 32 Unitary authority, unitary authori ...

. The regions and districts were abolished and replaced by unitary council areas. One such area was named by the 1994 Act as 'Perthshire and Kinross', covering the area of the 1975–1996 district of Perth and Kinross, plus an area transferred from Dundee roughly matching the pre-1975 parish of Longforgan. The shadow authority elected in 1995 to oversee the transition requested a change of name from 'Perthshire and Kinross' to 'Perth and Kinross' in December 1995, which was agreed by the government before the new council area came into force on 1 April 1996. The Perth and Kinross lieutenancy area was adjusted to match the new council area in 1996.

Geography

The Highland Boundary Fault runs across the region from the northeast to the southwest. This roughly divides the area between highland Perthshire, including part of the

Grampian Mountains The Grampian Mountains () is one of the three major mountain ranges in Scotland, that together occupy about half of Scotland. The other two ranges are the Northwest Highlands and the Southern Uplands. The Grampian range extends northeast to so ...

, to the north, and lowland Perthshire and Kinross to the south. The highland area is intersected with glacial valleys, often containing ribbon lakes, including

Loch Tay Loch Tay () is a freshwater loch in the central Scottish Highlands, highlands of Scotland, in the Perth and Kinross and Stirling (council area), Stirling Subdivisions of Scotland#Council areas, council areas, the largest body of fresh water in ...

and Loch Earn. The lowland area is a fertile region lying within the

Central Lowlands The Central Lowlands, sometimes called the Midland Valley or Central Valley, is a geologically defined area of relatively low-lying land in southern Scotland. It consists of a rift valley between the Highland Boundary Fault to the north and ...

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

, the longest river in Scotland, flows through the mountainous terrains of Perthshire and Kinross. Emerging from

, it flows eastward and, after joining the River Isla, it turns south and runs through

, before entering the

Firth of Tay The Firth of Tay (; ) is a firth on the east coast of Scotland, into which empties the River Tay (Scotland's largest river in terms of flow). The firth is surrounded by four council areas: Fife, Perth and Kinross, Dundee City, and Angus. ...

Economy

In the southern part of Perth and Kinross agriculture plays an important part of the local economy. This includes the cultivation of fruits, fodder, wheat and seed potatoes. The scenic nature of the northern part of Perth and Kinross makes tourism an important part of the economy. The

Forestry Commission The Forestry Commission is a non-ministerial government department responsible for the management of publicly owned forests and the regulation of both public and private forestry in England. The Forestry Commission was previously also respons ...

controls large parts of the area, which is also home to a number of hydroelectric dams.

Settlements

Largest settlements by population

Places of interest

* Ashintully Castle * Atholl Country Life Museum *

Ben Lawers Ben Lawers () is the highest mountain in the Breadalbane, Scotland, Breadalbane region of the Scottish Highlands. It lies north of Loch Tay and is the highest peak of the 'Ben Lawers group', a ridge that includes six other Munros: Beinn Ghlas, Me ...

* Blackhall Roman Camps * Blair Atholl Mill *

Blair Castle Blair Castle (in Scottish Gaelic: ''Caisteil Bhlàir'') stands in its grounds near the village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire in Scotland. It is the ancestral home of the Clan Murray, and was historically the seat of their clan chief, chief, the ...

* Cateran Trail *

Cairngorms National Park Cairngorms National Park () is a national park in northeast Scotland, established in 2003. It was the second of National parks of Scotland, two national parks established by the Scottish Parliament, after Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National ...

* Castle Menzies * Clan Donnachaidh Centre * Cluny House Gardens * Dirnanean House * Drummond Castle *

Edradour Distillery Edradour distillery (Scottish Gaelic: ''Eadar Dhà Dhobhar'', "between two rivers") is a Highland single malt whisky distillery based in Pitlochry, Perthshire. It has been owned by the Signatory Vintage Scotch Whisky Company since 2002, an ...

* Elcho Castle * Forest of Atholl * Fortingall Yew *

Glen Lyon Glen Lyon () is a glen in the Perth and Kinross region of Scotland. It is the longest enclosed glen in Scotland and runs for from Loch Lyon in the west to the village of Fortingall in the east. This glen was also known as ''An Crom Ghleann' ...

* Kindrogan House * Lendrick Muir School * Loch Earn * Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park * Loch Rannoch *

* Melville Monument * Portmoak *

Rannoch Moor Rannoch Moor (; ) is an expanse of around of boggy moorland to the west of Loch Rannoch in Scotland, from where it extends into westerly Perth and Kinross, northerly Lochaber (in Scottish Highlands, Highland), and the area of Highland Scotland ...

* Strathearn * Whitefield Castle

Politics and governance

Local government

The

local authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of governance or public administration within a particular sovereign state. Local governments typically constitute a subdivision of a higher-level political or administrative unit, such a ...

is Perth and Kinross Council, which meets at 2 High Street, Perth.

Scottish Parliament

Perth and Kinross is covered by two Scottish Parliament constituencies and one electoral region. Following the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

these two constituencies— Perthshire South and Kinross-shire and Perthshire North—are held respectively by Jim Fairlie and John Swinney, both members of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

. Following the same election the electoral region— Mid Scotland and Fife—is represented by four members of the

Scottish Conservatives The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party (), known as Scottish Tories, is part of the UK Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party active in Scotland. It currently holds 5 of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Ki ...

, two members of

Scottish Labour Scottish Labour (), is the part of the UK Labour Party (UK), Labour Party active in Scotland. Ideologically social democratic and Unionism in the United Kingdom, unionist, it holds 23 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament and 37 of 57 Sco ...

, and one member of the Scottish Greens.

UK Parliament

Perth and Kinross is covered by three United Kingdom Parliament constituencies; Perth and Kinross-shire, Angus and Perthshire Glens and Stirling and Strathallan. Following the 2024 UK Parliamentary General Election these seats are respectively held by Pete Wishart (Scottish National Party), Dave Doogan (Scottish National Party) and Chris Kane (Labour Party).

Referendums

On 18 September 2014, Perth and Kinross voted strongly "No" in the Scottish Independence Referendum, with a majority of 60.2% on a record turnout of 86.9%. On 23 June 2016, Perth and Kinross voted in favour of remain in the Brexit referendum, with a majority of 61.1% on a turnout of 73.7%.

References

External links

*
The Perthshire Diary – 365 history storiesPerth CityA Vision of Britain Through Time: A vision of Perth and Kinross
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perth And Kinross Lieutenancy areas of Scotland Highlands and Islands of Scotland Council areas of Scotland 1975 establishments in Scotland States and territories established in 1975