for, gd, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, italic=no, Council of the Western Isles, paren=left; ) is 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 ...

for ''

Na h-Eileanan an Iar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

'' (the Western Isles, also known as the

Outer Hebrides The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

), one of the 32

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...

s of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is based in

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

on the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

Name

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the only local council in Scotland to have a

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

-only name. When first created in 1975 the council's English language name was 'Western Isles Islands Council', which was changed to 'Western Isles Council' in 1996. In 1998, following the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997, the Western Isles Council changed the English language version of the area's name from Western Isles to ''Na h-Eileanan an Iar'' (Gaelic for 'the Western Isles'), and the name of the council to ''Comhairle nan Eilean Siar'' ('Council of the Western Isles'), to be used in both English and Gaelic contexts.

History

In 1975, the council was created as the Western Isles Islands Council 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 ...

. The area covered six former districts from two counties: the

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 ...

and the

landward district ''Landward'' is a long-running Scottish television programme focusing on agricultural and rural issues, produced and broadcast by BBC Scotland. Overview BBC Scotland had first produced its own farming programme, ''Farm Forum'', in 1965. This was ...

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * " Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohe ...

from

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

, and the landward districts of

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle ...

North Uist North Uist (; ) is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Etymology In Donald Munro's ''A Description of the Western Isles of Scotland Called Hybrides'' of 1549, North Uist, Benbecula and South Uist are described as one isla ...

South Uist South Uist (, ; ) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the rest of the Hebrides, is one of the ...

and

Barra Barra (; or ; ) is an island in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland, and the second southernmost inhabited island there, after the adjacent island of Vatersay to which it is connected by the Vatersay Causeway. In 2011, the population was 1,174. ...

from

Inverness-shire Inverness-shire () or the County of Inverness, is a Counties of Scotland, historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands and s ...

. The same area had been made a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

called

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

for elections to the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

57 years earlier in 1918. The Westminster constituency was also renamed in English contexts to the Gaelic form of the name, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, in 2005. Since 1999, the area has also been represented by the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency of the Scottish Parliament, with the same boundaries. When the

Bank of Credit and Commerce International The Bank of Credit and Commerce International was an international bank founded in 1972 by Agha Hasan Abedi, a Pakistani financier. The bank was registered in Luxembourg with head offices in Karachi and London. A decade after opening, BCCI had ...

collapsed in 1991, the then Western Isles Council lost £35m invested there, compelling a large increase in its council tax rate and leading to the resignation of Council Convener Donald Macauley. Despite its initial losses, by 2012 the Council had gained a net profit of £1.5 million from dividend repayments due to favourable exchange rates. Representing Scotland's only majority Gaelic-speaking local authority area, the council pioneered the use of Gaelic-medium education in the 1980s. In 2020, Gaelic became the default language of instruction for all primary school pupils. The council has been a member of the Islands Forum since 2022.

Political control

The first election was held in 1974, with the council initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 16 May 1975. A majority of the seats on the council have been held by

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...

councillors since 1975.

Leadership

Political Leaders

Convenors

Composition

Following the

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

election, and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to 16 September 2024, the composition of the council was: The next election is due in 2027.

Elections

Since the last boundary changes in 2022, the council has comprised 29

councillor A councillor, alternatively councilman, councilwoman, councilperson, or council member, is someone who sits on, votes in, or is a member of, a council. This is typically an elected representative of an electoral district in a municipal or re ...

s representing 11

wards Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

, with each ward electing between two and four councillors. Elections are held every five years. From 1975 until 2007, council elections used the

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

system of election; the last elections of this type elected 31 councillors, elected by 31 single-member

ward Ward may refer to: Division or unit * Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward * Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a pris ...

s.MacMahon, Peter and Walker, Helen (18 May 2007) "Winds of change sweep Scots town halls". Edinburgh. ''The Scotsman''. In 2007, under the

Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, amongst other things, for the election of councillors to the local government in Scotland, local authorities in Scotland by the single transfera ...

, the

single transferable vote The single transferable vote (STV) or proportional-ranked choice voting (P-RCV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vot ...

system, together with multi-member wards, was used for the first time, each ward electing three or four councillors. This system is designed to produce a degree of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

Wards

* Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh * Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla * Uibhist a Tuath * Na Hearadh * Sgìre nan Loch * Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh * An Taobh Siar agus Nis * Loch a Tuath * Steòrnabhagh a Tuath * Steòrnabhagh a Deas * Sgire an Rubha

Premises

The council is based at the Council Offices on Sandwick Road in Stornoway. The building was purpose-built for the council in 1979.

References

External links

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar website

Ward maps, with links re councillors
{{Authority control .

Na h-Eileanan Siar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

Politics of the Outer Hebrides Stornoway