Fife Council
Scottish unitary authority council in Fife, Scotland
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Fife Council is the local authority for Fife, one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. The council is based at Fife House in Glenrothes. It has been under no overall control since 2003, and has been led by a Labour minority administration since the last election in 2022.
since July 2023[1]
Fife Council | |
|---|---|
| Full council election every 5 years. | |
Coat of arms | |
 Council logo | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
| Leadership | |
Ken Gourlay since July 2023[1] | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 75 |
 | |
Political groups | Administration (18)
Other parties (56)
|
| Elections | |
| Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
| Meeting place | |
 | |
| Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes, KY7 5LT | |
| Website | |
| www | |
History
Fife was one of Scotland's historic counties, with a Fife County Council existing from 1890 to 1975. In 1975, Fife became a region with three lower-tier district councils: Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, and North-East Fife.[2] The regions and districts were abolished in 1996, when Fife became a council area, governed by Fife Council.[3]
Political control
The council has been under no overall control since 2003. Following the 2022 election, the Scottish National Party were the largest group on the council, but a Labour minority administration was formed with informal support from the Liberal Democrats and Conservatives.[4]
The first election to Fife Regional 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 change to council areas which came into force on 1 April 1996. Political control since 1975 has been as follows:[5]
Fife Regional Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1975–1996 | |
Fife Council
| Party in control | Years | |
|---|---|---|
| Labour | 1996–2003 | |
| No overall control | 2003–present | |
Leadership
A Provost of Fife is elected from among the councillors. The provost chairs full council meetings and acts as ceremonial head of the council.[6] The current provost is former football manager Jim Leishman, who was first elected to the post in May 2012 and subsequently re-elected in 2017 and 2022.[7]
Political leadership is provided by the leader of the council. The leaders since 1996 have been:[8]
| Councillor | Party | From | To | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Rowley[9] | Labour | 1 April 1996 | 1998 | ||
| Christine May | Labour | 1998 | 2003 | ||
| Anne McGovern | Labour | 2003 | 2007 | ||
| Peter Grant | SNP | 2007 | 2012 | ||
| Alex Rowley[10] | Labour | 2012 | 20 Feb 2014 | ||
| David Ross[10][11] | Labour | 20 Feb 2014 | May 2017 | ||
| David Alexander | SNP | May 2017 | May 2022 | Co-leaders[12][13] | |
| David Ross | Labour | ||||
| David Ross[14] | Labour | 19 May 2022 | |||
Premises
Fife Council is based at Fife House on North Street, Glenrothes. The building was built in 1969 for the Glenrothes Development Corporation, and became headquarters of Fife Regional Council on its creation in 1975. Prior to 1975 the old Fife County Council had been based at County Buildings, Cupar. Fife House passed to the new Fife Council on local government reorganisation in 1996.[15]
Composition
Following the 2022 election and subsequent by-elections and changes of allegiance up to August 2025, the composition of the council was:[16]
| Party | Councillors | |
|---|---|---|
| SNP | 34 | |
| Labour | 18 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 13 | |
| Conservative | 7 | |
| Reform UK | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 | |
| Vacant | 1 | |
| Total | 75 | |
A by-election to fill the vacant seat is due on 6 November 2025. Otherwise, the next full council election is due in 2027.[16]
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:[5]
Wards
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