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Tom Monto

Scotland's STV - proportional representation since 2007

STV has been used in Scottish local elections, since 2007.

32 constituencies or "council areas" across Scotland

Each council area has multiple wards. Each ward elects multiple members, either three or four members in each. There are no wards with more than four and none with less than three. (In Canada's past use of STV, it was proven that 6 or 7 seats in district, or even 10 seats in a district, can work just fine under STV. But Scotland has never used a district magnitude of more than 4.)

Due to STV, each ward elects a mixed bag of members. Most are Independents, but in no ward does one party take all the seats.


In 2017 the closest that any council area came to a clean sweep for one party was where a party took two out of three seats in a ward. Such was the case in Eilean Siar, in the ward of Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas, where the SNP took two out of three seats, the other seat being taken by an Independent.

At the other extreme, in the Clackmannanshire council area, in the ward of Clackmannanshire East, the ward's three seats were taken by three different parties in each election since STV was brought in in 2007.

The council operate independently so having consistency from council area to council area is not important.

The opportunity for local differences is accentuated by the freedom that the STV system allows.

Unequal size

Na h-Ileannan Siar (Eilean Siar)

20,000 votes in some elections.

27,000 population


Clackmannanshire has 51,000 population.

Glasgow City has 400,000 votes cast in some elections

population of 635,000 But this difference in size is dealt with, where desired, by variation in the number of seats each council area has. The ability under STV to have varying number of members in the districts allows varying sized council areas, while still allowing the maintenance of a consistent voter-to-member ratio if that is desired. Due to the councils serving in separate chambers and to the multiple-member districts used in STV, having identically-sized districts with identical number of members is not important, while it is a basic principle of what little fairness happens under First Past The Post election of members that serve in one chamber.

Unequal representation

Glasgow has 85 members

Eilean Siar has 31 members

Three council areas have only 18 members: Clackmannanshire, East Renfrewshire and Midlothian.


The representation in each council area is more equal than its population size would dictate, but

with the greater effectiveness of voting under STV, variation in the voter-to-member ratio is eclipsed by the high proportion of effective votes, the number of votes that are actually used to elect someone.

Under STV, about 80 percent of votes cast in a district are actually used to elect someone, unlike in FPTP where as many as 82 percent of the votes are ignored in a district contest.

The largest number of wards in a council area is 22 in Fife. Oddly Fife has more three-member wards than any other place. Two other council areas have more members than Fife.


Glasgow City and North Lanarkshire have more reps than Fife but they each have fewer wards - due to them having more four-member wards than Fife.


The smallest number of wards in a council area is five. The council areas that have only five wards range in representation from 18 to 29 seats.


Some council areas have more members in the three-member wards; some have more members in the four-member wards.

Some council areas have more three-member wards than four-member wards; and some have more four-member wards than three-member wards.

One council area (Midlothian) does not have any four-member wards at all.

List of local councils

Aberdeen City 45 members 13 wards 6 wards with 4 members; 7 wards with 3 members


Aberdeenshire 70 members 19 wards 13 wards with 4 members; 6 wards with 3 members


Angus 28 members 8 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 4 wards with 3 members


Argyll and Bute 36 members 11 wards 3 wards with 4 members; 8 wards with 3 members


Clackmannanshire 18 members 5 wards 3 wards with 4 members; 2 wards with 3 members

Dumfries and Galloway 43 members 12 wards 7 wards with 4 members; 5 wards with 3 members

Dundee 29 members 8 wards 5 wards with 4 members; 3 wards with 3 members


East Ayrshire 32 members 9 wards 5 wards with 4 members; 4 wards with 3 members


East Dunbartonshire 22 members 7 wards 1 ward with 4 members; 6 wards with 3 members


East Lothian 22 members 6 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 2 wards with 3 members

East Renfrewshire 18 members 5 wards 3 wards with 4 members; 2 wards with 3 members


Edinburgh 63 members 17 wards 12 wards with 4 members; 5 wards with 3 members


(Eilean Siar see Na h-Ileannan Siar )


Falkirk 30 members 9 wards 3 wards with 4 members; 6 wards with 3 members


Fife 75 members 22 wards 9 wards with 4 members; 13 wards with 3 members


Glasgow City 85 members 23 wards 16 wards with 4 members; 7 wards with 3 members

(largest number of members in any council area)

Highland 74 members 21 wards 11 wards with 4 members; 10 wards with 3 members


Inverclyde 22 members 7 wards 1 ward with 4 members; 6 wards with 3 members


Midlothian Council 18 members 6 wards 6 wards with 3 members

(population 91,000)


Moray 26 members 8 wards 2 wards with 4 members; 6 wards with 3 members


Na h-Ileannan Siar 31 members 9 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 5 wards with 3 members

(27,000 population, one of smallest council areas by population)


North Ayrshire 33 members 10 wards 3 wards with 4 members; 7 wards with 3 members


North Lanarkshire 77 members 21 wards 14 wards with 4 members; 7 wards with 3 members


Orkney 21 members Six wards three wards with 4 members; three wards with 3 members.


Perth and Kinross 40 members 12 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 8 wards with 3 members


Renfrewshire 43 members 12 wards 7 wards with 4 members; 5 wards with 3 members


Scottish Borders 34 members 11 wards 1 ward with 4 members; 10 wards with 3 members


Shetlands 22 members 7 wards 1 ward with four members; 6 wards with 3 members


South Ayrshire 28 members 8 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 4 wards with 3 members South Lanarkshire 64 members 20 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 16 wards with 3 members (684 sq. miles; 319,000 pop. (5th most populous)) Stirling 23 members 7 wards 2 wards with 4 members; 5 wards with 3 members West Dunbartonshire 22 members 7 wards 4 wards with 4 members; 2 wards with 3 members West Lothian 33 members 9 wards 6 wards with 4 members; 3 wards with 3 members

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