Aberdeenshire Council

Aberdeenshire Council is the elected local authority for the Aberdeenshire council area. The first election to the council was held in 1995, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until the new system came into force on 1 April 1996. The council is the fifth largest Scottish council having 70 members.

The council has devolved power to six area committees: Banff and Buchan; Buchan; Formartine; Garioch; Marr; and Kincardine and Mearns. Each area committee takes decisions on local issues such as planning applications, and the split is meant to reflect the diverse circumstances of each area.

In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 60.36% of voters in Aberdeenshire voted for the Union, while 39.64% opted for independence.

Political control
Aberdeenshire Council has been under no overall control since its creation:

Leadership
The leaders of the council since 1996 have been:

Composition
Following the 2022 election and subsequent changes of allegiance up to June 2023, the composition of the council was:

Of the independent councillors, eight form the "Administration Independents" group, which forms part the council's administration in coalition with the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. Two of the independents form the "Democratic Independent Group" which sits with the SNP as the "Opposition Coalition". The remaining independent councillor does not belong to any group. The next election is due in 2027.

Premises
The council is based at Woodhill House in Aberdeen, outside the council's own territory. The building was completed in 1977 for the former Grampian Regional Council.

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:

Wards
The council has 70 councillors, elected by single transferable vote in 19 multi-member wards: