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Highland Council Sgire Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd
Logo Coat of arms
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 1st
- Total	30,659 km²
- % Water	?
Admin HQ	Inverness
ISO 3166-2	GB-HLD
ONS code	00QT
Demographics
Population	Ranked 7th
- Total (2006)	215,300
- Density	8 / km²
Scottish Gaelic
- Total ()	{{{Scottish council Gaelic Speakers}}}
Politics
The Highland Council http://www.highland.gov.uk/ (Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd http://www.highland.gov.uk/gaidhlig.htm)
Control	Independent/Scottish National Party])
MPs	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: John Thurso Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey: Danny Alexander Ross, Skye and Lochaber: Charles Kennedy
MSPs	Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross: Jamie Stone Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber: Fergus Ewing Ross, Skye and Inverness West: John Farquhar Munro Highlands and Islands: Rob Gibson, Rhoda Grant, Jamie McGrigor, Peter Peacock, Mary Scanlon, David Stewart and David Thompson

The Highland council area (Sgìre Comhairle na Gàidhealtachd^[1] in Gaelic, pronounced [s̪g̊ʲiːɾʲə kɔ.əɾlə nə g̊ɛː.əɫ̪d̪̊əxg̊]) is a local government area in the Scottish Highlands and the largest local government area in Scotland, and in the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and Stirling, also have areas of the Scottish Highlands within their administrative boundaries. The Highland area covers most of the mainland and inner-Hebridean parts of the former counties of Inverness-shire and Ross and Cromarty, all of Sutherland, Caithness and Nairnshire, and small parts of Argyll and Moray.

The area was created as a two-tier region in 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, with an elected council for the whole region and, in addition, elected councils for each of eight districts, Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness, Inverness, Lochaber, Nairn, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh and Sutherland. The act also abolished county and burgh councils. In 1996, under the Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994, the Highland Regional Council and the district councils were wound up and their functions were transferred to a new Highland Council. The Highland Council adopted the districts as management areas and created area committees to represent them. However, the boundaries of committee areas ceased to be aligned exactly with those of management areas as a result of changes to ward boundaries in 1999. Also, ward boundaries have changed again this year, 2007, and the management areas and related committees have been abolished in favour of three new corporate management areas, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey and Ross, Skye and Lochaber. The names of these areas are also names of constituencies, but boundaries are different.

The Highland Council headquarters is located in Inverness with most previous district council offices retained as outstations.

Contents 1 Politics 1.1 Councillors 1.1.1 Political representation 1.2 Members of the Scottish Parliament 1.3 Members of Parliament 2 Towns and villages in the Highland Council Area 3 Places of interest in the Highland Council Area 4 See also 5 References 6 External links

Politics

Main article: Politics of the Highland council area

Councillors

The Highland Council represents 22 wards, of which each elects three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system of election, to produce a form of proportional representation in a council of 80 members.

Political representation

The most recent general election of the council was on 3 May 2007, and the first meeting of the new council, on 17 May, elected an independent member as convener of the council and a Scottish National Party member as vice-convener.^[2]

Independents and parties now (December 2007) hold seats as follows:

34 independent councillors

21 Liberal Democrat councillors

18 Scottish National Party councillors

7 Labour Party councillors

One of the Liberal Democrat members joined that party after his election to the council, on 3 May, as an independent; and another member left that party to sit as an independent. Another Independent joined the SNP.

Members of the Scottish Parliament

For elections to the Scottish Parliament the Highland area is within the Highlands and Islands electoral area, which elects eight first past the post constituency Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) and seven additional member MSPs. Three of the region's constituencies, each electing one MSP, are within the Highland area: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber and Ross, Skye and Inverness West.

Members of Parliament

In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom the Highland area is represented by Members of Parliament (MPs) elected from three constituencies: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross; Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey; and Ross, Skye and Lochaber. Each constituency elects one MP by the first past the post system of election.

Towns and villages in the Highland Council Area

• Alness, Altnaharra, Applecross, Aviemore, Avoch
• Back of Keppoch, Ballachulish
• Cromarty
• Dalwhinnie, Dingwall, Dornoch, Durness
• Fearn,Fort Augustus, Fortrose, Fort William
• Gairloch
• Glencoe, Golspie
• Helmsdale
• Invergordon
• Inverness
• John o' Groats
• Kingussie, Kinlochbervie, Kinlochleven, Kyle of Lochalsh
• Mallaig
• Nairn, Newtonmore, North Ballachulish
• Plockton
• Portmahomack
• Rosemarkie
• South Ballachulish
• Tain, Thurso, Tobermory, Tongue, Torridon
• Ullapool
• Wick

Places of interest in the Highland Council Area

• Cairngorms National Park
• Castle Tioram
• Cawdor Castle
• Chanonry Point
• Culloden Battlefield
• Fort George
• Glencoe
• Glenfinnan
• Glen Orchy
• Glen Spean
• Highland Folk Museum
• Highland Wildlife Park
• Loch Linnhe
• Loch Lochy
• Loch Ness
• Rannoch Moor
• Skibo Castle
• Tor Castle
• Urquhart Castle
• West Highland Way

See also

• Scottish Highlands

References

External links

• The Highland Council (Comhairle na Gaidhealtachd)
  • Political composition of the council
• The Highland council area in the Gazetteer for Scotland website
• Scottish Highlands and Islands Film Commission

v • d • e Council areas of Scotland

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Coordinates: 57°30′N 5°00′W / 57.5, -5