| West Lothian Wast Lowden Lodainn an Iar |
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| Location | |||||
| Geography | |||||
| Area | Ranked 20th | ||||
| - Total | 427 km2 (165 sq mi) | ||||
| Admin HQ | Livingston | ||||
| ISO 3166-2 | GB-WLN | ||||
| ONS code | 00RH | ||||
| Demographics | |||||
| Population | Ranked 9th | ||||
| - Total (2005) | 172,100 | ||||
| - Density | 402 / km² | ||||
| Politics | |||||
| West Lothian Council http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/ |
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| Control | Scottish National Party/Action to Save St John's Hospital/Conservative | ||||
| MPs | |||||
| MSPs | |||||
| West Lothian | |
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| — County (until circa 1890) — | |
| Country | Scotland |
| County town | Livingston |
| Area | |
| • Total | 310.8 km2 (120 sq mi) |
| Ranked 32nd | |
| Chapman code | WLN |
West Lothian (Scots: Wast Lowden, Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Falkirk, North Lanarkshire, the Scottish Borders and South Lanarkshire.
The council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the West Lothian district of the Lothian region.
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The county of West Lothian was called Linlithgowshire or the County of Linlithgow until 1921.
Before it was abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the county contained six burghs. Two are now outside the West Lothian unitary council area:
| Burgh | Unitary council area |
|---|---|
| Armadale | West Lothian |
| Bathgate | |
| Linlithgow | |
| Whitburn | |
| Bo'ness | Falkirk |
| South Queensferry | City of Edinburgh |
On abolition in 1975 the county, with the exception of the Bo'ness area, was included in the Lothian Region. Bo'ness became part of the Central Region. Lothian Region was divided into four districts, one of which was named West Lothian and approximated to the former county.
West Lothian District was created in 1975, comprising the county of West Lothian; less the burghs of Bo'ness and South Queensferry and the Kirkliston area; it also included the East Calder and West Calder districts of the former county of Midlothian. The council's headquarters were originally in Bathgate, later moving to the new town of Livingston. The unitary authority created in 1996 used the same boundaries.
Livingston: East Calder, West Calder, Mid Calder, Wilkieston, Pumpherston, Knightsridge, Carmondean, Deans, Eliburn, Ladywell, Craigshill, Howden, Dedridge, Murieston, Adambrae, Livingston Village, DeerPark
Broxburn: Uphall, Winchburgh, Ecclesmachan, Dechmont, Bridgend
Bathgate: Armadale, Whitburn, Fauldhouse, Longridge, Torphichen, Blackburn, Seafield
The West Lothian question is often said to have been raised by Tam Dalyell, then member of Parliament for the former West Lothian constituency, in his 1977 book Devolution: The End of Britain?. However, in the debate on the Referendum (English Parliament) Bill (HC Deb 16 January 1998 vol 304 cc589-660) Dalyell says " The so-called West Lothian question, as it was dubbed by Enoch Powell, not by me, in 1977",[1] denying this.
Famous people from West Lothian include:
Livingston and West Lothian are twinned with Grapevine, Texas, in the USA, and Hochsauerland in Germany.
| Party | Councillors | |
| Labour | 14 | |
| Scottish National Party | 13 | |
| Action to Save St John's Hospital | 3 | |
| Conservative | 1 | |
| Independent | 1 |
West Lothian has a formal structure for engaging with young people and including them in the decision making process. The West Lothian Youth congress is a constituted group of young people between the ages of 12 and 26. It includes 2 democratically elected representatives from each of West Lothian’s High schools as well as young people representing youth/ specific interest groups, community councils or local areas from across West Lothian. The Youth Congress meets on a Tuesday evening every 4 to 6 weeks in the Council chambers of the West Lothian civic centre between 7PM and 9PM. The Congress is a full community planning partner and played an integral role in developing West Lothian’s 2010 community plan. The Congress also elects West Lothian’s 4 Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament who are elected to represent West Lothian’s young people at a national level.
The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) is a body set up to represent Scotland’s young people. Its members are aged between 14 and 26 and are elected from Scottish parliamentary constituencies with each Member of the Scottish Parliament being shadowed by 2 Members of the Scottish Youth parliament. There are also representatives from several voluntary organisations. West Lothian has four Scottish youth parliament seats as it comprises two Scottish parliamentary constituencies. West Lothian’s current MSYP’s are:
| William Kerr - Linlithgow constituency |
| David Leitch - Almond Valley constituency |
| Alanah Peters - Linlithgow constituency |
| Kimberly Morgan - Almond Valley constituency |
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