Comhairle nan Eilean Siar

Na h-Eileanan Siar
Logo Coat of arms
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 7th
- Total	3,071 km2 (1,186 sq mi)
Admin HQ	Stornoway (Steòrnabhagh)
ISO 3166-2	GB-ELS
ONS code	00RJ
Demographics
Population	Ranked 30th
- Total (2005)	26,200
- Density	9 / km²
Politics
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar http://www.cne-siar.gov.uk/
Control	Independent
MPs	Angus MacNeil
MSPs	Alasdair Allan

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar is the local government council for Na h-Eileanan Siar council area of Scotland.

It is the only local council in Scotland to have a Gaelic-only name. Western Isles Council was retracted in 1997 under the Local Government (Gaelic Names) (Scotland) Act 1997, meaning that the former Western Isles are now officially named Na h-Eileanan Siar, even in English-language contexts.

The council was created in 1975, 57 years after the creation of Na h-Eileanan an Iar for elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the constituency being named, when created, Western Isles). Since 1999, there has been also the Na h-Eileanan an Iar constituency of the Scottish Parliament, with the same boundaries.

Elections

Pronunciation
Scots Gaelic:	Comhairle nan Eilean Siar
Pronunciation:	[ˈkʰõ.ərˠʎə nə ˈɲelan ˈʃiəɾ] ( listen)
Scots Gaelic:	Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Pronunciation:	[nə ˈhelanən ə ˈɲiəɾ] ( listen)
Scots Gaelic:	Na h-Eileanan Siar
Pronunciation:	[nə ˈhelanən ˈʃiəɾ] ( listen)

General elections to the council are held on a four year cycle. The next is due in 2012.

During the period since 1975, elections to the council have been by the first past the post system of election with the final elections of this type returning 31 councillors, elected by 31 single-member wards.

In 2007, under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, the single transferable vote system, together with multi-member wards, was used for the first time, each ward electing three or four councillors. This system is designed to produce a form of proportional representation.

Governance

The council is governed by Independents, who hold 25 of the 31 seats, and organized political parties have a very small presence on the council, with four Scottish National Party members and two from the Labour Party.

The political composition for Na h-Eileanan Siar council after the 2007 local elections is as follows.

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Local Election Result 2007
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/-
	Independent	25	N/A	N/A		80.6	78.8	10,853
	SNP	4	N/A	N/A		12.9	12.1	1,661
	Labour	2	N/A	N/A		6.5	6.7	916
	Liberal Democrats	0	N/A	N/A		0.0	2.5	340

External links

• Comhairle nan Eilean Siar website
• Ward maps, with links re councillors