Midlothian Council is one of the 32 local authorities of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Midlothian

Midlothian

Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

's administrative centre is based in Dalkeith

Dalkeith

Dalkeith is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, lying on the River North Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1540...

 and it covers an area from the south of Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

 to the Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

.

It covers an area of 355.27 km² and a population of 79,710. It currently employs 4,000 people.

Political Management System

Midlothian Council operates a cabinet-based decision making model

Cabinet collective responsibility

Cabinet collective responsibility is constitutional convention in governments using the Westminster System that members of the Cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in...

 working collaboratively with the Council and Performance Review Committee. Each cabinet member has a portfolio of responsibilities.

Political composition

Three political parties are represented in the council. In the election of May 2007 the Labour Party gained 9 seats, the SNP 6 and the Lib Dems 3. However, a defection from the Libs to Labour saw a change in the political make-up of the council.

• Labour
  Scottish Labour Party
  The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
  
   - 10
• Scottish National Party
  Scottish National Party
  The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
  
   - 6
• Liberal Democrat
  Scottish Liberal Democrats
  The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
  
  - 2