Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004

The Local Governance Act 2004 is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which made certain reforms to local government including the introduction of the single transferable vote electoral system.

Provisions

The Commission on Local Government and the Scottish Parliament reported in June 2000. The introduction of proportional representation in local authority elections was a key demand of the Liberal Democrats when they entered into coalition with the Labour Party in the Scottish Executive.
The act reduced the eligibility age for local government elections from 21 to 18, with the goal of increasing diversity among councillors. The act also establishes an independent renumeration committee for councillors. The act changes the rules for local government employees standing for election.

Reception

The fact that Scottish Governmen passed the legislation was criticised by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities due to the fact that most people who responded to the consultation for the legislation were against the introduction of STV.