Candidacy Rights For Foreign Nationals
10th June 2022
Bill passes allowing nationals from certain countries to stand as local councillors.
An electoral reform bill allowing nationals from countries where a relevant treaty has been agreed, including Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain, to become local councillors has been passed by Parliament.
All resident nationals from these countries will be able to stand for election as a councillor in Scotland, even if they only have limited leave to remain and even if that leave is set to expire during their term of office, under the Bill.
This follows changes made in 2020, which ensured all resident nationals from EU countries can vote in local elections and that those with settled status or pre-settled status can stand as candidates in local government elections. The Bill will grant candidacy rights in Scottish local government elections to people from Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain living in Scotland who do not have settled status or pre-settled status in accordance with the treaties covering local election participation.
The Bill also allows Scottish Ministers to add to the list of countries through regulations if further treaties are signed.
Minister for Parliamentary Business George Adam said:
"This Bill makes a small - but important - change to the law to ensure all nationals of Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal and Spain can stand as candidates in Scottish local government elections.
“Scots Law already allows Scotland to go further than most other countries in allowing all resident foreign nationals with any form of leave to remain to vote in Scottish Parliament and Scottish local government elections, but candidacy rights are limited to those with indefinite leave to remain and EU nationals with pre-settled status.
“This is all about open, fair, wide and transparent democracy and I look forward to further debate over the course of the year on a wider expansion of candidacy rights."
Related Businesses
Related Articles
Today, Morrison Construction introduced some of their local apprentices who are working on the UK Governments' Levelling Up Funded refurbishment project at the Northern Meeting Park in Inverness. All these apprentices have been recruited from the Highland area.
The by-election to elect a councillor to represent Ward 19 - Inverness South on The Highland Council has been won by Duncan Cameron McDonald - Independent who was one of the eight candidates who contested the vacancy. Voters in the ward went to the poll yesterday (Thursday 11 April) and the by-election count was held this morning in The Highland Council Headquarters in Inverness.
The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate. The Technology Placement Programme offers funding to businesses in the Highland Council area to cover up to 70% of the cost of employing a student or graduate.
Following the success of its Business Digital Grant scheme launched last year, The Highland Council is delighted to announce further funding. This is to help Highland companies access digital support alongside other business growth support.
The Highland Council is delighted to confirm a highly successful second year for Public Service Obligation (PSO) flights between Wick and Aberdeen. The period from April 2023 to March 2024 has seen a substantial increase in passenger numbers, with several months seeing over 1,000 passengers using the service, and overall the service has seen year on year growth of 25%.
Members of Highland Council, who met on Thursday 14 March 2024, approved a corporate Digital Ambition, which has been designed to deliver significant organisational change across Council services, recognising the current priorities within the organisation. The Strategy, which is embedded within the wider Council Delivery Plan, has been developed to focus attention and resources on areas of change which will deliver the greatest benefit to the Council.
The Council remains committed to supporting mentoring in our schools, including the support that is currently delivered through the MCR Pathways programme. Highland Council is currently undertaking a review of Employability Support provided by a number of different council services and how these relate to the work carried out by external partners and in our schools.
Highland Council members have considered and agreed a revised draft Highland Outcome Improvement Plan. The partnership plan has been reviewed and updated by the Community Planning Partnership.
Members at today's (14 March 2024) meeting of The Highland Council agreed the local authority's new draft Community Wealth Building Strategy. They were also asked to note that a period of public engagement on the draft will now begin, with a final strategy returning to full Council for consideration in September.
Plans to invest up to £60m new Capital in Highland roads and infrastructure have been approved by Members at the Council meeting on 14 March 2024. The decision will see an additional £40m Capital investment in roads and transport infrastructure.
