Politics of Dundee

In 2017, Scotland's longest serving councillor, Ian Borthwick MBE became the Lord Provost of Dundee.

The Leader of the Council, as head of the largest political grouping, is Councillor John Alexander (SNP).

[5] Until 2019, the council was governed by an SNP-led minority administration, with the support of Ian Borthwick, the sole independent member.

[6] The SNP lost its majority again a few weeks later when Councillor Gregor Murray quit the party after accusing it of being transphobic.

[7] Shortly after this announcement, Councillor Murray was suspended from the council for two months by the Standards Commission for Scotland for using a "derogatory word" in an online forum which was judged to be "highly offensive and inappropriate".

George Galloway was leader for a time, and was responsible for organising Dundee's twinning with the Palestinian city of Nablus.

In Summer 2014, First Minister Alex Salmond said Dundee was moving "towards being Scotland's Yes city",[11] and it retained that designation in the run-up to the referendum.

[12] Housing schemes in Dundee canvassed by Yes activists indicated levels of support of up to 80 per cent in favour of independence.

[13] Headlines were made in the final week of the campaign when a Better Together event in Dundee was crashed by a piper lead demonstration involving Yes activists and members of the Scottish Socialist Party, who marched from the event they were having in Albert Square to sing protest songs at Labour party representatives at the foot of Reform Street.

[14] For elections to the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) the city area is divided between two constituencies.

Currently, Stewart Hosie (Scottish National Party) is Member of Parliament (MP) for the Dundee East constituency, and Chris Law (Scottish National Party) is MP for the Dundee Central constituency.