West Lothian

West Lothian Wast Lowden Lodainn an Iar
Logo Coat of arms
Location
Geography
Area	Ranked 20th
- Total	427 km2 (165 sq mi)
- % Water	?
Admin HQ	Livingston
ISO 3166-2	GB-WLN
ONS code	00RH
Demographics
Population	Ranked 10th
- Total (2007)	167,800
- Density	393 /km2 (1,018 /sq mi)
Politics
West Lothian Council http://www.westlothian.gov.uk/
Control	Scottish National Party/Action to Save St John's Hospital/Conservative
MPs	Michael Connarty Jim Devine
MSPs	Angela Constance Mary Mulligan

County of West Lothian until circa 1890
Geography
Area - Total	Ranked 32nd 76,806 acres
County town	Livingston
Chapman code	WLN

West Lothian (Scots: Wast Lowden, Scottish Gaelic: Lodainn an Iar) is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders, South Lanarkshire, North Lanarkshire and Falkirk.

The council area was created in 1996, under the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, with the boundaries of the West Lothian district of the Lothian region.

Main towns

Towns and villages

Former status

County

The county of West Lothian was called Linlithgowshire or the County of Linlithgow until 1921.

As abolished in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, the county contained six burghs. Two are outside the West Lothian unitary council area:

On abolition in 1975 the county, with the exception of the Bo'ness area, was included in the Lothian Region. Bo'ness became part of the Central Region. Lothian Region was divided into four districts, one of which was named West Lothian and approximated to the former county.

District

West Lothian District was created in 1975, comprising the county of West Lothian; less the burghs of Bo'ness and South Queensferry and the Kirkliston area; it also included the East Calder and West Calder districts of the former county of Midlothian. The council's headquarters were originally in Bathgate, later moving to the new town of Livingston. The unitary authority created in 1996 used the same boundaries.

Areas of West Lothian

Livingston: East Calder, West Calder, Mid Calder, Wilkieston, Pumpherston

Broxburn: Uphall, Winchburgh, Dechmont, Bridgend

Bathgate: Armadale, Whitburn, Fauldhouse, Longridge, Torphichen, Blackburn, Seafield

Places of interest

• Blackness Castle
• Linlithgow Palace, birth place of Mary Queen of Scots.
• Cairnpapple Hill
• Beecraigs Country Park
• Polkemmet Country park

Mentions in popular culture

The West Lothian question is so named as it was raised by Tam Dalyell, then member of Parliament for the former West Lothian constituency, in his 1977 book Devolution: The End of Britain ?.

Leon Jackson, the winner of The X Factor UK 2007, is from Whitburn, West Lothian.

David Tennant, best known for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who, is from West Lothian.

Susan Boyle, who lives in West Lothian, is a world-renowned singing contestant on the 3rd series of Britain's Got Talent. Her launch performance not only helped to draw a record TV viewing audience of 10.3 million people, but also led to a YouTube video of her performance, generating an estimated 100 million viewers within the first eight days, and widespread international media coverage. ^{[1] [2]}

Town twinnings

West Lothian is twinned with the following cities:

• Grapevine, USA
• Hochsauerland, Germany

Council political composition

References

External links

• West Lothian Council official government website
• West Lothian at the Open Directory Project

Coordinates: 55°55′N 3°30′W / 55.917°N 3.5°W / 55.917; -3.5