Who is my local councillor by postcode?

Most people in Scotland don't have one local councillor. They have three or four, all elected for the same ward, and you can go to any of them. Here's how to find yours from your postcode in about a minute.

Find my councillor by postcode

Each council keeps its own list of councillors, so it's two quick steps.

• •Put your postcode in the box below. The result names your council at the top.
• •Find that council in the table under it and open its councillor finder. Most ask for your postcode or street and then show your ward and every councillor for it, with their email addresses.

The box shows your MSPs and MP as well. If your problem is about the NHS, benefits or the law, they're the ones to ask, and my guide to who is my MSP explains which does what.

Councillors in my area, council by council

Who are my councillors, and why there are several

Since 2007 Scotland has elected councillors in groups. Each council is split into wards, and almost every ward elects three or four councillors. Some island wards elect one or two. Glasgow, for example, has 85 councillors across 23 wards.

You vote by numbering the candidates in order of preference, so a ward often ends up with councillors from more than one party. That works in your favour. Every councillor for your ward represents you equally. If one doesn't reply, or isn't interested, go to another. You don't need a reason.

What a local councillor for my area can help with

• •Council house repairs, damp and mould
• •Homelessness applications and temporary accommodation
• •Bins, recycling and fly tipping
• •Roads, pavements, potholes and street lights
• •School places and catchment areas
• •Social care and care at home
• •Council tax bills, discounts and reductions
• •Planning applications and licensing

Councillors don't run services day to day. Council staff do. What a councillor can do is chase it, ask questions officials have to answer, and raise it at council meetings. Benefits, the NHS and the minimum wage aren't council matters, and who decides what sets out where they sit.

How to contact my local councillor

• •Email is usually quickest. The council's finder gives each councillor's address, and often a phone number.
• •Many councillors hold drop in surgeries in the ward. The council's councillor pages or the councillor's own page will list them.
• •Say where you live, what's happened, what you've already tried and what you want done. Add photos and reference numbers if you have them.

While you're there, it's worth seeing what your council actually does with the money. Each council has its own page, linked from the table above, and the best council in Scotland ranks all 32.

The next council election

The next council elections are on Thursday 6 May 2027, in all 32 councils at once. Every councillor's seat is up. If you've had a good or a bad experience with yours, that's the day it counts.