Moray
Moray (/ˈmʌri/ ⓘ) Scottish Gaelic: Moireibh or Moireabh) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.
This article is about the council area and district. For the province, see Province of Moray. For the county, see County of Moray. For the fish, see Moray eel. For other uses, see Moray (disambiguation).
Moray
Scottish Gaelic: Moireibh
Scottish Gaelic: Moireibh
Moray, Banffshire (Part)
High Street
Elgin
Moray
IV30 1BX
Douglas Ross for Moray
864 sq mi (2,238 km2)
96,410
110/sq mi (43/km2)
S12000020
GB-MRY
Between 1975 and 1996 Moray, with similar boundaries, was a district of the then Grampian Region.
History[edit]
The name, first attested around 970 as Moreb, and in Latinised form by 1124 as Morauia, derives from the earlier Celtic forms *mori 'sea' and *treb 'settlement' (c.f. Welsh môr-tref).[1]
During the Middle Ages, the Province of Moray was much larger than the modern council area, also covering much of what is now Highland and Aberdeenshire. During this period Moray may for a time have been either an independent kingdom or a highly autonomous vassal of Alba. In the early 12th century, Moray was defeated by David I of Scotland following a conflict with Óengus of Moray, and rule over the area was passed to William fitz Duncan.
After that the title became defunct until the 14th century when Thomas Randolph was granted the title Earl of Moray. The earldom became extinct and was recreated four times: with its last creation surviving to the present day, currently being held by the 21st Earl of Moray. Over these centuries, the territory of the County of Moray contracted to the area around Elgin.
The boundaries of the Moray Council area date from the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and the subsequent reorganisation of local government in Scotland in 1975. The area was a district of the Grampian Region between 1975 and 1996, when the regions were abolished and Moray became a unitary authority. The council area covers most of the historic county of Moray (the rest is part of the Highland council area) along with most of historic Banffshire (the rest is part of the Aberdeenshire council area). Another set of boundaries — similar to those of the historic county — are used as a lieutenancy area and as a registration county.
Politics[edit]
The Moray Council currently has 26 members, elected using the single transferable vote in eight wards. As of March 2022 the council is controlled by a minority SNP administration.[2]
Moray's boundaries coincide with those of the Moray constituency of the UK House of Commons. The current MP is Douglas Ross of the Conservative Party.
For the Scottish Parliament, the majority of Moray is in the Moray constituency and the Highlands and Islands electoral region. The eastern corner of Moray (consisting of the Buckie ward and the eastern part of the Keith and Cullen ward) is instead in the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency and the North-East Scotland electoral region.
In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, Moray voted, 'No' by an above-average percentage of 57.6%. In the 2016 European Union membership referendum, Moray voted, 'Remain' by a 50.1% margin. It had the biggest percentage for, 'Leave' out of all the Scottish council areas and the narrowest margin of victory for either side anywhere in the UK.
Drug issues[edit]
In 2020, Scotland had the highest number of drug-related deaths in Europe, almost 3.5 times higher than the rest of the UK.[4]
Figures from the National Records of Scotland show there were 17 drug deaths in the Moray area in 2018 compared to 7 the year before. That compares to 10 in both 2016 and 2015, 2 in 2014 and 5 in 2013. The 2018 figures for the Moray area were the highest since records began in 1996, mirroring the national picture.
In 2019, 12 drug-related deaths were reported - 5 fewer than the record high of the previous year.[5] This represents a drug-related death rate per 1,000 people of 0.12. By comparison, the death rate in neighbouring Aberdeenshire per 1,000 people was 0.08; in Dundee it was 0.36 (the highest in the country); in Glasgow it was 0.35 (the second highest in the country); the lowest in Scotland was Orkney with a rate of 0.06.[5]
Economy[edit]
Employment[edit]
The working population of Moray in 2003 was nearly 40,000: of whom around 34,000 were employees and 6000 self-employed. Of these 34,000, 31% were employed in the public sector, compared with 27% for Scotland and 25% for the UK (the RAF personnel are not included in these figures). Only 18% of jobs are managerial or professional, compared to 25% for Scotland.