Former Glasgow City Councillor, the late Kenny McLean who died in September 2024, has been shortlisted for Lifetime Legend at the 2025 Local Government IU and CCLA Cllr Awards.
Now in their 16th year in England and 8th year in Scotland, these Awards highlight the vital contribution of local authority councillors, often the unsung heroes of local democracy.
From championing residents’ interests to leading innovation in public services, councillors play a crucial role in shaping communities and improving lives, and they do so while giving up their time and energy for what is often a voluntary, unpaid role.
This year’s competition was extremely tight, with more than 400 nominations received across five categories that celebrate the wide-ranging work of local authority councillors: Community Champion, Leader of the Year, Young Councillor of the Year, Innovator of the Year and Lifetime Legend.
The Lifetime Legend award recognises those councillors who, over many years of public service, have made a lasting and transformative difference to their communities.
Nominated posthumously, Glasgow City Councillor Kenny McLean was a dedicated councillor since his election in 2007.
His nomination was very clear about the enormous impact he had on the development of housing in the city, particularly advocating for social housing in all developments. The transformation of neighbourhoods across Glasgow is cited in the nomination as his legacy.
Councillor McLean was deeply committed to improving his community and the lives of residents. He was also a grassroots activist, supporting, encouraging and joining in with neighbourhood initiatives such as the regular Partick Action Against Litter street clean-ups.
Nominated posthumously, Kenny McLean was elected to Glasgow City Council in 2007. Throughout his time on the council, he took an active interest in housing and public transport, and after the SNP formed the council administration, he served for many years as housing convener. He was a tireless advocate of Glasgow’s community-led Housing Association movement and a champion for housing-led regeneration in his city.
