2022 East Ayrshire Council election
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All 32 seats to East Ayrshire Council 17 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Registered | 97,147 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Turnout | 43.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to East Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
For the third consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 14 seats but remained shy of an overall majority. Labour gained back some of the ground they had lost at the previous election and were again returned as the second-largest party with 10 seats. The Conservatives lost one-third of their seats to return four councillors while The Rubbish Party retained their only seat. Three independent candidates were also elected.
The minority SNP administration retained control of the council with incumbent council leader Cllr Douglas Reid re-elected to the post unopposed. Former SNP Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were also reinstated less than a year after being voted out of the roles.
Background
Previous election
At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) again won the most seats and governed with a minority administration. Overall, the SNP lost one seat to hold 14. Labour lost five seats but were still the second largest party with nine councillors and the Conservatives made a net gain of four to hold six seats. Two independents were elected – up one – and The Rubbish Party - standing in its first election - had their first councillor elected.[1][2]
Party | Seats | Vote share | |
---|---|---|---|
SNP | 14 | 38.5% | |
Labour | 9 | 25.2% | |
Conservatives | 6 | 24.2% | |
Independent | 2 | 8.1% | |
Rubbish | 1 | 1.9% |
Source: [1][2]
Electoral system
The election used the nine wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 32 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.[3]
Composition
No by-elections were held following the previous election in 2017. The only changes in the political composition of the council came when Councillor Ian Grant was expelled from the Conservative group and became an independent in February 2022 and when Councillor John Bell resigned from the SNP in March 2022.[4][5]
Party | 2017 result | Dissolution | |
---|---|---|---|
SNP | 14 | 13 | |
Labour | 9 | 9 | |
Conservative | 6 | 5 | |
Rubbish | 1 | 1 | |
Independents | 2 | 4 |
Retiring councillors
Ward | Party | Retiring councillor | |
---|---|---|---|
Annick | SNP | Gordon Jenkins | |
Kilmarnock North | SNP | Helen Coffey | |
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse | Conservative | Tom Cook | |
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | SNP | Fiona Campbell | |
John Campbell | |||
Kilmarnock South | Labour | John Knapp | |
Irvine Valley | Labour | George Mair | |
SNP | Elena Whitham | ||
Ballochmyle | Labour | Neil McGhee | |
SNP | Jim Roberts | ||
Cumnock and New Cumnock | Conservative | Walter Young | |
Doon Valley | Labour | Elaine Dinwoodie |
Source: [2][6]
Candidates
The total number of candidates fell from 63 in 2017 to 54. As was the case five years previous, the SNP fielded the highest number of candidates at 17 (one less than in 2017) across the nine wards. Both Labour and the Conservatives also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 11 candidates fielded by Labour were two less than in 2017 whereas the Conservatives maintained a total of nine candidates. Unlike the previous election, the Libertarians did not contest every ward after only one candidate was selected. The Greens only fielded one candidate, down from four in 2017 while The Rubbish Party maintained their number of candidates at one. The Liberal Democrats contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time since 2012 as they fielded two candidates. As was the case in 2017, nine independent candidates stood for election and the Alba Party contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time.[2][6]
Results
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | 14 | 1 | 1 | ![]() | 43.7 | 37.9 | 15,767 | ![]() | |
Labour | 10 | 1 | 0 | ![]() | 31.2 | 29.5 | 12,251 | ![]() | |
Conservative | 4 | 0 | 2 | ![]() | 12.5 | 17.7 | 7,351 | ![]() | |
Independent | 3 | 1 | 0 | ![]() | 9.3 | 11.4 | 4,730 | ![]() | |
Rubbish | 1 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | 3.1 | 1.9 | 787 | ![]() | |
Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | 0.0 | 0.5 | 228 | ![]() | |
Alba | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | 0.0 | 0.5 | 227 | New | |
Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | 0.0 | 0.4 | 183 | New | |
Scottish Libertarian | 0 | 0 | 0 | ![]() | 0.0 | 0.1 | 38 | ![]() | |
Total | 32 | 41,562 |
Source: [7]
Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils.[8][9]
Ward summary
Ward | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | Total Cllrs |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Labour | Conservative | Rubbish | Others | |||||||
Annick | 33.1 | 1 | 19.1 | 1 | 24.5 | 1 | 23.2 | 1 | 4 | ||
Kilmarnock North | 47.6 | 2 | 27.9 | 1 | 13.8 | 0 | 10.7 | 0 | 3 | ||
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse | 38.4 | 2 | 28.2 | 1 | 22.0 | 1 | 11.4 | 0 | 4 | ||
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | 37.2 | 2 | 38.5 | 1 | 12.1 | 0 | 12.2 | 1 | 4 | ||
Kilmarnock South | 53.3 | 2 | 31.4 | 1 | 12.2 | 0 | 3.2 | 0 | 3 | ||
Irvine Valley | 41.6 | 1 | 22.6 | 1 | 17.3 | 0 | 18.5 | 1 | 3 | ||
Ballochmyle | 39.7 | 2 | 32.7 | 1 | 16.8 | 1 | 10.9 | 0 | 4 | ||
Cumnock and New Cumnock | 33.9 | 1 | 41.2 | 2 | 18.5 | 1 | 2.4 | 0 | 4 | ||
Doon Valley | 20.8 | 1 | 23.1 | 1 | 16.7 | 0 | 39.4 | 1 | 3 | ||
Total | 37.9 | 14 | 29.5 | 10 | 17.7 | 4 | 1.9 | 1 | 12.9 | 3 | 32 |
Source: [7]
Seats changing hands
Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat.
Seat | 2017 | 2022 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Party | Member | Party | Member | |||
Kilmarnock North | Conservative | Ian Grant[Note 1] | SNP | David William Richardson | ||
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | Conservative | John Herd | Independent | Graham Boyd | ||
Cumnock and New Cumnock | SNP | Jacqui Todd | Labour | June Kyle |
- Notes
- ^ Note 1: In 2017, Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later expelled from the party.[4]
Ward results
Annick
The SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and independent candidate Ellen Freel held the seats they won at the previous election.
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
Conservative | John McFadzean (incumbent) | 24.5 | 1,516 | |||||
Labour | John McGhee (incumbent) | 19.1 | 1,183 | 1,270 | ||||
SNP | Stephen Canning | 16.9 | 1,048 | 1,052 | 1,054 | 1,139 | 2,086 | |
SNP | Wendy Hannah | 16.1 | 998 | 1,004 | 1,007 | 1,063 | ||
Independent | Ellen Freel (incumbent) | 13.1 | 812 | 872 | 883 | 1,216 | 1,274 | |
Independent | John Cairns | 10.1 | 627 | 666 | 672 | |||
Electorate: 12,530 Valid: 6,184 Spoilt: 80 Quota: 1,237 Turnout: 50.0% |
Source: [10][11]
Kilmarnock North
The SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to the SNP. Independent candidate Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate in 2017 but was later expelled from the party.[4]
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
SNP | Elaine Cowan | 38.2 | 1,483 | ||||||
Labour | Maureen McKay (incumbent) | 27.9 | 1,084 | ||||||
Conservative | Allan MacDonald | 13.8 | 536 | 542 | 566 | 574 | 713 | ||
SNP | David William Richardson | 9.4 | 364 | 788 | 804 | 855 | 939 | 1,035 | |
Independent | Ian Grant (incumbent) | 8.1 | 316 | 343 | 366 | 397 | |||
Alba | Wendy MacDonald | 2.6 | 99 | 113 | 119 | ||||
Electorate: 9,748 Valid: 3,882 Spoilt: 53 Quota: 971 Turnout: 40.4% |
Source: [12][13]
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse
The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Labour | Lillian Jones (incumbent) | 28.2 | 1,662 | ||||
Conservative | James Adams | 22.0 | 1,297 | ||||
SNP | Iain Linton (incumbent) | 19.8 | 1,168 | 1,219 | |||
SNP | Douglas Reid (incumbent) | 18.6 | 1,093 | 1,142 | 1,149 | 1,182 | |
Independent | Frank McNiff | 6.3 | 369 | 475 | 516 | 517 | |
Scottish Green | Elizabeth Brown | 3.9 | 228 | 299 | 308 | 312 | |
Alba | Guy Njali Bola | 1.2 | 71 | 81 | 82 | 83 | |
Electorate: 13,347 Valid: 5,888 Spoilt: 70 Quota: 1,178 Turnout: 44.6% |
Source: [14][15]
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford
The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won in the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to independent candidate Graham Boyd.
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
Labour | Barry Douglas (incumbent) | 38.5 | 2,053 | |||||
SNP | Graham Barton | 28.2 | 1,501 | |||||
Conservative | Jon Herd (incumbent) | 12.1 | 645 | 796 | 798 | 854 | ||
Independent | Graham Boyd | 10.8 | 574 | 776 | 799 | 879 | 1,288 | |
SNP | Neal Ingram | 9.0 | 481 | 616 | 983 | 1,000 | 1,030 | |
Liberal Democrats | Trevor Grant | 1.4 | 74 | 209 | 218 | |||
Electorate: 12,370 Valid: 5,328 Spoilt: 69 Quota: 1,066 Turnout: 43.6% |
Source: [16][17]
Kilmarnock South
The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | ||||
SNP | Jim Todd (incumbent) | 32.6 | 990 | ||
Labour | Peter Mabon | 31.4 | 954 | ||
SNP | Claire Maitland (incumbent) | 20.7 | 627 | 828 | |
Conservative | Robin Bawa | 12.2 | 370 | 374 | |
Alba | Stewart John McLintock | 1.9 | 57 | 62 | |
Scottish Libertarian | Keyrin James Von-Döring | 1.3 | 38 | 40 | |
Electorate: 8,186 Valid: 3,036 Spoilt: 67 Quota: 760 Turnout: 37.9 |
Source: [18][19]
Irvine Valley
The SNP, Labour and the Rubbish Party retained the seats they won at the previous election
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
SNP | Beverley Michele Clark | 30.8 | 1,309 | |||||
Labour | Kevin McGregor | 22.6 | 962 | 974 | 1,153 | |||
Rubbish | Sally Cogley (incumbent) | 18.5 | 787 | 801 | 982 | 1,017 | 1,547 | |
Conservative | Susan McFadzean | 17.3 | 737 | 739 | 763 | 782 | ||
SNP | Lee-Anne Margaret To | 10.8 | 461 | 667 | ||||
Electorate: 9,797 Valid: 4,256 Spoilt: 46 Quota: 1,065 Turnout: 43.9% |
Source: [20][21]
Ballochmyle
The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
SNP | Claire Leitch (incumbent) | 28.0 | 1,301 | ||||||
Labour | Linda Holland | 23.4 | 1,085 | ||||||
Conservative | Alyson Simmons (incumbent) | 16.8 | 779 | 781 | 786 | 912 | 914 | 1,112 | |
SNP | William Lennox | 11.7 | 542 | 863 | 869 | 981 | |||
Independent | David Shaw | 10.9 | 507 | 522 | 532 | ||||
Labour | Stephen McCarron | 9.3 | 432 | 444 | 565 | 691 | 706 | ||
Electorate: 11,193 Valid: 4,646 Spoilt: 100 Quota: 930 Turnout: 42.4% |
Source: [22][23]
Cumnock and New Cumnock
Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election while the SNP retained one seat and lost one seat to Labour.
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||||
Labour | Billy Crawford (incumbent) | 30.1 | 1,349 | |||||
SNP | Jim McMahon (incumbent) | 20.0 | 897 | |||||
Conservative | Neill Watts | 18.5 | 827 | 847 | 858 | 858 | 915 | |
SNP | Jacqui Todd (incumbent) | 15.7 | 701 | 714 | 723 | 724 | 752 | |
Labour | June Kyle | 13.2 | 593 | 961 | ||||
Liberal Democrats | Fraser Wright | 2.4 | 109 | 114 | 127 | 127 | ||
Electorate: 11,044 Valid: 4,476 Spoilt: 116 Quota: 896 Turnout: 41.6% |
Source: [24][25]
Doon Valley
Independent candidate Drew Filson, Labour and the SNP held the seats they won at the previous election. Independent candidate John Bell was elected as an SNP candidate in 2017 but he later resigned from the party.[5]
Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||||
Independent | Drew Filson (incumbent) | 27.9 | 1,077 | ||||||
Labour | Elaine Stewart | 23.1 | 894 | 929 | 974 | ||||
SNP | Jennifer Hogg | 20.8 | 803 | 817 | 826 | 827 | 927 | 1,074 | |
Conservative | Samantha Hainey | 16.7 | 644 | 651 | 681 | 682 | 780 | ||
Independent | John Bell (incumbent) | 8.0 | 311 | 333 | 373 | 375 | |||
Independent | Murray Hendrie | 3.5 | 137 | 146 | |||||
Electorate: 8,932 Valid: 3,866 Spoilt: 59 Quota: 967 Turnout: 43.9% |
Source: [26][27]
Aftermath
The SNP, who have run East Ayrshire Council since forming an administration as a result of the 2007 election, retained control of the council. It was reported that the party had been worried they would lose control of the council – as was the case in other councils across Scotland where unionist parties had voted together to prevent nationalist leadership – but the Labour and Conservative groups didn't oppose Cllr Douglas Reid's re-election as council leader. Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were reinstated to their roles despite Labour and the Conservatives putting forward candidates for the roles however, the two parties did not support each other. The pair had been voted out in June 2021 when the opposition parties had voted together to have the leadership roles of the council shared more evenly across the council reflecting the fact the SNP administration was a minority administration.[28][29][30]
Former Conservative group leader Tom Cook stood down at the 2022 election. He was replaced in the role by Annick councillor John McFadzean.[31]
References
- ^ a b "East Ayrshire Council". BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
- ^ a b c d Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2017 - East Ayrshire". Retrieved 21 October 2022.
- ^ "Notice of Election" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b c Dunn, Ross (11 February 2022). "Conservative party infighting sees councillor ousted from East Ayrshire group". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b Behan, Paul (16 March 2022). "Ayrshire councillor dramatically quits SNP after party's 'drift to the right' at national level". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ a b Paterson, Colin (30 March 2022). "East Ayrshire Council elections 2022: Every candidate standing as campaign gets underway". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ a b Faulds, Allan. "East Ayrshire Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ Faulds, Allan. "The Local STV Voting System Explained". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Single Transferable Vote". Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 1 Annick" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 1 Annick" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 2 Kilmarnock North" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 2 Kilmarnock North" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 4 Kilmarnock East and Hurlford" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 4 Kilmarnock East and Hurlford" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 5 Kilmarnock South" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 5 Kilmarnock South" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 6 Irvine Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 6 Irvine Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 7 Ballochmyle" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 7 Ballochmyle" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 8 Cumnock and New Cumnock" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 8 Cumnock and New Cumnock" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 9 Doon Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Detailed Results Ward 9 Doon Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ Dyson, Kevin (23 May 2022). "Worried SNP councillors saw 15-year rule of East Ayrshire come under threat amid Labour power grab speculation". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
- ^ Paterson, Colin (6 May 2022). "SNP triumph in East Ayrshire but council remains hung as group leaders begin serious talks". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ Pengilly, Calam (24 June 2021). "East Ayrshire Council: SNP Provost voted out by opposition". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
- ^ Pengilly, Calam; Dyson, Kevin (19 May 2022). "East Ayrshire Council: SNP in control following election". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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