2022 Argyll and Bute Council election

Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election will use the 11 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 36 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.[1]

2022 Argyll and Bute Council election
5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
All 36 seats to Argyll and Bute Council
19 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Jim Lynch N/A
Party SNP Independent
Leader's seat Oban South and the Isles N/A
Last election 11 seats, 27.6% 10 seats, 30.4%
Seats before 11 10
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader Gary Mulvaney Robin Currie
Party Conservative Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Helensburgh Central Kintyre and the Islands
Last election 9 seats, 25% 6 seats, 10.7%
Seats before 8 5
Council Leader before election

Robin Currie
Liberal Democrats

 Council Leader after election

TBD

New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 34, however these were rejected by the Scottish Parliament.[2]

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats, however a coalition of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and independents, referred to as The Argyll, Lomond and the Isles Group (TALIG) ran the council.[3]

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party despite losing two seats, overtaking the number of independents which fell by five. A coalition of independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats retained control of the council after the Conservatives made five gains and the Liberal Democrats increased their number by two.[4]

2017 Argyll and Bute Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 11 1 3 Decrease2 30.5 27.7 9,174 Decrease2.0
  Independent 10 2 7 Decrease5 27.7 30.4 10,079 Decrease8.0
  Conservative 9 5 0 Increase5 25 25.1 8,315 Increase9.6
  Liberal Democrats 6 2 0 Increase2 16.6 10.7 3,571 Decrease0.7
  Labour 0 0 0 Steady 0 4.1 1,362 Decrease0.5
  Green 0 0 0 Steady 0 1.8 609 Increase1.6
  UKIP 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.1 32 New
Total 36 33,110
Notes
  • 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 in May 2012. 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 dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Source: [4]

Composition

After the 2017 election, a few changes in the composition of the council happened. Changes in the political affiliation of councillors occurred when Conservative councillor Alastair Redman was suspended over Islamophobia allegations[5] and independent councillor Roddy McCuish joined the Independence for Scotland Party.[6] In the run up to the election, Conservative councillor Donald Kelly was deselected by the party but continued on as an independent.[7] Three by-elections were held and resulted in an independent hold, a Conservative gain from the Lib Dems and a Conservative hold.[8][9]

Party 2017 result Dissolution
SNP 11 11
Independents 10 11
Conservative 9 8
Liberal Democrats 6 5
ISP 0 1

Retiring councillors
Ward Party Retiring councillor
Kintyre and the Islands SNP Anne Horn
Mid Argyll SNP Sandy Taylor
Oban South and the Isles Independent Mary-Jean Devon
ISP Roddy McCuish
Oban North and Lorn Independent Elaine Robertson
Cowal Liberal Democrats Alan Reid
Dunoon Independent Jim Anderson
Conservative Bobby Good
Isle of Bute SNP Jim Findlay
Lomond North Conservative Paul Collins
Helensburgh Central SNP Lorna Douglas
Liberal Democrats Aileen Morton
Helensburgh and Lomond South SNP Richard Trail

Proposed boundary changes

Following the passing of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, a review of the boundaries was undertaken in North Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The Act allowed single- or two-member wards to be created to provide better representation of island communities. New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have increased the number of wards by one to 12 but reduced the number of councillors by two to 34. Two new two-member, island-only wards would have been created to represent Islay, Jura and Colonsay and Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree. As a result, the Kintyre peninsula would have been represented by a single ward instead of multiple wards which cover a mix of mainland and island communities.

The proposals would have made no changes to the boundaries or numbers of councillors in Cowal; Dunoon and Lomond North. The boundaries in Isle of Bute would have remained the same but the number of councillors would have been reduced from three to two. Minimal changes would have been made to the boundaries of Helensburgh Central and Helensburgh and Lomond South but the number of councillors in Helensburgh Central would have been reduced by one from four to three. Oban would have been placed in its own ward with four members and a new two-member Lorn ward including the inhabited island of Lismore would have been created. However, the proposals in Argyll and Bute were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the 11 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 remained in place.[2][10]

Results
2022 Argyll and Bute Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 12 1 0 Increase1 33.3 31.0 10,729 Increase3.3
  Conservative 10 2 1 Increase1 27.8 22.7 7,845 Decrease2.4
  Independent 7 2 5 Decrease3 19.4 25.3 8,742 Decrease2.4
  Liberal Democrats 5 1 2 Decrease1 13.9 9.6 3,325 Decrease1.1
  Labour 1 1 0 Increase1 2.8 6.4 2,218 Increase2.3
  Green 1 1 0 Increase1 2.8 3.9 1,334 Increase2.1
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.5 172 New
  ISP 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.5 156 New
  Scottish Family 0 0 0 Steady 0 0.1 43 New
Total 36 34,564

Ward summary
Results of the 2022 Argyll and Bute Council election
by ward
Ward  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
 Total
Cllrs
SNP Independents Conservative Lib Dem Lab Green Others
South Kintyre 32.8 1 35.9 1 22.5 1 8.7 0 3
Kintyre and the Islands 29.9 1 39.9 1 9.6 0 16.4 1 4.2 0 3
Mid Argyll 31.2 1 46.6 1 11.6 1 3.3 0 4.9 0 2.4 0 3
Oban South and the Isles 38.2 2 29.8 1 12.4 1 5.2 0 4.7 0 9.7 0 4
Oban North and Lorn 30.6 1 31.6 1 18.7 1 6.5 0 9.7 1 2.9 0 4
Cowal 41.9 1 5.2 0 26.1 1 16.8 1 7.7 0 2.4 0 3
Dunoon 40.9 1 16.2 0 17.9 1 16.9 1 6.5 0 1.6 0 3
Isle of Bute 25.4 1 46.1 1 17.8 1 1.1 0 4.3 0 3.0 0 2.4 0 3
Lomond North 24.3 1 34.1 1 26.4 1 2.8 0 12.4 0 3
Helensburgh Central 21.4 1 2.2 0 37.1 1 11.1 1 21.3 1 6.8 0 4
Helensburgh and Lomond South 26.0 1 47.7 1 17.8 1 8.6 0 3
Total 31.0 12 25.3 7 22.7 10 9.6 5 6.4 1 3.9 1 1.1 0 36

Ward results

South Kintyre
  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative
  • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
  • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
South Kintyre − 3 seats[11][12][13]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12
Independent Donald Kelly(incumbent) 35.9 848  
SNP John Armour (incumbent) 32.8 773  
Conservative Tommy MacPherson 22.5 531 615.3
Liberal Democrats Rory Colville (incumbent) 8.7 206 310.7
Electorate: 5123   Valid: 2358   Spoilt: 47   Quota: 590   Turnout: 46.9%  

    Kintyre and the Islands
    • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative
    • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
    • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
    Kintyre and the Islands − 3 seats[11][14][15]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    123456
    SNP Dougie McFadzean 29.9 863          
    Independent John McAlpine[A] 23.5 680 705.3 739.5      
    Liberal Democrats Robin Currie(incumbent) 16.4 474 515.7 580.1 583.8 670.3 987.6
    Independent Alastair John Redman (incumbent) 16.4 474 493.0 502.5 505.5 623.3  
    Conservative Alec McNeilly 9.6 276 277.3 284.3 286.3    
    Labour Jane B. Kelly 4.2 122 140.7        
    Electorate: 5377   Valid: 2889   Spoilt: 49   Quota: 723   Turnout: 54.9%  

      Mid Argyll
      • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
      • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
      • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
      Mid Argyll − 3 seats[11][16][17]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      123456789
      Independent Douglas Trevor Philand (incumbent) 35.9 1,148                
      SNP Jan Brown 31.2 993                
      Conservative Garret Corner 11.6 371 402.2 404.4 406.3 419.2 427.2 460.7 502.0 661.7
      Labour Lesley Burt 4.9 157 178.2 204.8 215.0 271.1 292.2      
      Independent Donnie MacMillan (incumbent) 4.7 149 249.0 273.3 280.7 299.6 329.8 365.1    
      Independent Andy Cameron 4.4 140 209.7 228.0 249.6 271.0 314.8 385.7 496.4  
      Liberal Democrats David Barton 3.3 107 135.5 152.0 162.0          
      ISP Ross Alistair Weir 2.4 78 107.1 153.9 164.7 172.3        
      Independent Abisola Adepetun 1.9 54 68.0 74.9            
      Electorate: 6222   Valid: 3197   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 800   Turnout: 52.0%  

        Oban South and the Isles
        • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
        • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Independence for Scotland
        • 2022: 2 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
        Oban South and the Isles − 4 seats[11][18][19]
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        12345678910
        SNP Jim Lynch(incumbent) 21.3 773                  
        SNP Willie Hume 16.9 615 645.0 648.6 657.9 667.0 705.3 724.7 777.1    
        Conservative Amanda Hampsey 12.4 452 452.3 460.3 479.3 522.4 538.4 601.5 645.6 646.3 667.7
        Green Phyl Stuart Meyer 9.7 353 357.8 368.9 392.0 401.4 436.5 491.8 520.0 539.7  
        Independent Andrew Kane 8.1 295 295.3 304.5 314.5 354.5 393.6 439.6 529.7 540.0 698.2
        Independent Colin Kennedy 7.0 256 257.0 269.1 276.1 309.3 378.4 405.4      
        Independent Donnie Campbell 6.5 235 235.7 247.8 257.8 280.0          
        Liberal Democrats Henry Drummond Boswell 5.2 188 188.8 197.8 255.0 282.2 302.2        
        Independent Jamie McGrigor (incumbent) 4.9 179 180.5 214.8 226.8            
        Labour Gopi Ageer 4.7 169 169.7 176.8              
        Independent John Watson 3.2 118 120.0                
        Electorate: 8092   Valid: 3633   Spoilt: 62   Quota: 727   Turnout: 45.7%  

          Oban North and Lorn
          • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
          • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
          • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Green; 1 Independent
          Oban North and Lorn − 4 seats[11][20][21]
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          1234567
          SNP Julie McKenzie (incumbent) 30.6 1,254            
          Conservative Andrew Vennard (incumbent) 18.7 767 772.5 779.6 788.3 842.7    
          Independent Kieron Green (incumbent) 15.4 632 679.1 703.0 748.1 811.9 819.1 1,107.5
          Independent Linda Battison 11.4 466 490.2 519.4 571.8 631.6 637.0  
          Green Luna Martin 9.7 396 583.5 624.1 716.9 784.2 785.4 897.6
          Liberal Democrats Veronica Davis 6.5 267 290.9 305.3 318.7      
          Independent Kyle Campbell-Renton 4.8 198 223.3 245.7        
          Alba Angus Files 2.9 117 158.9          
          Electorate: 8369   Valid: 4097   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 820   Turnout: 49.3%  

            Cowal
            • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
            • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
            • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
            Cowal − 3 seats[11][22][23]
            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
            123456
            SNP Gordon Blair (incumbent) 33.3 1,090          
            Conservative Yvonne McNeilly (incumbent) 26.1 855          
            Liberal Democrats William Sinclair 16.8 551 563.4 577.5 587.9 669.4 857.5
            SNP Lachie MacQuarie 8.6 282 503.2 503.5 532.5 566.0 596.3
            Labour Mark Feinmann 7.7 251 262.1 267.8 273.4 303.6  
            Independent Kenneth White 5.2 170 174.5 179.3 201.3    
            ISP Fiona Nelson 2.4 78 83.9 85.0      
            Electorate: 5991   Valid: 3277   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 820   Turnout: 55.8%  

              Dunoon
              • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
              • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
              • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
              Dunoon − 3 seats[11][24][25]
              PartyCandidateFPv%Count
              1234567
              SNP Audrey E. Forrest (incumbent) 40.9 1,126            
              Conservative Daniel Hampsey 17.9 493 501.1 512.9 528.9 556.4 560.7 747.9
              Liberal Democrats Ross Moreland 16.9 464 539.7 544.1 646.5 710.3    
              Independent Gordon Graham McKinven 10.1 279 324.4 336.9 365.5 485.4 492.3  
              Labour Kaitlin Wallace 6.5 180 247.9 254.0        
              Independent George Darroch 6.1 168 249.9 266.6 296.3      
              Scottish Family Susan Watling 1.6 43 62.4          
              Electorate: 5613   Valid: 2753   Spoilt: 39   Quota: 689   Turnout: 49.7%  

                Isle of Bute
                • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
                • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
                • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                Isle of Bute − 3 seats[11][26][27]
                PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                123456789
                SNP Reeni Kennedy-Boyle 25.4 591                
                Independent Liz McCabe (incumbent) 23.7 553 554.4 557.4 573.5 590.0        
                Conservative Peter Wallace 17.8 414 414.1 418.1 418.1 422.1 422.9 438.9 485.2 633.8
                Independent Jean Murray Moffat (incumbent) 13.7 320 321.1 326.1 344.2 358.6 361.0 384.3 483.4  
                Independent Fraser Gillies 8.7 202 202.5 205.5 209.5 213.7 215.1 241.3    
                Labour Dawn Malcolm 4.3 101 101.5 106.5 108.6 128.9 129.4      
                Green Ewan Stuart 3.0 70 71.9 73.9 79.2          
                Alba Robert McGowan 2.4 55 55.6 55.6            
                Liberal Democrats Derek John McFarlane 1.1 25 25.1              
                Electorate: 4866   Valid: 2331   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 583   Turnout: 48.6%  

                  Lomond North
                  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                  • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                  • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                  Lomond North − 3 seats[11][28][29]
                  PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                  1234567
                  Conservative Maurice Corry 26.4 843            
                  SNP Shonny Iain Paterson (incumbent) 24.3 777 777.2 786.3 813.4      
                  Independent Mark Irvine 14.9 475 481.4 497.9 550.9 553.6 680.3 1,021.8
                  Independent George Freeman (incumbent) 14.6 466 478.2 489.1 521.9 524.5 672.6  
                  Labour Watson Robinson 12.4 397 404.7 442.3 461.5 464.5    
                  Independent Robert Graham MacIntyre 4.7 149 151.5 161.9        
                  Liberal Democrats Nigel Ford Millar 2.8 91 95.4          
                  Electorate: 6257   Valid: 3198   Spoilt: 38   Quota: 800   Turnout: 51.7%  

                    Helensburgh Central
                    • 2017: 2 Lib Dem; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                    • Pre-election: 2 Lib Dem; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                    • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Labour
                    Helensburgh Central − 4 seats[11][30][31]
                    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                    1234567
                    Conservative Gary Mulvaney (incumbent) 30.5 1,205            
                    SNP Ian James MacQuire 21.4 843            
                    Labour Fiona Howard 21.3 841            
                    Liberal Democrats Graham Hardie (incumbent) 11.1 440 480.0 485.8 505.6 530.9 716.0 1,009.5
                    Green Sarah Davies 6.8 268 274.2 305.7 314.3 341.6    
                    Conservative Alison Willmot 6.6 262 601.9 603.0 610.2 627.0 645.5  
                    Independent James Alexander Robb 2.2 88 93.2 95.9 98.7      
                    Electorate: 7759   Valid: 3947   Spoilt: 55   Quota: 790   Turnout: 51.6%  

                      Helensburgh and Lomond South
                      • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
                      • Pre-election: 2 Conservative; 1 SNP
                      • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Lib Dem
                      Helensburgh and Lomond South − 3 seats[11][32][33]
                      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                      12345
                      Conservative Gemma Penfold (incumbent) 29.6 854        
                      SNP Math Campbell-Sturgess 26.0 749        
                      Conservative David Kinniburgh (incumbent) 18.1 522 633.0 633.6 647.4  
                      Liberal Democrats Paul Donald Kennedy 17.8 512 522.2 525.8 701.4 1,054
                      Green Howard Green 8.6 247 250.1 268.5    
                      Electorate: 5800   Valid: 2884   Spoilt: 41   Quota: 722   Turnout: 50.4%  

                        Changes since 2022
                        1. ^
                          A: Independent Kintyre and the Islands councillor John McAlpine died on 18 July 2022. A by-election took place on 29 September 2022 and was won by independent candidate Alastair John Redman.

                        By-elections since 2022

                        Kintyre and the Islands
                        Kintyre and the Islands − 1 seat (29 September 2022)
                        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                        123456
                        Independent Alastair John Redman 32.7 591 597 618 701 826 1,029
                        SNP Lachie Macquarie 29.0 525 536 623 626 694  
                        Liberal Democrats Kenny MacKenzie 14.6 265 283 313 375    
                        Conservative Hamish Stewart 10.7 194 200 207      
                        Green Tom Skinner 9.7 176 179        
                        Labour Gopi Ageer 0.3 55          
                        Valid: 1,806   Spoilt: 25   Quota: 904   Turnout: 1,831  

                          References
                          1. "SLG Notice of Election" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          2. "2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
                          3. Campbell, Rita (19 May 2017). "Economic growth and education priorities in Argyll". The Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          4. Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Results 2017 Argyll and Bute". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
                          5. Windram, Susan (14 November 2019). "Alastair Redman among suspended Tories". The Oban Times. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          6. O'Toole, Emer (8 January 2021). "Independence for Scotland party welcomes its first elected representative". The National. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          7. Neil, Sandy (4 November 2021). "Crisis? What crisis? Argyll Tories lose three councillors in three months". The Oban Times. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          8. Galloway, Andy (19 March 2021). "Argyll and Bute Council: Gemma Penfold wins Helensburgh and Lomond South by-election". Helensburgh Advertiser. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          9. Galloway, Andy (17 December 2021). "Lomond North by-election: full result and reaction". Helensburgh Advertiser. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
                          10. "Review of Electoral Arrangements Argyll and Bute Council Area Final Proposals" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
                          11. "Local Government Election May 2022 Notice of Poll". Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 12 April 2022.
                          12. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          13. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          14. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          15. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          16. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          17. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          18. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          19. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          20. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          21. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          22. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          23. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          24. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          25. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          26. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          27. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          28. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          29. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          30. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          31. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          32. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                          33. "Declaration of Results" (PDF). Argyll and Bute Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
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