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2022 Moray Council election

The 2022 Moray Council election was held on 5 May 2022, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 Councillors elected. Each ward elects either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.

2022 Moray Council election
← 2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 26 seats to Moray Council
14 seats needed for a majority
Registered66,419
Turnout45.0%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Tim Eagle (not standing for re-election) Graham Leadbitter & Shona Morrison John Divers
Party Conservative SNP Labour
Leader's seat Did not contest Elgin City South & Fochabers Lhanbryde Elgin City South
Last election 8 seats, 36.1% 9 seats, 31.6% 1 seats, 4.3%
Seats before 9 9 1
Seats won 11 8 3
Seat change Increase 3 Decrease 1 Increase 2
Popular vote 10,698 10,613 3,641
Percentage 36.2% 36.0% 12.3%
Swing Increase 0.1% Increase 4.4% Increase 8.0%
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Various Christopher Thomas Price Lisa Mead & Fabio Villani
Party Independent Liberal Democrats Scottish Green
Leader's seat Various Buckie Did not contest
Last election 8 seats, 24.1% 0 seats, 1.2% 0 seats, 2.6%
Seats before 7 0 0
Seats won 2 1 1
Seat change Decrease 6 Increase 1 Increase 1
Popular vote 2,327 1,121 1,001
Percentage 7.9% 3.8% 3.4%
Swing Decrease 16.2% Increase 2.6% Increase 0.8%
Council Leader before election

Graham Leadbitter[1]
SNP

Council Leader after election

Neil McLennan & Kathleen Robertson
Conservative

Following the election, on 18 May 2022, it was announced that the council would be run by a minority Conservative group, alongside two Independents.[2]

Background

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Previous election

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Main article: 2017 Moray Council election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats on the council, forming the largest block, but were 5 seats short of a majority. The Conservatives won the next largest amount of seats, and increased their vote share by 18.6%, gaining 5 seats. Two Independent councillors lost their seats, and so did 2 Labour councillors. Following the result a Conservative-Independent administration was formed, with an Independent councillor being appointed council leader. However, in May 2018, the Conservative-Independent administration collapsed. One month later, the SNP group formed a minority administration, following negotiations with other groups.

2017 Moray Council election result
Party Seats Vote share
SNP 9 31.6%
Conservative 8 36.1%
Independent 8 24.1%
Labour 1 4.3%

Source:[3][4]

Electoral system

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The election used the 8 wards created following the fifth statutory review of electoral arrangements conducted by Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 2016, with 26 councillors elected. Each ward elected either three or four councillors, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

Composition

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There were two by-elections during the 2017-22 term. One by-election was held in the Elgin City North ward in May 2017, which resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent.[5] The other by-election was held in the Keith and Cullen ward in October 2019, which also resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent.[6] One Conservative councillor left the Conservative group in October 2017, he sat as an Independent for the remainder of the term.[7]

Composition of Moray Council
Party 2017 election Dissolution
SNP 9 9
Conservative 8 9
Independent 8 7
Labour 1 1

Retiring Councillors

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Retiring councillors
Council Ward Party Retiring Councillor
Speyside Glenlivet Independent Walter Wilson
SNP Louise Laing
Keith and Cullen Conservative Laura Powell
Buckie Conservative Tim Eagle
Independent Gordon Cowie
Heldon and Laich SNP Amy Patience
Independent Ryan Edwards
Elgin City North Conservative Frank Brown
Moira McLean
Elgin City South Conservative Ray McLean
Forres SNP Aaron McLean
Conservative Claire Feaver
Independent George Alexander
Lorna Creswell

Source:[4]

Candidates

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The total number of candidates fell from 45 in 2017 to 42. Unlike in 2017, the Conservatives stood the most candidates, standing 11, an increase of 3, while the SNP stood 4 less candidates compared to 2017 at 9. The number of independent candidates fell sharply, with only 6 independents standing, compared to 17 in 2017. Liberal Democrats also stood 6 candidates, an increase of 3, while Labour stood 5, also an increase of 3. The Greens stood 3, an increase of 1, and the Scottish Family Party and the Sovereignty Party also stood 1 candidate each.

Results

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2022 Moray Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Conservative 11 3 0 Increase  3 42.3 36.2 10,698 Increase  0.1
  SNP 8 0 1 Decrease  1 30.8 36.0 10,613 Increase  4.4
  Labour 3 2 0 Increase  2 11.5 12.3 3,641 Increase  8.0
  Independent 2 0 6 Decrease  6 7.7 7.9 2,327 Decrease  16.2
  Liberal Democrats 1 1 0 Increase  1 3.9 3.8 1,121 Increase  2.6
  Scottish Green 1 1 0 Increase  1 3.9 3.4 1,001 Increase  0.8
  Scottish Family 0 0 0 Steady  0.0 0.3 99 New
  Sovereignty 0 0 0 Steady  0.0 0.1 23 New
Total 26 29,523

Source:[8]

Ward summary

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Results of the 2022 Moray Council election by ward
Ward %
Seats
 %
 Seats
 %
 Seats
 %
 Seats
 %
 Seats
 %
 Seats
 Total
Con SNP Lab Lib Dem Grn Others
Speyside Glenlivet 33.8 1 36.8 1 8.6 0 20.8 1 3
Keith and Cullen 43.7 2 43.5 1 9.9 0 2.9 0 3
Buckie 1 1 1 3
Fochabers Lhanbryde 39.8 1 43.0 1 10.1 1 3
Heldon and Laich 39.7 2 29.5 1 7.7 0 4.6 0 18.5 1 4
Elgin City North 25.9 1 32.6 1 28.5 1 3.9 0 4.5 0 4.6 0 3
Elgin City South 26.8 1 35.6 1 28.1 1 3.1 0 6.5 0 3
Forres 40.9 2 34.3 1 10.6 0 9.1 1 5.1 0 4
Total 36.2 11 36.0 8 12.3 3 3.8 1 3.4 1 8.3 2 26

Source:[8]

Seats changing hands

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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.

Seats changing hands
Seat 2017 2022
Party Member Party Member
Keith and Cullen Independent Ron Shepherd Conservative Tracy Colyer
Buckie Independent Gordon Cowie Liberal Democrats Christopher Price
Fochobers Lhanbryde SNP David Bremner Labour Ben Williams
Heldon and Laich Independent Ryan Edwards Conservative Bridget Mustard
Elgin City North Independent Sandy Cooper Labour Sandy Keith
Forres Independent George Alexander Conservative Paul McBain
Independent Lorna Creswell Greens Draeyk Van der Horn

Source:[4][8]

Ward results

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The incumbent councillors for each ward as of March 2022 are listed below.[9] Candidates for the election were confirmed on 30 March 2022.[10]

Speyside Glenlivet

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Incumbent councillors:

Speyside Glenlivet - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP Juli Harris 36.8 1,227    
Conservative David Gordon 33.8 1,129    
Independent Derek Ross (incumbent) 20.1 672 750 898
Scottish Green Elidh Myrvang Brown 8.6 286 492 520
Sovereignty David Philip McHutchon 0.7 23 31 51
Electorate: 7,382   Valid: 3,374   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 835   Turnout: 45.7%  

Source:[11][12]

Keith and Cullen

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Incumbent councillors:

Keith and Cullen - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
SNP Theresa Coull (incumbent) 43.5 1,493        
Conservative Donald Gatt (incumbent) 24.7 849 884      
Conservative Tracy Colyer 18.9 650 674 694 733 955
Liberal Democrats Leslie Tarr 9.9 341 589 592 674  
Scottish Family William Barclay 2.9 99 178 178    
Electorate: 8,102   Valid: 3,432   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 859   Turnout: 45.7%  

Source:[13][14]

Buckie

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Incumbent councillors:

Buckie - 3 seats
Party Candidate
Conservative Neil McLennan
Liberal Democrat Christopher Thomas Price
SNP Sonya Warren (incumbent)

Note: This election was uncontested, as there are 3 candidates and 3 seats available.

Source:[15]

Fochabers Lhanbryde

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Incumbent councillors:

Fochabers Lhanbryde - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Conservative Marc Macrae (incumbent) 39.7 1,590        
SNP Shona Morrison (incumbent) 23.5 940 959 1,005    
SNP David Bremner (incumbent) 19.4 778 792 812 816  
Labour Ben Williams 10.1 404 535 831 831 1,178
Liberal Democrats Donald Cameron 7.0 284 496      
Electorate: 8,253   Valid: 3,996   Spoilt: 68   Quota: 1,000   Turnout: 49.2%  

Source:[16][17]

Heldon and Laich

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Incumbent councillors:

Heldon and Laich - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Neil Cameron 29.5 1,455          
Conservative James Allan (incumbent) 27.0 1,331          
Independent John Cowe (incumbent) 18.5 914 1,045        
Conservative Bridget Mustard 12.7 629 639 885 898 947 1,150
Labour Andrew O'Neill 7.7 404 489 512 526 725  
Liberal Democrats Calum Cameron 4.6 228 307 326 337    
Electorate: 10,794   Valid: 4,936   Spoilt: 60   Quota: 988   Turnout: 46.3%  

Source:[18][19]

Elgin City North

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Incumbent councillors:

Elgin City North - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
SNP Jérémie Fernandes 32.6 1,199
Labour Sandy Keith 28.5 1,048
Conservative Amber Dunbar 25.9 952
Independent Graham Jarvis 4.6 170
Scottish Green Rebecca Kail 4.5 165
Liberal Democrats Neil Alexander 3.9 144
Electorate: 9,228   Valid: 3,678   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 920   Turnout: 40.2%  

Source:[20][21]

Elgin City South

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Incumbent councillors:

Elgin City South - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
SNP Graham Leadbitter (incumbent) 35.5 1,444
Labour John Divers (incumbent) 28.1 1,142
Conservative Peter Bloomfield 26.8 1,090
Independent Michaela French 4.0 161
Liberal Democrats Bernard Salmon 3.1 124
Independent Paul Briggs 2.5 101
Electorate: 10,149   Valid: 4,062   Spoilt: 51   Quota: 1,016   Turnout: 40.5%  

Source:[22][23]

Forres

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Incumbent councillors:

Forres - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Scott Lawrence 34.3 2,077          
Conservative Kathleen Robertson 25.0 1,516          
Conservative Paul McBain 15.9 962 991 1,240      
Labour James Hynam 10.6 643 830 845 852 1,001  
Scottish Green Draeyk Van der Horn 9.1 550 928 933 934 1,047 1,514
Independent Shaun Moat 5.1 309 403 417 424    
Electorate: 12,511   Valid: 6,128   Spoilt: 71   Quota: 1,212   Turnout: 49.0%  

Source:[24][25]

Aftermath

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Both the SNP and Conservative groups fell short of the required 14 seats for a majority. As such negotiations took place after the election to see who would form the next administration. Council leader before the election Elgin City South SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter proposed the continuation of the previous SNP minority administration but the council instead voted 12 to 8 to approve a minority Conservative administration, co-led by Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan and Forres Conservative councillor Kathleen Robertson.[2]

In July 2022, Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan left the Conservative grouping on the council after being removed as joint group leader in a secret vote.[26][27]

In August 2022, Heldon and Laich Conservative councillor James Allan left the Conservative grouping on the council, and now sits as a "non-aligned Conservative."[28][29]

Buckie by-election

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In August 2022, the sole Liberal Democrat councillor Christopher Price resigned after only 109 days in the job.[30][31] A by-election was held in the Buckie ward on 3 November 2022, and was won by SNP candidate John Stuart.[32][33]

Buckie by-election (3 November 2022) - 1 seat
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4
SNP John Stuart 48.9 1,172 1,181 1,192 1,269
Conservative Tim Eagle 36.7 879 884 904 989
Labour Keighley Goldie 10.0 239 247 276  
Liberal Democrats Les Tarr 2.8 67 78    
Independent Neil Houlden 1.6 38      
Electorate: 8,139   Valid: 2,395   Spoilt: 13   Quota: 1,199   Turnout: 29.6%  

Source:[34][35]

Elgin City South by-election

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In July 2024, SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter was elected to be the MP for the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency at the 2024 United Kingdom general election and decided to resign as a councillor on 14 August 2024.[36][37] A by-election was held in the Elgin City South ward on 7 November 2024, and was won by Conservative candidate Elaine Kirby.[38][39]

Elgin City South by-election (7 November 2024) - 1 seat
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP Laura Mitchell 32.2 849 928 1,093
Conservative Elaine Kirby 31.6 834 962 1,160
Labour Catriona McBain 18.5 487 615  
Liberal Democrats Neil Alexander 17.7 466    
Electorate: 10,355   Valid: 2,636   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 1,319   Turnout: 25.8%  

Source:[40][41]

References

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  1. ^ "Councillors". Moray Council. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  2. ^ a b Lawson, Hazel (18 May 2022). "Councillors vote for Conservative minority group to run Moray Council". STV News. Retrieved 18 May 2022.
  3. ^ "Moray Council Election Results 2017". Moray Council. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  4. ^ a b c Teale, Andrew. "Local Election Results 2017". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  5. ^ "Moray Council Local Government By-Election" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  6. ^ "Keith and Cullen by-election result" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  7. ^ "Councillor criticised over Moray budget comments". BBC News. 21 November 2017.
  8. ^ a b c Faulds, Allan. "Moray Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  9. ^ "Councillors". Moray Council. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  10. ^ "Information for voters". Moray Council. 2 January 2022. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
  11. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 1 - Speyside Glenlivet" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 1 Speyside Glenlivet" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 2 - Keith and Cullen" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 2 - Keith and Cullen" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ^ "Moray Council Election Results 2022". Moray Council. Ward 3 - Buckie. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 4 - Fochabers Lhanbryde" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  17. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 4 - Fochabers Lhanbryde" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  18. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 5 - Heldon and Laich" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  19. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 5 - Heldon and Laich" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 6 - Elgin City North" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  21. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 6 - Elgin City North" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  22. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 7 - Elgin City South" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  23. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 7 - Elgin City South" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  24. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 8 - Forres" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  25. ^ "Transfers Report - Ward 8 - Forres" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  26. ^ Whitfield, Alistair (12 July 2022). "Moray Council: Tory in-fighting is labelled an 'incredible situation'". Forres Gazette. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  27. ^ McBlane, Lewis (11 July 2022). "Moray Tory group in chaos as new sole Leader Cllr Kathleen Robertson says Cllr Neil McLennan was toppled in secret no confidence vote". Grampian Online. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  28. ^ Whitfield, Alistair (17 August 2022). "Moray councillor leaves Tory administration". Northern Scot. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  29. ^ McAngus, Sean (12 August 2022). "'There is a major divide and fighting': Lossiemouth councillor quits Tory administration". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  30. ^ Beresford, Alan (2 May 2023). "Council candidates urged to think carefully before standing as Buckie by-election bill tops £27k". Grampian Online. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  31. ^ Elliards, Xander (18 August 2022). "Moray Council sees LibDem Christopher Price resign triggering Buckie by-election". The National. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  32. ^ Garton-Crosbie, Abbi (4 November 2022). "SNP win Buckie by-election in Moray after seeing off Tories". The National. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  33. ^ McAngus, Sean (4 November 2022). "Buckie by-election: Newly elected SNP councillor John Stuart 'ready to get down to council business' with his first full council meeting on Monday". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  34. ^ "Declaration of Results - Buckie Ward" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  35. ^ "Council By-Election Ward 3 - Buckie" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  36. ^ Saracevic, Ena (13 August 2024). "New MP Graham Leadbitter resigns as an Elgin councillor". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  37. ^ Malcolm, Ewan (13 August 2024). "Moray Council stalwart Graham Leadbitter steps down as councillor for new role as Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey MP". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
  38. ^ Robertson, Adam (8 November 2024). "SNP lose fourth council seat to Scottish Tories after Moray by-election". The National. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  39. ^ McBlane, Lewis (8 November 2024). "Moray by-election win in Elgin City South for Conservative candidate Elaine Kirby". The Northern Scot. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  40. ^ "Declaration of Results - Ward 7 - Elgin South". Moray Council. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
  41. ^ "STV Table - Ward 7 - Elgin South". Moray Council. Retrieved 9 November 2024.
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