This article needs additional citations for verification .(February 2024) |
![]() | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
All 80 seats to Highland Council 41 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
![]() Map showing results by ward | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Elections to the Highland Council were held on 1 May 2003; the same day as elections to the Scottish Parliament and to the 31 other councils in Scotland. 80 councillors were elected from 80 wards using the plurality system (a.k.a. 'First Past the Post'). Independent councillors retained their status as the majority group, with councillors also being elected representing the Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, and Scottish National Party.
Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | 57 | 11 | 4 | +7 | 71.3 | 69.6 | 45,405 | +12.21 | |
Liberal Democrats | 9 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 11.3 | 6.1 | 3,986 | −4.52 | |
Labour | 8 | 3 | 5 | −2 | 10.0 | 11.6 | 7,536 | −3.80 | |
SNP | 6 | 1 | 3 | −2 | 7.5 | 10.2 | 6,664 | -2.19 | |
Conservative | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1.2 | 799 | −2.09 | |
Scottish Socialist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1.1 | 730 | New | |
Countryside | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 0.2 | 116 | New | |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Alastair MacDonald | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Eric Saxon | 543 | |||
Independent | James Fry | 425 | |||
Majority | 118 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Donald Mackay | 636 | |||
Labour | John Rosie | 527 | |||
Majority | 109 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Tom Jackson | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | David Flear | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Green | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Graeme Smith | 536 | |||
Labour | Bill Mowat | 242 | |||
SNP | Niall Smith | 198 | |||
Majority | 294 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | William Fernie | 469 | |||
SNP | James Sutherland | 355 | |||
Labour | Neil MacDonald | 225 | |||
Majority | 114 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Katrina MacNab | 599 | |||
Labour | Jim Oag | 301 | |||
Majority | 298 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | William Mowat | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Francis Keith | 519 | |||
Independent | John Forbes | 442 | |||
Majority | 77 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Sandy Mackay | 518 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Barbara Jardine | 376 | |||
Majority | 142 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alison Magee | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ian Ross | 912 | |||
Scottish Socialist | Francis Ward | 79 | |||
Majority | 833 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Rita Finlayson | 634 | |||
Independent | Robbie Rowantree | 602 | |||
Majority | 32 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Duncan Allan | 826 | |||
Independent | Gordon Campbell | 339 | |||
Majority | 487 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Jean Urquhart | 393 | |||
Independent | Kenneth MacLeod | 338 | |||
Labour | Lauri Chilton | 239 | |||
Majority | 55 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Andrew Anderson | 961 | |||
Scottish Socialist | Jean Cadden | 88 | |||
Majority | 873 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alasdair Rhind | 1,025 | |||
Scottish Socialist | Sean Robertson | 162 | |||
Majority | 863 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alan Torrance | 540 | |||
Independent | James Paterson | 497 | |||
Majority | 43 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Richard Durham | 554 | |||
Independent | Linda Bruce | 232 | |||
SNP | Andrew Currie | 232 | |||
Majority | 322 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Connell | 662 | |||
Independent | Maxine Smith | 251 | |||
Labour | Lou Wilkerson | 203 | |||
Majority | 371 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Carolyn Wilson | 900 | |||
Independent | Dot MacLennan | 292 | |||
Majority | 608 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Roy Macintyre | 601 | |||
Labour Co-op | Christine Conniff | 351 | |||
Majority | 250 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ewan Mackinnon | 746 | |||
Countryside | Neveille-Suzanette MacDonald-Rolfe | 116 | |||
Majority | 630 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Val MacIver | 531 | |||
Independent | Mike Finlayson | 492 | |||
Independent | Dennis Dunbar | 173 | |||
Majority | 39 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Douglas Briggs | 812 | |||
Conservative | John Scott | 219 | |||
Majority |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Margaret Paterson | 470 | |||
Labour | Marilyn Ross | 439 | |||
Majority | 31 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Michael MacMillan | 576 | |||
Independent | Andrew Paterson | 532 | |||
Majority | 44 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | David Chisholm | 806 | |||
Independent | Tom Davis | 380 | |||
Majority | 426 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Angela MacLean | 786 | |||
Independent | David Philip | 519 | |||
Majority | 267 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Isobel McCallum | 980 | |||
Conservative | Andrew Duncan | 226 | |||
Majority | 754 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | David Alston | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Billy Barclay | 598 | |||
Independent | Okain McLennan | 584 | |||
Independent | Morris Downie | 496 | |||
Labour | Leslie Hood | 136 | |||
Majority | 14 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Iain MacDonald | 547 | |||
SNP | Rod Liddon | 306 | |||
Independent | Ben Palmer | 87 | |||
Majority | 241 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Laing | 538 | |||
Independent | William Sutherland | 330 | |||
Majority | 208 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Drew Millar | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Hamish Fraser | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | William Fulton | 529 | |||
Independent | Audrey Sinclair | 450 | |||
Majority | 79 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Isabelle Campbell | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Garry Coutts | 555 | |||
Independent | Helen Carmichael | 549 | |||
Majority | 9 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Jack Shiels | 572 | |||
Independent | Graham Cross | 407 | |||
Independent | Hamish Wood | 312 | |||
Majority | 165 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Jimmy MacDonald | 452 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Shanea Fraser | 227 | |||
Independent | Christine Forbes | 195 | |||
Labour | Mark Grant | 179 | |||
Majority | 225 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Christine Cumming | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Peter Corbett | 642 | |||
Scottish Socialist | Simon Cann | 92 | |||
Majority | 550 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Eilidh MacDonald | 319 | |||
Independent | Jim Alexander | 316 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Daniel Farthing | 174 | |||
Independent | Hector MacDonald | 170 | |||
Independent | Donald MacKay | 116 | |||
Majority | 3 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | John Ford | 434 | |||
SNP | James McCreath | 377 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Michael Perrin | 187 | |||
Majority | 57 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Roderick Balfour | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Margaret Davidson | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ronald Lyon | 546 | |||
Independent | Joan Stewart | 280 | |||
Majority | 266 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | William Smith | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alistair Milne | 625 | |||
Labour | Jim Thomson | 465 | |||
Majority | 160 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Margaret MacLennan | 712 | |||
Independent | Michael Gimson | 377 | |||
Labour | Andrew Ingram | 211 | |||
Majority | 335 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Angus Dick | 547 | |||
Independent | Thomas Lamont | 368 | |||
Majority | 179 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Clive Goodman | 494 | |||
SNP | Ian Brown | 429 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Ruth Hunt | 199 | |||
Majority | 65 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Gray | 734 | |||
Independent | Hamish McKenzie | 622 | |||
Majority | 112 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | David Munro | 521 | |||
SNP | Scott MacKenzie | 217 | |||
Independent | Donald Robertson | 89 | |||
Independent | David Gallant | 81 | |||
Majority | 304 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Ella MacRae | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Norrie Donald | 1,061 | |||
Independent | Ralph Sauer | 245 | |||
Majority | 816 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Janet Home | 746 | |||
Independent | John Holden | 540 | |||
Majority | 206 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Kathleen Matheson | 754 | |||
Independent | Farquhar Forbes | 482 | |||
Majority | 272 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Gillian McCreath | 461 | |||
Labour | Malcolm Jack | 397 | |||
Conservative | Peter Saggers | 152 | |||
Independent | George Davidson | 107 | |||
Majority | 64 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Robert Wynd | 647 | |||
Liberal Democrats | Glynis Sinclair | 409 | |||
Conservative | Tony Lister | 202 | |||
Majority | 238 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | John Matheson | 363 | |||
Independent | Jim Lennon | 300 | |||
Independent | Bill Shand | 297 | |||
SNP | June Gordon | 217 | |||
Independent | Nigel Hanlin | 53 | |||
Majority | 63 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Elizabeth MacDonald | 606 | |||
Independent | Andrew Brown | 330 | |||
Independent | Duncan McDonald | 310 | |||
Majority | 276 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Laurie Fraser | 766 | |||
Independent | Graham Marsden | 242 | |||
Majority | 524 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Alexander Park | 837 | |||
Independent | James Young | 394 | |||
Majority | 443 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Sheena Slimon | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Gregor Rimell | 348 | |||
SNP | Robert Severn | 309 | |||
Independent | Hendy Pollock | 285 | |||
Majority | 39 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Angus Gordon | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Francis Black | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Basil Dunlop | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Charles King | Unopposed | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Bill Clark | 582 | |||
Independent | George Bruce | 411 | |||
Majority | 171 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Thomas MacLennan | 449 | |||
Independent | William MacLachlan | 325 | |||
Independent | Alistair MacGregor | 168 | |||
Majority | 124 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Michael Foxley | 545 | |||
Independent | Iain Thornber | 468 | |||
Majority | 77 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Olwyn Macdonald | 656 | |||
Independent | Edward Hunter | 627 | |||
Majority | 29 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Brian Murphy | 733 | |||
Scottish Socialist | Douglas Nolan | 309 | |||
Majority | 424 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Neil Clark | 450 | |||
Independent | May Alexander | 238 | |||
Independent | Euan Harper | 187 | |||
Majority | 212 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Independent | Andrew McFarlane-Slack | 722 | |||
SNP | David Ingham | 486 | |||
Majority | 236 |
The Scottish Greens are a green political party in Scotland. The party has seven MSPs in the Scottish Parliament as of May 2021. As of the 2022 local elections, the party sits on 13 of the 32 Scottish local councils, with a total of 36 councillors. They held two ministerial posts in the first Yousaf government following a power-sharing agreement with the SNP from August 2021 until the end of the Bute House Agreement in April 2024, marking the first time Green Party politicians formed part of a government in the UK.
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic property tax, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax.
Badenoch and Strathspey is a former district of Highland region in Scotland.
James Hume Walter Miéville Stone is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, representing the constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, since 2017.
The 2007 United Kingdom local elections were held on Thursday 3 May 2007. These elections took place in most of England and all of Scotland. There were no local government elections in Wales though the Welsh Assembly had a general election on the same day. There were no local government elections in Northern Ireland. Just over half of English councils and almost all the Scottish councils began the counts on Friday, rather than Thursday night, because of more complex arrangements regarding postal votes.
The politics of the Highland council area in Scotland are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the Highland Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) and the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). In the European Parliament the area was within the Scotland constituency, which covers all of the 32 council areas of Scotland.
Elections to the Highland Council were held on 3 May 2007; the same day as elections to the Scottish Parliament and to the 31 other councils in Scotland. Previous elections to the council had been conducted using the single member plurality system. Changes implemented by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 meant that future local government elections were to be conducted using the Single Transferable Vote, beginning with those in 2007. The 80 Highland Councillors were now to be elected from 22 wards, returning either three or four members.
The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.
The Highland Council, the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional representation. The total number of councillors is 74, and the main meeting place and main offices are at the Highland Council Headquarters in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness.
Elections to Perth and Kinross Council were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the first one using 12 new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward will elect three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation. The new wards replace 41 single-member wards which used the plurality system of election.
Jean Urquhart is a Scottish politician. She was formerly a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), first elected in 2011 for the Highlands and Islands region as a Scottish National Party (SNP) member, then continuing to sit as an independent after she left the SNP in October 2012. She had been an SNP councillor at the Highland Council from 2003 to 2011.
The 2012 Highland Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Highland Council. The election used the twenty-two wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system and 80 Councillors being elected.
Andrew Egan Henderson Hendry, known as Drew Hendry, is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician serving as Member of Parliament (MP) for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey since 2015. Hendry has served as the SNP's Economy Spokesperson in the House of Commons since September 2023.
The 2017 Highland Council election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect members of the Highland Council. The election used the 21 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004; each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system. A total of 74 councillors were elected, six less than in 2012.
The 2022 Scottish local elections were held on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 United Kingdom local elections. All 1,226 seats across all 32 Scottish local authorities were up for election and voter turnout was 44.8%.
Elections to The Highland Council were held on 5 May 2022, 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.
Elections to North 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.
Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022, 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. 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 and the boundaries used at the previous election remained in place.
Elections to Aberdeenshire Council took place on Thursday 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.
Elections to Perth and Kinross Council were held on 5 May 2022 as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections. 40 Councillors were elected from 12 multi-members electoral wards under the Single Transferable Vote electoral system. The Scottish Conservatives had run Perth and Kinross Council as a minority administration immediately prior to the election, with a previous coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats collapsing mid-way through the term. Twelve incumbent Councillors, including two group leaders, decided not to seek re-election whilst others stood again but lost their seats.