2017 Scottish local elections

2017 Scottish local elections

←  2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022  →
All 1,227 seats [1] to 32 Scottish councils
Turnout	46.9% (7.3%)
First party Second party   Leader Nicola Sturgeon Ruth Davidson Party SNP Conservative Leader since 14 November 2014 4 November 2011 Last election 425 seats, 32.33% 115 seats, 13.27% Seats before 438 [2] 112 [2] Seats won 431 276 Seat change 7* [3] 164* [3] First preferences 610,454 478,073 First preferences (%) 32.30% 25.30% Swing (pp) 0.03% 12.03%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Kezia Dugdale Willie Rennie Party Labour Liberal Democrats Leader since 15 August 2015 17 May 2011 Last election 394 seats, 31.39% 71 seats, 6.62% Seats before 395 [2] 70 [2] Seats won 262 67 Seat change 133* [3] 3* [3] First preferences 380,957 128,821 First preferences (%) 20.16% 6.82% Swing (pp) 11.23% 0.20%
Popular vote by council areas. Council controls post elections
Most voted for party by council, largest party by council, and largest party by ward. Ward map utilises the new ward boundaries. * Indicates boundary change - so this is a nominal figure

The 2017 Scottish local elections were held on Thursday 4 May, in all 32 local authorities. The SNP retained its position as the largest party in terms of votes and councillors, despite suffering minor losses. The Conservatives made gains and displaced Labour as the second largest party, while the Liberal Democrats suffered a net loss of councillors despite increasing their share of the vote. ^[4] Minor parties and independents polled well; and independent councillors retained majority control over the three island councils. For the first time since the local government reforms in 1995, all mainland councils fell under no overall control.

Background

The previous election was in 2012. Normally these elections take place every four years, but this election was postponed for a year in order to avoid conflicting with the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Once again the local elections, held under the Single Transferable Vote system, were counted electronically, using the same system used in 2012. The tender was awarded to CGI (formerly Logica) and Idox Elections (formerly Opt2vote), both of which delivered the 2012 elections successfully.^{[ citation needed ]}

Eligibility to vote

All registered electors (British, Irish, Commonwealth and European Union citizens) who were aged 16 or over on polling day were entitled to vote in the local elections. ^{[5] [6]} A person who had two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) could register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area and can vote for two different councils, albeit only in two different local elections; however, it is an offence to vote twice in the same type of election and doing so may incur a fine of up to £5,000. ^[7]

Individuals must have registered to vote by midnight twelve working days before polling day (17 April 2017). ^[8] Anyone who qualified as an anonymous elector had until midnight on 25 April 2017 to register. ^[9]

Party performance

Following the election, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon played down the threat posed by the Conservatives to her party, asserting that the good performance by the Conservatives was on account of Labour support going to the Conservatives and not because of any shift in SNP voters. ^[10]

Scottish Conservative leader Ruth Davidson asserted a "Scottish fightback against the SNP" and said that the results represented a resurgence for the Conservatives, despite the fact that the SNP's 1st preference vote percentage had not changed since the 2012 election. ^[11]

Scottish Labour leader Kezia Dugdale admitted the results were disappointing for her party, while the Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie said the council results showed his party could stand against the SNP tide in key northern constituencies. ^[12]

Aftermath

Aberdeenshire

The Scottish Conservatives returned the most councillors, the first time it has been the largest party in the region since the 1982 election, when the area was under the Grampian Regional Council, although they were stopped short of an overall majority. The number of Scottish National Party councillors fell by a quarter but remained the second largest group. The Scottish Liberal Democrats picked up a couple of seats while the other parties gained roughly the same results as the previous election.

On 18 May, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Aligned Independents formed an administration, with Jim Gifford (Conservative) elected as council leader and Bill Howatson (Liberal Democrat) was made Provost. ^[13]

Argyll and Bute

The SNP became the largest party on the council for the first time, as the Independent group lost a third of its seats compared to the previous election. The Conservatives gained five seats and the Liberal Democrats gained two, but both remained in their respective places as the two smaller parties.

Despite the SNP's position, a coalition was formed of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents, referred to as The Argyll Lomond and the Isles Group (TALIG). Aileen Morton, leader of the group, was elected as council leader. ^[14]

Fife

The Scottish National Party replaced Scottish Labour as the largest party for the first time in the Fife region, although they did not gain enough seats to form a majority. The Scottish Conservatives made the most gains, replacing the Scottish Liberal Democrats as the third biggest party. The election also returned no Independent councillors, marking the first time the area will be without any Independent representation since the creation of Fife Regional Council in 1974.

On 18 May, the two largest parties of the new council, the SNP and Scottish Labour, signed a Power Sharing Agreement to co-run an administration. David Alexander (SNP) and David Ross (Labour) were made co-leaders, and Jim Leishman remained in his role as Provost. ^[15]

Glasgow

The SNP replaced Labour as the biggest party; although without a majority it ended Labour's 37-year-long control of the council. ^[16] The Conservatives increased its number of councillors from 1 to 8, their highest since 1984, while the Scottish Green Party also made a couple of gains to reach their highest ever level in Glasgow. This council is the first without any Liberal representation since 1974.

The SNP took control of the council as a minority administration with SNP members filling the positions of council leader, depute council leader, and Lord Provost. ^[17]

Councils

Council	2012 result: largest party (parties in control)		Control before election (change in control since May 2012, if different)		2017 result: largest party (parties in control) [3] [18]		Details
Aberdeen City		Labour (Lab + Con + Ind)				SNP (Con + Lab) [19]	Details
Aberdeenshire		SNP (Con + LD + Ind)		SNP (SNP + Lab + Ind)		Conservative (Con + LD + Ind) [20]	Details
Angus		SNP (SNP majority)		SNP (SNP minority)		SNP / Independents tie (Ind + Con + LD)	Details
Argyll and Bute		Independent (Ind + SNP)		Independent (Ind + Con + LD)		SNP (Ind + Con + LD)	Details
Clackmannanshire		SNP (SNP minority)				SNP (SNP minority)	Details
Dumfries and Galloway		Labour (Con + SNP)		Labour (Lab minority)		Conservative (Lab + SNP) [21]	Details
Dundee City		SNP (SNP majority)				SNP (SNP + Ind) [22]	Details
East Ayrshire		SNP (SNP + Con)				SNP (SNP minority)	Details
East Dunbartonshire		SNP (Lab + LD + Con)		Labour (Lab + Con minority)		SNP (Con + LD)	Details
East Lothian		Labour (Lab + Con)				Labour (Lab minority) [23]	Details
East Renfrewshire		Labour (Lab + SNP + Ind)				Conservative (Lab + SNP)	Details
City of Edinburgh		Labour (Lab + SNP)				SNP (Lab + SNP) [24]	Details
Falkirk		Labour (Lab + Con + Ind)				SNP (SNP + Ind minority) [25]	Details
Fife		Labour (Lab minority)				SNP (Lab + SNP) [15]	Details
Glasgow City		Labour (Lab majority)				SNP (SNP minority)	Details
Highland		Independent (SNP + LD + Lab)		Independent (Ind minority)		Independent (Ind + LD + Lab) [26]	Details
Inverclyde		Labour (Lab w/ Ind + Con support)				Labour (Lab minority)	Details
Midlothian Council		Labour (SNP + Green + Ind)				Labour (Lab minority)	Details
Moray		SNP (Ind + Con)				SNP (Con + Ind)	Details
Na h-Eileanan Siar		Independent				Independent	Details
North Ayrshire		SNP (SNP minority)		Labour (Lab minority)		Labour / SNP tie (Lab minority)	Details
North Lanarkshire		Labour (Lab majority)				SNP (Lab minority)	Details
Orkney		Independent				Independent	Details
Perth and Kinross		SNP (SNP w/ Con support)				Conservative (Con + LD + Ind) [27] [28]	Details
Renfrewshire		Labour (Lab majority)				SNP (SNP minority)	Details
Scottish Borders		Conservative (SNP + Ind + LD)				Conservative (Con + Ind) [29]	Details
Shetland		Independent				Independent	Details
South Ayrshire		Conservative (Con w/ Lab + Ind support)				Conservative (SNP + Lab + Ind) [30]	Details
South Lanarkshire		Labour (Lab + LD + Con)		Labour (Lab majority)		SNP (SNP minority) [31]	Details
Stirling		SNP (Lab + Con)				Conservative / SNP tie (Lab + SNP)	Details
West Dunbartonshire		Labour (Lab majority)				SNP (SNP + Ind minority) [32]	Details
West Lothian		Labour (Lab w/ Con + Ind support)				SNP (Lab w/ Con support)	Details

Opinion polling

Date(s) conducted	Polling organisation/client	Sample size	SNP	Lab	Con	Lib Dem	Green	UKIP	Others	Lead
24 Feb–6 Mar 2017	Ipsos MORI/STV	1,029	46%	17%	19%	6%	8%	3%	<1%	27%
7–13 Feb 2017	Panelbase/Wings Over Scotland	1,028	47%	14%	26%	5%	4%	3%	<1%	21%
3 May 2012	2012 Election Results	1,556,773	32.3%	31.4%	13.3%	6.6%	2.3%	0.3%	13.8%	0.9%

Results

Summary of the 4 May 2017 Scottish council election results ^{[33] [34]}

Party		First-preference votes			Councils	+/-	2012 seats		2017 seats		Seat change
							Seats won	Notional	Seats won	Seat %	vs Notional
	SNP	610,454	32.3%	0.0%	0	1	425	438	431	35.1%	7
	Conservative	478,073	25.3%	12.0%	0		115	112	276	22.5%	164
	Labour	380,957	20.2%	11.4%	0	3	394	395	262	21.4%	133
	Independents	196,438	10.4%	1.4%	3		196	198	168	14.1%	30
	Liberal Democrats	130,243	6.9%	0.3%	0		71	70	67	5.5%	3
	Green	77,682	4.1%	1.8%	0		14	14	19	1.6%	5
	Orkney Manifesto Group	894	0.0%		0				2	0.1%	New
	West Dunbartonshire Community	2,413	0.1%		0				1	0.1%	New
	The Rubbish Party	784	0.0%		0				1	0.1%	New
	UKIP	2,920	0.2%	0.1%	0					0.0%
	Independent Alliance North Lanarkshire	2,823	0.2%		0					0.0%
	TUSC	1,403	0.1%		0					0.0%
	A Better Britain – Unionist Party	1,196	0.1%		0					0.0%
	Scottish Socialist	928	0.0%	0.3%	0		1		0	0.0%	1
	Solidarity	883	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Libertarian	776	0.0%		0					0.0%
	RISE	186	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Scottish Independent Network	145	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Scottish Unionist	129	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Social Democratic	112	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Scottish Christian	104	0.0%		0					0.0%
	Socialist Labour	76	0.0%		0					0.0%
	National Front	39	0.0%		0					0.0%
	No Overall Control	—	—	—	29	4	—	—	—	—	—
Total		1,889,658	100.0	±0.0	32		1,223	1,227	1,227	100.00

The table has been arranged according to popular vote, not the number of seats won.

Boundary changes

Prior to the 2017 elections, changes were made to council ward boundaries in 25 council areas. This meant that comparisons with the actual results from 2012 were inaccurate due to a small increase in the total number of seats (from 1,223 to 1,227), different boundaries, and some wards having their number of councillors adjusted. These changes led BBC News, using work done by Professor David Denver of Lancaster University, to estimate what the results would have been in 2012 if the new boundaries and seat numbers had been in place for that election. ^{[3] [35]}

Analysis

Candidates elected on first preferences, by party (2017) ^[36]

Party		Total elected	Elected on 1st prefs
			Total	%	% (2007)
	Conservative	276	170	61.6	40.0
	Labour	262	76	29.0	50.5
	Liberal Democrats	67	19	28.4	28.2
	SNP	431	149	34.6	43.5
	Scottish Green	19	4	21.1	7.1
	Independent	168	51	30.4	39.5
	Other	4	3	75.0	50.0
Totals		1,227	472	38.5	43.5

Average first terminal transfer rates (2017) ^{[a] [37]}

Transferred from		% non-transferable	% transferred to
			Con	Lab	LD	SNP	Ind/Other
	Conservative	33.4	–	17.7	27.7	2.9	18.4
	Labour	29.6	11.9	–	25.6	13.9	19.0
	Liberal Democrats	19.0	21.6	26.4	–	11.5	21.7
	SNP	28.6	2.1	13.0	8.9	–	46.3

See also

• 2017 United Kingdom local elections
• 2017 Welsh local elections
• 2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election

Further reading

• Curtice, John (2022). "The Power of Preferences: STV in Scottish Local Elections" (PDF). Electoral Reform Society.

Notes and references

Notes

1. the first terminal transfer of a major party candidate in a ward, where all of the other parties still had a candidate in the count

References

1. "Recommendations for councillor numbers and wards submitted to Scottish Ministers" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland . Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 March 2018.
2. The "seats before" figure is a notional calculation by BBC News Archived 2017-09-11 at the Wayback Machine . These notional figures estimate what the results would have been in 2012, if the 2017 boundaries had been in place at that election, as boundary changes make direct comparison complicated.
3. "Scotland Results". BBC News. Archived from the original on 11 September 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
4. "Report: Scottish local election results 2017". BBC News (Scotland). Archived from the original on 9 September 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
5. "Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act 2015, Section 1". Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
6. "Representation of the People Act 1983, Section 2". Legislation.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 September 2019. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
7. Electoral Commission. "I have two homes. Can I register at both addresses?". electoralcommission.org.uk. The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 15 November 2008. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
8. "Timetable for Scottish council elections on 4 May 2017" (doc). The Electoral Commission. Archived from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
9. The deadline for the receipt and determination of anonymous electoral registration applications was one working day before the publication date of the notice of alteration to the Electoral Register (that is the sixth working day before polling day). cf "Guidance for Electoral Registration Officers (Part 4 – Maintaining the register throughout the year)" (PDF). Cabinet Office and The Electoral Commission. July 2016. p. 114 (para 7.128). Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 April 2017. Retrieved 24 April 2017.
10. Press Association (6 May 2017). "Local elections: Sturgeon plays down Tory success in Scotland". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 2 July 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
11. Johnson, Simon (5 May 2017). "Ruth Davidson hails 'fightback' after Scottish Tory council surge and voter backlash against indy ref". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 13 July 2017. Retrieved 5 April 2018.
12. McKiernan, Jennifer (6 May 2017). "Local Elections 2017: Party leaders react to results". The Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 6 May 2017. Retrieved 6 May 2017.
13. "Aberdeenshire council chief hails authority for getting job done without any 'political spats' - Evening Express". Evening Express. Archived from the original on 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
14. "Economic growth and education priorities in Argyll | Press and Journal". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
15. "Fife Council agree to SNP and Labour joint partnership". Dunfermline Press. Archived from the original on 18 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
16. "SNP replaces Labour as largest party in Glasgow". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
17. "Councillor Eva Bolander chosen as Glasgow's Lord Provost". Glasgow City Council. 18 May 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
18. "List of council administrations". BBC News. Archived from the original on 29 January 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2018.
19. "Scottish Labour councillors on Aberdeen City Council suspended". Holyrood Website. 3 October 2019. Archived from the original on 25 January 2020. Retrieved 25 January 2020.
20. "70 councillors elected to form new Aberdeenshire Council - Aberdeenshire Council". online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
21. Reid, Fiona (23 May 2017). "Elaine is new leader". DnG24 Media. Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2017.
22. "SNP to form administration with Independent on Dundee City Council". BBC News. 12 May 2017. Archived from the original on 14 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
23. Sharp, Marie (10 May 2017). "Labour set to go it alone on East Lothian Council". Archived from the original on 11 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
24. "City of Edinburgh Council to be run by coalition". 15 June 2017. Archived from the original on 16 June 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2017.
25. "SNP minority takes control of Falkirk Council". 17 May 2017. Archived from the original on 17 May 2017. Retrieved 19 May 2017.
26. "Independent, Lib Dem, Labour coalition to run Highland". BBC News. 10 May 2017. Archived from the original on 10 May 2017. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
27. Foote, Chris (15 May 2017). "Tory-led coalition takes over Perth and Kinross from SNP". STV News. Archived from the original on 6 March 2019. Retrieved 15 May 2017.
28. Buchan, Jamie (16 May 2017). "EXCLUSIVE: Split at Perth and Kinross coalition, just hours after launch". The Courier . Archived from the original on 10 September 2018. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
29. "Conservatives and independents to run Scottish Borders Council". BBC News South Scotland. BBC News. 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 9 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2017.
30. "SNP, Labour and Independent councillors to run South Ayrshire Council". BBC News. 11 May 2017. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
31. Dickie, Douglas (10 May 2017). "SNP set to run minority administration at South Lanarkshire Council". Daily Record . Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 16 May 2017.
32. Foulds, Jenny (18 May 2017). "New West Dunbartonshire Council administration revealed". Daily Record . Archived from the original on 23 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2017.
33. "Full council election results published". 8 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2020– via www.bbc.co.uk.
34. "ElectionsScotland: SLGE2017 Summary Results Data". Archived from the original on 5 July 2019. Retrieved 8 May 2017.
35. "How the BBC calculates local election results". 9 May 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2019. Retrieved 10 May 2017.
36. Curtice 2022, p. 33.
37. Curtice 2022, p. 23.

External links

• Elections Scotland summary of results Archived 2019-07-05 at the Wayback Machine
• Scottish Council election May 2017