2022 East Dunbartonshire Council election

Main article: 2022 Scottish local elections

2022 East Dunbartonshire Council election

←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 22 seats to East Dunbartonshire Council 12 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Gordan Low Vaughan Moody Alan Moir Party SNP Liberal Democrats Labour Leader's seat Bishopbriggs South Bearsden South Bishopbriggs South Last election 7 seats, 28.77% 6 seats, 15.04% 2 seats, 13.09% Seats before 7 6 2 Seats won 8 6 4 Seat change 1 0 2   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Andrew Polson Duncan Cumming Party Conservative Independent Leader's seat Bearsden South Bearsden North Last election 6 seats, 26.45% 1 seat, 4.2% Seats before 3 1 Seats won 3 1 Seat change 3 0
Joint Council Leaders before election Vaughan Moody & Andrew Polson Lib Dems & Conservatives Council Leader after election Gordan Low SNP

The East Dunbartonshire Council election of 2022 was held on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. ^[1] Each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation used since the 2007 election and according to the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004. ^[1]

The election saw the SNP remain as the largest group, increasing their representation by 1 seat to 8. The Lib Dems remained steady on 6, moving into second place, although former Depute Provost Gary Pews, who had succeeded the Conservative's Alan Brown as Provost following the latter's death in December 2021, lost his seat. Labour doubled their representation to 4 seats, moving into third place, while the Conservatives fell back to fourth place on 3. The independent councillor Duncan Cumming retained his seat.

Election result

2022 East Dunbartonshire local election result ^[2]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	SNP	8	1	0	1	36.4	30.38	13,842	1.61
	Liberal Democrats	6	1	1	0	27.3	16.43	7,484	1.39
	Labour	4	2	0	2	18.2	19.35	8,814	6.26
	Conservative	3	0	3	3	13.6	18.26	8,318	8.19
	Independent	1	0	0	0	4.5	8.61	3,924	3.39
	Green	0	-	-	-	-	5.87	2,676	1.22
	Alba	0	-	-	-	-	0.46	208	New
	Scottish Family	0	-	-	-	-	0.36	164	New
	Freedom Alliance (United Kingdom)	0	-	-	-	-	0.29	131	New

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward summary

2022 East Dunbartonshire Council election results by ward

Ward	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	Total
	SNP		Lib Dem		Lab		Con		Ind		Others
Milngavie	24.89	1	16.49	1	13.49	0	20.69	1	13.28	0	10.56	0	3
Bearsden North	19.05	1	12.42	1	9.48	0	14.98	0	38.30	1	5.75	0	3
Bearsden South	23.39	1	23.12	1	16.06	0	23.20	1	7.05	0	7.17	0	3
Bishopbriggs North and Campsie	36.90	2	15.23	0	20.73	1	18.52	1			8.60	0	4
Bishopbriggs South	36.92	1	12.45	1	27.25	1	17.27	0			5.76	0	3
Lenzie & Kirkintilloch South	33.23	1	17.36	1	20.98	1	20.34	0			7.99	0	3
Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar	38.88	1	18.67	1	29.17	1	11.95	0			1.34	0	3
Total	30.38	8	16.43	4	19.35	3	18.26	1	8.61	1	6.98	0	22

Ward results

Milngavie

• 2017: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2017–2022 Change: No Change

Milngavie – 3 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Jim Gibbons (incumbent)	24.89%	1,566
	Conservative	Alix Mathieson	20.69%	1,293	1,293.05	1,303.06	1,448.07	1,586.08
	Liberal Democrats	Aileen Polson	16.49%	1,031	1,031.26	1,217.49	1,449.63	2,159.10
	Labour	Thomas Shepherd	13.49%	869	869.37	1,100.79	1,364.99
	Independent	Julie Duncan	13.28%	830	830.29	948.69
	Green	Emma Sheppard	10.56%	660	661.59
Electorate: 10,661  Valid: 6,249  Spoilt: 52  Quota: 1,563  Turnout: 59.1%

Bearsden North

• 2017: 1 x independent, 1 x Lib Dem, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 1 x independent, 1 x Lib Dem, 1 x SNP
• 2017–2022 Change: 1 x SNP gain from Conservative

Bearsden North – 3 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	Duncan Cumming (incumbent)	38.30%	2,645
	SNP	Calum Smith	19.05%	1,316	1,404.15	1,659.04	1,821.97
	Conservative	Duncan Evans	14.98%	1,035	1,263.02	1,269.45	1,370.05	1,373.07
	Liberal Democrats	Alan Reid	12.42%	858	1,119.34	1,199.81	1,569.10	1,605.73	2,378.56
	Labour	Craig Muncie	9.48%	655	795.21	873.67
	Green	Neill Simpson	5.75%	397	478.56
Electorate: 11,936  Valid: 6,909  Spoilt: 59  Quota: 1,727  Turnout: 58.4%

Bearsden South

• 2017: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2017–2022 Change: No Change

Bearsden South – 3 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Ian Gallagher	23.39%	1,490	1,497.00	1,521.00	1,783.00
	Conservative	Andrew Polson (incumbent)	23.20%	1,478	1,488.00	1,567.00	1,571.00	1,574.94	1,604.40
	Liberal Democrats	Vaughan Moody (incumbent)	23.12%	1,473	1,487.00	1,590	1,669.00
	Labour	Lorna Dougall	16.06%	1,023	1,035.00	1,103.00	1,197.00	1,286.40	1,312.08
	Green	Scott Ferguson	7.17%	457	469.00	491.00
	Independent	Sheila Mechan	4.74%	302	383.00
	Independent	Duncan Malcolm	2.31%	147
Electorate: 11,099  Valid: 6,370  Spoilt: 50  Quota: 1,593  Turnout: 57.8%

Bishopbriggs North and Campsie

• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 2 x SNP, 1 xLabour, 1 x Conservative
• 2017–2022 Change: 1x Labour gain from Lib Dem

Bishopbriggs North and Campsie – 4 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Paul Ferretti (Incumbent)	26.38%	2,130
	Labour	Colette McDiarmid	20.73%	1,674
	Conservative	Billy Hendry (incumbent)	18.52%	1,495	1,502.46	1,509.33	1,522.44	1,578.79	1,596.76	1,596.76
	Liberal Democrats	Gary Pews (Incumbent)	15.23%	1,229	1,254.15	1,274.02	1,289.09	1,333.22	1,429.79
	SNP	Lynda Williamson	10.52%	849	1,223.28	1,228.63	1,268.23	1.292.69	1,592.85	1,823.72
	Green	Elizabeth Rowan	5.08%	410	462.47	468.70	491.75	508.34
	Scottish Family	Paul Gallacher	2.03%	164	175.36	178.22	200.05
	Alba	Alan Harris	1.49%	121	135.51	136.22
Electorate: 15,642  Valid: 8,072  Spoilt: 130  Quota: 1,615  Turnout: 52.4%

Bishopbriggs South

• 2017: 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat
• 2007-2012 Change: 1x Lib Dem gain from Conservative

Bishopbriggs South – 3 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Gordan Low (incumbent)	36.92%	2,241
	Labour	Alan Moir (incumbent)	27.25%	1,654
	Conservative	Catherine Brown	17.27%	1,048	1,061.87	1,076.92	1,091.22	1,119.07
	Liberal Democrats	Ben Rose	12.45%	756	865.69	918.89	938.25	1,235.73	1,962.71
	Green	Jesper Bach	4.68%	284	662.76	682.89	751.42
	Alba	Eamonn Gallagher	1.08%	87	150.56	154.59
Electorate: 12,340  Valid: 6,070  Spoilt: 70  Quota: 1,518  Turnout: 49.8%

Lenzie & Kirkintilloch South

• 2017: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2022: 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP, 1 x Labour
• 2017–2022 Change: 1 x Labour gain from Conservative

Lenzie & Kirkintilloch South – 3 seats ^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Gillian Renwick (incumbent)	33.23%	2,165
	Labour	Callum McNally	20.98%	1,367	1,474.19	1,484.45	1,809.77
	Conservative	Sandra Thornton (incumbent)	20.34%	1,325	1,331.44	1,344.44	1,360.89	1,377.44
	Liberal Democrats	Willie Paterson	17.36%	1,131	1,188.68	1,196.18	1,394.78	1,495.48	2,356.67
	Green	Carolynn Scrimgeour	7.18%	468	744.04	752.02
	Freedom Alliance (United Kingdom)	James Watson	0.91%	59	62.71
Electorate: 12,524  Valid: 6,515  Spoilt: 72  Quota: 1,629  Turnout: 52.6%

Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar

• 2017: 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat
• 2022: 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat
• 2017–2022 Change: No Change

Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar – 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	SNP	Pamela Marshall	38.88	2,095
	Labour	Stewart MacDonald (incumbent)	29.17	1,572
	Liberal Democrats	Susan Murray (incumbent)	18.67	1,006	1,307.65	1,404.40
	Conservative	Josephine MacLeod	11.95	644	663.61	692.82
	Freedom Alliance (United Kingdom)	Alan McManus	1.34	72	180.75	199.13
Electorate: 12,318  Valid: 5,389  Spoilt: 87  Quota: 1,348  Turnout: 44.5%

Aftermath

On 19 May 2022, a new SNP administration took office, with Cllr Gordan Low elected as Leader and Cllr Calum Smith appointed as Depute. Cllr Gillian Renwick was appointed as the first SNP Provost of East Dunbartonshire, and the first to represent a Kirkintilloch seat. Labour's Cllr Colette McDiarmid was elected as Depute Provost. ^[4]

Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar by-election

In the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Liberal Democrat councillor for Kirkintilloch East and North and Twechar (Ward 7), Susan Murray, was elected MP for Mid Dunbartonshire. ^[5] Following this, she resigned from the council 30 November 2024, ^[6] and a by-election for her replacement was held on 13 February 2025. ^[7]

Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar by-election (13 February 2025) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Labour	Aidan Marshall	30.2	958	959	967	983	999	1,040	1,255	1,691
	SNP	Serina Marshall	22.9	726	727	751	812	815	855
	Liberal Democrats	Marthos Christoforou	21.3	677	679	684	712	765	878	1,029
	Reform	Bruce Hampton	15.0	476	480	489	494	517
	Conservative	Satbir Kaur Gill	4.1	131	133	134	136
	Green	Elizabeth Rowan	4.0	128	128	133
	Alba	Eamonn Gallagher	2.0	63	67
	Sovereignty	Alan McManus	0.6	18
Electorate: 12,319  Valid: 3,177  Spoilt: 51  Quota: 1,589  Turnout: 26.2%

Source: ^[8]

References

1. "Local Elections 2022". East Dunbartonshire Council. March 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
2. "East Dunbartonshire Election Results". East Dunbartonshire Council. March 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
3. "Local Government election results 2022". East Dunbartonshire Council. 9 May 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2022.
4. "SNP forms minority administration to take control of East Dunbartonshire Council". 20 May 2022.
5. "Susan Murray elected as MP for Mid Dunbartonshire". www.edlibdems.org.uk. Retrieved 7 July 2024.
6. "By-election to be held in February". East Dunbartonshire Council. 5 December 2024. Archived from the original on 14 April 2025. Retrieved 16 July 2025.
7. "By-election - Ward 7 Kirkintilloch East & North & Twechar - February 2025 results". East Dunbartonshire Council. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
8. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). East Dunbartonshire Council. 14 February 2025. Retrieved 20 June 2025.