2022 Midlothian Council election

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2022 Midlothian Council election
Coat of arms of Midlothian District Council.svg
←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)2027 →
All 18 seats to Midlothian Council
10 seats needed for a majority
Registered75,636
Turnout42.4%
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
LeaderKelly ParryDerek MilliganPeter Smaill
Party SNP Labour Conservative
Leader's seat Midlothian West Bonnyrigg Midlothian East
Last election6 seats, 30.7%7 seats, 30.2%5 seats, 22.7%
Seats before765
Seats won873
Seat changeIncrease2.svg 2Steady2.svgDecrease2.svg 2
Popular vote11,84410,5755,270
Percentage37.6%33.5%16.7%
SwingIncrease2.svg 6.9%Increase2.svg 3.3%Decrease2.svg 6.0%
Midlothian UK ward map 2017 (blank).svg
Council Leader before election

Derek Milligan
Labour

Council Leader after election

Kelly Parry
SNP

Elections to Midlothian Council took place on 5 May 2022 as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections. The election used the six wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 18 councillors being elected. Each ward elected three members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation. [1]

Contents

For the first time, the Scottish National Party emerged as the largest party on the council with eight seats, with Labour winning seven and the Conservatives three. [2]

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Labour party won the most seats at 7, closely followed by the SNP and the Conservatives, with 6 & 5 respectively. The Conservatives increased their vote share by over 14%, while Labour and the SNP dropped sharply in vote share, with 9.3%, and 8.8% drops respectively.

2017 Midlothian Council election result
PartySeatsVote share

 Labour 730.2%

 SNP 630.7%

 Conservatives 522.7%

Source: [3]

Electoral system

The election used the 6 wards created following the fifth statutory review of electoral arrangements conducted by Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 2016, with 18 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. [4]

Results

2022 Midlothian Council election
PartySeatsGainsLossesNet gain/lossSeats %Votes %Votes+/−
  SNP 820Increase2.svg 244.437.611,844Increase2.svg 6.9
  Labour 700Steady2.svg38.933.510,575Increase2.svg 3.3
  Conservative 302Decrease2.svg 216.716.75,270Decrease2.svg 6.0
  Green 000Steady2.svg0.05.32,542Decrease2.svg 1.6
  Liberal Democrats 000Steady2.svg0.04.81,025Increase2.svg 2.8
  Alba 000Steady2.svg0.00.7220New
  Scottish Libertarian 000Steady2.svg0.00.258New
Total18 31,534

Source: [5]

Wards

Penicuik

Penicuik - 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567
SNP Debbi McCall (incumbent)31.81,639      
Labour Willie McEwan23.91,2341,261 1,268 1,418   
Conservative Richard Thomson17.7912917 923 1,003 1,037 1,073  
SNP Connor McManus11.4589857 869 889 904 1,159 1,276
Green Helen Armstrong7.4383409 416 482 508   
Liberal Democrats Ken Brown6.8351356 364     
Alba George Boyd0.84646      
Electorate: 11,133  Valid: 5,154  Spoilt: 88  Quota: 1,289  Turnout: 47.1%  

    Bonnyrigg

    Bonnyrigg - 3 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    1234
    Labour Derek Milligan (incumbent)40.42,428   
    SNP Dianne Alexander35.22,117   
    Conservative David Virgo23.51,0121,299 1,323 1,720
    Green Daya Feldwick7.6459735 1,155  
    Electorate: 14,239  Valid: 6,016  Spoilt: 57  Quota: 1,505  Turnout: 48.5%  

      Dalkeith

      Dalkeith - 3 seats
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      123456
      Labour Stephen Curran (incumbent)27.01,163     
      SNP Colin Cassidy (incumbent)23.51,0121,017 1,035 1,133  
      Labour Margot Russell (incumbent)18.6800881 894 953 956 1,199
      SNP Karen Green11.6501503 508 602 648 663
      Conservative Mark Wells10.7459462 464 482 483  
      Green Marion Black6.9299301 311    
      Alba Jamie Bryant1.65656     
      Electorate: 11,594  Valid: 4,306  Spoilt: 117  Quota: 1,077  Turnout: 38.1%  

        Midlothian West

        Midlothian West - 3 seats
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        123456
        Labour Russell Imrie (incumbent)26.71,645     
        SNP Pat Kenny18.71,1491,158 1,176 1,206 1,370  
        Conservative Pauline Winchester (incumbent)18.61,1441,161 1,167 1,323 1,386 1,397
        SNP Kelly Parry (incumbent)18.31,1261,131 1,143 1,159 1,449 2,643
        Green Jill Simon10.1624636 649 773   
        Liberal Democrats Richard Chandler6.5400431 441    
        Alba Andrew Coventry1.27476     
        Electorate: 13,917  Valid: 6,162  Spoilt: 105  Quota: 1,541  Turnout: 45.0%  

          Midlothian East

          Midlothian East - 3 seats
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          12345
          Labour Bryan Pottinger29.81,473    
          Conservative Peter Smaill (incumbent)22.41,1061,153 1,255  
          SNP Stuart McKenzie (incumbent)21.21,0451,060 1,079 1,080 1,254
          SNP Ann Montague12.5616634 657 658 805
          Green Bill Kerr-Smith8.7428456 575 578  
          Liberal Democrats Jenny Marr5.5274336    
          Electorate: 12,229  Valid: 4,942  Spoilt: 58  Quota: 1,236  Turnout: 40.9%  

            Midlothian South

            Midlothian South - 3 seats
            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
            1234567
            Labour Kelly Drummond (incumbent)25.11,243      
            SNP Ellen Scott21.11,0451,045 1,051 1,053 1,185 1,206 1,345
            SNP Douglas Bowen20.31,0051,005 1,013 1,018 1,072 1,097 1,223
            Conservative Robin Stenhouse12.9637637 642 658 678   
            Labour Hazel Flanagan11.6573576 579 588 680 999  
            Green Malcolm Spaven7.0349349 356 370    
            Scottish Libertarian Daniel Fraser1.25858 63     
            Alba Christopher Hampton0.94444      
            Electorate: 12,524  Valid: 4,954  Spoilt: 120  Quota: 1,239  Turnout: 40.5%  

              Aftermath

              On 24 May, the SNP group announced that it had secured support to run a minority administration in Midlothian. [6] Kelly Parry was elected leader of the council with Debbi McCall serving as provost. [7]

              References

              1. ↑ Map showing the_Wards within the Midlothian Area
              2. ↑ Sharp, Marie (7 May 2022). "SNP take most seats in Midlothian". Midlothian View. Retrieved 11 March 2023.
              3. ↑ "Local Election Results 2017 - Midlothian". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
              4. ↑ "Upcoming elections". Glasgow City Council. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
              5. ↑ "Midlothian Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 November 2025.
              6. ↑ Morrison, Hamish (24 May 2022). "Midlothian Council: SNP take control after 'Better Together' deal". The National. Archived from the original on 25 May 2022. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
              7. ↑ Bowen, Phil (24 May 2022). "Midlothian's new Provost and Council Leader elected". Midlothian View. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
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