2022 Scottish local elections

Last updated

2022 Scottish local elections
Flag of Scotland.svg
  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)2027 

All 1,227 seats to 32 Scottish councils
Turnout44.8% (Decrease2.svg2.1%) [1]
 First partySecond partyThird party
 
Nicola Sturgeon 2021.jpg
Anas Sarwar MSP.jpg
Douglas Ross 2021.jpg
Leader Nicola Sturgeon Anas Sarwar Douglas Ross
Party SNP Labour Conservative
Last election431 seats, 32.30%262 seats, 20.16%276 seats, 25.30%
Seats won453282214
Seat changeIncrease2.svg22Increase2.svg20Decrease2.svg63
First preferences633,252403,243364,824
First preferences (%)34.1%21.8%19.7%
Swing (pp)Increase2.svg1.8%Increase2.svg1.6%Decrease2.svg5.6%

 Fourth partyFifth partySixth party
 
Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP.jpg
Lorna Slater MSP and Patrick Harvie MSP.jpg
LeaderNone Alex Cole-Hamilton Lorna Slater and
Patrick Harvie
(co-leaders)
Party Independent Liberal Democrats Scottish Green
Last election168 seats, 10.4%67 seats, 6.82%19 seats, 4.1%
Seats won1528735
Seat changeDecrease2.svg15Increase2.svg20Increase2.svg16
First preferences156,815159,815110,791
First preferences (%)8.4%8.6%6.0%
Swing (pp)Decrease2.svg2.0%Increase2.svg1.7%Increase2.svg1.8%

2022 Scottish local elections-vote share.svg
2022 Scottish local elections-council controls.svg

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%. [1]

Contents

Compared to the previous elections of 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) gained seats and maintained its position as largest party in local government, winning 36.9% of the seats available. Scottish Labour (winning 22.9% of seats) gained seats, whilst the Scottish Conservatives (who won 17.5%) lost many seats, being displaced by Scottish Labour as the second-largest party. Independent candidates also lost seats, whilst the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Greens increased their vote share and gained seats across Scotland.

At the 2017 election, no council was won by an overall majority of any party. In the 2022 election, the SNP increased its vote share and secured an overall majority on Dundee City Council, [2] whilst Labour won overall control of West Dunbartonshire Council. [3] Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross blamed his party's bad results on the partygate scandal. [4]

The Alba Party and Scottish Family Party ran candidates in around 100 seats each but failed to win any. The Rubbish Party and West Dunbartonshire Community Party held their singular seats, whilst the British Unionist Party gained their first seat from the Conservatives.

Background

The last election was in 2017, which was held five years after the 2012 election, instead of four was changed in order to avoid clashing with the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Boundaries Scotland have conducted a review of electoral arrangements for six councils under the terms of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018. [5] The Scottish Parliament's Local Government Committee accepted the new boundaries in Na h-Eileanan an Iar, North Ayrshire, Orkney and Shetland, but recommended against approval of the changes in Argyll and Bute and Highland. [6]

Voting system and eligibility to vote

Ballot paper used for the elections in the Victoria Park ward of the Glasgow City Council Ballot paper for the 2022 Scottish local elections (Glasgow, Victoria Park ward).jpg
Ballot paper used for the elections in the Victoria Park ward of the Glasgow City Council

Councillors are elected to represent multi-member wards using the Single Transferable Vote (STV) method, which has been used for all elections to local authorities in Scotland since the 2007 election. Previous to this election, in all votes since 2007, wards have been sized such that either 3 or 4 councillors are elected per ward. However, this election was different. The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 have given Boundaries Scotland increased flexibility to vary the size of wards. Mainland wards may now have between 2 and 5 councillors, and single councillor wards are permitted where such a ward includes an inhabited island. [7] For these elections wards represented by one, two or five councillors will only be contested in the four council areas in which ward boundaries have been redrawn after 2017, namely Na h-Eileanan an Iar, North Ayrshire, Orkney and Shetland.

Overall, the 32 local authorities had one one-seat district (Arran), seven two-seat districts and three five-seat districts (North Ayrshire) in addition to the bulk of the members elected in three and four seat districts.

All registered electors (British citizens and all other foreign nationals with leave to remain, including refugees) [8] who are aged 16 or over on polling day are entitled to vote in the local elections. [9] A person who has two homes (such as a university student who has a term-time address and lives at home during holidays) can register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the same electoral area, and can vote in the local elections for the two different local councils. [10]

Individuals must have been registered to vote by midnight on 18 April 2022. The deadlines to register for a postal vote and proxy vote were 19 and 26 April 2022, respectively. [11]

Results

Summary of the May 2022 Scottish council election results
PartyFirst-preference votesCouncilsSeats
CountOf total (%)ChangeCountChangeCountOf total (%)Change
SNP 633,25134.1%Increase2.svg 1.8%1Increase2.svg 145337.0%Increase2.svg 22
Labour 403,24321.7%Increase2.svg 1.6%1Increase2.svg 128223.1%Increase2.svg 20
Conservative 364,82419.6%Decrease2.svg 5.7%0Steady2.svg21417.5%Decrease2.svg 62
Independents 156,7518.4%Decrease2.svg 2.0%3Steady2.svg14912.2%Decrease2.svg 19
Liberal Democrats 159,8158.6%Increase2.svg 1.7%0Steady2.svg877.1%Increase2.svg 20
Green 110,7916.0%Increase2.svg 1.9%0Steady2.svg352.9%Increase2.svg 16
West Dunbartonshire Community 1,4620.1%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg10.1%Steady2.svg
BUP 8590.1%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg10.1%Increase2.svg 1
Rubbish 7870.0%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg10.1%Steady2.svg
Alba 12,3350.7%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Scottish Family 6,8570.4%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Scottish Socialist 1,0580.1%Increase2.svg 0.1%0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
TUSC 1,0220.1%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
Independence for Scotland 7420.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Libertarian 6980.0%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
Freedom Alliance5550.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Volt UK 4210.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Socialist Labour 3810.0%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
UKIP 3720.0%Decrease2.svg 0.2%0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
Women's Equality 2280.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Social Democratic 2220.0%Steady2.svg0Steady2.svg00.0%Steady2.svg
Sovereignty 1540.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Communist 1190.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Pensioner's 750.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Vanguard 740.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Workers 610.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Scottish Eco-Federalist 240.0%New0Steady2.svg00.0%New
Vacant seats30.0%Increase2.svg 3
No overall control 27Decrease2.svg 2
Total1,857,181100.0Steady2.svg32Steady2.svg1,226100.00Steady2.svg

Councils

Council20172022Article
Largest partyControlLargest partyControl
Aberdeen City SNP Lab, Con + Ind coalitionSNPSNP + Lib Dem coalition Details
Aberdeenshire ConservativeCon, Lib Dem + Ind coalitionConservativeCon, Lib Dem + Ind coalition Details
Angus SNP + IndInd, Con + Lib Dem coalitionSNPSNP minority Details
Argyll and Bute SNPInd, Con + Lib Dem coalitionSNPCon, Ind + Lib Dem coalition Details
Clackmannanshire SNPSNP minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Dumfries and Galloway ConservativeSNP + Lab coalitionConservativeSNP, Lab, Ind + Lib Dem coalition Details
Dundee City SNPSNP minoritySNPSNP majority Details
East Ayrshire SNPSNP minoritySNPSNP minority Details
East Dunbartonshire SNPCon + Lib Dem coalitionSNPSNP minority Details
East Lothian LabourLabour minorityLabourLabour minority Details
East Renfrewshire ConservativeSNP, Lab + Ind coalitionSNPLab + Ind coalition Details
City of Edinburgh SNPSNP + Lab coalitionSNPLabour minority Details
Falkirk SNPSNP + Ind coalitionSNPSNP minority Details
Fife SNPSNP + Lab coalitionSNPLabour minority Details
Glasgow City SNPSNP minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Highland IndependentInd, Lib Dem + Lab coalitionSNPSNP + Ind coalition Details
Inverclyde LabourLabour minorityLabourLabour minority Details
Midlothian LabourLabour minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Moray SNPSNP minorityConservativeConservative minority Details
Na h-Eileanan Siar IndependentIndependent majorityIndependentIndependent majority Details
North Ayrshire Lab + SNPLabour minoritySNPSNP minority Details
North Lanarkshire SNPLabour minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Orkney Islands IndependentIndependent majorityIndependentInd + Green coalition Details
Perth and Kinross ConservativeConservative minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Renfrewshire SNPSNP minoritySNPSNP minority Details
Scottish Borders ConservativeCon + Ind coalitionConservativeCon + Ind coalition Details
Shetland Islands IndependentIndependent majorityIndependentIndependent majority Details
South Ayrshire ConservativeSNP, Lab + Ind coalitionConservativeConservative minority Details
South Lanarkshire SNPSNP minoritySNPLab, Lib Dem + Ind coalition Details
Stirling SNP + ConSNP + Lab coalitionSNPLabour minority Details
West Dunbartonshire SNPSNP + Ind coalitionLabourLabour majority Details
West Lothian SNPLabour minoritySNPLabour minority Details

Opinion polling

First preference voting intention
Date(s)
conducted
Polling organisation/clientSample size SNP Con Lab Lib Dem Green Alba Others
29 Apr – 3 May 2022 Survation 89341%17%23%8%5%1%4%
24–28 Mar 2022 Survation/Ballot Box Scotland 1,00244%18%23%6%3%1%4%
20–26 Oct 2021 Panelbase/Scot Goes Pop 1,00145%22%21%6%4%2%<1%
4 May 2017 2017 Scottish local elections 1,889,65832.30%25.30%20.16%6.82%4.1%-10.4%

See also

Notes

    Related Research Articles

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