2022 South Ayrshire Council election

2022 South Ayrshire Council election

←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 28 seats to South Ayrshire Council 15 seats needed for a majority
Registered	92,112
Turnout	49.7%
First party Second party   Leader Martin Dowey Peter Henderson Party Conservative SNP Leader's seat Ayr West Girvan and South Carrick Last election 12 seats, 43.4% 9 seats, 30.2% Seats before 11 9 Seats won 10 9 Seat change 2 Popular vote 14,520 14,838 Percentage 33.3% 34.1% Swing 10.1% 3.9%   Third party Fourth party   Ind Leader Brian McGinley N/A Party Labour Independent Leader's seat Ayr East N/A Last election 5 seats, 15.2% 2 seats, 10.7% Seats before 5 3 Seats won 5 4 Seat change 2 Popular vote 7,276 5,313 Percentage 16.7% 12.2% Swing 1.5% 1.5%
Leader before election Peter Henderson (SNP) No overall control Leader after election Martin Dowey (Conservative) No overall control

Elections to South 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.

Despite shedding almost a quarter of their vote and coming second in the popular vote, the Conservatives retained their position as the largest party returning 10 councillors - two less than in the previous election. Both the Scottish National Party (SNP) – who topped the popular vote – and Labour made no gains or losses to remain as the second and third parties respectively. The number of independents returned increased from two to four.

Following the election the Conservatives formed a minority administration, replacing the previous SNP-Labour-Independent administration which was formed as a result of the previous election in 2017.

Background

Previous election

Main article: 2017 South Ayrshire Council election

At the previous election in 2017, the Conservatives won the most seats returning 12 councillors. The Scottish National Party (SNP) maintained their position as the second-largest party while boundary changes saw Labour lose out as they lost four seats to return five councillors. Two independents were also returned. ^{[1] [2]}

2017 South Ayrshire Council election result

Party		Seats	Vote share
	Conservatives	12	43.4%
	SNP	9	30.2%
	Labour	5	15.2%
	Independent	2	10.7%

Source: ^{[1] [2]}

Electoral system

The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 28 councillors elected. Each ward elected either three or four members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference. ^[3]

Composition

There was one change to the composition of the council following the previous election in 2017. Conservative councillor Hugh Hunter was de-selected in the run-up to the 2022 elections and resigned from the party to stand as an independent. ^{[4] [5]}

Composition of South Ayrshire Council

	Party	2017 result	Dissolution
	Conservative	12	11
	SNP	9	9
	Labour	5	5
	Independents	2	3

Retiring Councillors

Retiring councillors

Council Ward	Party		Retiring Councillor
Troon		Conservative	Peter Convery
Prestwick		Conservative	Margaret Toner
		Labour	Helen Moonie
Ayr North		SNP	Douglas Campbell
Ayr West		SNP	Siobhian Brown
Kyle		Labour	Andy Campbell
Girvan and South Carrick		Conservative	Ian Fitzsimmons

Source: ^{[2] [6]}

Candidates

The total number of candidates increased from 45 in 2017 to 61 mainly due to the increased number of parties contesting the election. Unlike the previous vote, the Conservatives fielded the highest number of candidates at 19 – seven more than they had in 2017. Both the SNP and Labour also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 13 candidates fielded by the SNP and the eight fielded by Labour was one less than in 2017. The Liberal Democrats named six candidates in this election after fielding none in South Ayrshire in 2017. The number of independent candidates increased from nine in 2017 to 10 but the Greens did not contest the election as they did five years previous. Both the Scottish Family Party and the Alba Party fielded their first ever candidates in a South Ayrshire election. ^{[2] [6] [7]}

Results

2022 South Ayrshire Council election

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	10	0	2	2	35.7	32.6	14,520	10.1
	SNP	9	0	0		32.1	33.4	14,849	3.9
	Labour	5	0	0		17.8	16.3	7,276	1.5
	Independent	4	2	0	2	14.2	15.3	6,820	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.0	1.5	671	New
	Alba	0	0	0		0.0	0.6	275	New
	Scottish Family	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	108	New
Total		28						43,488

Source: ^[8]

Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils. ^{[9] [10]}

Ward summary

Results of the 2022 South Ayrshire Council election by ward

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	Con		SNP		Lab		Ind		Others
Troon	37.3	2	35.9	1	19.2	1	2.8	0	4.7	0	4
Prestwick	25.5	1	34.8	1	15.4	1	23.2	1	1.2	0	4
Ayr North	20.5	1	45.9	2	24.1	1	6.3	0	3.2	0	4
Ayr East	30.0	1	39.2	1	16.5	1	12.1	0	2.3	0	3
Ayr West	39.6	2	21.9	1	10.9	0	22.8	1	4.8	0	4
Kyle	36.7	1	33.9	1	23.0	1			6.4	0	3
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton	35.5	1	32.0	1	12.4	0	17.7	1	2.5	0	3
Girvan and South Carrick	28.0	1	24.9	1	8.8	0	37.2	1	1.2	0	3
Total	32.6	10	33.4	9	16.3	5	15.3	4	2.2	0	28

Source: ^[8]

Seats changing hands

Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat.

Seats changing hands

Seat	2017			2022
	Party		Member	Party		Member
Prestwick		Conservative	Hugh Hunter		Independent	Hugh Hunter [Note 1]
Ayr West		Conservative	Derek McCabe		Independent	Bob Shields

Notes

1. ^
   Note 1: In 2017, Hugh Hunter was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later deselected and stood as an independent in 2022. ^[5]

Ward results

Troon

The Conservatives (2), the SNP (1) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.

Troon - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Craig MacKay (incumbent)	23.0	1,607
	Labour	Philip Saxton (incumbent)	19.2	1,342	1,352	1,405
	Conservative	Bob Pollock (incumbent)	16.2	1,131	1,134	1,146	1,147	1,209	1,463
	Conservative	Kenneth Bell	14.5	1,015	1,016	1,029	1,029	1,074	1,275	1,335	1,497
	SNP	Annie McIndoe	12.8	898	1,080	1,120	1,122	1,184	1,192	1,193
	Conservative	Rose Hall	6.5	459	459	466	466	496
	Liberal Democrats	Judith Godden	4.7	329	333	373	376
	Independent	Linda Lunan	2.8	198	200
Electorate: 13,025  Valid: 6,979  Spoilt: 128  Quota: 1,396  Turnout: 54.6%

Source: ^{[11] [12]}

Prestwick

The Conservatives held one of the two seats they won at the previous election and lost one to independent candidate Hugh Hunter while the SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election. In 2017, Hugh Hunter was elected as a Conservative candidate.

Prestwick - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Ian Cochrane (incumbent)	25.5	1,685
	Independent	Hugh Hunter (incumbent)	23.2	1,544
	Conservative	Martin Kilbride	17.0	1,132	1,135	1,195	1,236	1,239	1,726
	Labour	Cameron Ramsay	15.3	1,020	1,038	1,077	1,086	1,100	1,114	1,181	1,591
	SNP	Norrie Smith	9.2	614	928	955	958	995	997	1,002
	Conservative	Derek Stillie	7.3	488	488	516	539	544
	Alba	John Caddis	1.1	78	84	90	91
	Conservative	Owen Daniel North	1.0	71	72	79
Electorate: 12,507  Valid: 6,642  Spoilt: 107  Quota: 1,329  Turnout: 54.0%

Source: ^{[13] [14]}

Ayr North

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Ayr North - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Laura Brennan-Whitefield (incumbent)	38.8	1,913
	Labour	Ian Cavana (incumbent)	24.0	1,185
	Conservative	Ian Davis (incumbent)	13.7	675	687	715	719	723	745	1,046
	SNP	Mark Dixon	6.9	344	1,143
	Conservative	David Paterson	6.8	336	341	349	352	354	367
	Independent	Andrew Russell	6.2	309	326	346	365	403	462	481
	Liberal Democrats	Mason Graham	1.6	80	90	137	156	172
	Alba	Denise Sommerville	1.6	79	90	94	124
Electorate: 12,973  Valid: 4,921  Spoilt: 166  Quota: 985  Turnout: 39.2%

Source: ^{[15] [16]}

Ayr East

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election.

Ayr East - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Chris Cullen (incumbent)	27.8	1,377
	Conservative	Mary Kilpatrick (incumbent)	19.4	959	960	980	1,003	1,024	1,068	1,565
	Labour	Brian McGinley (incumbent)	16.4	814	820	860	888	919	992	1,021	1,108	1,408
	SNP	Ian Douglas	11.2	556	676	684	703	727	779	783	791
	Conservative	Alan Lamont	10.5	520	520	525	545	560	584
	Independent	Chic Brodie	4.7	232	233	236	268	364
	Independent	Andrew Bryden	3.7	185	187	204	245
	Independent	David John Ramsay	3.6	180	181	189
	Liberal Democrats	Deirdre Kennedy	2.2	113	114
Electorate: 10,276  Valid: 4,936  Spoilt: 95  Quota: 1,235  Turnout: 49.0%

Source: ^{[17] [18]}

Ayr West

The Conservatives retained two of the three seats they won at the previous election and lost one to independent candidate Bob Shields while the SNP retained their only seat.

Ayr West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Conservative	Martin Dowey (incumbent)	27.1	2,271
	Independent	Bob Shields	22.8	1,909
	SNP	George Weir	14.5	1,217	1,218	1,237	1,252	1,275	1,282	1,870
	Labour	John Duncan	10.9	915	930	961	981	1,117	1,140	1,165	1,247
	Conservative	Lee Lyons (incumbent)	8.3	699	1,113	1,164	1,199	1,235	1,646	1,649	1,652	1,893
	SNP	Margaret Weir	7.3	614	614	624	628	653	655
	Conservative	Derek McCabe (incumbent)	4.0	341	465	503	515	548
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Ross	3.5	295	305	341	349
	Scottish Family	Gordon Hawley Bryce	1.2	108	111	118
Electorate: 14,541  Valid: 8,369  Spoilt: 133  Quota: 1,674  Turnout: 58.5%

Source: ^{[19] [20]}

Kyle

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election.

Kyle - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Julie Dettbarn (incumbent)	33.9	1,635
	Labour	Duncan Townson	23.0	1,110	1,236
	Conservative	Stephen Ferry	19.8	955	964	967	971	1,072	1,836
	Conservative	Arthur Spurling (incumbent)	16.8	814	823	826	830	879
	Liberal Democrats	John Aitken	4.8	235	288	299	365
	Alba	Geoff Bush	1.4	71	154	156
Electorate: 10,625  Valid: 4,820  Spoilt: 57  Quota: 1,206  Turnout: 45.9%

Source: ^{[21] [22]}

Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton

The SNP, the Conservatives and independent candidate Brian Connolly retained the seats they won at the previous election.

Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	William James Grant (incumbent)	31.9	1,370
	Conservative	Ian Campbell (incumbent)	20.9	895	903	914	1,435
	Independent	Brian Connolly (incumbent)	17.6	756	857	892	920	1,043	1,402
	Conservative	Laura McEwan	14.5	623	629	635
	Labour	Nicola Saxton	12.4	532	598	651	690	752
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Ralph	2.4	106	130
Electorate: 9,316  Valid: 4,282  Spoilt: 74  Quota: 1,071  Turnout: 46.8%

Source: ^{[23] [24]}

Girvan and South Carrick

Independent candidate Alec Clark, the SNP and the Conservatives held the seats they won at the previous election.

Girvan and South Carrick - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	Alec Clark (incumbent)	31.4	1,277
	SNP	Peter Henderson (incumbent)	24.8	1,008	1,071
	Conservative	Gavin Scott	14.1	573	600	601	607	684	753	1,371
	Conservative	Linda Kane	13.8	563	591	592	594	620	734
	Labour	Aaron Gilpin	8.8	358	398	410	423	508
	Independent	Todor Joseph Radic	5.6	230	286	296	321
	Alba	Eileen Spence	1.1	47	51	61
Electorate: 8,849  Valid: 4,056  Spoilt: 75  Quota: 1,015  Turnout: 46.7%

Source: ^{[25] [26]}

Aftermath

It had initially been expected that the ruling SNP-Labour-Independent administration would continue to run the council, but discussions broke down between the parties amid Labour's claims of a "political stitch-up". As a result, the SNP planned to run the council as a minority administration on a "collaboration and consensus basis". ^[27] However, the Conservative group formed a minority administration and took control of the council ^[28] after the first full-council meeting thanks to Labour abstentions. The party also had the support of two of the local authority's four independents. ^[29]

In June 2023, both the SNP and Labour groups made changes to their leadership. Cllr Peter Henderson, leader of the SNP group, retired as a councillor due to "personal ill-health" which triggered a by-election in Girvan and South Carrick. He was replaced by Cllr William Grant as the SNP group leader. Labour group leader Cllr Brian McGinley was replaced in the role by Cllr Duncan Townson. ^{[30] [31]}

Ayr East councillor Chris Cullen defected from the SNP to the Alba Party in October 2023 saying the party had "failed to deliver on independence". ^[32]

At some point in late 2023 or early 2024, Ayr North councillor Mark Dixon left the SNP to sit as an independent. He has stated on social media that he is now a member of the Greens but the party do not allow members who have defected from other parties to formally sit under their banner so he remains an independent on the council. ^{[8] [33]}

Girvan and South Carrick by-election

Cllr Henderson stood down on 30 June 2023 and a by-election took place on 21 September 2023. ^[34] This resulted in a Conservative gain from the SNP and Alan Lamont was elected on the fourth count. ^[35]

Girvan and South Carrick (21 September 2023) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	Alan Lamont	47.5	1,315	1,323	1,346	1,497
	SNP	Joseph McLaughlin	28.1	778	802	824	947
	Labour	Nicola Saxton	18.0	499	507	551
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Ross	3.9	108	113
	Alba	Denise Sommerville	2.5	70
Electorate: 8,648  Valid: 2,770  Spoilt: 32  Quota: 1,386  Turnout: 32.4%

Source: ^[36]

References

1. "South Ayrshire Council". BBC News. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
2. Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2017 - South Ayrshire" . Retrieved 17 March 2023.
3. "Notice of Election" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
4. Wilson, Stuart (9 November 2021). "Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party to drop Prestwick councillor Hugh Hunter from 2022 local election team". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
5. Wilson, Stuart (13 February 2022). "Former South Ayrshire Conservative councillor Hugh Hunter confirms Independent bid for May election". Daily Record. Retrieved 8 April 2022.
6. Wilson, Stuart (30 March 2022). "Scottish council elections 2022: South Ayrshire candidates revealed for May 5 vote". Daily Record. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
7. "Notice of Election Agents" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 30 March 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2023.
8. Faulds, Allan. "South Ayrshire Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
9. Faulds, Allan (25 September 2021). "The Local STV Voting System Explained". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
10. "Single Transferable Vote". Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
11. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 1 Troon" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
12. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 1 Troon" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
13. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 2 Prestwick" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
14. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 2 Prestwick" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
15. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 3 Ayr North" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
16. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 3 Ayr North" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
17. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 4 Ayr East" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
18. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 4 Ayr East" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
19. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 5 Ayr West" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
20. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 5 Ayr West" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
21. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 6 Kyle" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
22. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 6 Kyle" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
23. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 7 Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
24. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 7 Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
25. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 8 Girvan and South Carrick" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
26. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 8 Girvan and South Carrick" (PDF). South Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
27. Dyson, Kevin (10 May 2022). "SNP to run South Ayrshire as minority administration as Labour claim 'political stitch-up'". Daily Record. Retrieved 12 May 2022.
28. Wilson, Stuart (19 May 2022). "BREAKING: Tories take control of South Ayrshire Council". Daily Record. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
29. Richards, Xander; Robertson, Adam (26 May 2022). "Every Scottish council with a Tory-Labour deal - see the full list" . The National. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
30. Lyon, Adam (9 June 2023). "South Ayrshire SNP leader Peter Henderson to retire this month". Ayr Advertiser. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
31. Dyson, Kevin (9 June 2023). "South Ayrshire Council: All change for SNP and Labour leadership". Ayr Advertiser. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
32. "SNP councillor Chris Cullen defects to Alba in Ash Regan's wake". BBC News. 30 October 2023. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
33. "Councillor Mark Dison". South Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 4 April 2024.
34. Gibson, Darren (16 August 2023). "Girvan and South Carrick: By-election taking place in Ward 8". Ayr Advertiser. Retrieved 28 August 2023.
35. Dyson, Kevin (22 September 2023). "Conservatives snatch precious seat from SNP in South Ayrshire by-election". Daily Record. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
36. Faulds, Allan. "By-Election Result: Girvan and South Carrick". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 September 2023.