2022 South Lanarkshire Council election

2022 South Lanarkshire Council election

←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 64 seats to South Lanarkshire Council 33 seats needed for a majority
Registered	258,158
Turnout	44.3%
First party Second party Third party   SNP Lab Con Leader John Ross Joe Fagan Alex Allison Party SNP Labour Conservative Leader's seat Hamilton South East Kilbride Central North Clydesdale East Last election 27 seats, 35.7% 22 seats, 29.0% 14 seats, 23.9% Seats before 25 17 11 Seats won 27 24 7 Seat change 2 7 Popular vote 42,295 36,305 19,803 Percentage 36.9% 31.7% 17.3% Swing 1.2% 2.7% 6.6%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Ind Grn Leader Robert Brown Margaret Cooper Kirsten Robb Party Liberal Democrats Independent Scottish Green Leader's seat Rutherglen South Avondale and Stonehouse East Kilbride East Last election 1 seat, 5.1% 0 seats, 2.5% 0 seats, 2.9% Seats before 3 8 0 Seats won 3 2 1 Seat change 2 2 1 Popular vote 6,221 5,503 3,711 Percentage 5.4% 4.8% 3.2% Swing 0.3% 2.3% 0.3%
Leader before election John Ross (SNP) No overall control Leader after election Joe Fagan (Labour) No overall control

Elections to South Lanarkshire 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.

For the second consecutive election, the Scottish National Party were returned with the most seats at 27 but remained shy of an overall majority. Labour made small gains to again finish second with an increased number of members with 24 – up two from 2017 – while the Conservatives lost half their number to return seven members. The Liberal Democrats and independents both made two gains to return three and two members respectively while the Greens won their first ever seat in South Lanarkshire.

On 18 May, Labour and the Lib Dems announced that they would run the council as a coalition, alongside one independent councillor, with support from the Conservatives.

Background

Previous election

Main article: 2017 South Lanarkshire Council election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats for the first time. Labour had won every previous election in South Lanarkshire following the local government reforms in the 1990s. The SNP gained one seat to hold 27, six shy of an overall majority, and they formed a minority administration. Labour lost 10 seats which left them with 22 while the Conservatives gained 10 seats to record their best result in a South Lanarkshire election with 14 and the Liberal Democrats held their only seat. ^{[1] [2]}

2017 South Lanarkshire Council election result

Party		Seats	Vote share
	SNP	27	35.7%
	Labour	22	29.0%
	Conservative	14	23.9%
	Liberal Democrats	1	5.1%

Source: ^{[1] [2]}

Electoral system

The election used the 20 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 64 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference. ^[3]

Composition

Several changes in the composition of the council occurred between the 2017 and 2022 elections. Most were changes to the political affiliation of councillors including SNP councillors Sheena Wardhaugh, Jim Wardhaugh and David Watson and Labour councillors Margaret Cooper, Joe Lowe and George Greenshields who resigned from their respective parties to become independents. ^{[4] [5]} Conservative councillor Mark McGeever and Labour councillor Fiona Dryburgh switched allegiances to the Liberal Democrats. ^{[6] [7]} Conservative councillor Colin McGavigan was initially suspended before resigning from the party and Labour councillor Jackie Burns was expelled from the party. ^{[4] [8]} Two by-elections resulted in a Labour hold and an SNP hold. ^{[9] [10]}

Composition of South Lanarkshire Council

Party		2017 result	Dissolution
	SNP	27	25
	Labour	22	17
	Conservative	14	11
	Liberal Democrats	1	3
	Independents	0	8

Retiring councillors

Retiring councillors

Ward	Party		Retiring councillor
Avondale and Stonehouse		Conservative	Graeme Campbell
		SNP	Isobel Dorman
East Kilbride South		Liberal Democrats	Fiona Dryburgh
East Kilbride Central South		SNP	Collette Stevenson
Rutherglen Central and North		Conservative	Jared Wark
Hamilton North and East		SNP	Stephanie Callaghan
Hamilton South		Independent	Joe Lowe
		SNP	Josh Wilson
Larkhall		SNP	Peter Craig

Source: ^{[2] [11]}

Candidates

The total number of candidates fell from 152 in 2017 to 143. As was the case five years previous, the SNP fielded the highest number of candidates at 37 across the 20 wards. Both Labour and the Conservatives also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 30 candidates fielded by Labour was two less than in 2017 whereas the Conservatives maintained a total of 21 candidates. Unlike the previous election, the Liberal Democrats did not contest every ward after only 16 candidates were selected. The Greens had contested 19 of the 20 wards in 2017 but only contested 14 this time. ^{[11] [12]}

The number of independent candidates increased from nine in 2017 to 11. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) (four) only fielded half as many candidates. For the first time, the Scottish Family Party, the Scottish Libertarian Party and the Alba Party fielded candidates in a South Lanarkshire election. For only the second time since 1999, the Scottish Socialist Party did not field any candidates and for the first time since 2003 neither Solidarity nor the Scottish Unionist Party fielded any candidates either. ^{[11] [12]}

Controversies

Larkhall councillor Jackie Burns was criticised after announcing he would be standing for re-election. In June 2021, Cllr Burns was cleared of sexual assault but was called a "nuisance drunk" by a Sheriff before being banned from public transport for pestering a woman on a bus. In 2016, Cllr Burns was convicted of a similar offence involving a 17-year-old girl and was previously fined for public urination. ^{[13] [14] [15]} Prior to the 2017 election, Cllr Burns was expelled from the Labour party after he had been nominated as a candidate by the party following a conviction for breach of the peace. ^[4]

Scottish Family Party candidates in Lanarkshire were accused of "extremist right wing views" by advocacy group Hope not Hate for their policies on transgender rights and hate speech legislation. The party is considered anti-LGBT but claims to be pro-free speech. ^[16]

Results

2022 South Lanarkshire Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	SNP	27	1	1		42.1	36.9	42,295	1.2
	Labour	24	2	0	2	37.5	31.7	36,305	2.7
	Conservative	7	0	7	7	10.9	17.3	19,803	6.6
	Liberal Democrats	3	2	0	2	4.6	5.4	6,221	0.3
	Independent	2	2	0	2	3.1	4.8	5,503	2.3
	Scottish Green	1	1	0	1	1.5	3.2	3,711	0.3
	Scottish Family	0	0	0		0.0	0.3	300	New
	Alba	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	292	New
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	121	0.4
	Libertarian	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	67	New
Total		64						114,524

Source: ^[17]

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. ^{[18] [19]}

Ward summary

Results of the 2022 South Lanarkshire Council election by ward

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	SNP		Lab		Con		Lib Dem		Green		Others
Clydesdale West	32.7	1	38.2	2	23.6	1	2.4	0	3.1	0			4
Clydesdale North	33.4	1	33.8	1	26.9	1					6.0	0	3
Clydesdale East	33.5	1	16.4	1	40.8	1	3.1	0	5.3	0	0.9	0	3
Clydesdale South	33.5	1	25.9	1	18.7	1			3.1	0	18.8	0	3
Avondale and Stonehouse	28.4	1	19.8	1	20.6	0			6.4	0	24.8	1	3
East Kilbride South	48.7	2	23.0	1	8.7	0	13.7	0	2.9	0	3.0	0	3
East Kilbride Central South	43.9	2	38.6	1	9.1	0	2.7	0	3.9	0	1.9	0	3
East Kilbride Central North	43.8	2	37.3	1	12.2	0	3.3	0			3.4	0	3
East Kilbride West	30.9	1	26.5	1	20.0	0	2.1	0			20.5	1	3
East Kilbride East	37.4	1	27.0	1	13.5	0	2.6	0	12.7	1	6.8	0	3
Rutherglen South	31.9	1	23.2	1	8.5	0	29.4	1	4.6	0	2.4	0	3
Rutherglen Central and North	37.7	2	35.0	1	12.0	0	10.2	0	5.1	0			3
Cambuslang West	39.0	1	30.1	1	12.9	0	12.7	1	5.2	0			3
Cambuslang East	42.3	2	39.4	1	9.6	0	2.9	0	4.0	0	1.8	0	3
Blantyre	42.1	1	44.8	2	7.7	0	2.1	0	3.2	0			3
Bothwell and Uddingston	32.2	1	30.3	1	27.6	1	5.3	0	4.5	0			3
Hamilton North and East	40.8	1	32.4	1	19.0	1	5.2	0			2.6	0	3
Hamilton West and Earnock	41.4	2	30.7	1	12.9	0	11.9	1	3.1	0			4
Hamilton South	41.4	2	45.4	2	13.1	0							4
Larkhall	28.9	1	33.0	2	24.5	1	2.4	0			11.2	0	4
Total	36.9	27	31.7	24	17.3	7	5.4	3	3.2	1	5.6	2	64

Source: ^[17]

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
Clydesdale East		Conservative	Eric Holford		Labour	Ralph Barker
Avondale and Stonehouse		Conservative	Graeme Campbell		Independent	Margaret Cooper [Note 1]
East Kilbride West		Conservative	Ian Harrow		Independent	David Watson [Note 2]
East Kilbride East		SNP	Jim Wardhaugh [Note 3]		Green	Kirsten Robb
Rutherglen Central and North		Conservative	Jared Wark		SNP	Andrea Cowan
Cambuslang West		Conservative	Ann Le Blond		Liberal Democrats	Norman Rae
Hamilton West and Earnock		Conservative	Mark McGeever		Liberal Democrats	Mark McGeever [Note 4]
Hamilton South		Conservative	Lynne Nailon		Labour	Celine Handibode

Notes

1. ^
   Note 1: In 2017, Cllr Cooper was elected as a Labour candidate but later resigned from the party. ^[4] Labour held their seat in Avondale and Stonehouse at the 2022 election.
2. ^
   Note 2: In 2017, Cllr Watson was elected as an SNP candidate but later resigned from the party. ^[5] The SNP held their seat in East Kilbride West at the 2022 election.
3. ^
   Note 3: In 2017, Jim Wardhaugh was elected as an SNP candidate but later resigned from the party. ^[4]
4. ^
   Note 4: In 2017, Cllr McGeever was elected as a Conservative candidate but later defected to the Liberal Democrats. ^[6]

Ward results

Clydesdale West

Labour (2), the SNP (1) and the Conservatives (1) held the seats they won at the last election.

Clydesdale West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Eileen Logan (incumbent)	23.6	1,743
	Conservative	Poppy Corbett (incumbent)	23.6	1,742
	SNP	David Shearer (incumbent)	22.7	1,678
	Labour	Lynsey Hamilton (incumbent)	14.6	1,082	1,264	1,355	1,361	1,398	1,528
	SNP	Andrew Wilson	10.0	737	751	756	936	1,035	1,060
	Scottish Green	Neil Barton	3.1	230	236	243	249
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Charles Meehan	2.4	181	200	258	260	310
Electorate: 15,706  Valid: 7,393  Spoilt: 122  Quota: 1,479  Turnout: 47.8%

Source: ^{[20] [21]}

Clydesdale North

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

Clydesdale North - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Labour	Catherine McClymont (incumbent)	33.8	1,920
	SNP	Julia Marrs (incumbent)	33.4	1,898
	Conservative	Richard Eliott-Lockhart (incumbent)	26.9	1,530
	Independent	Ronald Logan	4.9	277
	Independent	John Scott	1.1	61
Electorate: 11,889  Valid: 5,686  Spoilt: 68  Quota: 1,422  Turnout: 48.4%

Source: ^{[22] [23]}

Clydesdale East

The Conservatives held one of their two seats while the SNP held their only seat and Labour gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Clydesdale East - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Ian McAllan (incumbent)	28.6	1,513
	Conservative	Alex Allison (incumbent)	25.8	1,364
	Labour	Ralph Barker	16.4	869	876	879	882	952	1,034	1,218	1,517
	Conservative	Eric Holford (incumbent)	15.0	794	797	832	850	881	903	929
	Scottish Green	Claire Watson	5.3	278	288	288	293	325
	SNP	John McLatchie	4.9	260	419	420	422	431	571
	Liberal Democrats	Nicholas Mark Tucker	3.1	162	165	165	171
	Scottish Family	Gareth Kirk	0.9	49	49	49
Electorate: 10,578  Valid: 5,395  Spoilt: 106  Quota: 1,323  Turnout: 51.0%

Source: ^{[24] [25]}

Clydesdale South

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives held the seats they won at the previous election. Independent candidates George Greenshields and Colin McGavigan were elected as Labour and Conservative candidates respectively in 2017 but later resigned from their respective parties.

Clydesdale South - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Mark Horsham (incumbent)	33.5	1,762
	Labour	Ross Gowland	21.7	1,144	1,199	1,204	1,390
	Conservative	Ross Lambie	18.7	986	993	1,006	1,019	1,031	1,094	1,119	1,447
	Independent	George Greenshields (incumbent)	12.1	635	682	688	701	719	867	987
	Independent	Colin McGavigan (incumbent)	5.7	298	329	341	345	352
	Labour	Imogen Walker	4.2	219	248	251
	Scottish Green	Ann McGuinness	3.1	164	324	330	344	352	392
	UKIP	Janice MacKay	1.0	52	57
Electorate: 11,706  Valid: 5,260  Spoilt: 68  Quota: 1,316  Turnout: 45.5%

Source: ^{[26] [27]}

Avondale and Stonehouse

The SNP and Labour held the seats they won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to an independent candidate. In 2017, Cllr Margaret Cooper was elected as a Labour candidate but later resigned from the party. ^[4] She was re-elected as an independent candidate.

Avondale and Stonehouse - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	Margaret Cooper (incumbent)	23.7	1,629	1,639	1,740
	SNP	Elise Frame	21.2	1,454	1,471	1,632	1,635	2,122
	Conservative	Gary Burns	20.6	1,416	1,420	1,440	1,445	1,452	1,462
	Labour	Susan Kerr	19.8	1,363	1,367	1,439	1,444	1,480	1,619	2,290
	SNP	Leigh Payne	7.2	495	515	566	567
	Scottish Green	Erica Bradley-Young	6.4	437	444
	Alba	Colin MacLaren	1.1	75
Electorate: 14,882  Valid: 6,869  Spoilt: 93  Quota: 1,718  Turnout: 46.8%

Source: ^{[28] [29]}

East Kilbride South

The SNP (2) and Labour (1) held the seats they won in the previous election.

East Kilbride South - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Archie Buchanan (incumbent)	36.9	1,948
	Labour	Mathew Buchanan	23.0	1,215	1,272	1,282	1,286	1,300	1,335
	Liberal Democrats	Paul McGarry	13.7	722	738	748	750	757	782	787	1,042
	SNP	Geri Gray (incumbent)	11.8	621	1,103	1,106	1,130	1,136	1,220	1,222	1,235	1,453
	Conservative	Patrick Nailon	8.7	458	461	463	467	486	490	492
	Scottish Green	John McKechnie	2.9	154	180	182	192	198
	Scottish Family	Jonathan Richardson	1.3	68	70	72	79
	Alba	Iain Leckenby	1.1	57	63	63
	Libertarian	Ross Gibson	0.6	31	34
Electorate: 12,589  Valid: 5,274  Spoilt: 111  Quota: 1,319  Turnout: 42.8%

Source: ^{[30] [31]}

East Kilbride Central South

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

East Kilbride Central South - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	John Anderson (incumbent)	30.2	1,570
	Labour	Gerry Convery (incumbent)	26.7	1,387
	SNP	Elaine McDougall	13.7	713	911	915	918	950	955	1,091	1,101	1,284
	Labour	Lisa Quarrell	12.0	623	632	686	693	700	744	783	977
	Conservative	Alan Fraser	9.1	473	474	480	486	488	516	526
	Scottish Green	Alan Cresswell	3.9	202	228	231	234	246	280
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Cammock	2.7	138	143	147	151	157
	Alba	Rita Baillie	1.3	66	74	75	76
	UKIP	David Mackay	0.6	30	30	31
Electorate: 12,012  Valid: 5,202  Spoilt: 132  Quota: 1,301  Turnout: 44.4%

Source: ^{[32] [33]}

East Kilbride Central North

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

East Kilbride Central North - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Grant Ferguson (incumbent)	33.1	1,889
	Labour	Joe Fagan (incumbent)	30.0	1,709
	Conservative	Alex Brown	12.2	694	695	711	746	769	914
	SNP	Hugh MacDonald (incumbent)	10.7	612	1,027	1,044	1,068	1,140	1,254	1,386
	Labour	Tam Mitchell	7.4	420	427	632	692	749
	Independent	Kristofer Keane	3.4	194	202	210	249
	Liberal Democrats	Tom Bryson	3.3	187	196	209
Electorate: 12,861  Valid: 5,705  Spoilt: 154  Quota: 1,427  Turnout: 45.6%

Source: ^{[34] [35]}

East Kilbride West

The SNP and Labour held the seats they won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to an independent candidate. In 2017, Cllr David Watson was elected as an SNP candidate but later resigned from the party. ^[5] He was re-elected as an independent candidate.

East Kilbride West - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Labour	Monique McAdams (incumbent)	26.5	1,780
	Conservative	Ian Harrow (incumbent)	20.0	1,339	1,358	1,360	1,395	1,426	1,441	1,448
	Independent	David Watson (incumbent)	18.6	1,248	1,269	1,270	1,309	1,365	1,458	1,555	2,220
	SNP	Craig Sloan	15.5	1,041	1,048	1,049	1,053	1,068
	SNP	Ali Salamati	15.4	1,031	1,039	1,040	1,051	1,072	1,962
	Liberal Democrats	Huaiquan Zhang	2.1	142	158	158	166
	Scottish Family	Denise Hay	1.6	110	112	121
	UKIP	Yvonne MacKay	0.3	18	18
Electorate: 13,319  Valid: 6,709  Spoilt: 70  Quota: 1,678  Turnout: 50.9%

Source: ^{[36] [37]}

East Kilbride East

The SNP held one of the two seats they won at the previous election while Labour held their only seat and the Greens gained one. Independent candidate Jim Wardhaugh was elected as an SNP candidate in 2017 but later resigned from the party. ^[4]

East Kilbride East - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Gladys Ferguson-Miller (incumbent)	28.9	1,420
	Labour	Graham Scott (incumbent)	27.0	1,329
	Conservative	Graeme Mullin	13.5	664	665	680	720	803	825
	Scottish Green	Kirsten Robb	12.7	626	647	661	694	790	1,149	1,291
	SNP	Robert Gillies	8.5	420	570	580	590	661
	Independent	Jim Wardhaugh (incumbent)	6.8	336	339	356	382
	Liberal Democrats	Lorna Gall	2.6	126	129	145
Electorate: 10,887  Valid: 4,921  Spoilt: 86  Quota: 1,231  Turnout: 46.0%

Source: ^{[38] [39]}

Rutherglen South

The SNP, the Liberal Democrats and Labour held the seats they won at the previous election.

Rutherglen South - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	SNP	Carol Nugent (incumbent)	31.9	1,825
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Brown (incumbent)	29.4	1,686
	Labour	Margaret Cowie (incumbent)	23.2	1,331	1,436
	Conservative	Alexandra Herdman	8.5	489	495
	Scottish Green	Emma Smith	4.6	263	436
	Scottish Family	Michael O'Hara	1.3	73	85
	Independent	Spencer Hugh Pryor	1.1	62	73
Electorate: 11,697  Valid: 5,729  Spoilt: 73  Quota: 1,433  Turnout: 49.6%

Source: ^{[40] [41]}

Rutherglen Central and North

The SNP and Labour held the seats they won at the previous election and the SNP gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Rutherglen Central and North - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Martin Lennon (incumbent)	24.5	1,245	1,270
	SNP	Janine Calikes (incumbent)	23.4	1,188	1,265	1,338
	SNP	Andrea Cowan	14.3	725	796	840	899	1,029	1,163
	Conservative	Libby Fox	12.0	609	612	730	730	881
	Labour	Jack McGinty	10.5	531	567	716	717
	Liberal Democrats	Gloria Adebo	10.2	517	544
	Scottish Green	Alex McRae	5.1	261
Electorate: 11,692  Valid: 5,076  Spoilt: 151  Quota: 1,270  Turnout: 44.7%

Source: ^{[42] [43]}

Cambuslang West

The SNP and Labour held the seats they won at the previous election and the Liberal Democrats gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Cambuslang West - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Margaret Walker (incumbent)	30.1	1,727
	SNP	John Bradley (incumbent)	24.1	1,382	1,404	1,491
	SNP	Gillian Sutherland	14.9	856	882	1,000	1,049	1,066
	Conservative	Ann Le Blond (incumbent)	12.9	739	786	798	798
	Liberal Democrats	Norman Rae	12.7	730	826	890	893	1,416	1,802
	Scottish Green	Tom Lauckner	5.2	301	327
Electorate: 12,800  Valid: 5,735  Spoilt: 102  Quota: 1,434  Turnout: 45.6%

Source: ^{[44] [45]}

Cambuslang East

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

Cambuslang East - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Walter Brogan (incumbent)	29.1	1,486
	SNP	Alistair Fulton (incumbent)	22.0	1,123	1,129	1,147	1,162	1,219	1,230	1,381
	SNP	Katy Loudon (incumbent)	20.3	1,037	1,041	1,065	1,072	1,157	1,172	1,290
	Labour	Amy Lee Fraioli	10.3	524	688	697	760	808	1,046
	Conservative	Jamie Logan	9.6	489	497	499	522	539
	Scottish Green	Marie Gallagher	4.0	204	207	226	249
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Bell	2.9	147	153	162
	Alba	Muhammad Khuzaima	1.8	94	94
Electorate: 13,227  Valid: 5,104  Spoilt: 83  Quota: 1,277  Turnout: 39.2%

Source: ^{[46] [47]}

Blantyre

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) held the seats they won at the previous election.

Blantyre - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Maureen Chalmers (incumbent)	31.7	1,652
	Labour	Mo Razzaq (incumbent)	29.2	1,519
	Labour	Bert Thomson (incumbent)	15.7	815	826	997	1,031	1,066	1,307
	SNP	Gerry Chambers	10.4	542	855	864	872	972	982
	Conservative	Calum Nimmo	7.7	399	399	408	427	439
	Scottish Green	David McClemont	3.2	169	179	183	205
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen Reid	2.1	110	111	117
Electorate: 12,850  Valid: 5,206  Spoilt: 165  Quota: 1,302  Turnout: 41.8%

Source: ^{[48] [49]}

Bothwell and Uddingston

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

Bothwell and Uddingston - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Maureen Devlin (incumbent)	30.3	1,633
	Conservative	Kenny McCreary (incumbent)	27.6	1,485
	SNP	Cal Dempsey	17.2	924	947	949	1,008	1,099	1,913
	SNP	Jim McGuigan (incumbent)	15.1	811	844	848	941	994
	Liberal Democrats	Troy Davidson	5.3	285	397	469	539
	Scottish Green	John Stubbs	4.5	243	275	280
Electorate: 10,818  Valid: 5,381  Spoilt: 74  Quota: 1,346  Turnout: 50.4%

Source: ^{[50] [51]}

Hamilton North and East

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

Hamilton North and East - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Davie McLachlan (incumbent)	32.4	1,539
	SNP	Colin Dewar	30.3	1,442
	Conservative	Martin Hose (incumbent)	19.0	902	965	968	989	1,109	1,304
	SNP	Phil Sykes	10.5	501	552	772	805	876
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Reynolds	5.2	249	348	355	396
	Independent	Balarabe Baba	2.6	124	150	154
Electorate: 12,036  Valid: 4,757  Spoilt: 109  Quota: 1,190  Turnout: 40.4%

Source: ^{[52] [53]}

Hamilton West and Earnock

The SNP (2) and Labour (1) held the seats they had won at the previous election while the Liberal Democrats gained one seat from the Conservatives. In 2017, Cllr Mark McGeever was elected as a Conservative candidate but he subsequently defected to the Liberal Democrats. ^[6] He was re-elected as a Liberal Democrat candidate.

Hamilton West and Earnock - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Mary Donnelly (incumbent)	29.7	1,731
	Labour	Allan Falconer (incumbent)	24.1	1,404
	Conservative	Graham William Fisher	12.9	753	761	779	783	785	862
	Liberal Democrats	Mark McGeever (incumbent)	11.9	691	706	715	759	778	989	1,440
	SNP	Graeme Horne (incumbent)	11.7	680	1,140	1,150	1,263
	Labour	Jim Lee	6.6	385	391	561	583	606
	Scottish Green	Leonard Gingell	3.1	179	221	227
Electorate: 15,083  Valid: 5,823  Spoilt: 135  Quota: 1,165  Turnout: 39.5%

Source: ^{[54] [55]}

Hamilton South

The SNP held both their seats while Labour held one and gained one from the Conservatives.

Hamilton South - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	SNP	John Ross (incumbent)	26.3	1,921
	Labour	Gavin Wylie Keatt	23.1	1,688
	Labour	Celine Handibode	22.3	1,632
	SNP	Helen Toner	15.1	1,105	1,525
	Conservative	Lynne Nailon (incumbent)	13.1	960	967
Electorate: 16,516  Valid: 7,306  Spoilt: 193  Quota: 1,462  Turnout: 45.4%

Source: ^{[56] [57]}

Larkhall

Labour (2), the SNP (1) and the Conservatives (1) held the seats they won at the previous election. Independent candidate Jackie Burns was elected as a Labour candidate in 2017 but was later expelled from the party.

Larkhall - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Labour	Andy Carmichael (incumbent)	25.5	1,580
	Conservative	Richard Nelson (incumbent)	24.5	1,518
	SNP	Ross Clark	22.4	1,389
	Independent	Jackie Burns (incumbent)	10.3	639	679	725	732	742	753	796	886
	Labour	Lesley McDonald	7.5	463	678	745	752	759	769	831	975	1,379
	SNP	George Sutherland	6.4	399	408	410	532	532	533	549
	Liberal Democrats	Jake Stevenson	2.4	148	157	199	202	211	223
	Libertarian	David Laird	0.6	36	41	44	45
	UKIP	Donald Murdo Mackay	0.3	21	25	56	56	63
Electorate: 15,010  Valid: 6,193  Spoilt: 140  Quota: 1,239  Turnout: 42.2%

Source: ^{[58] [59]}

Aftermath

Despite having again been returned as the largest party, the outgoing SNP administration was replaced by a coalition of Labour, Liberal Democrat and independent councillors, with Conservative support. Labour group leader Joe Fagan and depute group leader Gerry Convery were elected as leader of the council and depute leader of the council respectively. SNP group leader John Ross, who was leader of the council from 2017 until the 2022 election, said the council had been "hijacked by a unionist pact". Outgoing Provost Ian McAllan was replaced by independent councillor Margaret Cooper and Cllr Bert Thomson was elected Depute Provost to fill the vacancy created when former Depute Provost Collette Stevenson stood down following her election as MSP for East Kilbride. ^{[60] [61] [62]}

The Labour group were accused of "teaming up with the Tories" by Rutherglen MSP Clare Haughey, whilst Clydesdale MSP Màiri McAllan said the coalition was a "sad day for democracy". ^[63] The Conservative group admitted they had voted in a unionist manner but denied there was any formal agreement between them and the other unionist parties. ^[64]

In June 2023, council leader Joe Fagan was suspended for two months for a breach of the councillors' code of conduct after he disclosed confidential information about the potential closure of leisure facilities in 2021 to the local press. He was replaced as council leader on an interim basis by Cllr Convery. ^[65]

Following the defection of East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow MP Lisa Cameron from the SNP to the Conservatives in October 2023, her husband – Cllr Mark Horsham – stood back from his role as business manager within the SNP group ^[66] before resigning from the party to sit as an independent 10 days later. ^[67]

East Kilbride West by-election

In May 2023, East Kilbride West councillor Ali Salamati resigned his seat for work reasons triggering a by-election. ^[68] The result saw the SNP slip to third place behind the Conservatives as the Labour-led administration gained the seat. ^[69]

East Kilbride West by-election (6 July 2023) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Kirsty Williams	40.5	1,386	1,392	1,434	1,469	1,500	1,845
	Conservative	Bill Dorrian	26.4	904	914	919	933	937	965
	SNP	Robert Gillies	22.7	778	778	785	806	899
	Scottish Green	Cameron Eadie	3.8	131	131	139	155
	Independent	Kristofer Keane	2.9	99	112	123
	Liberal Democrats	Jake Stevenson	2.4	83	85
	Scottish Family	Jonathan Jack Richardson	1.2	42
Electorate: 13,412  Valid: 3,450  Spoilt: 27  Quota: 1,712  Turnout: 25.7%

Source: ^{[70] [71]}

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