Highland Council elections

Highland Council in Scotland holds elections every five years, previously holding them every four years from its creation as a single-tier authority in 1995 to 2007.

Council elections

As a regional council

Year	SNP	Liberal [a]	Conservative	Green	Labour	Independent
1974	1	3	2	0	4	37
1978	2	2	1	0	5	37
1982 [b]	2	2	1	0	5	42
1986	3	3	2	0	7	37 [c]
1990	2	3	1	1	10	35 [d]
1994 [e]	4	5	2	0	8	35 [d]

1. Alliance from 1981 to 1988, Liberal Democrats from 1988 to 1995.
2. New ward boundaries. ^[1]
3. Includes 1 Independent Labour.
4. Includes 1 Independent Liberal.
5. New ward boundaries. ^[2]

As a unitary authority

Year	SNP	Liberal Democrats	Conservative	Green	Labour	Independent
1995	9	6	1	0	7	49
1999 [a]	8	12	0	0	10	50 [b]
2003	6	9	0	0	8	57
2007 [c]	17	21	0	0	7	35
2012	22	15	0	0	8	35
2017 [d]	22	10	10	1	3	28
2022	22	15	10	4	2	21

1. New ward boundaries. ^[3]
2. Includes 1 Independent Liberal.
3. Change to single transferable vote system and new ward boundaries.
4. New ward boundaries. ^[4]

Results maps

• 
  1995 results map
• 
  1999 results map
• 
  2003 results map
• 
  2012 results map

By-elections

2003-2007

Beauly and Strathglass By-Election 10 June 2004 ^{[5] [6]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	Helen Carmichael	564	54.9	+5.2
	Independent	David Martin	271	26.4	+26.4
	Scottish Socialist	Sean Wood	103	10.0	+10.0
	Liberal Democrats	Daniel Farthing	89	8.7	+8.7
Majority			293	28.5
Turnout			1,027
	Independent hold		Swing

Lochardil By-Election 10 August 2006 ^{[7] [8]}

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	David Henderson	514	43.9	+43.9
	Independent	Michael Gimson	263	22.4	−6.6
	SNP	John Finnie	212	18.1	+18.1
	Labour	Fraser Parr	108	9.2	−7.0
	Conservative	Graeme Nicol	49	4.2	+4.2
	Independent	Robert Rodger	26	2.2	+2.2
Majority			251	21.4
Turnout			1,172
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent		Swing

2007-2012

Inverness West By-Election 24 April 2009 ^[9]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Liberal Democrats	Alasdair Christie	59.6	1,503
	SNP	Brian ÓhEadhra	22.1	556
	Labour	Andrew MacKintosh	8.3	210
	Scottish Christian	Sheila McLaughlan	4.6	115
	Conservative	Donald MacDonald	4.4	111
	Solidarity	George MacDonald	1.1	27
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
Valid: 2,522  Spoilt: 18  Quota: 1,270  Turnout: 2,540

Wick By-Election 7 April 2011 ^[10]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	SNP	Gail Elizabeth Ross	46.8	979	984	999	1,049
	Labour	Neil MacDonald	19.6	409	410	421	463
	Independent	Niall Smith	9.9	207	209	217	245
	Liberal Democrats	Claire Mairi Clarke	9.9	206	211	219	236
	Independent	Jim Oag	8.8	184	191	202
	Independent	Laurel Bush	3.5	73	75
	Conservative	Michael Carr	1.6	33
	SNP gain from Independent
Valid: 2,091  Spoilt: 33  Quota: 1,047  Turnout: 2,124

Tain and Easter Ross By-Election 9 June 2011 ^[11]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Independent	Fiona Robertson	32.2	811	840	933	1,204
	SNP	Derek Louden	33.2	837	860	928	1,037
	Independent	Ruairidh MacKenzie	18.5	467	481	547
	Liberal Democrats	Antony Gardner	12.2	307	318
	Independent	Michael Herd	3.9	97
	Independent gain from SNP
Valid: 2,519  Spoilt: 17  Quota: 1,260  Turnout: 2,536

Inverness South By-Election 3 November 2011 ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Liberal Democrats	Carolyn Caddick	28.7	747	761	777	830	971	1,091
	SNP	Kenneth Gowans	33.9	885	903	922	967	1,005	1,084
	Labour	Katherine MacKenzie-Geegan	11.8	308	319	327	357	379
	Conservative	David Bonsor	11.1	290	300	336	339
	Scottish Green	Gale Falconer	6.0	157	172	189
	Scottish Christian	Donald Boyd	4.8	126	130
	Independent	David McGrath	3.6	94
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour
Valid: 2,607  Spoilt: 13  Quota: 1,304  Turnout: 2,620

2012-2017

Landward Caithness By-Election 2 May 2013 ^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Independent	Gillian Coghill	53.5	1,317
	SNP	Hanna Miedema	21.3	525
	Labour	David Baron	16.9	417
	Conservative	Barbara Anne Watson	8.3	203
	Independent hold
Valid: 2,462  Spoilt: 17  Quota: 1,232  Turnout: 2,479

Landward Caithness By-Election 28 November 2013

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Independent	Matthew Reiss	44.8	1,150
	Independent	Winifred Sutherland	23.1	593
	SNP	Ed Boyter	20.5	526
	Conservative	Kerensa Carr	6.7	171
	Independent	Tina Irving	5.0	128
	Independent gain from SNP
Valid: 2,568  Spoilt: 48  Quota: 1,295  Turnout: 2,616

Black Isle By-Election 19 December 2013 ^[14]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	Jennifer Barclay	32.8	1,003	1,031	1,061	1,157	1,210	1,343
	SNP	Jackie Hendry	14.3	439	439	453	470	530	594
	Independent	Bill Fraser	12.5	382	413	431	486	556	663
	Liberal Democrats	George Normington	10.9	334	373	408	434	489
	Independent	Gwyn Phillips	9.0	275	289	304
	Scottish Green	Myra Carus	8.8	269	280	319	362
	Labour	Shaun Finlayson	6.0	184	194
	Conservative	Douglas MacLean	5.7	175
	Independent hold
Valid: 3,061  Spoilt: 23  Quota: 1,531  Turnout: 3,084

Caol and Mallaig By-Election 1 May 2014 ^[15]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Independent	Ben Thompson	39.0	932	950	1,009	1,176
	SNP	William MacDonald	30.4	726	739	756	881
	Independent	Sandy Watson	22.5	537	541	551
	UKIP	Liam Simmonds	5.6	133	139
	Scottish Christian	Susan Wallace	2.8	68
	Independent hold
Valid: 2,391  Spoilt: 23  Quota: 1,196  Turnout: 2,414 (34.43%)

Nairn By-Election 7 May 2015 ^[16]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	SNP	Stephen Fuller	41.0	2,709	2,782	2,854	3,135
	Liberal Democrats	Ritchie Cunningham	24.1	1,589	1,701	1,890	2,406
	Independent	Paul McIvor	15.3	1,011	1,042	1,440
	Independent	Mairi MacGregor	12.7	837	893
	Labour	Chris Johnson	6.9	455
	SNP hold
Valid: 6,601  Spoilt: 149  Quota: 3,302  Turnout: 6,750

Aird and Loch Ness By-Election 8 October 2015 ^[17]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Davis	33.5	1,029	1,099	1,208	1,511
	SNP	Emma Ann Knox	32.5	1,000	1,097	1,144	1,167
	Conservative	George Cruickshank	15.2	467	480	544
	Independent	Zofia Fraser	9.5	293	330
	Scottish Green	Vikki Tania Trelfer	9.3	287
	Liberal Democrats hold
Valid: 3,076  Spoilt: 24  Quota: 1,538  Turnout: 3,100

Culloden and Arderseir By-Election 6 October 2016 ^[18]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Liberal Democrats	Trish Robertson	16.7	463	464	479	515	564	703	793	1,026
	SNP	Pauline Munro	27.2	753	755	775	796	862	908	970	1,001
	Conservative	Andrew Jarvie	15.9	439	442	452	468	478	515	589
	Independent	Duncan MacPherson	9.9	274	285	324	346	369	414
	Independent	John Ross	11.4	315	317	330	339	362
	Scottish Green	Isla MacLeod-O'Reilly	6.5	180	182	188	209
	Labour	Andrew MacKintosh	5.9	163	163	180
	Independent	David McGrath	5.7	158	158
	Independent	Thomas Lamont	0.8	23
	Liberal Democrats hold
Valid: 2,768  Spoilt: 50  Quota: 1,385  Turnout: 2,818

2017-2022

Tain and Easter Ross By-Election 28 September 2017 ^[19]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	Independent	Alasdair Rhind	49.4	1,266	1,267	1,290
	SNP	Stan Peace	23.9	612	616	634
	Liberal Democrats	William Sinclair	14.5	372	376	387
	Conservative	Eva Short	9.1	233	236	243
	Independent	Gerald Holdsworth	2.7	68	69
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	0.5	13
	Independent gain from Liberal Democrats
Valid: 2,564  Spoilt: 29  Quota: 1,283  Turnout: 2,593

Caol and Mallaig By-Election 5 April 2018 ^[20]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Liberal Democrats	Denis Rixson	31.1	658	671	706	791	968
	SNP	Alex MacInnes	27.2	574	591	615	617	737
	Independent	Colin 'Woody' Wood	21.5	454	471	539	580
	Conservative	Ian Smith	8.7	183	188	200
	Independent	Catherine MacKinnon	6.9	146	176
	Independent	Ronald Joseph Campbell	4.6	98
	Liberal Democrats gain from SNP
Valid: 2,113  Spoilt: 18  Quota: 1,057  Turnout: 2,131

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh By-Election 7 December 2018 ^[21]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Alexander MacInnes	33.1	1,318	1,320	1,322	1,327	1,354	1,397	1,575	1,798
	Conservative	Gavin Berkeneger	26.0	1,037	1,038	1,043	1,061	1,071	1,147	1,186	1,374
	Independent	Richard Greene	15.6	622	624	627	677	699	785	905
	Scottish Green	Irene Francis Brandt	9.0	359	359	359	364	411	483
	Liberal Democrats	George Scott	8.0	320	320	322	346	379
	Labour	Christopher Birt	4.4	174	174	175	179
	Independent	Jean Davis	3.3	131	132	133
	UKIP	Les Durance	0.4	16	18
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	0.2	8
	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
Valid: 3,985  Spoilt: 39  Quota: 1,993  Turnout: 4,024

Inverness Central By-Election 14 November 2019 ^[22]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	SNP	Emma Roddick	45.2	1,015	1,033	1,115
	Conservative	Rachael Hatfield	15.4	345	349	360
	Independent	Richie Paxton	12.3	277	303	338
	Liberal Democrats	Mary Dormer	10.5	237	266	325
	Scottish Green	Russell Deacon	9.8	220	238
	Labour	Ardalan Eghtedar	6.9	154
	SNP hold
Electorate: 8,877  Valid: 2,248  Spoilt: 28  Quota: 1,125  Turnout: 2,276

Eilean a' Cheò (Skye) By-Election 12 March 2020 ^[23]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Independent	Calum Munro	28.5	911	927	1,017	1,117	1,464
	SNP	Andrew Kiss	27.3	874	885	889	1,019	1,135
	Liberal Democrats	Fay Thomson	21.8	698	698	801	881
	Scottish Green	Dawn Kroonstuiver Campbell	11.2	357	367	379
	Conservative	Ruriadh Stewart	9.8	314	315
	No description	Màrtainn Mac a’ Bhàillidh	1.4	45
	Independent hold
Valid: 3,199  Spoilt: 29  Quota: 1,600  Turnout: 3,228

Aird and Loch Ness By-Election 11 March 2021 ^[24]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	David Fraser	28.3	997	1,010	1,076	1,194	1,663	2,109
	SNP	Gordon Shanks	28.2	994	1,010	1,129	1,198	1,211
	Conservative	Gavin Berkenheger	23.41%	824	835	847	929
	Liberal Democrats	Martin Robertson	8.52%	300	335	397
	Scottish Green	Ryan MacKintosh	7.7	272	297
	Labour	Bill Moore	3.8	133
	Independent gain from Conservative
Valid: 3,520  Spoilt: 44  Quota: 1,761  Turnout: 3,564

Wick and East Caithness By-Election 12 August 2021 ^[25]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Liberal Democrats	Jill Tilt	27.3	657	660	848	986	1,501
	Independent	Bill Fernie	25.8	622	627	780	963
	SNP	Michael James Cameron	24.6	593	593	606
	Conservative	Daniel Ross	21.8	523	525
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	0.7	16
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
Valid: 2,411  Spoilt: 28  Quota: 1,206  Turnout: 2,439

Inverness West By-Election 12 August 2021 ^[26]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Aitken	31.8	678	678	680	705	799	970	1,246
	SNP	Kate MacLean	33.7	718	720	731	816	853	869
	Conservative	Max Bannerman	13.8	293	295	302	311	344
	Independent	Duncan McDonald	10.8	230	232	239	251
	Scottish Green	Ryan MacKintosh	7.5	159	160	164
	ISP	Iain Cullens Forsyth	2.0	42	42
	Scottish Libertarian	Calum Mark Liptrot	0.5	11
	Liberal Democrats gain from Independent
Valid: 2,131  Spoilt: 18  Quota: 1,066  Turnout: 2,149

Fort William and Ardnamurchan By-Election 2 December 2021 ^[27]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Sarah Fanet	39.8	905	915	925	952	968	1,182
	Conservative	Ruraidh Stewart	21.2	485	488	504	547	651	688
	Scottish Green	Kate Willis	14.3	328	330	344	385	442
	Liberal Democrats	Roger Liley	10.1	231	234	248	294
	Independent	Andy McKenna	8.5	194	202	238
	Independent	Joanne Matheson	3.9	88	109
	No description	Mark Drayton	2.6	56
	SNP gain from Conservative
Valid: 2,287  Spoilt: 40  Quota: 1,144  Turnout: 2,327

2022-2027

Tain and Easter Ross By-Election 28 September 2023 ^[28]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	Maureen Ross	41.5	1,022	1,025	1,033	1,058	1,131	1,312
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Stephen	24.5	603	605	618	644	705	801
	SNP	Gordon Allison	18.8	464	467	491	506	514
	Conservative	Veronica Morrison	8.4	207	210	210	216
	Labour	Michael Perera	3.6	88	90	96
	Scottish Green	Andrew Barnett	2.3	56	58
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	0.9	23
	Independent gain from Liberal Democrats
Electorate: 7,226  Valid: 2,463  Spoilt: 25  Quota: 1,232  Turnout: 2,488

Inverness South By-Election 11 April 2024 ^[29]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Independent	Duncan Cameron McDonald	21.9	730	740	768	798	872	1,050	1,247	1,800
	Liberal Democrats	Jonathan Chartier	19.6	652	658	665	699	834	1,065	1,235
	SNP	Gordon Shanks	19.2	641	647	679	778	830	838
	Conservative	Ryan Forbes	16.0	533	535	541	551	595
	Labour	Ron Stevenson	10.9	364	365	370	404
	Scottish Green	Arun Sharma	7.1	237	237	246
	Alba	Jimmy Duncan	3.2	107	112
	Sovereignty	Andrew Macdonald	1.2	41
	Independent gain from Liberal Democrats
Valid: 3,305  Spoilt: 20  Quota: 1,653  Turnout: 3,325

Tain and Easter Ross By-Election 13 June 2024 ^[30]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	Laura Dundas	36.0	895	898	938	946	997	1,179	1,582
	Liberal Democrats	Barbara Cohen	25.0	621	625	637	668	708	890
	SNP	Gordon Allison	25.4	630	636	643	682	689
	Conservative	Eva Short	5.4	134	135	143	145
	Scottish Green	Andrew Barnett	3.6	89	94	95
	Independent	John Shearer	3.6	89	91
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	1.0	25
	Independent hold
Valid: 2,483  Spoilt: 24  Quota: 1,242  Turnout: 2,507

Cromarty Firth By-Election 26 September 2024 ^[31]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11
	Liberal Democrats	John Edmondson	20.3	481	481	493	498	531	544	557	573	641	714	806
	Independent	Sinclair Coghill	13.7	326	327	334	343	345	353	379	416	512	685	800
	SNP	Odette MacDonald	17.0	403	404	404	406	417	451	457	498	510	550
	Independent	Martin Rattray	13.6	323	323	332	338	346	350	381	422	491
	Independent	Richard Cross	12.0	285	285	291	303	305	310	316	341
	Independent	Brideen Godley-MacKenzie	6.8	162	162	166	170	172	181	193
	Independent	Tina McCaffery	4.1	97	98	101	105	107	109
	Scottish Green	Ryan Barrowman	3.7	89	89	89	90	95
	Labour	Michael Perera	3.2	77	77	82	83
	Reform UK	Kim Jackson	2.2	52	70	72
	Conservative	Innes Munro	2.4	57	59
	Reform UK	Roland Jackson	1.0	23
	Liberal Democrats hold
	Independent hold
Valid: 2,375  Spoilt: 45  Quota: 792  Turnout: 2,420

Inverness Central By-Election 26 September 2024 ^[32]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Michael Gregson	27.9	479	481	522	548	688	929
	SNP	Martin MacGregor	32.1	551	555	619	624	672
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Lewcock	16.7	286	301	328	409
	Conservative	Donald MacKenzie	8.7	150	182	182
	Scottish Green	Andrew Barnett	9.2	158	162
	Reform UK	Iain Richmond	5.4	93
	Labour hold
Valid: 1,702  Spoilt: 15  Quota: 859  Turnout: 1,717

Fort William and Ardnamurchan By-Election 21 November 2024 ^[33]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Baxter	58.9	1,428
	SNP	Rebecca Machin	25.5	619
	Scottish Green	Marit Behner-Coady	6.0	146
	Labour	Susan Carstairs	4.5	109
	Conservative	Fiona Fawcett	4.4	107
	Scottish Libertarian	Nathan Lumb	0.6	15
	Liberal Democrats hold
Valid: 2,424  Spoilt: 25  Quota: 1,213  Turnout: 2,449

References

1. "Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
2. "Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
3. "Third Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements - Highland Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
4. "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements Final Recommendations - Highland Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
5. "Local Elections Archive Project — Beauly and Strathglass Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
6. "Caithness CWS - Front Page Bulletins - June 2004 - Another Independent". www.caithness.org. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
7. "Local Elections Archive Project — Lochardil Ward". www.andrewteale.me.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
8. "Lochardil By-Election Result". www.highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
9. "Liberal Democrat Wins Inverness West By-Election". Caithness Business Index. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
10. "Ward 3 (Wick By-Election" (PDF). highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2012.
11. "Tain and Easter Ross (By-Election)" (PDF). highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 April 2012.
12. "Inverness South (By Election)" (PDF). highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 April 2012.
13. "Ward 4 Result May 2013". highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 18 December 2013.
14. "Black Isle By-Election 2013". scottishelections.org.uk. Archived from the original on 1 February 2014.
15. "Caol and Mallaig by-election results May 2014". highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014.
16. Tarrant, Sylvia. "Five candidates contest Nairn by-election". highland.gov.uk.
17. "Ward 13 – Aird and Loch Ness By-election – Thursday 8 October 2015". highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 16 November 2015.
18. "Ward 18 – Culloden and Ardersier By-election". highland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 24 October 2016.
19. "Ward 7 - Tain and Easter Ross By-Election Results - September 2017". www.highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
20. "By-Election Results April 2018". Ballot Box Scotland. 29 April 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
21. "By-Election Results April 2018". Ballot Box Scotland. 14 December 2018. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
22. "Fife and Inverness Council By-Election Results, 14/11/19". Ballot Box Scotland. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
23. "Eilean a' Cheò By-Election Result". Ballot Box Scotland. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
24. "Aird and Loch Ness (Highland) By-Election Result". Ballot Box Scotland. 17 November 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
25. Council, The Highland. "Ward 3 (Wick and East Caithness) By-Election Results 2021". www.highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
26. Council, The Highland. "Ward 13 (Inverness West) By-Election Results 2021". www.highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
27. "Ward 21 (Fort William and Ardnamurchan) By-Election Results 2021". The Highland Council. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
28. "Ward 7 (Tain and Easter Ross) By-Election Results 2023 - Candidates votes per stage". Highland Council. 29 September 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2024.
29. "Ward 19 (Inverness South) By-Election Results 2024 Candidate_Votes_Per_Stage_Report_Ward-19". Highland Council. 12 April 2024. Retrieved 12 April 2024.
30. "Ward 7 - Tain and Easter Ross By-Election Results June 2024 - Candidates votes per stage". Highland Council. 14 June 2024. Retrieved 21 July 2024.
31. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 6 Cromarty Firth". Highland Council. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
32. "Candidates Votes Per Stage Report Ward 14 Inverness Central". Highland Council. 27 September 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2024.
33. "Ward 21 - Fort William and Ardnamurchan Results - 2024". Highland Council. Retrieved 6 March 2025.