2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election

2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election

←  2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 29 seats to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar 15 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Roddie MacKay Gordon Murray [1] Party Independent SNP Leader's seat Steòrnabhagh a Tuath Steòrnabhagh a Tuath Last election 23 seats, 77.5% 7 seats, 19.2% Seats before 22 6 Seats after 20 6 Seat change 3 1 Popular vote 6,573 1,880 Percentage 74.2% 21.3% Swing 3.3% 2.2%   Third party   Leader Ranald Fraser Party Conservative Leader's seat Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh Last election 1 seat, 3.4% Seats before 1 Seats after 1 Seat change 0 Popular vote 131 Percentage 1.5% Swing 1.9%
Results by wards by partisanship. Results by wards, showing whether the incumbent candidate was re-elected, defeated, or retired.
Council Leader before election Roddie MacKay Independent Council Leader after election Paul Steele Independent

Elections to Comhairle nan Eilean Siar ( Scottish Gaelic for 'Council of the Western Isles') took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election was the first to use the nine wards created under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which allowed for single and dual member wards, with 29 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 2, 3 or 4 members, using the Single Transferrable Vote electoral system, a form of proportional representation. ^[2] Following a boundary review the number of wards will increase from nine to 11 while the number of councillors elected will fall from 31 to 29.

In the previous election in 2017, independent councillors retained a large majority of the seats on the council and retained control of the administration. The first two female councillors were elected since 2012. ^[3]

Background

Composition

Since the previous election, there has been a single change in council composition, with SNP Cllr Calum MacMillan joining the Alba Party. ^[4] A single by-election was held and resulted in an independent hold. ^{[5] [6]}

	Party	2017 result	Dissolution
	Independents	23	23
	SNP	7	6
	Conservative	1	1
	Alba	N/A	1

Retiring councillors

Ward	Party		Retiring councillor
Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas		SNP	Donald Manford
Sgir' Uige agus Ceann a Tuath nan Loch		Independent	Norman Alexander MacDonald
Sgire an Rubha			Alasdair MacLeod
Steòrnabhagh a Deas			Keith Dodson
Steòrnabhagh a Tuath			Neil MacKay
			Roddie MacKay
An Taobh Siar agus Nis			John MacKay
			Kenny John MacLeod

Boundary changes

Following the implementation of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, a review of the boundaries was undertaken in North Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The act allowed for single- or two-member wards to be created to allow for better representation of island communities. As a result, the number wards was increased from nine to 11 but the number of councillors was reduced from 31 to 29. The An Taobh Siar agus Nis ward was the only ward to remain with the same boundaries but the number of councillors was reduced from four to three. There were changes to the boundaries for the Loch a Tuath, Sgìre an Rubha, Steòrnabhagh a Tuath and Steòrnabhagh a Deas wards but the number of councillors remained the same for each except Sgìre an Rubha which was reduced to two seats. New dual-member wards were created for Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh, Na Hearadh, Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh, Sgìre nan Loch and Uibhist a Tuath. ^[7]

Controversy

After nominations closed on 30 March 2022, two wards – Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh and Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh – received less candidates than seats available. Both are dual-member wards and only one person stood for election in each. As a result, both candidates – along with the two candidates who stood for election in the dual-member Sgìre an Rubha ward – were automatically elected without a poll being conducted. The lack of interest in standing for election was called a "threat to local democracy" by the Greens. Across Scotland, 18 councillors were automatically elected because the number of candidates was not enough to trigger an election. During the 2017 local elections in Scotland, just three council wards were uncontested but votes were held in every ward in both 2007 and 2012 – the first elections to use multi-member wards and the Single transferable vote. By-elections were organised in Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh and Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh to elect a second councillor. Public disinterest in standing for election to local councils has been linked to the "ridiculous" size of some local authorities and the low pay councillors receive for their work. ^{[8] [9] [10]}

Results

2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election result ^[11]

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	20			3	69.0	74.2	6,573	3.3
	SNP	6			1	20.7	21.3	1,880	2.2
	Conservative	1			0	3.4	1.5	131	1.9
	Scottish Green	0			0	0.0	2.0	176	New
	Alba	0			0	0.0	1.0	92	New

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes compare with the previous Scottish local elections. These figures may differ from other published sources showing gains/losses in comparison with the seats held at the dissolution of the council in 2022.

Ward summary

Results of the Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election, 2022
by ward

Ward	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	%	Cllrs	Total Cllrs
	Independents		SNP		Conservative		Green		Alba
Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh		1	Uncontested								1 [A]
Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla	62.6	2	16.9	1			13.5	0	7.0	0	3
Uibhist a Tuath											2
Na Hearadh											2
Sgìre nan Loch											2
Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh	Uncontested					1					1 [A]
An Taobh Siar agus Nis											3
Loch a Tuath											3
Steòrnabhagh a Tuath											4
Steòrnabhagh a Deas											4
Sgìre an Rubha		2	Uncontested								2
Total		20		6		1		0		0	27 [B]

Notes

1. ^
   A: Only one candidate stood for election in the two-member Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh and Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh wards. A by-election was held on 30 June 2022 to elect a second member (see below).
2. ^
   B: As a result of less candidates standing for election than seats to be filled in two wards, only 27 councillors were elected on 5 May 2022 instead of 29.

Ward results

Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh

Barraigh agus Bhatarsaig - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Kenneth John MacLean	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Independent win (new seat)

Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla

Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla - 3 seats ^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Independent	Paul Francis Steele [BBE]	21.06%	275	290	305	352
	SNP	Susan Thomson	16.92%	221	230	243	262	266.8	332.7
	Independent	Iain Murdoch MacLeod [BFU]	13.55%	177	188	205	250	255.5	302.1	303.3	384.9
	Scottish Green	Roddy MacKay [BFU]	13.48%	176	182	186	197	201.5
	Independent	Donnie Steele	11.87%	155	161	180	200	206.9	253.2	254.7
	Independent	Iain Archie MacNeil [BBE]	10.57%	138	147	159
	Alba	Calum MacMillan [BBE]	7.04%	92	98
	Independent	Andrew Veitch Walker	5.51%	72
Electorate: 2,541  Valid: 1,306  Spoilt: 36  Quota: 327  Turnout: 1,342 (52.8%)

Uibhist a Tuath

Uibhist a Tuath - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Independent	Mustapha Hocine	41.75	276
	Independent	Uisdean Robertson [BFU]	38.43	254
	Conservative	Kenny Barker	19.82	131
Electorate: 1,360  Valid: 661  Spoilt: 8  Quota: 221  Turnout: (49.2%)

Na Hearadh

Na Hearadh - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Independent	Grant Fulton [HCD]	50.34	372
	Independent	Paul Finnegan [HCD]	31.53	233	301
	SNP	John Graham Mitchell [HCD]	18.13	134	171
Electorate: 1,553  Valid: 739  Spoilt: 22  Quota: 247  Turnout: (49.0%)

Sgìre nan Loch

Sgìre nan Loch - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Independent	Angus Morrison [SUC]	49.94	425
	Independent	Robert MacKenzie	30.79	262	336
	Independent	Annie MacDonald	9.75	83	109
	SNP	Norman Smith	9.51	81	87
Electorate: 1,458  Valid: 851  Spoilt: 4  Quota: 284  Turnout: (58.6%)

Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh

Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Conservative	Ranald Fraser [SUC]	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Conservative win (new seat)

An Taobh Siar agus Nis

An Taobh Siar agus Nis - 3 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	John Norman MacLeod (incumbent)	24.98	346	356
	SNP	Kenny MacLeod (incumbent)	21.81	302	365
	Independent	Donald MacSween	19.57	271	282	288	290	339	479
	Independent	Dorothy Morrison	16.82	233	242	248	250	283
	Independent	Donald John MacLeod	9.46	131	133	135	138
	SNP	Finlay John MacLeod	7.36	102
Electorate: 2,552  Valid: 1,414  Spoilt: 29  Quota: 347  Turnout: (55.4%)

Loch a Tuath

Loch a Tuath - 3 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Independent	Donald Finlayson Crichton (incumbent)	41.12	461
	Independent	Calum MacLean (incumbent)	22.21	249	330
	SNP	John A. MacIver (incumbent)	21.94	246	281
	Independent	Catriona Murray	11.23	126	168
	Independent	Hazel Glenys Mansfield	3.48	39	46
Electorate: 2,216  Valid: 1,121  Spoilt: 27  Quota: 281  Turnout: (51.8%)

Steòrnabhagh a Tuath

Steòrnabhagh a Tuath - 4 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Gordon Murray (incumbent)	23.26	315
	Independent	Duncan MacInnes	20.01	271
	Independent	Iain MacLean MacAulay (incumbent)	17.87	242	252	256	259	272
	Independent	Malcolm Kenneth MacDonald	14.84	201	210	213	215	226	227	243	265	328
	Independent	Calum Barney MacKay	9.89	134	137	139	141	147	148	162	179
	Independent	Tracy Dinner	4.21	57	61	61	71	74	74	80
	Independent	Malcolm Ivor McTaggart	4.06	55	57	60	63	65	65
	Independent	Willie MacRae	3.25	44	46	46	49
	Independent	Maxi MacNeill	1.70	23	25	25
	Independent	John Murdo MacMillan	0.89	12	13
Electorate: 3,097  Valid: 1,354  Spoilt: 25  Quota: 271  Turnout: (44.5%)

Steòrnabhagh a Deas

Steòrnabhagh a Deas - 4 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	George Murray	25.38	367
	SNP	Rae MacKenzie (incumbent)	19.85	287	296
	Independent	Angus McCormack (incumbent)	19.57	283	300
	SNP	Frances Murray	14.04	203	213	215	217	231	246	301
	Independent	Archie MacDonald	7.67	111	120	122	122	158	206
	Independent	Callum Ian MacMillan	6.98	101	113	115	116	144
	Independent	Frank Stephen Burns	6.50	94	102	104	104
Electorate: 3,105  Valid: 1,446  Spoilt: 30  Quota: 290  Turnout: (47.5%)

Sgìre an Rubha

Sgìre an Rubha - 2 seats ^[12]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	Norrie Tomsh MacDonald	Unopposed
	Independent	Finlay MacKenzie Stewart	Unopposed
Registered electors
	Independent win (new seat)
	Independent win (new seat)

Aftermath

For the first time in a decade, female councillors were elected to the council. SNP councillors Susan Thomson and Frances Murray became the first women to serve on the council since Catherine MacDonald was elected in 2012. ^[14]

Three candidates – namely Cllr Kenneth MacLeod, Cllr Paul Steele and Cllr Norman MacDonald – put themselves forward for the position of council leader and, following the Cut of a deck of cards, Cllr Steele was elected. Cllr MacLeod was elected as convener on the same basis and Cllr Duncan MacInnes was elected as the first depute leader of the council. ^[15]

By-elections

By-elections were called shortly after the election in Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh and Sgìr' Ùige agus Carlabhagh. This was due to the lack of nominations received for the wards at the full election of the council. The by-elections were held on 30 June 2022. ^[16]

Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh by-election

Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh by-election (30 June 2022) - 1 seat ^[17]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Independent	Iain MacNeil	49.3%	189	197
	Independent	Gerard Macdonald	47.3%	181	182
	Independent	Calum Macmillan	3.4%	13
Electorate: 971  Valid: 383  Spoilt: 2  Quota: 193  Turnout: 39.6%

Sgìr Ùige agus Carlabhagh by-election

Sgìr Ùige agus Carlabhagh by-election (30 June 2022) - 1 seat ^[17]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	Norman Macdonald	35.4%	222	222	230	238	256	278
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Dobson	20.4%	128	128	129	142	159	220
	Independent	Sophie Brown	18.0%	113	113	114	119	148
	SNP	Laura Cameron-Lewis	15.3%	96	97	97	112
	Scottish Green	Anne Edwards	9.1%	57	57	57
	Independent	Donald MacLeod	1.8%	11	11
	Independent	Iain MacKinnon	0.2%	1
Electorate: 1,329  Valid: 628  Spoilt: 6  Quota: 315  Turnout: 47.7%

Notes

1. ^
   BBE: Sitting councillor for Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eiriosgaigh agus Uibhist a Deas.
2. ^
   BFU: Sitting councillor for Beinn na Faoghla agus Uibhist a Tuath.
3. ^
   HCD: Sitting councillor for Na Hearadh agus Ceann a Deas nan Loch.
4. ^
   SUC: Sitting councillor for Sgir' Uige agus Ceann a Tuath nan Loch.

References

1. "SNP pass torch to a new leader". Stornoway Gazette.
2. "2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Boundaries Scotland.
3. "Scottish election results 2022: Isles' first female councillors since 2012". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
4. "Council Members". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
5. "Western Isles Councillor steps down". Stornoway Gazette. 23 July 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
6. "Local Government By-Election - 8 October 2020 Na Hearadh agus Ceann a Deas nan Loch Ward Results". www.cne-siar.gov.uk. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
7. "Review of Electoral Arrangements Na h-Eileanan an Iar Council Area Final Proposals" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2021. Retrieved 1 April 2022.
8. Bhadani, Anita (31 March 2022). "'Threat to local democracy' as councillors elected without votes". The National. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
9. Learmonth, Andrew (31 March 2022). "Eighteen councillors already elected in Scotland's local elections". The Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
10. Bowie, Justin; Philip, Andy (1 April 2022). "18 councillors are already elected ahead of May vote – here's why you should be alarmed". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
11. "Declaration Of Contested Election". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar.
12. "Notice of Poll" (PDF). Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
13. "Declaration Of Contested Election". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
14. "Scottish election results 2022: Isles' first female councillors since 2012". BBC News. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
15. Glen, Lousie (17 May 2022). "Leader of Western Isles Council chosen by a cut of the cards – as one of first female councillors in decade takes committee position". Press and Journal. Retrieved 29 June 2023.
16. "Notice of Election". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
17. "Results". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 9 July 2022.

External links

• Council website