2017 Argyll and Bute Council election

The 2017 Argyll and Bute Council elections took place on 4 May 2017 alongside local elections across Scotland. This was the third local election to take place using the Single Transferable Vote electoral system.

2017 Argyll and Bute Council election

← 2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022 →

All 36 seats to Argyll and Bute Council
19 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Sandy Taylor Dick Walsh Gary Mulvaney
Party SNP Independent Conservative
Leader's seat Mid Argyll Dunoon Helensburgh Central
Last election 13 15 4
Seats before 8 20 4
Seats won 11 10 9
Seat change Decrease2 Decrease5 Increase5
Popular vote 9,174 10,079 8,315
Percentage 27.9% 30.6% 25.3%
Swing Decrease2.0% Decrease8.0% Increase9.6%

  Fourth party
 
Leader Aileen Morton
Party Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Helensburgh Central
Last election 4
Seats before 4
Seats won 6
Seat change Increase2
Popular vote 3,332
Percentage 10.1%
Swing Decrease0.7%

The 11 multi-member wards

Council Leader before election

Dick Walsh
Independent

Council Leader after election

Aileen Morton
Scottish Liberal Democrats (as part of TALIG)

Background

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At the previous election in 2012, Independent councillors were the largest grouping on the council, with a total of 15 councillors, while the Scottish National Party (SNP) had 13 councillors. Following that election, an administration was formed between the SNP and the Argyll First group of independent councillors. However, this coalition broke down in 2013, after the SNP National Executive prevented the SNP group forming a coalition with the Scottish Conservatives and the Scottish Liberal Democrats.[1] Four members of the SNP group (former SNP group leader Roddy McCuish, Mary Jean Devon, Michael Breslin and Robert MacIntyre) left the SNP in 2013, following the collapse of the SNP-independent administration, and sat as independents for the remainder of their terms as councillors. A coalition of Independents, Scottish Conservatives, and Liberal Democrats was formed in October 2013, led by an independent councillor, Dick Walsh. The collapse of the SNP-independent administration led to an investigation by Audit Scotland.[2]

A number of councillors who had been elected in 2012 did not serve a full term and resigned prior to the 2017 elections:

  • SNP councillor Fred Hall left the SNP group in 2013 and sat as an independent. He resigned in 2014, which led to a by-election in the Oban South and the Isles ward in May 2014, which was won by Neil MacIntyre for Scottish Labour.[3]
  • Louise Lee, who had been elected for the SNP for Oban North and Lorn in 2012, also resigned in 2014, resulting in a by-election in July 2014, which was won by the independent candidate John McGregor, who died shortly afterwards.[4] The death of John MacGregor led to another by-election in Oban North and Lorn, which was won by Iain MacLean for the SNP in October 2014.[5] Iain MacLean left the SNP in March 2016 and sat for the remainder of his term as an independent.[6]
  • John Semple, SNP councillor for South Kintyre, also resigned after the Scottish Independence referendum, leading to a by-election in December 2014, which was won by John Armour for the SNP.[7]
  • Duncan MacIntyre (Independent, Oban North and Lorn) resigned for health reasons in December 2015.[8] His seat was won by Julie MacKenzie for the SNP in February 2016.[8]
  • Iain Angus MacDonald, who had originally been elected as an Independent councillor for Oban North and Lorn in 2012, joined the SNP in September 2014, but resigned in March 2016.[6] The resulting by-election in June 2016 was won by an independent, Kieron Green.[9]

Eight of the sitting councillors did not seek re-election, including the outgoing council leader Dick Walsh (Independent), Michael Breslin (Independent, originally SNP), Iain MacLean (Independent, originally SNP)), Vivien Dance (Independent), Bruce Marshall (Independent), Isobel Strong (SNP), Neil MacIntyre (Scottish Labour), and Maurice Corry (Scottish Conservative).[10]

Results

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The SNP became the largest party on the council for the first time, as the Independent group lost a third of its seats compared to the previous election. The Conservatives gained five seats and the Liberal Democrats gained two, but both remained in their respective places as the two smaller parties.

Despite the SNP's position, a coalition was formed of Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Independents, referred to as The Argyll Lomond and the Isles Group (TALIG). Aileen Morton, leader of the group, was elected as council leader.[11]

2017 Argyll and Bute Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 11 1 3  2 30.5 27.7 9,174  2.0
  Independent 10 2 7  5 27.7 30.4 10,079  8.0
  Conservative 9 5 0  5 25.0 25.1 8,315  9.6
  Liberal Democrats 6 2 0  2 16.6 10.7 3,571  0.7
  Labour 0 0 0  0 0.0 4.1 1,362  0.5
  Scottish Green 0 0 0  0 0.0 1.8 609  1.6
  UKIP 0 0 0  0 0.0 0.1 32 New
Total 36 33,110

Ward results

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South Kintyre

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  • There was no election for the ward of South Kintyre, a three-member ward, as there were only three candidates nominated: Donald Kelly (Scottish Conservative), John Armour (SNP), and Rory Colville (Liberal Democrat), all of whom were the incumbent councillors for the ward.
South Kintyre - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
SNP John Armour (incumbent) unopposed
Liberal Democrats Rory Colville (incumbent) unopposed
Conservative Donald Kelly (incumbent) unopposed
Quota:  

Kintyre and the Islands

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(Includes Colonsay, Gigha, Islay, Jura, Scarba)

  • 2012: 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xConservative
  • 2012–2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from Independent
Kintyre and the Islands - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
SNP Anne Horn (incumbent) 29.3 821        
Conservative Alastair John Redman 23.1 648 652.5 679.1 689.1 707.7
Liberal Democrats Robin Currie (incumbent) 22.4 626 649.4 694.7 770.7  
Independent John McAlpine (incumbent) 14.7 411 432.0 473.1 525.7  
Labour Michael Kelly 5.7 160 169.6      
Scottish Green Ed Tyler 4.8 134 176.9 196.3    
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 2,800   Spoilt: 40   Quota: 701   Turnout: 2,840 (54.1%)  

Mid Argyll

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  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2012–2017 Change: No change
Mid Argyll - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Douglas Trevor Philand (incumbent) 28.7 948            
SNP Sandy Taylor (incumbent) 27.5 911            
Conservative Alec McNeilly 15.9 528 543.4 544.1 560.5 584.2 620.2  
Independent Donnie MacMillan (incumbent) 12.9 427 467.1 482.3 511.1 603.8 703.9 985.4
Independent Jane McCurdie 5.7 190 209.7 217.6 243.5      
Scottish Green Elaine Morrison 5.2 171 186.6 226.9 265.4 308.6    
Labour Jane Kelly 3.9 132 140.7 147.4        
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,307   Spoilt: 49   Quota: 827   Turnout: 3,356 (54.7%)  

Oban South and the Isles

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(Includes Coll, Iona, Mull, Tiree)

  • 2012: 3xSNP; 1xIndependent
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012–2017 Change: Conservative and Independent gain one seat each from SNP
Oban South and the Isles - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Roddy McCuish (incumbent) 21.12 808            
Independent Mary-Jean Devon (incumbent) 19.19 734 744.1 789.8        
Conservative Jamie McGrigor 16.44 629 636.3 667.9 671.0 712.5 759.0 770.0
SNP Jim Lynch 16.03 613 616.7 619.8 623.0 637.4 680.0 1164.3
SNP Sean MacIntyre 13.22 506 511.5 519.5 520.9 539.1 572.7  
Labour Jake Ainscough 5.91 226 229.0 257.5 259.8 276.8    
Independent Alistair MacDougall (incumbent) 4.05 155 158.2 169.5 179.3      
Liberal Democrats David Pollard 4.03 154 156.4          
Electorate:     Valid: 3,825   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 766   Turnout: 3,891 (47.5%)  

Oban North and Lorn

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  • 2012: 3xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012–2017 Change: Conservative gain from Independent
Oban North and Lorn - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Independent Elaine Robertson (incumbent) 22.01 913              
Conservative Andrew Vennard 17.11 710 721.8 727.9 746.5 769.4 789.6 814.1 828.4
SNP Julie McKenzie (incumbent) 16.63 690 694.6 698.6 704.8 717.1 754.8 829.2 1356.5
SNP Breege Smyth 12.97 538 543.1 546.1 548.2 562.2 581.5 647.2  
Independent Kieron Green (incumbent) 11.69 485 515.8 519.3 563.3 600.5 677.0 764.2 797.0
Scottish Green William Mohieddeen 7.33 304 307.5 308.5 320.6 328.0 342.4    
Independent Neil MacKay 4.39 182 189.5 210.3 222.4 262.5      
Independent Grant Nicholson 3.71 154 159.2 166.7 177.0        
Independent Brian Burnett 2.68 111 115.0 118.1          
Independent Allan McKie 1.49 62 64.3            
Electorate:     Valid: 4,149   Spoilt: 51   Quota: 830   Turnout: 4,200 (52.0%)  

Cowal

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  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 1xSNP; 1xConservative; 1xLiberal Democrat
  • 2012–2017 Change: Conservative & Liberal Democrat each gain one seat from Independent
Cowal - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4
SNP William Gordon Blair (incumbent) 26.3 918      
Conservative Yvonne McNeilly 26.2 912      
Liberal Democrats Alan Reid 22.7 791 794.5 810.7 899.1
Independent Alex McNaughton (incumbent) 11.2 389 391.6 400.7 428.5
SNP Alison Mulholland 8.2 287 323.0 323.4 344.8
Labour Susanna Rice 5.4 187 188.2 191.3  
Electorate:     Valid: 3,484   Spoilt: 71   Quota: 872   Turnout: 3,555 (60.3%)  

Dunoon

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  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xIndependent
  • 2012–2017 Change: Con gain one seat from Independent
Dunoon - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Audrey Forrest 19.66 575 580 593 600 616 638 670 1,064
Conservative Bobby Good 18.26 534 539 557 584 602 643 732  
SNP Keir Low 14.05 411 421 423 437 455 467 487  
Independent Jim Anderson 10.70 313 339 353 391 412 542 658 687
Liberal Democrats Ross Moreland 9.03 264 275 286 306 372 406    
Independent John Allison 7.38 216 237 256 305 330      
Labour Mick Rice 6.67 195 203 216 227        
Independent Gordon McKinven 5.26 154 164 195          
Independent Jimmy McQueen (incumbent) 4.85 142 150            
Independent Brian Logan 4.14 121              
Electorate:     Valid: 2,925   Spoilt: 72   Quota: 732   Turnout: 2,997 (53.1%)  

Isle of Bute

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  • 2012: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2012–2017 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP
Isle of Bute - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Jean Moffat 19.06 472 494 588 657      
SNP Jim Findlay 17.5 433 437 461 709      
Conservative Peter Wallace 17.2 427 437 482 492 496.8 504.0  
SNP Robert MacIntyre (incumbent) 15.9 395 402 433        
Independent Len Scoullar (incumbent)†† 13.7 340 354 440 502 524.2 537.2 740.5
Independent Fraser Gillies 13.1 325 343          
Independent John McCallum 3.4 85            
Electorate:     Valid: 2,477   Spoilt: 61   Quota: 620   Turnout: 2,538 (51.6%)  

Lomond North

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  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xCon
  • 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent;
  • 2012–2017 Change: SNP gain from Independent
Lomond North - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Conservative Barbara Morgan††† 29.39 989          
SNP Iain Shony Paterson 20.15 678 679.8 688.1 710.8 759.1 813.3
Independent George Freeman (incumbent) 17.40 587 613.0 636.8 687.5 822.9 1152.3
Independent Fiona Baker 12.10 407 437.3 473.7 531.0 623.6  
Independent Robert Graham MacIntyre (incumbent) 10.67 359 375.9 386.4 426.4    
Labour Fiona Howard 6.30 212 228.2 280.1      
Liberal Democrats Paul Kennedy 3.95 133 157.4        
Electorate:     Valid: 3,365   Spoilt: 30   Quota: 842   Turnout: 3,395 (55.4%)  

Helensburgh Central

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  • 2012: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 2xLib Dem
  • 2012–2017 Change: Lib Dem gain from Independent
Helensburgh Central - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Conservative Gary Mulvaney (incumbent) 46.33 1789        
SNP Lorna Douglas 22.61 873        
Liberal Democrats Aileen Morton (incumbent) 17.97 694 1075.6      
Liberal Democrats Graham Hardie 6.68 258 356.8 563.2 589.6 864.3
Independent James Alexander Robb (incumbent) 6.39 247 478.1 526.2 558.6  
Electorate:     Valid: 3,861   Spoilt: 56   Quota: 773   Turnout: 3,917 (51.7%)  

Helensburgh and Lomond South

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  • 2012: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2017: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012–2017 Change: No Change
Helensburgh and Lomond South - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Conservative David Fairbairn Kinniburgh (incumbent) 38.96 1149              
SNP Richard MacDonald Trail (incumbent) 17.80 525 528.2 529.6 534.7 563.0 583.4 594.2 730.7
Liberal Democrats Ellen Morton (incumbent) 13.97 412 521.5 527.0 540.5 615.5 847.2    
Labour Christopher Fagan 8.48 250 287.2 291.6 305.4        
Independent Mike Crowe 8.41 248 309.2 321.2 377.8 434.3 484.0 509.5  
Liberal Democrats Jacqueline Davis 8.10 239 299.1 304.3 322.8 394.9      
Independent Ian Macquire 3.19 94 119.8 129.0          
UKIP Jack Streeter 1.09 32 57.0            
Electorate:     Valid: 2,949   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 738   Turnout: 2,981 (52.3%)  

Changes since 2017

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  • † Helensburgh and Lomond South Liberal Democrat Cllr Ellen Morton died on 10 May 2020.[12] The by-election occurred on 18 March 2021, being won by the Conservative candidate.
  • †† Isle of Bute Independent Cllr Len Scoullar died on 15 November 2020 following a battle with illness.[13] The by-election took place on 18 March 2021 and was won by an Independent.
  • ††† Lomond North Conservative Cllr Barbara Morgan announced her resignation from the Council in October 2021.[14] The by-election was held on 16 December 2021.

By-Elections since 2017

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Lomond North By-election (16th December 2021) - 1 Seat[15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4
Conservative Paul Collins 40.7 742 786 805 1,100
SNP Ken Smith 25.2 459 489    
Independent Mark Irvine 22.9 418 494 711  
Independent Robert MacIntyre 11.2 204      
Valid: 1,823   Spoilt: 19   Quota: 912   Turnout: (29.6%)  
Isle of Bute By-election (18th March 2021) - 1 Seat[16]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
SNP Kim Findlay 32.7 658 688 701 767
Independent Liz McCabe 20.4 411 475 564 772 1,034
Independent Fraser Gillies 19.0 382 419 539    
Conservative Peter Wallace 16.8 338 367      
Labour Dawn MacDonald 11.1 224        
Electorate: TBC   Quota: 1,007   Turnout: (42.4%)  
Helensburgh and Lomond South By-election (18th March 2021) - 1 Seat[16]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
Conservative Gemma Penfold 50.7 1,206
SNP Math Campbell-Sturgess 23.6 562
Liberal Democrats Henry Boswell 14.0 333
Labour Jane Kelly 5.6 133
Scottish Green Mike Crowe 5.2 123
Workers Party Paul Burrows 0.9 22
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 2,379   Spoilt: 15   Quota: 1,190   Turnout: (41.8%)  

References

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  1. ^ "Argyll and Bute Council SNP group drops coalition plan". BBC News. 14 May 2013. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  2. ^ McIvor, Jamie (29 October 2013). "Argyll and Bute Council: Accounts Commission calls for 'urgent action'". BBC News. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  3. ^ "Labour wins Argyll and Bute council by-election". BBC News. 24 May 2014. Archived from the original on 4 November 2018. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  4. ^ "Sudden death of newly elected Oban councillor | Press and Journal". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  5. ^ "SNP: by-election win reflects huge surge in support for party following indyref". HeraldScotland. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  6. ^ a b Kerr, Moira (21 March 2016). "SNP councillors resign amid claims of a 'witch hunt' in the Highlands". dailyrecord. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  7. ^ "SNP wins Argyll and Bute Council by-election". www.buteman.co.uk. Archived from the original on 31 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  8. ^ a b "SNP takes seat in Argyll and Bute Council by-election". BBC News. 19 February 2016. Archived from the original on 30 May 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  9. ^ "Independent pips SNP candidate to by-election win". The Oban Times incorporating The Lochaber Times. 7 June 2016. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
  10. ^ "Your council candidates: Last Dance in Helensburgh as Walsh era ends". Helensburgh Advertiser. Archived from the original on 4 April 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  11. ^ "Economic growth and education priorities in Argyll | Press and Journal". Press and Journal. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
  12. ^ "Tributes paid on passing of Councillor Ellen Morton". 5 October 2020. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2020.
  13. ^ Galloway, Andy (19 November 2020). "Len Scoullar: Tributes paid after death of Argyll and Bute provost". Helensburgh Advertiser. Archived from the original on 11 December 2020. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  14. ^ "Councillor Barbara Morgan resigns". 19 October 2021. Archived from the original on 25 October 2021. Retrieved 24 October 2021.
  15. ^ "Result announced of Lomond North by-election". Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Local By Elections 18th March 2021 Notice of Poll" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 March 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2021.