2022 Dundee City Council election

The 2022 Dundee City Council election took place on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections.[1] Each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system, a form of proportional representation used since the 2007 election and according to the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.[1]

2022 Dundee City Council election

← 2017 5 May 2022 2027 →

All 29 seats to Dundee City Council
15 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader John Alexander Kevin Keenan Fraser Macpherson
Party SNP Labour Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Strathmartine Strathmartine West End
Last election 14 seats, 41.3% 9 seats, 20.3% 2 seats, 8.1%
Seats won 15 9 4
Seat change Increase1 Steady0 Increase2
Popular vote 18,302 9,740 7,312
Percentage 41.39% 22.03% 16.54%
Swing Increase0.13% Increase1.73% Increase8.44%

  Fourth party
 
Leader Derek Scott
Party Conservative
Leader's seat The Ferry
Last election 3 seats, 17.3%
Seats won 1
Seat change Decrease2
Popular vote 4,861
Percentage 10.99%
Swing Decrease6.31%

The eight multi-member wards; colours denote the winning party, as shown in the main table of results.


Council Leader before election

John Alexander
SNP

Elected Council Leader

John Alexander
SNP

The election resulted in the SNP gaining a majority, winning 15 seats after gaining a seat from Labour in the West End. Labour came second with no seat change from the last election, the Liberal Democrats gained two seats, rounding their total up to four and the Conservatives fell to fourth place, losing two seats making Derek Scott, the group leader, the sole councillor elected to the council. The sole Alba Party councillor, Alan Ross, who defected from the SNP, failed to retain his seat.

After the election, the SNP's Bill Campbell and Kevin Cordell were appointed Lord Provost and Deputy Lord Provost on 20 May 2022.[2]

Background edit

Previous election edit

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 14 seats and as a result, was the largest party. Despite two losses, the SNP continued to govern however, they no longer held a majority after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats made gains.[3] Labour was the second-largest party on the council with 9 seats, the Conservatives won 3 seats, up two and the Liberal Democrats won 2 seats, up one.

Composition edit

After the 2017 election, several changes in the composition of the council happened. Most were changes to the political affiliation of councillors including North East councillor Gregor Murray who resigned from the SNP in May 2019 after accusing the party of being transphobic[4] and Lochee councillor Alan Ross who first left the SNP to become an independent before defecting to Alba in February 2022, making him the first Alba councillor in Dundee City Council.[5] A single by-election was held which resulted in an SNP gain from Labour.[6]

Party 2017 election Dissolution
SNP 14 13
Labour 9 8
Conservative 3 3
Liberal Democrats 2 2
Independent 1 2
Alba - 1

Retiring councillors edit

There were four councillors elected at the 2017 election which will depart ahead of the 2022 election.

Ward Party Retiring councillor
Strathmartine Independent Ian Borthwick
Coldside SNP Anne Rendall
North East Independent[a] Gregor Murray
East End Labour Margaret Richardson

Debates and hustings edit

Ahead of the election, a series of debates and hustings were held throughout the campaign period. DC Thomson hosted an election debate on 21 April 2022 which was moderated by Derek Healey, the political editor of The Courier. The debate featured only leaders and representatives of the five parties on the council and an appeal for questions to be considered were featured.[7][8] It was announced shortly after that the debate would be streamed on The Courier's social media pages on 25 April 2022.

A husting took place on 27 April 2022 which was organised and moderated by the Dundee Social Enterprise Network. The hustings featured representatives of the four parties on the council along with the inclusion of the Scottish Greens but not the Alba Party.[9]

2022 Dundee City Council election debates and hustings
Date Organisers Moderator(s)  P  Present[b]    S  Surrogate[c]    NI  Not invited   A  Absent invitee  INV Invited 
SNP Labour Conservatives Lib Dems Greens Alba Audience Ref.
21 April DC Thomson Derek Healey[d] P
Alexander
S
McCready[e]
P
Scott[f]
P
MacPherson[g]
P
Jones[h]
P
Ross[i]
Virtual [7]
27 April Dundee SEN S
Short[j]
S
McCready[k]
S
MacKenzie[l]
S
Crichton[m]
P
Jones[n]
NI Yes [9]

Results edit

Overall edit

Dundee City Council election 2022
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 15 1 0  1 51.72 41.40 18,302  1.3
  Labour 9 1 1  0 31.03 22.03 9,740  1.0
  Liberal Democrats 4 2 0  2 13.79 16.54 7,312  8.2
  Conservative 1 0 2  2 3.45 11.00 4,861  7.9
  Scottish Green 0 0 0  0 0.00 5.74 2,538  3.2
  Alba 0 0 0  0 0.00 2.38 1,053 New
  Scottish Family 0 0 0  0 0.00 0.61 268 New
  TUSC 0 0 0  0 0.00 0.21 95  1.4
  Sovereignty 0 0 0  0 0.00 0.09 38 New

Votes summary edit

15 9 4 1
SNP Labour LD Conservative
First preference vote share
SNP
41.40%
Labour
22.03%
Liberal Democrats
16.54%
Conservative
11.00%
Green
5.74%
Other
3.29%
Council seats
SNP
51.72%
Labour
31.03%
Liberal Democrats
13.79%
Conservative
3.45%

Ward summary edit

2022 Dundee City Council election by ward
Ward % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats % Seats Total
SNP Lab Conservative Lib Dem Green Others
Strathmartine 45.4% 2 22.8% 1 5.9% 0 18.7% 1 3.3% 0 3.2% 0 4
Lochee 43.2% 2 35.8% 2 8.4% 0 3.1% 0 3.1% 0 5.3% 0 4
West End 31.3% 2 10.9% 0 6.7% 0 40.3% 2 9.4% 0 1.4% 0 4
Coldside 44.5% 2 31.1% 2 7.9% 0 3.1% 0 9.9% 0 3.4% 0 4
Maryfield 47.4% 2 22.6% 1 8.8% 0 4.7% 0 10.6% 0 5.9% 0 3
North East 56.5% 2 26.6% 1 8.3% 0 2.6% 0 3.3% 0 2.6% 0 3
East End 52.8% 2 26.0% 1 10.7% 0 2.8% 0 4.1% 0 3.7% 0 3
The Ferry 27.6% 1 10.0% 1 23.0% 1 34.7% 1 3.0% 0 1.7% 0 4
Total 41.39% 15 22.03% 9 10.99% 1 16.54% 4 5.74% 0 3.29% 0 29

Incumbents defeated edit

Ward Party Defeated Councillor
Lochee Alba Alan Ross
West End Conservative Donald Hay
West End Labour Richard McCready
The Ferry Conservative Philip Scott

Ward results edit

Strathmartine edit

Strathmartine - 4 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP John Alexander (incumbent) 36.0 2,143    
Labour Kevin Keenan (incumbent) 22.8 1,359    
Liberal Democrats Daniel Coleman 18.7 1,116 1,169 1,226
SNP Stewart Hunter (incumbent) 9.4 559 1,310  
Conservative Calum Walker 5.9 351 353 366
Scottish Green Callum Baird 3.3 199 268 284
Alba Laura Whyte 1.8 105 120 125
Scottish Family Susan Ettle 1.4 81 86 91
TUSC Maddie Jamieson 0.7 43 46 60
Electorate: 15,266   Valid: 5,956   Spoilt: 168   Quota: 1,192   Turnout: 40.1%  


Lochee edit

Lochee - 4 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Roisin Smith (incumbent) 37.2 2,174              
Labour Charlie Malone (incumbent) 28.7 1,678              
Conservative Gavin MacKenzie 8.0 488 492 505 531 543 543 603 623
Labour Wendy Scullin 7.0 412 448 820 846 872 876 935 1,085
SNP Siobhan Tolland 6.0 351 1,128 1,137 1,144 1,204      
Scottish Green Kate Treharne 4.0 244 308 318 326 369 383 438  
Liberal Democrats Jonathan Bremner 3.1 184 196 221 244 255 256    
Alba Alan Ross (incumbent) 3.1 184 208 220 230      
Electorate: 14,912   Valid: 5,843   Spoilt: 179   Quota: 1,169   Turnout: 40.4%  


West End edit

West End - 4 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Liberal Democrats Fraser MacPherson (incumbent) 37.4 2,146            
SNP Nadia El-Nakla 16.1 924 961 964 974 978 1,127  
SNP Bill Campbell (incumbent) 15.2 872 922 923 939 946 1,058 1,119
Labour Richard McCready (incumbent) 10.9 624 731 734 740 831 928 931
Scottish Green Ted Booth 9.4 536 565 566 577 593    
Conservative Donald Hay (incumbent) 6.7 386 453 453 547      
Liberal Democrats Michael Crichton 2.9 165 821 823 836 1,021 1,102 1,105
Alba Annie Jenkins 1.1 54 68 72        
ISP Brooke Labagh 0.3 14 17          
Electorate: 14,626   Valid: 5,732   Spoilt: 104   Quota: 1,147   Turnout: 39.9%  


Coldside edit

Coldside - 4 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Heather Anderson 31.1 1,737            
Labour George McIrvine (incumbent) 17.2 960 970 982 987 1,011 1,044 1,155
Labour Helen Wright (incumbent) 13.9 777 785 797 812 822 854 937
SNP Mark Flynn (incumbent) 13.4 751 1,275          
Scottish Green Tanya Jones 9.9 551 584 636 656 702 764 808
Conservative Naveed Ali 7.9 444 446 448 450 463 485  
Liberal Democrats Jenny Blain 3.1 176 179 183 185 195    
Alba Scott Agnew 2.5 141 150 164 165      
TUSC Wayne Scott 0.9 52 52 56        
Electorate: 14,893   Valid: 5,589   Spoilt: 238   Quota: 1,118   Turnout: 39.1%  


Maryfield edit

Maryfield - 3 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4
SNP Ken Lynn (incumbent) 24.6 1,037 1,037 1,042 1,093
SNP Lynne Short (incumbent) 22.8 960 962 974 1,005
Labour Georgia Cruickshank (incumbent) 22.6 956 957 1,017 1,062
Scottish Green Martha Smart 10.6 446 453 493 517
Conservative Danielle Marr 8.8 371 376 414 430
Alba Sundas Kamran 5.1 214 218 226  
Liberal Democrats Rebecca Dewar 4.7 198 202    
Sovereignty Ewan Gurr 0.8 34      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,213   Quota: 1,054  


North East edit

2022 Dundee City Council election: North East (3 seats)
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1
SNP Steven Rome (incumbent) 30.4 1,150
Labour Jax Finniegan 26.6 1,007
SNP Willie Sawers (incumbent) 26.2 991
Conservative Lisa Franchi 8.3 313
Scottish Green Stuart White 3.3 126
Alba Heather McLean 2.7 102
Liberal Democrats Mark Smith 2.7 100
Valid: 3,789   Spoilt: 96   Quota: 948   Turnout: 32.9%  


East End edit

East End - 3 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2
SNP Will Dawson (incumbent) 32.8 1,350  
Labour Dorothy McHugh 26.0 1,071  
SNP Christina Roberts (incumbent) 20.0 823 1,088
Conservative Bill Crabb 10.7 440 444
Scottish Green Alison McIntosh 4.1 168 184
Alba Allan Petrie 3.7 151 158
Liberal Democrats Outi Mȁȁttȁnen-Burke 2.8 115 120
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,117   Quota: 1,030  


The Ferry edit

The Ferry - 4 seats[10]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Liberal Democrats Craig Duncan (incumbent) 34.7 3,112              
SNP Kevin Cordell (incumbent) 20.1 1,806              
Conservative Derek Scott (incumbent) 18.5 1,661 2,064            
Labour Pete Shears 10.0 899 1,150 1,156 1,157 1,168 1,180 1,292 1,462
SNP Qaiser Habib 7.5 674 819 820 829 832 867 1,030 1,043
Conservative Philip Scott (incumbent) 4.5 407 459 706 706 730 745 763  
Scottish Green Mark Parsons 3.0 269 398 400 401 413 423    
Alba Thomas Byrne 1.0 92 109 109 109 113      
Scottish Family Carole Smith 0.7 59 87 88 88        
Valid: 8,979   Quota: 1,796  


Footnotes edit

  1. ^ Originally elected as a Scottish National Party candidate
  2. ^ Denotes a main invitee attending the event.
  3. ^ Denotes a main invitee not attending the event, sending a surrogate in their place.
  4. ^ Political editor of The Courier
  5. ^ Richard McCready, Labour
  6. ^ Phillip Scott, Scottish Conservative group leader at Dundee City Council, councillor in The Ferry ward
  7. ^ Fraser MacPherson, Scottish Liberal Democrat group leader at Dundee City Council, councillor in the West End ward
  8. ^ Tanya Jones, Scottish Green candidate for the Coldside ward
  9. ^ Alan Ross, Alba Party sole representative at Dundee City Council, councillor for Lochee ward
  10. ^ Lynne Short, SNP councillor for the Maryfield ward
  11. ^ Richard McCready, Labour
  12. ^ Gavin MacKenzie, Conservative
  13. ^ Michael Crichton, Liberal Democrats
  14. ^ Tanya Jones, Scottish Green candidate for the Coldside ward

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Local Elections 2022". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  2. ^ Hamilton, Lindsey (20 May 2022). "Dundee's new Lord Provost and other top council posts revealed". The Courier. Retrieved 20 May 2022.
  3. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Results 2017 Dundee". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
  4. ^ Morkis, Stefan. "EXCLUSIVE: Dundee councillor Gregor Murray quits SNP over party's 'institutional transphobia'". The Courier. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Former SNP city development chief unveiled as latest defector to Alba party". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  6. ^ "North East By Election - Election Results". Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  7. ^ a b Healy, Derek (19 April 2022). "Here's who we have lined up for our Dundee City Council debate". Twitter.
  8. ^ Healey, Derek. "Courier election debate: How you can put questions to local leaders". The Courier. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
  9. ^ a b DESN, DESN. "We are pleased to be hosting a Council Election Hustings - come along put your questions to the parties ahead of elections on 5th May 2022".
  10. ^ a b c d e f g "Local Elections 2022 - Results". Dundee City Council. Retrieved 8 May 2022.