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2017 Moray Council election

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2017 Moray Council election
← 2012
4 May 2017 (2017-05-04)
2022 →
All 26 seats to Moray Council
14 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Leader Graham Leadbitter & Shona Morrison Tim Eagle
Party SNP Conservative
Leader's seat Elgin South & Fochabers Lhanbryde Buckie
Last election 10 seats, 39.4% 3 seats, 17.5%
Seats before 11 10
Seats won 9 8
Seat change Decrease1 Increase 5
Popular vote 10,518 12,010
Percentage 31.6% 36.1%
Swing Decrease 7.9% Increase 18.6%
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader George Alexander John Divers
Party Independent Labour
Leader's seat Forres Elgin City South
Last election 10 seats, 28.8% 3 seats, 9.2%
Seats before 3 2
Seats won 8 1
Seat change Decrease 2 Decrease 2
Popular vote 8,022 1,483
Percentage 24.1% 4.3%
Swing Decrease 4.8% Decrease 4.9%
The 8 multi-member wards
Leader before election

Stewart Cree (Ind)
No overall control

 Leader after election

George Alexander (Ind)
No overall control

Elections to Moray Council took place on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party on the council again, returning 9 seats out of 26 – a decline of 1 from 2012, and 5 short of an overall majority. The Conservatives returned 8 seats – an increase of 5. Independent candidates took 8 seats – a decline of 2. Labour returned 1 seat – a decline of 2 from 2017.

Following the election, a Conservative-Independent coalition administration was formed, with independent councillor George Alexander appointed Leader of the council, while Conservative councillor James Allan was appointed Convenor of the Moray Council.[1]

Background

[edit]

Previous election

[edit]

At the previous election in 2012, the Scottish National Party saw their seat count increase by 1, and became the largest grouping on the council by vote share. The Independent group lost 2 seats and the Conservatives held all of their seats. Labour increased their representation on the council by 1. Due to the SNP not having enough seats to form an administration, the previous coalition between the Conservatives and the Independents group stayed as the Council's administration.

2012 Moray Council election result
Party Seats Vote share
SNP 10 39.4%
Independent 10 28.8%
Conservative 3 17.5%
Labour 3 9.2%

Source:[2][3]

Composition

[edit]

There were 5 by-elections in the 2012-17 term. There were 2 by-elections in the Heldon & Laich ward: one resulted in an Independent gain from SNP, and the other was an Independent hold. There were 2 further by-elections in the Buckie ward: one resulted in an SNP gain from Independent, and the other resulted in an Independent hold. The other by-election was held in the Elgin City North ward, which resulted in an SNP gain from Labour.

Composition of Moray Council
Party 2012 election Dissolution
SNP 10 11
Independent 10 3
Conservative 3 10
Labour 3 2

Source:[3]

Results

[edit]
2017 Moray Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 9 0 1 Decrease 1 34.6 31.6 10,518 Decrease 7.8
  Conservative 8 5 0 Increase 5 30.8 36.1 12,010 Increase 18.6
  Independent 8 0 2 Decrease 2 30.8 24.1 8,022 Decrease 4.8
  Labour 1 0 2 Decrease 2 3.8 4.3 1,438 Decrease 4.9
  Green 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 2.6 853 Decrease 0.2
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 1.2 410 Increase 0.6
Total 26 33,296

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections in 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Source:[4][5]

Ward results

[edit]

Speyside Glenlivet

[edit]
  • 2012: 2 X SNP & 1 X Independent
  • 2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Independent
  • 2012-2017: Conservative gain one seat from SNP
Speyside Glenlivet – 3 Seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234
Conservative Walter Wilson 35.9 1,307      
Independent Derek Ross 23.6 858 1,107    
SNP Louise Laing 21.3 776 782 821 1,458
SNP Angus Anderson 19.2 698 705 727  
Electorate: 7,365   Valid: 3,639   Spoilt: 77   Quota: 910   Turnout: 50.5%  

Source:[6][7]

Keith and Cullen

[edit]
  • 2012: 2 X Independent & 1 X SNP
  • 2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Independent
  • 2012-2017: Conservative gain one seat from Independent
Keith and Cullen – 3 Seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234
Conservative Donald Gatt 32.7 1,208      
SNP Theresa Coull 29.5 1,088      
Independent Ron Shepherd (incumbent) 18.02 665 765 783 1,069
SNP Iain Grieve 10.2 375 382 510 570
Independent Rob Barsby 9.6 354 442 447  
Electorate: 8,118   Valid: 3,690   Spoilt: 62   Quota: 923   Turnout: 46.2%  

Source:[8][9]

Buckie

[edit]
  • 2012: 2 X Independent & 1 X SNP
  • 2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Independent
  • 2012-2017: Conservative gain one seat from Independent
Buckie – 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234
Conservative Tim Eagle 33.8 1,060      
Independent Gordon Cowie (incumbent) 21.4 673 826    
SNP Sonya Warren (incumbent) 22.8 716 728 734 1,369
SNP Gordon McDonald (incumbent) 22.0 691 702 710  
Electorate: 7,962   Valid: 3,140   Spoilt: 47   Quota: 786   Turnout: 40.0%  

Source:[10][11]

Fochabers Lhanbryde

[edit]
  • 2012: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Labour
  • 2017: 2 X SNP & 1 X Conservative
  • 2012-2017: SNP gain one seat from Labour
Fochabers Lhanbryde – 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567
Conservative Marc Macrae 42.7 1,747            
SNP Shona Morrison 16.7 682 702 708 738 759 794 872
SNP David Bremner 17.4 711 722 729 752 760 792 862
Independent Ian Taylor 6.7 274 361 374 441 578 701  
Liberal Democrats Donald Cameron 5.2 211 318 394 445 511    
Independent Kenneth Gillespie 4.1 166 282 294 344      
Independent Sean Morton (incumbent) 5.3 215 284 289        
Liberal Democrats Peter Horton 2.0 83 142          
Electorate: 8,089   Valid: 4,089   Spoilt: 71   Quota: 1,023   Turnout: 51.4%  

Source:[12][13]

Heldon & Laich

[edit]
  • 2012: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative
  • 2017: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative
  • 2012-2017: No change
Heldon and Laich – 4 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567
Conservative James Allan 37.9 1,953            
Independent John Cowe (incumbent) 15.3 789 1,045          
SNP Amy Patience 18.9 976 996 997 1,014 1,110    
Independent Ryan Edwards 10.5 541 662 668 706.01 769 788 1,170
Independent Dennis Slater (incumbent) 10.2 527 658 663 693 760 778  
Green James Mackessack-Leitch 4.7 240 286.8 288 347      
Liberal Democrats John Mitchell 2.3 116 201 201        
Electorate: 10,737   Valid: 5,142   Spoilt: 44   Quota: 1,029   Turnout: 48.3%  

Source:[14][15]

Elgin City North

[edit]
  • 2012: 2 X SNP & 1 X Labour
  • 2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Independent
  • 2012-2017: Conservative & Independent each gain one seat from SNP & Labour
Elgin City North – 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456
Conservative Frank Brown 32.9 1,181          
Independent Sandy Cooper 14.9 532 606 767 933    
SNP Paula Coy 17.7 634 639 672 714 720 1,279
SNP Patsy Gowans (incumbent) 15.0 537 540 557 630 634  
Labour Nick Taylor 11.9 429 477 536      
Independent Billy Adams 7.4 266 339        
Electorate: 9,237   Valid: 3,579   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 895   Turnout: 39.5%  

Source:[16][17]

Elgin City South

[edit]
  • 2012: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Labour
  • 2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Labour
  • 2012-2017: No change
Elgin City South – 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12
Conservative Ray McLean 35.9 1,460  
SNP Graham Leadbitter (incumbent) 30.7 1,245  
Labour John Divers (incumbent) 24.8 1,009 1,126
Independent Sean Malone 8.5 347 531
Electorate: 9,551   Valid: 4,061   Spoilt: 42   Quota: 1,016   Turnout: 43.0%  

Source:[18][19]

Forres

[edit]
  • 2012: 3 X Independent & 1 X SNP
  • 2017: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative
  • 2012-2017: Conservative gain from Independent
Forres - 4 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1234567
Conservative Claire Feaver 35.4 2,094            
SNP Aaron McLean (incumbent) 23.5 1,389            
Independent George Alexander (incumbent) 16.6 981 1,247          
Green Fabio Villani 10.4 613 671 767 773 778 835  
Independent Lorna Creswell (incumbent) 9.4 555 739 779 815 841 1,015 1,505
Independent Jeff Hamilton 4.1 243 335 349 360 381    
Independent Terry Monaghan 0.6 36 54 60 62      
Electorate: 12,116   Valid: 5,911   Spoilt: 47   Quota: 1,183   Turnout: 49.2%  

Source:[20][21]

Aftermath

[edit]

Following the election, a Conservative-Independent coalition administration was formed. Independent councillor George Alexander was appointed Leader of the council, while Conservative councillor James Allan was appointed Convenor of the Moray Council.[22]

However, in May 2018, all but one of the Conservative councillors left the administration, leaving the independents and Convenor James Allan in a minority administration.[23] Following negotiations, in June 2018, Graham Leadbitter was appointed the role of Council Leader and Shona Morrison was appointed Convenor of the Moray Council, the first women to take on the role in Moray Council's history.[24]

On 21 October 2017, Speyside Glenlivet Conservative councillor Walter Wilson resigned from the party group following disagreements with colleagues in the party group. He sat as an Independent.[25]

Elgin City North by-election

[edit]

On 10 May 2017, independent councillor Sandy Cooper resigned his seat less than a week after being elected in the 2017 elections.[26] A by-election was held in Elgin City North ward on 13 July 2017, and it was won by Conservative candidate Maria McLean.[27]

Elgin City North by-election (13 July 2017) - 1 seat
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123
Conservative Maria McLean 40.0 923 970 1,061
SNP Patsy Gowans 38.8 895 904 994
Labour Nick Taylor 15.8 365 389  
Independent Terry Monaghan 5.4 124    
Electorate: 9,354   Valid: 2,307   Spoilt: 17   Quota: 1,155   Turnout: 24.8%  

Source:[28][29]

Keith and Cullen by-election

[edit]

On 24 October 2019, independent councillor Ron Shepherd retired due to ill-health.[30] A by-election was held in the Keith and Cullen ward on 21 November 2019 and it was won by the Conservative candidate Laura Powell.[31]

Keith and Cullen by-election (21 November 2019) - 1 seat
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123
Conservative Laura Powell 41.5 1,142 1,177 1,339
SNP Jock McKay 38.1 1,047 1,077 1,184
Independent Rob Barsby 12.7 349 430  
Liberal Democrats Ian Aitchison 7.7 212    
Electorate: 8,191   Valid: 2,778   Spoilt: 28   Quota: 1,376   Turnout: 33.9%  

Source:[32][33]

References

[edit]
  1. ↑ "Forres man appointed new Moray Council Leader". Forres Gazette. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  2. ↑ Faulds, Allan. "Moray Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  3. 1 2 Teale, Andrew. "Local Election Results 2012". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 10 July 2024.
  4. ↑ Teale, Andrew. "Local Election Results 2017". Local Election Archive Project.
  5. ↑ "Moray Council Election Results 2017". Moray.gov. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 1 - Speyside Glenlivet" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  7. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 1 - Speyside Glenlivet" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  8. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 2 - Keith and Cullen" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  9. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 2 - Keith and Cullen" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  10. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 3 - Buckie" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  11. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 3 - Buckie" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  12. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 3 - Fochabers Lhanbryde" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  13. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 4 - Fochabers Lhanbryde" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  14. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 5 - Heldon and Laich" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  15. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 5 - Heldon and Laich" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  16. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 6 - Elgin City North" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  17. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 6 -Elgin City North" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  18. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 7 - Elgin City South" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  19. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 7 - Elgin City South" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  20. ↑ "Declaration of Results - Ward 8 - Forres" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  21. ↑ "Transfers Report - Ward 8 - Forres" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  22. ↑ "Forres man appointed new Moray Council Leader". Forres Gazette. 24 May 2017. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
  23. ↑ "Tories leave Moray Council's ruling coalition". BBC News. 28 May 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  24. ↑ "New Moray Council minority SNP administration approved". BBC News. 13 June 2018. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  25. ↑ "Councillor criticised over Moray budget comments". BBC News. 21 November 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  26. ↑ Davidson, Peter. "Councillor steps down after less than week in job". Evening Express. Retrieved 24 August 2021.
  27. ↑ "Conservative elected in Moray by-election". BBC News. 14 July 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  28. ↑ "Moray Council Local Government By-Election" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  29. ↑ "Local Government By-Election Ward 6 - Elgin City North" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  30. ↑ Beresford, Alan (24 September 2019). "End of an era as Shepherd calls it a day". Grampian Online. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  31. ↑ Mackay, David (23 November 2019). "By-election win in Moray shows support is 'holding strong' claim Tories". The Press & Journal. Retrieved 1 September 2026.
  32. ↑ "The Moray Council Local Government By-Election" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
  33. ↑ "Local Government By-Election Ward 2 - Keith and Cullen" (PDF). Moray Council. Retrieved 28 July 2024.
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