2017 Highland Council election

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Main article: 2017 Scottish local elections
2017 Highland Council election
← 2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022 →
All 74 seats to Highland Council
38 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Margaret Davidson Maxine Smith Andrew Jarvie
Party Independent SNP Conservative
Leader's seat Aird and Loch Ness Cromarty Firth Inverness South
Last election 35 seats, 40.2% 22 seats, 25.8% 0 seats, 5.1%
Seats before 39 19 0
Seats won 28 22 10
Seat change Decrease7 Steady0 Increase10
Popular vote 32,492 22,459 14,095
Percentage 36.1% 24.9% 15.7%
Swing Decrease4.2pp Decrease0.8pp Increase10.6pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Alasdair Christie Jimmy Gray James Mackessack-Leitch & Isla O'Reilly
Party Liberal Democrats Labour Scottish Green
Leader's seat Inverness Ness-side Inverness Millburn Contested in Moray & Did not contest
Last election 15 seats, 13.5% 8 seats, 12.6% 0 seats, 1.0%
Seats before 15 7 0
Seats won 10 3 1
Seat change Decrease5 Decrease5 Increase1
Popular vote 11,577 6,218 2,832
Percentage 12.9% 6.9% 3.1%
Swing Decrease0.6pp Decrease5.7pp Increase2.2pp
Council Leader before election

Margaret Davidson
Independent

Council Leader after election

Margaret Davidson[1]
Independent

The 2017 Highland Council election was held on 4 May 2017 to elect members of the Highland Council. The election used the 21 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004; each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system (a form of proportional representation). A total of 74 councillors were elected, six less than in 2012.

The election was fought in new wards, as the recommendations by the Boundary Commission had been accepted by Scottish Ministers. There were big changes, particularly in Caithness where an entire ward was removed. This election was most notable for returning 10 Conservative councillors: the party's first representation on the council since 1999.

After the 2012 election an administration had been formed by the Scottish National Party, the Scottish Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Labour Party. This was the first time that the Independents had not had any role in the administration of the council. However, later in the 2012–17 term, this administration fell and the Independent group instead governed as a minority.[1]

After the 2017 election, the Independent, Liberal Democrat and Labour groups formed a coalition administration.[1]

Election result[edit]

2017 Highland Council election[2][3]
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Independent 28 1 8 Decrease7 37.84 36.07 32,492 Decrease4.16
  SNP 22 4 4 Steady0 29.73 24.93 22,459 Decrease0.84
  Conservative 10 10 0 Increase10 13.51 15.65 14,095 Increase10.60
  Liberal Democrats 10 1 6 Decrease5 13.51 12.85 11,577 Decrease0.64
  Labour 3 0 5 Decrease5 4.05 6.90 6,218 Decrease5.73
  Scottish Green 1 1 0 Increase1 1.35 3.14 2,832 Increase2.18
  UKIP 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.19 169 Decrease0.19
  Scottish Christian 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.12 104 Decrease1.01
  Scottish Socialist 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.11 96 New
  Libertarian 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.04 36 New

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils. These are also direct comparisons of seat change, not comparisons to 'notional' results as used in the national results, as such there is a net loss of six seats in the Net gain/loss column.

Ward results[edit]

North, West and Central Sutherland[edit]

  • 2012: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
  • 2012-2017 Change: No change
North, West and Central Sutherland - 3 seats[4][5]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Conservative Russell Taylor 19.84% 557 561 565 622 658  
SNP Kirsteen Currie 19.81% 556 564 571 612 681 689
Liberal Democrats Linda Munro (incumbent) 17.96% 504 510 521 587 671 899
Independent Hugh Morrison (incumbent) 16.85% 473 480 521 556 669 804
Independent Malcolm Bangor-Jones 11.08% 311 327 341 367    
Labour William Sinclair 9.44% 265 269 274      
Independent Michael Simpson 3.17% 89 91        
Independent Brendan O'Hanrahan 1.85% 52          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 2,807   Spoilt: 38   Quota: 702   Turnout: 58.0%  

Thurso and North West Caithness[edit]

  • 2017: 2 Independent, 1 Conservative, 1 SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: New ward
Thurso and North West Caithness - 4 seats[6][7]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Independent Matthew Reiss* 36.69% 1,924              
Conservative Struan Mackie 17.18% 901 1,111            
SNP Karl Rosie 14.23% 746 813 816 823 875 899 957 1,059
Independent Donnie MacKay + ††††† 10.81% 567 678 687 706 717 763 878 1,263
Independent Gillian Coghill * 7.95% 417 643 658 683 703 758 870  
Labour Roger Saxon + 6.25% 328 405 410 412 427 488    
Liberal Democrats Alexander Glasgow 3.78% 198 241 250 257 276      
Scottish Green Sandra Owsnett 1.98% 104 128 129 137        
Independent Tommy Farmer 1.13% 59 82 85          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,244   Spoilt: 70   Quota: 1,049   Turnout: 51.4%  

* = Sitting Councillors for Landward Caithness Ward. + = Sitting Councillors for Thurso Ward.

Wick and East Caithness[edit]

  • 2017: 2 Independent, 1 Conservative, 1 SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: New ward
Wick and East Caithness - 4 seats[8][9]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Independent A.I. Willie MacKay + 22.37% 1,046              
Independent Nicola Sinclair †††††††††††† 20.68% 967              
Conservative Andrew Sinclair 13.88% 649 666 669 708 735 822 919 1,047
SNP Raymond Bremner 11.74% 549 557 559 577 600 655 723 831
Labour Neil MacDonald * 8.64% 404 417 420 455 495 556 671  
Independent Linda Malik 7.23% 338 351 357 369 424      
Independent Bill Fernie * 6.99% 327 353 361 396 436 518    
Independent Catherine Patterson 4.79% 224 233 238 247        
Liberal Democrats Luke Graham 3.68% 172 177 178          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,676   Spoilt: 59   Quota: 936   Turnout: 47.6%  

* = Sitting Councillors for Wick Ward.

+ = Sitting Councillor for Landward Caithness Ward.

East Sutherland and Edderton[edit]

  • 2012: 1xLabour, 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 1 x Labour, 1 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrats
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Liberal Democrat gain from SNP
East Sutherland and Edderton - 3 seats[10][11]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Labour Deirdre MacKay (incumbent) 21.20% 755 757 831 946      
Liberal Democrats Richard Gale 19.63% 699 715 773 889 909    
SNP Graham Phillips (incumbent) 18.20% 648 653 711 725 732 735  
Independent Jim McGillivray (incumbent) 16.76% 597 600 649 793 806 814 1,155
Conservative Eva Short 14.52% 517 518 532        
No Label George Gunn 8.68% 309 311          
Libertarian Harry Christian 1.01% 36            
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,561   Spoilt: 30   Quota: 891   Turnout: 57.1%  

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh[edit]

  • 2012: 2 x Independent, 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat
  • 2017: 1 x Independent, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Independent
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh - 4 seats[12][13]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Conservative Derek MacLeod 18.44% 1,036 1,055 1,061 1,064 1,206      
SNP Ian Cockburn (incumbent) 15.28% 859 887 1,355          
Independent Biz Campbell (incumbent) 14.16% 796 843 876 900 1,146      
Liberal Democrats Kate Stephen*†††††† 13.38% 752 841 864 883 993 1,026 1,035 1,560
Independent Richard Greene (incumbent) 11.67% 656 673 686 700        
Scottish Green Topher Dawson 11.18% 628 674 721 839 928 935 939  
SNP Alexander MacInnes 10.82% 608 610            
Labour Christopher Birt 5.07% 285              
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,620   Spoilt: 75   Quota: 1,125   Turnout: 57.8%  

* = Sitting Councillor for Culloden and Ardersier Ward.

Cromarty Firth[edit]

  • 2012: 2 x Independent, 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrats
  • 2017: 2 x Independent, 2 x SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 x SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
Cromarty Firth - 4 seats[14][15]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Independent Carolyn Wilson (incumbent) 27.01% 1,108              
SNP Pauline Munro ††††††††††† 19.53% 801 828            
SNP Maxine Smith ††††††††††† (incumbent) 14.12% 579 599 604 615 624 660 674 741
Independent Mike Finlayson (incumbent) 9.87% 405 483 483 532 567 639 773 1,047
Conservative Ian Smith 8.43% 346 368 368 373 390 468    
Independent Martin Rattray (incumbent) 7.85% 322 378 378 399 422 498 591  
Liberal Democrats Mary MacDonald 6.78% 278 303 303 320 360      
Labour Bill Curran 3.78% 155 162 162 170        
Independent Sheila Fletcher 2.63% 108 122 122          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,102   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 821   Turnout: 43.4%  

Tain and Easter Ross[edit]

  • 2012: 2 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrat
  • 2017: 1 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 x SNP gain from Independent
Tain and Easter Ross - 3 seats[16][17]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Derek Louden 23.85% 831 847 870 874    
Independent Fiona Robertson (incumbent) 20.32% 708 751 903      
Liberal Democrats Jamie Stone (incumbent) † 19.49% 679 696 851 860 861 1,342
Independent Alasdair Rhind (incumbent) 16.33% 569 587 722 736 736  
Conservative Ron Ferguson 16.02% 558 583        
Independent Sandra Skinner 3.99% 139          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,484   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 872   Turnout: 49.9%  

Dingwall and Seaforth[edit]

  • 2012: 2 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP
  • 2017: 2 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: No Change
Dingwall and Seaforth - 4 seats[18][19]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Graham MacKenzie (incumbent) 28.62% 1,267            
Liberal Democrats Angela MacLean (incumbent) 19.61% 868 941          
Independent Margaret Paterson (incumbent) 19.27% 853 967          
Conservative Reiner Luyken 14.36% 636 644 652 662 670 716  
Independent Alister MacKinnon (incumbent) 12.47% 552 603 639 659 690 783 1,125
Labour David Jardine 4.47% 198 233 240 249 265    
No Label Dave Allison 1.20% 53 67 72 73      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,427   Spoilt: 44   Quota: 886   Turnout: 44.5%  

Black Isle[edit]

  • 2012: 2 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrats, 1 x SNP
  • 2017: 1 x Independent, 1 x Liberal Democrats, 1 x SNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Independent loss due to 4 wards being reduced to 3
Black Isle - 3 seats[20][21]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Craig Fraser (incumbent) 26.88% 1,234            
Liberal Democrats Gordon Adam 20.02% 919 930 1,005 1,077 1,307    
Conservative Rainie Smith 18.71% 859 860 878 927 940 974  
Independent Jennifer Barclay (incumbent) 16.16% 742 754 783 842 939 995 1,457
Scottish Green Vikki Trelfer 8.45% 388 427 466 494      
Independent Bev Smith 5.36% 246 250 263        
Labour Michael MacMillan 4.42% 203 209          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,591   Spoilt: 42   Quota: 1,148   Turnout: 4,633 (54.9%)  

Eilean a' Cheò[edit]

  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP
  • 2017: 3xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lib Dem
Eilean a' Cheò (Skye) - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Independent John Finlayson 28.97% 1,449                      
Independent Ronald MacDonald†††††††† 14.34% 717 829.5 835.2 847.5 892.3 925.9 992.6 999.3 1,001.9      
SNP Calum MacLeod ††† 12.52% 626 656.6 666.9 676.5 690.4 710.3 726.6 1,028.8        
Independent John Gordon (incumbent) 9.06% 453 534.9 539.9 549.5 582.7 631.9 737.3 757.1 765.3 765.7 834.6 1,035.2
Independent Hamish Fraser (incumbent) 6.78% 339 395.9 408.5 425.1 442.8 515.6 545.6 554.8 559.1 559.2 632.03  
Conservative Malcolm MacLeod 6.38% 319 331.4 335.4 359.2 371 383.9 394.5 395.8 396.3 396.4    
SNP Ian Renwick (incumbent) 6.20% 310 317.4 320.4 323.4 334.8 351.7 363.5          
Independent Campbell Dickson 4.32% 216 249.7 251.6 257.9 277.3 303.3            
Independent Drew Millar (incumbent) 4.26% 213 241.1 243.4 250.4 265.8              
Independent Moira Scoobie 3.28% 164 197.1 208 222.6                
Labour Peter O'Donnghaile 1.96% 98 104.5                    
Liberal Democrats Ken MacLeod * 1.94% 97 106.6 131.2                  
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,001   Spoilt: 80   Quota: 1,001   Turnout: 5,082 (59.1%)  
  • = Sitting Councillor for Inverness Millburn Ward.

Caol and Mallaig[edit]

  • 2012: 3xIndependent
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: SNP gain one seat from Independent
Caol and Mallaig - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Independent Allan Henderson (incumbent) 28.29% 917        
Independent Ben Thompson †††††††††††††† (incumbent) 23.66% 767 809.4 826.4    
SNP Billy MacLachlan†††† 24.00% 778 793.4 796.6 800.7 838.9
Liberal Democrats Denis Rixson 9.38% 304 324.7 328.04 331.03 402.6
Conservative Elizabeth Saggers 8.17% 265 271.4 275.5 276.9 290.6
Labour Alan Carstairs 5.58% 181 187.4 189.4 191.5  
Independent Liam Simmonds 0.93% 30 34.04      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,242   Spoilt: 52   Quota: 811   Turnout: 3,294 (46.6%)  

Aird and Loch Ness[edit]

  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from Lib Dem
Aird and Loch Ness - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Independent Margaret Davidson (incumbent) 27.77% 1,405          
Conservative George Cruickshank††††††††† 19.73% 998 1,045.3        
SNP Emma Knox 14.21% 719 734.1 734.3 842.07 1,270.6  
Independent Helen Carmichael (incumbent) 12.35% 625 837.02 848.6 947.6 960.7 1,049.4
Liberal Democrats Dr. Jean Davis (incumbent) 10.18% 515 558.6 568.1 654.5 671.2 714.9
SNP Matt Friess 8.08% 409 424.9 425.3 491.8    
Scottish Green Chris Ballance 7.67% 388 411.8 413.5      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,059   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 1,012   Turnout: 5,125 (52.6%)  

Inverness West[edit]

  • 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent
  • 2017: 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
  • 2012-2017 Change: No change
Inverness West - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Liberal Democrats Alex Graham (incumbent) 27.65% 964          
SNP Bill Boyd 20.71% 722 727.8 752.3 782.6 785.5 1,077.3
Independent Graham Ross †††††††††††† (incumbent) 20.63% 719 751.4 808.03 891.4    
Conservative Fergus MacKenzie 11.93% 416 431.6 445.3 489.2 493.7 501.2
SNP Cath MacInnes 8.61% 300 304.9 317.2 345.5 347.8  
Labour Addie Eghtedar 6.74% 235 244.9 261.7      
Independent Allan Duffy (incumbent) 3.73% 130 139.4        
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,486   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 872   Turnout: 3,550 (42.6%)  

Inverness Central[edit]

  • 2012: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLab
  • 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012.
Inverness Central - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Richard Laird (incumbent)††††††† 32.81% 1,122              
Labour Bet McAllister (incumbent) 16.88% 577 615.5 623.5 665.7 768.8 880.8    
Independent Janet Campbell (incumbent) 15.27% 522 546.03 560.9 577.8 640.4 828.8 839.4 1,063.4
Conservative Donald MacKenzie 12.46% 426 430.3 434.3 474.7 498.04 533.7 536.6  
Independent Donnie Kerr (incumbent) 10.53% 360 392.8 409.2 420.6 485.1      
Scottish Green Russell Deacon 6.08% 208 305.09 311.3 346.04        
Liberal Democrats Margot Kerr 4.50% 154 170.7 172.7          
Independent Diane Wilkinson 1.46% 50 58.8            
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,419   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 855   Turnout: 3,483 (39.5%)  

Inverness Ness-side[edit]

  • 2012: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLab
  • 2017: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012.
Inverness Ness-side - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Liberal Democrats Alasdair Christie (incumbent) 42.75% 1,739          
SNP Ron MacWilliam 25.96% 1,056          
Conservative Callum Smith 14.18% 577 748.2 749.2 756 851.6 1,110.9
Labour Fraser Parr (incumbent) 9.27% 377 537.9 546.6 588.2 744.2  
Independent Jean Slater (incumbent) 6.27% 255 427.06 437.3 471.1    
Scottish Socialist Feargus Murray 1.57% 64 99.2 105.5      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,068   Spoilt: 29   Quota: 1,018   Turnout: 4,097 (51.1%)  

Inverness Millburn[edit]

  • 2012: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from Lib Dem
Inverness Millburn - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Labour Jimmy Gray (incumbent) 29.64% 1,064            
SNP Ian Brown (incumbent) 20.56% 738 755.3 770.3 818.9 856.4 864.3 1,352.8
Conservative Isabelle MacKenzie 19.94% 716 749.1 792.1 824.6 993.01    
SNP Jackie Hendry 12.59% 452 462.9 472.2 534.1 573.5 581.5  
Liberal Democrats John West 7.44% 267 298.4 329.8 390.7      
Scottish Green Anne Thomas 5.93% 213 229.1 255.4        
Independent Zosia Fraser 3.90% 140 158.3          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,590   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 898   Turnout: 3,655 (47.7%)  

Culloden and Ardersier[edit]

  • 2012: 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLib Dem
  • 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012.
Culloden and Ardersier - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Independent Roddy Balfour (incumbent) 20.17% 763 790 817 864 900 972.5    
Conservative Raine Cullen 18.11% 685 697 705 731 736 744.9 751.09  
SNP Glynis Campbell-Sinclair (incumbent) 17.69% 669 677 704 724 1,280      
SNP Pauline Munro 16.47% 623 627 655 682        
Liberal Democrats Trish Robertson (incumbent) 15.65% 592 601 633 707 743 800.4 810.9 1,188.7
Labour Matt Wakeling 5.68% 215 220 241          
Scottish Green Donnie MacLeod 3.94% 149 156            
Independent Thomas Lamont 2.27% 86              
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,782   Spoilt: 60   Quota: 946   Turnout: 3,842 (47.1%)  

Nairn and Cawdor[edit]

  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 2xSNP
  • 2017: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
  • 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from SNP.
Nairn and Cawdor- 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Independent Tom Heggie 21.57% 1,144                
Conservative Peter Saggers 15.39% 816 820.8 820.8 833.8 861.4 941.09 945.09 947.9 1,045.7
Independent Laurie Fraser (incumbent) 13.09% 694 716.5 716.5 740.7 841.05 967.3 1,009.09 1,055.9 1,491.3
SNP Liz MacDonald ††††††††††† (incumbent) 12.20% 647 654.9 661.9 666.1 686.9 710.4 1,228.7    
SNP Stephen Fuller (incumbent) 11.05% 586 590.7 598.7 603.8 634.9 657.0      
Independent Michael Green (incumbent) 10.52% 558 571.06 573.06 584.2 658.7 758.8 792.9 824.5  
Liberal Democrats Ritchie Cunningham 6.96% 369 374.9 377.9 421.2 458.3        
Independent Paul McIvor 5.85% 310 322.8 330.06 347.6          
Labour Andrew Mackintosh 2.77% 147 148.9 151.9            
Scottish Socialist Louis McIntosh 0.60% 32 32.5              
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,303   Spoilt: 96   Quota: 1,061   Turnout: 5,399 (52.5%)  

Inverness South[edit]

  • 2012: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
  • 2017: 1SNP; 1Con; 1Lib Dem; 1Independent
  • 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from Lib Dem
Inverness South - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Ken Gowans (incumbent) †† 25.31% 1,287            
Conservative Andrew Jarvie 20.10% 1,022            
Liberal Democrats Carolyn Caddick (incumbent) 15.71% 799 810.5 811.6 833.8 970.5 1,151.2  
Independent Duncan MacPherson 11.47% 583 593.7 594.3 619.6 678.2 971.2 1,029.6
Independent Jim Crawford (incumbent) 10.36% 527 537.5 538.3 564.3 621.8    
Labour Shaun Fraser 7.61% 387 394.9 395.3 401.3      
SNP Michelle Gowans 7.39% 376 592.3 592.4 599.6 646.4 682.2 696.4
Scottish Christian Donald MacLeod Boyd 2.05% 104 105.05 105.3        
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,085   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 1,018   Turnout: 5,133 (45.3%)  

Badenoch and Strathspey[edit]

  • 2012: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xLib Dem
  • 2017: 1xCon; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xGRN
  • 2012-2017 Change: Conservative & Green each gain one seat from SNP & Liberal Democrat
Badenoch and Strathspey - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Conservative John Bruce 23.58% 1,266              
Independent Bill Lobban (incumbent) 22.15% 1,189              
SNP Muriel Cockburn 18.48% 992 993.8 1,005.9 1,014.8 1,040.5 1,089.9    
Scottish Green Pippa Hadley 14.04% 754 763.7 784.1 808.3 820.6 905.7 915.4 1,230.4
Liberal Democrats Gregor Rimell (incumbent) 9.61% 516 571.4 601.5 663.9 689.6 793.7 795.4  
Independent Stewart Dick 6.26% 336 362.8 371.7 401.1 455.7      
UKIP Les Durance 3.15% 169 198.6 202.7 210.9        
Independent Donald MacDonald 2.74% 147 167.8 185.3          
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,369   Spoilt: 43   Quota: 1,074   Turnout: 5,412 (51.0%)  

Fort William and Ardnamurchan[edit]

  • 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLab
  • 2017: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xCon
  • 2012-2017 Change: SNP & Conservative each gain one seat from Independent & Labour
Fort William and Ardnamurchan - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Andrew Baxter †††††††††† (incumbent) 37.24% 1,550            
SNP Blair Allan 22.39% 932            
Conservative Ian Ramon††††††††††††† 12.73% 530 648.9 650.0 713.5 842.3    
SNP Niall McLean 10.50% 437 550.3 630.2 650.9 715.9 716.1 852.2
Labour Sally Semple 8.27% 344 425.9 428.5 488.9 595.9 599.2  
Liberal Democrats Trevor Escott 4.61% 192 250.7 254.6        
Independent Joanne Matheson 4.25% 177 389.3 392.6 454.7      
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,162   Spoilt: 80   Quota: 833   Turnout: 4,242 (48.4%)  

Changes since 2017[edit]

  • † Tain and Easter Ross Liberal Democrat Cllr Jamie Stone was elected MP for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross in June 2017. He resigned his council seat on 20 July 2017. The by-election took place on 28 September 2017.[22] Alisdair Rhind was elected with 48.8% of the first preference vote. He had previously served as councillor for Tain and Easter Ross before losing his seat the previous May.
  • †† Inverness South Ken Gowans resigned from the SNP on 5 September 2017.[23] He rejoined the SNP in 2018.
  • ††† Eilean a' Cheò Cllr Calum MacLeod left the SNP group in November 2017 following allegations of fracas.[24]
  • †††† Caol and Mallaig SNP Cllr Billy MacLachlan died in January 2018. A by-election took place on 5 April 2018. It was won by the Liberal Democrat candidate Denis Rixson, who had stood unsuccessfully for the seat in the 2017 local elections.[25]
  • ††††† Thurso and Northwest Caithness Independent Cllr Donnie Mackay left the independent-led administration in June 2018, in protest to a proposed roll-out of car park charges to more towns and toilet closures. He subsequently joined the Conservative party.
  • †††††† Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Lib Dem Cllr Kate Stephen resigned her seat on 1 October 2018. This was due to an increase in her academic research. A by-election was held on 6 December 2018 which was won by the SNP's Alexander MacInnes.
  • ††††††† Inverness Central SNP Cllr Richard Laird resigned his seat due to medical advice on 5 September 2019.[26] A by-election was held on 14 November 2019 and Emma Roddick held the seat for the SNP.
  • †††††††† Eilean a' Cheò Independent Cllr Ronald MacDonald resigned his Council seat on 19 December 2019 to concentrate on the implementation of the Ritchie Report to improve Health and Social Care Services in Skye.[27] A by-election was held on 12 March 2020 and was won by Independent candidate Calum Munro.[28]
  • ††††††††† Aird and Loch Ness Conservative Cllr George Cruikshank died on 6 April 2020.[29] A by-election was held on 11 March 2021 and was won by Independent candidate David Fraser.
  • †††††††††† Cllr Andrew Baxter (Fort William and Ardnamurchan) was removed from the independent administration in the summer of 2020. He initially continued under the grouping "Real Independent", but has subsequently joined the Conservative group.[30][31]
  • ††††††††††† Three SNP members - Cllrs Maxine Smith & Pauline Munro (Cromarty Firth) and Cllr Liz MacDonald (Nairn and Cawdor) left the party on 17 September 2020 to continue as independents.[32]
  • †††††††††††† By-elections were held on 12 August 2021 for the seats vacated by Cllr Nicola Sinclair (Wick and East Caithness) and Cllr Graham Ross (Inverness West).[33] These were won by Jill Tilt and Colin Aitken respectively, both of the Scottish Liberal Democrats.[34]
  • ††††††††††††† A by-election was held on 2 December 2021 for the seat vacated by the sad death of Cllr Ian Ramon (Fort William and Ardnamurchan). The by-election was won by Sarah Fanet of the SNP.[35]
  • †††††††††††††† Independent Cllr Ben Thompson (Caol and Mallaig) resigned on 12 November 2021. No by-election was called for this vacancy as the next full election of the council is expected within six months of his resignation date.[36]

By-elections since 2017[edit]

Tain and Easter Ross[edit]

Tain and Easter Ross By-election (28 September 2017)[37]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
Independent Alasdair Rhind 49.38% 1,266 1,267 1,290
SNP Stan Peace 23.87% 612 616 634
Liberal Democrats William Sinclair 14.51% 372 376 387
Conservative Eva Short 9.09% 233 236 243
Independent Gerald Holdsworth 2.65% 68 69  
Libertarian Harry Christian 0.51% 13    
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 2,564   Spoilt: 29   Quota: 1,283   Turnout: 2,593 (36.1%)  

Caol and Mallaig[edit]

Caol and Mallaig By-election (5 April 2018)[37]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Liberal Democrats Denis Rixson 31.14% 658 671 706 791 968
SNP Alex MacInnes 27.17% 574 591 615 617 737
Independent Colin 'Woody' Wood 21.49% 454 471 539 580  
Conservative Ian Smith 8.66% 183 188 200    
Independent Catherine MacKinnon 6.91% 146 176      
Independent Ronald Joseph Campbell 4.64% 98        
Electorate: 7,088   Valid: 2,113   Quota: 1,057   Turnout: 2,131 (30.1%)  

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh[edit]

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh By-election (7 December 2018)[37]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Alexander MacInnes 33.07% 1,318 1,320 1,322 1,327 1,354 1,397 1,575 1,798
Conservative Gavin Berkeneger 26.02% 1,037 1,038 1,043 1,061 1,071 1,147 1,186 1,374
Independent Richard Greene 15.61% 622 624 627 677 699 785 905  
Scottish Green Irene Francis Brandt 9.01% 359 359 359 364 411 483    
Liberal Democrats George Scott 8.03% 320 320 322 346 379      
Labour Christopher Birt 4.37% 174 174 175 179        
Independent Jean Davis 3.29% 131 132 133          
UKIP Les Durance 0.40% 16 18            
Libertarian Harry Christian 0.20% 8              
Electorate: 9,900   Valid: 3,985   Spoilt: 39   Quota: 1,993   Turnout: 4,024 (40.6%)  

Inverness Central[edit]

Inverness Central By-election (14 November 2019)[38]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP Emma Roddick 45.15% 1,015 1,033 1,115
Conservative Rachael Hatfield 15.35% 345 349 360
Independent Richie Paxton 12.32% 277 303 338
Liberal Democrats Mary Dormer 10.54% 237 266 325
Scottish Green Russell Deacon 9.79% 220 238  
Labour Ardalan Eghtedar 6.85% 154    
Electorate: 8,877   Valid: 2,248   Spoilt: 28   Quota: 1,125   Turnout: 2,276 (25.6%)  

Eilean a' Cheò[edit]

Eilean a' Cheò (Skye) By-election (12 March 2020)[37]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Independent Calum Munro 28.48% 911 927 1,017 1,117 1,464
SNP Andrew Kiss 27.32% 874 885 889 1,019 1,135
Liberal Democrats Fay Thomson 21.82% 698 698 801 881  
Scottish Green Dawn Kroonstuiver Campbell 11.16% 357 367 379    
Conservative Ruriadh Stewart 9.82% 314 315      
No Label Màrtainn Mac a’ Bhàillidh 1.41% 45        
Electorate: 8,848   Valid: 3,199   Spoilt: 29   Quota: 1,600   Turnout: 3,228 (36.5%)  

Aird and Loch Ness[edit]

Aird and Loch Ness By-election (11 March 2021)[39]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Independent David Fraser 28.32% 997 1,010 1,076 1,194 1,663 2,109
SNP Gordon Shanks 28.24% 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 7.73% 272 297        
Labour Bill Moore 3.78% 133          
Electorate: 10,147   Valid: 3,520   Spoilt: 44   Quota: 1,761   Turnout: 3,564 (35.1%)  

Wick and East Caithness[edit]

Wick and East Caithness By-election (12 August 2021)[40]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Liberal Democrats Jill Tilt 27.25% 657 660 848 986 1,501
Independent Bill Fernie 25.80% 622 627 780 963  
SNP Michael James Cameron 24.60% 593 593 606    
Conservative Daniel Ross 21.78% 523 525      
Libertarian Harry Christian 0.67% 16        
Electorate: 10,040   Valid: 2,411   Spoilt: 28   Quota: 1,206   Turnout: 2,439 (24.3%)  

Inverness West[edit]

Inverness West By-election (12 August 2021)[41]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Kate MacLean 33.69% 718 720 731 816 853 869  
Liberal Democrats Colin Aitken 31.82% 678 678 680 705 799 970 1,246
Conservative Max Bannerman 13.75% 293 295 302 311 344    
Independent Duncan McDonald 10.79% 230 232 239 251    
Scottish Green Ryan MacKintosh 7.46% 159 160 164        
ISP Iain Cullens Forsyth 1.97% 42 42          
Libertarian Calum Mark Liptrot 0.52% 11            
Electorate: 8,485   Valid: 2,131   Spoilt: 18   Quota: 1,066   Turnout: 2,149 (25.3%)  

Fort William and Ardnamurchan[edit]

Fort William and Ardnamurchan By-election (2 December 2021)[42][43][44]
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Sarah Fanet 39.57% 905 915 925 952 968 1182
Conservative Ruraidh Stewart 21.21% 485 488 504 547 651 688
Scottish Green Kate Willis 14.34% 328 330 344 385 442  
Liberal Democrats Roger Liley 10.10% 231 234 248 294    
Independent Andy McKenna 8.48% 194 202 238      
Independent Joanne Matheson 3.85% 88 109        
No Label Mark Drayton 2.45% 56          
Electorate: 9,015   Valid: 2,287   Spoilt: 40   Quota: 1,144   Turnout: 2,327 (25.6%)  

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c "Independent, Lib Dem, Labour coalition to run Highland". BBC News.
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  28. ^ Macaulay, Susy (13 March 2020). "Calum Munro elected to serve Skye and Raasay as Independent councillor". pressandjournal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 13 March 2020.
  29. ^ Beattie, Kieran (6 April 2020). "'Cheerful, generous' Loch Ness stalwart dies at 74". pressandjournal.co.uk. Archived from the original on 6 April 2020.
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