Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
For the second consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 12 seats – one more than in 2017 but seven short of an overall majority. The Conservatives solidified the gains they had made at the previous election and increased their number by one to return 10 councillors and become the second-largest group on the council. The number of independent councillors fell by almost one third to seven while the Liberal Democrats lost one seat to return four councillors. The remaining two seats were won by Labour and the Greens.
New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 34, however these were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the boundaries used at the previous election remained in place.
The incumbent Conservative-Liberal Democrat-independent coalition – known as The Argyll, Lomond and Islands group (TALIG) – retained control of the council with Cllr Robin Currie re-elected as council leader and Maurice Corry elected as Provost.
At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party despite losing two seats, overtaking the number of independents which fell by five. A coalition of independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats retained control of the council after the Conservatives made five gains and the Liberal Democrats increased their number by two.[1]
After the 2017 election, a few changes in the composition of the council happened. Changes in the political affiliation of councillors occurred when Conservative councillor Alastair Redman was suspended over Islamophobia allegations[3] and independent councillor Roddy McCuish joined the Independence for Scotland Party.[4] In the run-up to the election, Conservative councillors Donald Kelly and Jamie McGrigor were deselected by the party but continued on as independents. Cllr McGrigor was subsequently expelled by the party for standing as an independent.[5][6] Three by-elections were held and resulted in an independent hold, a Conservative gain from the Lib Dems and a Conservative hold.[7][8]
Following the passing 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 single- or two-member wards to be created to provide better representation of island communities. New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have increased the number of wards by one to 12 but reduced the number of councillors by two to 34. Two new two-member, island-only wards would have been created to represent Islay, Jura and Colonsay and Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree. As a result, the Kintyre peninsula would have been represented by a single ward instead of multiple wards which cover a mix of mainland and island communities.
The proposals would have made no changes to the boundaries or numbers of councillors in Cowal; Dunoon and Lomond North. The boundaries in Isle of Bute would have remained the same but the number of councillors would have been reduced from three to two. Minimal changes would have been made to the boundaries of Helensburgh Central and Helensburgh and Lomond South but the number of councillors in Helensburgh Central would have been reduced by one from four to three. Oban would have been placed in its own ward with four members and a new two-member Lorn ward including the inhabited island of Lismore would have been created. However, the proposals in Argyll and Bute were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the 11 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 remained in place.[10][11]
Candidates
The total number of candidates increased from 77 in 2017 to 79. The number of independent candidates – 25 – outstripped any individual party but fell by four from the previous election. The SNP and Conservatives both stood 13 candidates; more than any other party. The SNP's total was a reduction of three from the previous election whereas the Conservatives increased their number by two. Both the Liberal Democrats and Labour increased their number of candidates by one from the previous election – standing 11 and eight respectively – while the Greens stood five candidates, two more than five years previous. For the first time, the Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) (two), the Scottish Family Party (one) and the Alba Party (one) fielded candidates in an Argyll and Bute election. Unlike the 2017 election, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) did not field any candidates. [12][13]
Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in the political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat.
Note 1: In 2017, Cllr Kelly was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later deselected by the party.[5] The Conservatives held their seat in South Kintyre at the 2022 election.
Note 2: In 2017, Alastair Redman was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later expelled from the party.[3] He did not retain his seat as an independent candidate at the 2022 election.
Ward results
South Kintyre
The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Donald Kelly gained a seat from the Lib Dems. In 2017, Cllr Kelly was elected as a Conservative candidate, however, he was deselected by the party in the run-up to the 2022 election and chose to stand as an independent.[5]
The SNP and Lib Dems retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their seat to independent candidate John McAlpine. In 2017, independent candidate Alastair Redman was elected as a Conservative candidate before being suspended by the party. He did not retain his seat but was subsequently re-elected following a by-election in September 2022.[3][16]
The SNP and independent candidate Douglas Trevor Philand retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained a seat from independent candidate Donnie MacMillan.
The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP and independent candidate Andrew Kane gained a seat from former independent councillors Roddy McCuish and Mary-Jean Devon. In 2017, Jamie McGrigor was elected as a Conservative candidate, however, he was deselected by the party in the run-up to the 2022 election and chose to stand as an independent.[6] Roddy McCuish was elected as an independent candidate at the 2017 election before joining the Independence for Scotland Party.[4] He stood down prior to the 2022 election.
The SNP, Conservatives and independent candidate Kieron Green retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Greens gained one seat from retiring independent councillor Elaine Robertson.
The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Lib Dems gained a seat from retiring independent councillor Jim Anderson.
The SNP and independent candidate Liz McCabe retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained a seat from independent candidate Jean Murray Moffat.
The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Mark Irvine gained a seat from independent candidate George Freeman.
The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Lib Dems held one of their two seats and Labour gained a seat from the Lib Dems.
The SNP, Conservatives and Lib Dems retained the seats they had won at the previous election. Following a by-election gain from the Lib Dems in 2021, the Conservatives held two of the three seats immediately prior to the election.[7]
Despite losing seats, the incumbent Conservative-Liberal Democrat-independent coalition – known as The Argyll, Lomond and Islands group (TALIG) – retained control of the council and Liberal Democrat councillor Robin Currie was re-elected as council leader while Conservative councillor Gary Mulvaney was elected as deputy leader. Cllr Maurice Corry was elected as Provost and Cllr Liz McCabe was elected as deputy Provost.[37][38]
Following the first meeting of the council, SNP group leader Jim Lynch accused the Liberal Democrats of "betrayal" after it emerged that Cllr Currie had approached the SNP group about coalition talks. However, Cllr Currie denied there had been a betrayal adding it was "not how I see things on the ground" and that "naturally" TALIG would form the administration as the largest group.[39]
In December 2022, South Kintyre councillor Tommy MacPherson resigned from the ruling TALIG coalition citing concerns with the way the group operates.[40] Cllr MacPherson had been elected as a Conservative councillor but sat as an independent following his resignation after being suspended from the Conservative group. In February 2023, the suspension was made permanent. Despite sitting as an independent, Cllr MacPherson remained a member of the Conservative Party.[41]
Kintyre and the Islands by-election
Independent Kintyre and the Islands councillor John McAlpine died on 18 July 2022.[42] A by-election took place on 29 September 2022 and was won by independent candidate Alastair Redman who had previously represented the ward between 2017 and 2022.[16]
Independent South Kintyre councillor Donald Kelly resigned his seat in August 2023 in protest at how the council operated.[45] A by-election took place on 2 November 2023 and was won by his daughter, Jennifer Kelly, who also stood as an independent.[46]
