2022 East Ayrshire Council election
5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
All 32 seats to East Ayrshire Council
17 seats needed for a majority
Registered97,147
Turnout43.7%
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Douglas Reid Maureen McKay Tom Cook
Party SNP Labour Conservative
Leader's seat Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse Kilmarnock North Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse (stood down)
Last election 14 seats, 38.5% 9 seats, 25.2% 6 seats, 24.2%
Seats before 13 9 5
Seats won 14 10 4
Seat change Steady Increase 1 Decrease 2
Popular vote 15,968 12,786 7,560
Percentage 37.9% 29.5% 17.7%
Swing Decrease 0.6% Increase 4.3% Decrease 6.5%
  Fourth party Fifth party
 
Ind
Leader N/A Sally Cogley
Party Independent Rubbish
Leader's seat N/A Irvine Valley
Last election 2 seats, 8.1% 1 seat, 1.9%
Seats before 4 1
Seats won 3 1
Seat change Increase 1 Steady
Popular vote 4,730 787
Percentage 11.4% 1.9%
Swing Increase 3.3% Steady
Leader before election

Douglas Reid
(SNP)
No overall control

 Leader after election

Douglas Reid
(SNP)
No overall control

Elections to East Ayrshire 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 third consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 14 seats but remained shy of an overall majority. Labour gained back some of the ground they had lost at the previous election and were again returned as the second-largest party with 10 seats. The Conservatives lost one-third of their seats to return four councillors while The Rubbish Party retained their only seat. Three independent candidates were also elected.

The minority SNP administration retained control of the council with incumbent council leader Cllr Douglas Reid re-elected to the post unopposed. Former SNP Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were also reinstated less than a year after being voted out of the roles.

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) again won the most seats and governed with a minority administration. Overall, the SNP lost one seat to hold 14. Labour lost five seats but were still the second largest party with nine councillors and the Conservatives made a net gain of four to hold six seats. Two independents were elected – up one – and The Rubbish Party - standing in its first election - had their first councillor elected.[1][2]

2017 East Ayrshire Council election result
Party Seats Vote share
SNP 14 38.5%
Labour 9 25.2%
Conservatives 6 24.2%
Independent 2 8.1%
Rubbish 1 1.9%

Source: [1][2]

Electoral system

The election used the nine wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 32 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.[3]

Composition

No by-elections were held following the previous election in 2017. The only changes in the political composition of the council came when Councillor Ian Grant was expelled from the Conservative group and became an independent in February 2022 and when Councillor John Bell resigned from the SNP in March 2022.[4][5]

Composition of East Ayrshire Council
Party 2017 result Dissolution
SNP 14 13
Labour 9 9
Conservative 6 5
Rubbish 1 1
Independents 2 4

Retiring councillors

Retiring councillors
Ward Party Retiring councillor
Annick SNP Gordon Jenkins
Kilmarnock North SNP Helen Coffey
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse Conservative Tom Cook
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford SNP Fiona Campbell
John Campbell
Kilmarnock South Labour John Knapp
Irvine Valley Labour George Mair
SNP Elena Whitham
Ballochmyle Labour Neil McGhee
SNP Jim Roberts
Cumnock and New Cumnock Conservative Walter Young
Doon Valley Labour Elaine Dinwoodie

Source: [2][6]

Candidates

The total number of candidates fell from 63 in 2017 to 54. As was the case five years previous, the SNP fielded the highest number of candidates at 17 (one less than in 2017) across the nine wards. Both Labour and the Conservatives also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 11 candidates fielded by Labour were two less than in 2017 whereas the Conservatives maintained a total of nine candidates. Unlike the previous election, the Libertarians did not contest every ward after only one candidate was selected. The Greens only fielded one candidate, down from four in 2017 while The Rubbish Party maintained their number of candidates at one. The Liberal Democrats contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time since 2012 as they fielded two candidates. As was the case in 2017, nine independent candidates stood for election and the Alba Party contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time.[2][6]

Results

2022 East Ayrshire Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 14 1 1 Steady 43.7 37.9 15,767 Decrease 0.6
  Labour 10 1 0 Increase 1 31.2 29.5 12,251 Increase 4.3
  Conservative 4 0 2 Decrease 2 12.5 17.7 7,351 Decrease 6.5
  Independent 3 1 0 Increase 1 9.3 11.4 4,730 Increase 3.3
  Rubbish 1 0 0 Steady 3.1 1.9 787 Steady
  Scottish Green 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.5 228 Decrease 1.1
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.5 227 New
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.4 183 New
  Libertarian 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.1 38 Decrease 0.4
Total 32 41,562

Source: [7]

Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils.[8][9]

Ward summary

Results of the 2022 East Ayrshire Council election by ward
Ward  % Cllrs  % Cllrs  % Cllrs  % Cllrs  % Cllrs Total
Cllrs
SNP Labour Conservative Rubbish Others
Annick 33.1 1 19.1 1 24.5 1 23.2 1 4
Kilmarnock North 47.6 2 27.9 1 13.8 0 10.7 0 3
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse 38.4 2 28.2 1 22.0 1 11.4 0 4
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford 37.2 2 38.5 1 12.1 0 12.2 1 4
Kilmarnock South 53.3 2 31.4 1 12.2 0 3.2 0 3
Irvine Valley 41.6 1 22.6 1 17.3 0 18.5 1 3
Ballochmyle 39.7 2 32.7 1 16.8 1 10.9 0 4
Cumnock and New Cumnock 33.9 1 41.2 2 18.5 1 2.4 0 4
Doon Valley 20.8 1 23.1 1 16.7 0 39.4 1 3
Total 37.9 14 29.5 10 17.7 4 1.9 1 12.9 3 32

Source: [7]

Seats changing hands

Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in 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.

Seats changing hands
Seat 2017 2022
Party Member Party Member
Kilmarnock North Conservative Ian Grant[Note 1] SNP David William Richardson
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford Conservative John Herd Independent Graham Boyd
Cumnock and New Cumnock SNP Jacqui Todd Labour June Kyle
Notes
  1. ^
    Note 1: In 2017, Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later expelled from the party.[4]

Ward results

Annick

The SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and independent candidate Ellen Freel held the seats they won at the previous election.

Annick - 4 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345
Conservative John McFadzean (incumbent) 24.5 1,516        
Labour John McGhee (incumbent) 19.1 1,183 1,270      
SNP Stephen Canning 16.9 1,048 1,052 1,054 1,139 2,086
SNP Wendy Hannah 16.1 998 1,004 1,007 1,063  
Independent Ellen Freel (incumbent) 13.1 812 872 883 1,216 1,274
Independent John Cairns 10.1 627 666 672    
Electorate: 12,530   Valid: 6,184   Spoilt: 80   Quota: 1,237   Turnout: 50.0%  

    Source: [10][11]

    Kilmarnock North

    The SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to the SNP. Independent candidate Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate in 2017 but was later expelled from the party.[4]

    Kilmarnock North - 3 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    123456
    SNP Elaine Cowan 38.2 1,483          
    Labour Maureen McKay (incumbent) 27.9 1,084          
    Conservative Allan MacDonald 13.8 536 542 566 574 713  
    SNP David William Richardson 9.4 364 788 804 855 939 1,035
    Independent Ian Grant (incumbent) 8.1 316 343 366 397    
    Alba Wendy MacDonald 2.6 99 113 119      
    Electorate: 9,748   Valid: 3,882   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 971   Turnout: 40.4%  

      Source: [12][13]

      Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse

      The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

      Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse - 4 seats
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      1234
      Labour Lillian Jones (incumbent) 28.2 1,662      
      Conservative James Adams 22.0 1,297      
      SNP Iain Linton (incumbent) 19.8 1,168 1,219    
      SNP Douglas Reid (incumbent) 18.6 1,093 1,142 1,149 1,182
      Independent Frank McNiff 6.3 369 475 516 517
      Scottish Green Elizabeth Brown 3.9 228 299 308 312
      Alba Guy Njali Bola 1.2 71 81 82 83
      Electorate: 13,347   Valid: 5,888   Spoilt: 70   Quota: 1,178   Turnout: 44.6%  

        Source: [14][15]

        Kilmarnock East and Hurlford

        The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won in the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to independent candidate Graham Boyd.

        Kilmarnock East and Hurlford - 4 seats
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        12345
        Labour Barry Douglas (incumbent) 38.5 2,053        
        SNP Graham Barton 28.2 1,501        
        Conservative Jon Herd (incumbent) 12.1 645 796 798 854  
        Independent Graham Boyd 10.8 574 776 799 879 1,288
        SNP Neal Ingram 9.0 481 616 983 1,000 1,030
        Liberal Democrats Trevor Grant 1.4 74 209 218    
        Electorate: 12,370   Valid: 5,328   Spoilt: 69   Quota: 1,066   Turnout: 43.6%  

          Source: [16][17]

          Kilmarnock South

          The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election

          Kilmarnock South - 3 seats
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          12
          SNP Jim Todd (incumbent) 32.6 990
          Labour Peter Mabon 31.4 954  
          SNP Claire Maitland (incumbent) 20.7 627 828
          Conservative Robin Bawa 12.2 370 374
          Alba Stewart John McLintock 1.9 57 62
          Libertarian Keyrin James Von-Döring 1.3 38 40
          Electorate: 8,186   Valid: 3,036   Spoilt: 67   Quota: 760   Turnout: 37.9  

            Source: [18][19]

            Irvine Valley

            The SNP, Labour and the Rubbish Party retained the seats they won at the previous election

            Irvine Valley - 3 seats
            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
            12345
            SNP Beverley Michele Clark 30.8 1,309        
            Labour Kevin McGregor 22.6 962 974 1,153    
            Rubbish Sally Cogley (incumbent) 18.5 787 801 982 1,017 1,547
            Conservative Susan McFadzean 17.3 737 739 763 782  
            SNP Lee-Anne Margaret To 10.8 461 667      
            Electorate: 9,797   Valid: 4,256   Spoilt: 46   Quota: 1,065   Turnout: 43.9%  

              Source: [20][21]

              Ballochmyle

              The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.

              Ballochmyle - 4 seats
              PartyCandidateFPv%Count
              123456
              SNP Claire Leitch (incumbent) 28.0 1,301          
              Labour Linda Holland 23.4 1,085          
              Conservative Alyson Simmons (incumbent) 16.8 779 781 786 912 914 1,112
              SNP William Lennox 11.7 542 863 869 981    
              Independent David Shaw 10.9 507 522 532      
              Labour Stephen McCarron 9.3 432 444 565 691 706  
              Electorate: 11,193   Valid: 4,646   Spoilt: 100   Quota: 930   Turnout: 42.4%  

                Source: [22][23]

                Cumnock and New Cumnock

                Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election while the SNP retained one seat and lost one seat to Labour.

                Cumnock and New Cumnock - 4 seats
                PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                12345
                Labour Billy Crawford (incumbent) 30.1 1,349        
                SNP Jim McMahon (incumbent) 20.0 897        
                Conservative Neill Watts 18.5 827 847 858 858 915
                SNP Jacqui Todd (incumbent) 15.7 701 714 723 724 752
                Labour June Kyle 13.2 593 961      
                Liberal Democrats Fraser Wright 2.4 109 114 127 127  
                Electorate: 11,044   Valid: 4,476   Spoilt: 116   Quota: 896   Turnout: 41.6%  

                  Source: [24][25]

                  Doon Valley

                  Independent candidate Drew Filson, Labour and the SNP held the seats they won at the previous election. Independent candidate John Bell was elected as an SNP candidate in 2017 but he later resigned from the party.[5]

                  Doon Valley - 3 seats
                  PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                  123456
                  Independent Drew Filson (incumbent) 27.9 1,077          
                  Labour Elaine Stewart 23.1 894 929 974      
                  SNP Jennifer Hogg 20.8 803 817 826 827 927 1,074
                  Conservative Samantha Hainey 16.7 644 651 681 682 780  
                  Independent John Bell (incumbent) 8.0 311 333 373 375    
                  Independent Murray Hendrie 3.5 137 146        
                  Electorate: 8,932   Valid: 3,866   Spoilt: 59   Quota: 967   Turnout: 43.9%  

                    Source: [26][27]

                    Aftermath

                    The SNP, who have run East Ayrshire Council since forming an administration as a result of the 2007 election, retained control of the council. It was reported that the party had been worried they would lose control of the council – as was the case in other councils across Scotland where unionist parties had voted together to prevent nationalist leadership – but the Labour and Conservative groups didn't oppose Cllr Douglas Reid's re-election as council leader. Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were reinstated to their roles despite Labour and the Conservatives putting forward candidates for the roles however, the two parties did not support each other. The pair had been voted out in June 2021 when the opposition parties had voted together to have the leadership roles of the council shared more evenly across the council reflecting the fact the SNP administration was a minority administration.[28][29][30]

                    Former Conservative group leader Tom Cook stood down at the 2022 election. He was replaced in the role by Annick councillor John McFadzean.[31]

                    References

                    1. 1 2 "East Ayrshire Council". BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2022.
                    2. 1 2 3 4 Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2017 - East Ayrshire". Retrieved 21 October 2022.
                    3. ↑ "Notice of Election" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
                    4. 1 2 3 Dunn, Ross (11 February 2022). "Conservative party infighting sees councillor ousted from East Ayrshire group". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
                    5. 1 2 Behan, Paul (16 March 2022). "Ayrshire councillor dramatically quits SNP after party's 'drift to the right' at national level". Daily Record. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
                    6. 1 2 Paterson, Colin (30 March 2022). "East Ayrshire Council elections 2022: Every candidate standing as campaign gets underway". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    7. 1 2 Faulds, Allan. "East Ayrshire Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
                    8. ↑ Faulds, Allan. "The Local STV Voting System Explained". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
                    9. ↑ "Single Transferable Vote". Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
                    10. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 1 Annick" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    11. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 1 Annick" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    12. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 2 Kilmarnock North" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    13. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 2 Kilmarnock North" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    14. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    15. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 3 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    16. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 4 Kilmarnock East and Hurlford" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    17. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 4 Kilmarnock East and Hurlford" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    18. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 5 Kilmarnock South" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    19. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 5 Kilmarnock South" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    20. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 6 Irvine Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    21. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 6 Irvine Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    22. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 7 Ballochmyle" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    23. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 7 Ballochmyle" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    24. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 8 Cumnock and New Cumnock" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    25. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 8 Cumnock and New Cumnock" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    26. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 9 Doon Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    27. ↑ "Detailed Results Ward 9 Doon Valley" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    28. ↑ Dyson, Kevin (23 May 2022). "Worried SNP councillors saw 15-year rule of East Ayrshire come under threat amid Labour power grab speculation". Daily Record. Retrieved 24 May 2022.
                    29. ↑ Paterson, Colin (6 May 2022). "SNP triumph in East Ayrshire but council remains hung as group leaders begin serious talks". Daily Record. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
                    30. ↑ Pengilly, Calam (24 June 2021). "East Ayrshire Council: SNP Provost voted out by opposition". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
                    31. ↑ Pengilly, Calam; Dyson, Kevin (19 May 2022). "East Ayrshire Council: SNP in control following election". Cumnock Chronicle. Retrieved 19 October 2022.
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