2017 Moray Council Election
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The 2017 Moray Council election was held on Thursday 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. It was the third successive Local Council election to run under the STV Electoral System. The election used the eight wards created under the
Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, amongst other things, for the election of councillors to the local government in Scotland, local authorities in Scotland by the single transfera ...
, with 26 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of
proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...
. Following the election, a
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
-
Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in Pennsylvania, United States * Independentes (English: Independents), a Portuguese artist ...
administration was formed. Independent councillor George Alexander was appointed Leader of the council, while Conservative councillor James Allan was appointed Convenor of the council. In May 2018, all but one of the Conservative councillors left the administration, leaving the independents and Convenor James Allan in a minority administration. Following negotiations with other groups, the SNP formed a minority administration in June 2018, with
Graham Leadbitter Graham Leadbitter is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey since 2024. Early life and career Leadbitter was educated at Biggar High School, and studied comput ...
taking on the role of Council Leader and Shona Morrison being appointed Convenor, the first women to take on the role in Moray Council's history.


Background


Previous election

At the previous election in 2012, the
Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...
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 Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...
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. Source:


Composition

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. Source:


Results

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:


Ward results


Speyside Glenlivet

*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 Source:


Keith and Cullen

*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 Source:


Buckie

*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 Source:


Fochabers Lhanbryde

*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 Source:


Heldon & Laich

*2012: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative *2017: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative *2012-2017: No change Source:


Elgin City North

*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 Source:


Elgin City South

*2012: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Labour *2017: 1 X SNP, 1 X Conservative & 1 X Labour *2012-2017: No change Source:


Forres

*2012: 3 X Independent & 1 X SNP *2017: 2 X Independent, 1 X SNP & 1 X Conservative *2012-2017: Conservative gain from Independent Source:


Aftermath

As no single party was able to form an administration on its own, a coalition administration between the Conservatives and the Independent group was formed, which was a continuation of the coalition administration since 2007. An independent councillor was appointed council leader and a Conservative councillor was appointed Convenor. However, in May 2018, the Conservative-Independent administration collapsed. After negotiations with other groups, the SNP formed a minority administration in June 2018, with SNP co-leader
Graham Leadbitter Graham Leadbitter is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey since 2024. Early life and career Leadbitter was educated at Biggar High School, and studied comput ...
taking on the role of Council Leader and SNP co-leader Shona Morrison being appointed Convenor. 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.


Elgin City North by-election

On 10 May 2017, independent councillor Sandy Cooper resigned his seat less than a week after being elected in the 2017 elections. A by-election took place in the Elgin City North ward on 13 July 2017. The seat was won by Conservative candidate Maria Mclean. Source:


Keith and Cullen by-election

On 24 October 2019, independent councillor Ron Shepherd retired due to ill-health. 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. Source:


References

{{2017 United Kingdom local elections Moray Council elections
Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...
21st century in Moray