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  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

2022 Angus Council Election
David Fairweather
(Independent)
No overall control

Leader after election

Beth Whiteside
(SNP)
No overall control

Elections to Angus Council took place on 5 May 2022, 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 11th consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 13 seats – two shy of an overall majority. The Conservatives lost much of the ground they had made up in the previous election as their vote share fell by 7.3%, losing one seat to return seven councillors. The number of independents fell by two to seven, and the remaining seat was won by Labour. The Liberal Democrats lost both their seats.

The outgoing Conservative–Liberal Democrat–independent coalition was replaced by an SNP–independent administration with Cllr Beth Whiteside elected as council leader and Cllr Brian Boyd elected as Provost.

Background

Previous election

Main article: 2017 Angus Council election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) remained the largest party – tied with the number of independents – despite losing 40 per cent of their seats. As a result, they lost control of the council to a coalition of independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The Conservatives came third despite recording the largest share of first preference votes as they gained four seats to double their number of councillors. The Liberal Democrats also gained one seat to double their representation, while Labour – who received a larger vote share than the Liberal Democrats – lost their only seat.

2017 Angus Council election result
Party Seats Vote share
SNP 9 31.2%
Independent 9 25.0%
Conservatives 8 33.9%
Liberal Democrats 2 4.6%

Source:

Electoral system

The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 28 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.

Composition

No by-elections were held following the previous election in 2017. The only change in the political composition of the council came when Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim councillor Richard Moore resigned from the Liberal Democrats and sat as an independent after he was found to have inappropriately touched several women.

Angus Council composition
Party 2017 result Dissolution
SNP 9 9
Independent 9 10
Conservative 8 8
Liberal Democrats 2 1

Retiring councillors

Retiring councillors
Ward Party Retiring councillor
Kirriemuir and Dean Conservative Angus Macmillan-Douglas
Brechin and Edzell Independent Bob Myles
Forfar and District Conservative Braden Davy
Monifeith and Sidlaw SNP Shelia Harris
Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim SNP Alex King
Conservative David Lumgair
Independent Richard Moore
Montrose and District Conservative Ron Sturrock

Source:

Candidates

The total number of candidates increased from 53 in 2017 to 56. As with the previous election, the SNP fielded the most candidates at 14 – one fewer than in 2017. After their success in the 2017 election, the Conservatives fielded a total of 11 candidates – two more than the previous election – while the number of independent candidates fell from 14 to 11. The Liberal Democrats maintained a total of eight candidates and Labour a total of seven as they both had in 2017. For the first time, the Alba Party (three) fielded candidates in Angus.

Results

2022 Angus Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 13 4 0 Increase 4 46.43 38.3 16,025 Increase 7.1
  Conservative 7 0 1 Decrease 1 25.00 26.6 11,142 Decrease 7.3
  Independent 7 0 2 Decrease 2 25.00 19.0 7,932 Decrease 6.0
  Labour 1 1 0 Increase 1 3.57 6.9 2,870 Increase 1.5
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 2 Decrease 2 0.00 5.1 2,133 Increase 0.5
  Scottish Green 0 0 0 Steady 0.00 3.4 1,436 New
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady 0.00 0.7 276 New
Total 28 41,814

Source:

Ward summary

2022 Angus Council election by ward
Ward % Cllrs % Cllrs % Cllrs % Cllrs % Cllrs Total
Cllrs
SNP Con Ind Lab Others
Kirriemuir and Dean 42.0 2 38.4 1 6.7 0 12.9 0 3
Brechin and Edzell 34.1 1 32.3 1 20.4 1 7.2 0 5.9 0 3
Forfar and District 38.4 2 21.4 1 28.9 1 5.5 0 5.9 0 4
Monifieth and Sidlaw 39.7 2 30.7 1 13.5 1 16.1 0 4
Carnoustie and District 35.9 1 17.3 0 36.8 2 10.0 0 3
Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim 36.2 2 31.4 1 17.0 1 6.5 0 9.0 0 4
Arbroath East and Lunan 41.5 1 17.7 1 31.0 1 7.0 0 2.8 0 3
Montrose and District 39.3 2 22.3 1 25.6 1 6.5 0 7.6 0 4
Total 38.3 13 26.6 7 19.0 7 6.9 1 9.2 0 28

Source:

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
Kirriemuir and Dean Conservative Angus Macmillan-Douglas SNP George Meechan
Forfar and District Independent Colin Brown SNP Linda Clark
Monifieth and Sidlaw Liberal Democrats Ben Lawrie Labour Heather Doran
Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim Liberal Democrats Richard Moore SNP Martin Shephard
Montrose and District Independent Mark Salmond SNP Kenny Braes

Source:

Notes
  1. ^
    Note 1: Cllr Braes was councillor for Brechin and Edzell from 2017 to 2022.

Ward results

Kirriemuir and Dean

The SNP retained the seat they had won at the previous election and gained one from the Conservatives while the Conservatives retained one of their two seats.

Kirriemuir and Dean – 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Julie Bell (incumbent) 29.3 1,321          
Conservative Ronnie Proctor (incumbent) 21.3 962 965 1,007 1,072 1,126 1,856
Conservative Euan Walker-Monroe 17.1 772 774 801 833 864  
SNP George Meechan 12.7 574 728 740 792 990 1,007
Scottish Green Ian Whyte 7.8 353 369 417 523    
Labour Rachel Grieve 6.7 303 310 384      
Liberal Democrats Sandra O'Shea 5.1 230 233        
Electorate: 8,907   Valid: 4,515   Spoilt: 81   Quota: 1,129   Turnout: 51.6%  

Source:

Brechin and Edzell

The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Jill Scott gained a seat from retiring independent councillor Bob Myles.

Brechin and Edzell – 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP Chris Beattie 34.1 1,341    
Conservative Gavin Nicol (incumbent) 32.3 1,271    
Independent Jill Scott 20.4 804 914 1,020
Labour Dawn Barrowman 7.2 283 356 390
Liberal Democrats Alison Andrews 6.0 234 293 363
Electorate: 8,877   Valid: 3,933   Spoilt: 54   Quota: 984   Turnout: 44.9%  

Source:

Forfar and District

The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP gained one seat from independent candidate Colin Brown.

Forfar and District – 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Linda Clark 23.4 1,270              
Conservative Ross Greig 21.4 1,158              
Independent Ian McLaren (incumbent) 16.0 869 872 893 925 959 961 1,082 1,709
SNP Lynne Devine (incumbent) 14.9 810 973 976 984 1,098      
Independent Colin Brown (incumbent) 12.9 698 702 716 727 754 756 833  
Labour Ed McAdam 5.5 298 300 309 334 366 368    
Scottish Green Marley Hunter 4.2 228 235 237 249        
Liberal Democrats Samuel Struth 1.7 90 91 99          
Electorate: 12,325   Valid: 5,421   Spoilt: 107   Quota: 1,085   Turnout: 44.9%  

Source:

Monifieth and Sidlaw

The SNP (2) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election while Labour gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats.

Monifieth and Sidlaw – 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Conservative Craig Fotheringham (incumbent) 23.2 1,670              
SNP Lloyd Melville 21.7 1,562              
SNP Beth Whiteside (incumbent) 18.0 1,294 1,297 1,401 1,427 1,557      
Labour Heather Doran 13.4 968 980 984 988 1,033 1,060 1,199 1,791
Liberal Democrats Ben Lawrie (incumbent) 11.2 804 825 829 835 907 930 1,150  
Conservative Calum Nicol 7.5 542 724 724 730 743 745    
Scottish Green James Whitehead 4.0 287 288 292 300        
Alba Blake Sharp 0.9 67 67 68          
Electorate: 14,214   Valid: 7,194   Spoilt: 132   Quota: 1,439   Turnout: 51.5%  

Source:

Carnoustie and District

The SNP and independent candidates David Cheape and Brian Boyd retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Carnoustie and District – 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
SNP Mark McDonald (incumbent) 35.9 1,939          
Independent David Cheape (incumbent) 19.1 1,034 1,108 1,148 1,212 1,326 1,684
Independent Brian Boyd (incumbent) 17.7 956 1,033 1,060 1,097 1,187 1,449
Conservative Robert Galloway 17.3 933 944 949 997 1,028  
Liberal Democrats Matthias Glenday 4.5 242 272 286      
Scottish Green Robbie Kelly 3.2 174 359 429 504    
Alba Laura Tierney 2.3 123 202        
Electorate: 11,206   Valid: 5,401   Spoilt: 70   Quota: 1,351   Turnout: 48.8%  

Source:

Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim

The SNP, Conservatives and independent candidate David Fairweather retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP gained a seat from the Liberal Democrats.

Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim – 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
Conservative Louise Nicol 25.6 1,663                  
SNP Serena Cowdy 22.1 1,440                  
SNP Martin Shephard 14.0 913 915 1,027 1,058 1,136 1,161 1,236 1,337    
Independent Ian Wren 8.9 578 585 587 599 617 665 749      
Independent David Fairweather (incumbent) 8.1 524 538 541 556 589 635 752 1,013 1,021 1,320
Labour Pamela Ruddy 6.5 423 433 434 438 464 560        
Conservative Juliet Vivers 5.8 376 671 671 674 683 729 807 895 896  
Liberal Democrats Rod Falconer 4.4 286 297 299 302 338          
Scottish Green Anne Campbell 3.3 214 216 227 241            
Alba Lisa Keogh 1.3 86 86 89              
Electorate: 14,052   Valid: 6,503   Spoilt: 98   Quota: 1,301   Turnout: 47.0%  

Source:

Arbroath East and Lunan

The SNP, Conservatives and independent candidate Lois Speed retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Arbroath East and Lunan – 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6
Independent Lois Speed (incumbent) 31.0 1,177          
SNP Brenda Durno (incumbent) 28.6 1,085          
Conservative Derek Wann (incumbent) 17.7 671 717 718 744 844 1,054
SNP Graham Smith 13.0 492 548 671 688 753  
Labour Luke Andrew Stronach 7.0 265 303 306 371    
Liberal Democrats Jane Atkins 2.8 108 139 142      
Electorate: 10,486   Valid: 3,798   Spoilt: 76   Quota: 950   Turnout: 36.9%  

Source:

Montrose and District

The SNP, Conservatives and independent candidate Tommy Stewart retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP gained a seat from independent candidate Mark Salmond.

Montrose and District – 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Conservative Iain Gall 22.3 1,124                
SNP Kenny Braes 21.6 1,090                
SNP Bill Duff (incumbent) 17.7 894 896 966 972 976 1,059      
Independent Tommy Stewart (incumbent) 14.5 732 749 750 763 784 808 815 903 1,377
Independent Mark Salmond (incumbent) 9.9 499 532 534 554 587 612 620 729  
Labour John Ruddy 6.5 330 341 342 344 392 426 433    
Scottish Green Jamie Adams 3.6 180 183 185 192 209        
Liberal Democrats Angela Noble 2.7 139 154 155 163          
Independent James Boag 1.2 61 66 66            
Electorate: 12,016   Valid: 5,049   Spoilt: 84   Quota: 1,010   Turnout: 42.7%  

Source:

Aftermath

Following the election, the outgoing Conservative–Liberal Democrat–independent administration was replaced after the SNP group formed a coalition with independent councillors Brian Boyd and David Cheape. At the first meeting of the new council on 24 May 2022, SNP councillor Beth Whiteside was elected as leader of the council – the first woman to hold the role – replacing independent councillor David Fairweather. Cllr Boyd was elected as Provost – the first openly gay man to hold the role – and Cllr Linda Clark was elected deputy Provost. Provost Boyd said the new council should seek to end the "petty politics that have blighted Angus Council in its entirety".

In July 2024, Cllr Boyd resigned as Provost after behaviour which he described as falling "below personal standards". Cllr Boyd was called "an absolute disgrace" and "a bully" after interrupting Cllr Lois Speed and making her cry.

Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim by-election

In October 2023, former council leader and Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim councillor David Fairweather announced his intention to retire from the council. He formally stood down in February 2024 and a by-election was held on 25 April 2024. The seat was won by the Conservative candidate, Jack Cruickshanks.

Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim by-election (25 April 2024) – 1 seat
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Conservative James Cruickshanks 41.9 1,682 1,691 1,759 1,997 2,450
SNP Kathleen Wolf 29.3 1,175 1,237 1,279 1,467  
Labour Mark Hilton 16.0 644 676 833    
Liberal Democrats Sandra O'Shea 8.3 333 375      
Scottish Green Mark David Findlay 4.4 176        
Electorate: 13,810   Valid: 4,010   Spoilt: 45   Quota: 2,006   Turnout: 29.4%  

Source:

Notes

  1. ^ Sitting councillor for Brechin and Edzell.

References

  1. ^ "Angus Council". BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  2. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project – 2017 – Angus". Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. ^ "Notice of election" (PDF). Angus Council. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  4. ^ Brady, Jon (14 May 2021). "Disgraced councillor rejoins administration despite inappropriately touching four women". The Scotsman. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
  5. ^ Faulds, Allan. "Angus Council 2022". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  6. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 1 Kirriemuir and Dean" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  7. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 1 Kirriemuir and Dean" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  8. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 2 Brechin and Edzell" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 12 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 2 Brechin and Edzell" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  10. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 3 Forfar and District" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  11. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 3 Forfar and District" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  12. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 4 Monifieth and Sidlaw" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  13. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 4 Monifieth and Sidlaw" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  14. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 5 Carnoustie and District" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  15. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 5 Carnoustie and District" (PDF). Angus Council. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  16. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 6 Abroath West, Letham and Friockheim" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  17. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 6 Arbroath West, Letham and Friockheim" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  18. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 7 Abroath East and Lunan" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  19. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 7 Abroath East and Lunan" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 14 July 2022.
  20. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 8 Montrose and District" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  21. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 8 Montrose and District" (PDF). Angus Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
  22. ^ Duffy, Judith (11 May 2022). "SNP aim to bring 'ambition' to Angus Council after Tory 'chaos'". The National. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  23. ^ Brown, Graham (26 May 2022). "'Let's end the petty politics that have blighted Angus': New Provost's plea as council meets for first time". The Courier. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  24. ^ Fulton, Matthew (9 July 2024). "Provost resigns after 'bullying' councillor to tears at meeting". STV News. Retrieved 12 July 2024.
  25. ^ Brown, Graham (24 October 2023). "Former Angus Council leader David Fairweather to retire from local government". The Courier. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  26. ^ "Councillor David Fairweather resigns". Angus Council. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
  27. ^ Robertson, Adam (26 April 2024). "Angus election results: Scottish Tories pick up new seat". The National. Retrieved 27 April 2024.
  28. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Ward 6 - Arbroath West Letham and Friockheim" (PDF). Angus Council. 25 April 2024. Retrieved 29 April 2024.
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