- Source: 2022 Moray Council election
The 2022 Moray Council election was held on 5 May 2022, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 26 Councillors elected. Each ward elects either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.
Following the election, on 18 May 2022, it was announced that the council would be run by a minority Conservative group, alongside two Independents.
Background
= Previous election
=At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats on the council, forming the largest block, but were 5 seats short of a majority. The Conservatives won the next largest amount of seats, and increased their vote share by 18.6%, gaining 5 seats. Two Independent councillors lost their seats, and so did 2 Labour councillors. Following the result a Conservative-Independent administration was formed, with an Independent councillor being appointed council leader. However, in May 2018, the Conservative-Independent administration collapsed. One month later, the SNP group formed a minority administration, following negotiations with other groups.
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= Electoral system
=The election used the 8 wards created following the fifth statutory review of electoral arrangements conducted by Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 2016, with 26 councillors elected. Each ward elected either three or four councillors, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.
= Composition
=There were two by-elections during the 2017-22 term. One by-election was held in the Elgin City North ward in May 2017, which resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent. The other by-election was held in the Keith and Cullen ward in October 2019, which also resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent. One Conservative councillor left the Conservative group in October 2017, he sat as an Independent for the remainder of the term.
= Retiring Councillors
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= Candidates
=The total number of candidates fell from 45 in 2017 to 42. Unlike in 2017, the Conservatives stood the most candidates, standing 11, an increase of 3, while the SNP stood 4 less candidates compared to 2017 at 9. The number of independent candidates fell sharply, with only 6 independents standing, compared to 17 in 2017. Liberal Democrats also stood 6 candidates, an increase of 3, while Labour stood 5, also an increase of 3. The Greens stood 3, an increase of 1, and the Scottish Family Party and the Sovereignty Party also stood 1 candidate each.
Results
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= Ward summary
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= 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.
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Ward results
The incumbent councillors for each ward as of March 2022 are listed below. Candidates for the election were confirmed on 30 March 2022.
= Speyside Glenlivet
=Incumbent councillors:
Derek Ross, Independent
Walter Wilson, Independent (elected as Conservative)
Louise Laing, Scottish National Party
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= Keith and Cullen
=Incumbent councillors:
Donald Gatt, Scottish Conservatives
Theresa Coull, Scottish National Party
Laura Powell, Scottish Conservatives. Replaced Ron Shepherd (Independent) in November 2019.
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= Buckie
=Incumbent councillors:
Tim Eagle, Scottish Conservatives
Gordon Cowie, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)
Sonya Warren, Scottish National Party
Note: This election was uncontested, as there are 3 candidates and 3 seats available.
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= Fochabers Lhanbryde
=Incumbent councillors:
Marc Macrae, Scottish Conservatives
Shona Morrison, Scottish National Party
David Bremner, Scottish National Party
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= Heldon and Laich
=Incumbent councillors:
James Allan, Scottish Conservatives
Amy Patience, Scottish National Party
John Cowe, Independent
Ryan Edwards, Independent
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= Elgin City North
=Incumbent councillors:
Frank Brown, Scottish Conservatives
Maria McLean, Scottish Conservatives. Replaced Sandy Cooper (Independent) in July 2017.
Vacancy. Paula Coy Scottish National Party was elected in 2017.
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= Elgin City South
=Incumbent councillors:
Ray McLean, Scottish Conservatives
John Divers, Scottish Labour
Graham Leadbitter, Scottish National Party
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= Forres
=Incumbent councillors:
Claire Feaver, Scottish Conservatives
Aaron McLean, Scottish National Party
George Alexander, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)
Lorna Creswell, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)
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Aftermath
Both the SNP and Conservative groups fell short of the required 14 seats for a majority. As such negotiations took place after the election to see who would form the next administration. Council leader before the election Elgin City South SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter proposed the continuation of the previous SNP minority administration but the council instead voted 12 to 8 to approve a minority Conservative administration, co-led by Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan and Forres Conservative councillor Kathleen Robertson.
In July 2022, Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan left the Conservative grouping on the council after being removed as joint group leader in a secret vote.
In August 2022, Heldon and Laich Conservative councillor James Allan left the Conservative grouping on the council, and now sits as a "non-aligned Conservative."
= Buckie by-election
=In August 2022, the sole Liberal Democrat councillor Christopher Price resigned after only 109 days in the job. A by-election was held in the Buckie ward on 3 November 2022, and was won by SNP candidate John Stuart.
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= Elgin City South by-election
=In July 2024, SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter was elected to be the MP for the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency at the 2024 United Kingdom general election and decided to resign as a councillor on 14 August 2024. A by-election was held in the Elgin City South ward on 7 November 2024, and was won by Conservative candidate Elaine Kirby.
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