# 2017 Moray Council election

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, with 26 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.
Following the election, a Conservative-Independent 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 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 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 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.
2012 Moray Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Vote share |
| SNP | 10 | 39.4% |
| Independent | 10 | 28.8% |
| Conservative | 3 | 17.5% |
| Labour | 3 | 9.2% |
Source:

### Composition

There were 5 by-elections in the 2012-17 term. There were 2 by-elections in the Heldon & Laich ward 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.
Composition of Moray Council :
| Party | 2012 election | Dissolution |
| SNP | 10 | 11 |
| Independent | 10 | 3 |
| Conservative | 3 | 10 |
| Labour | 3 | 2 |
Source:

## Results

2017 Moray Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34.6 | 31.6 | 10,518 | 7.8 |
| | Conservative | 8 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 30.8 | 36.1 | 12,010 | 18.6 |
| | Independent | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 30.8 | 24.1 | 8,022 | 4.8 |
| | Labour | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3.8 | 4.3 | 1,438 | 4.9 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 2.6 | 853 | 0.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.2 | 410 | 0.6 |
| Total | Total | 26 | | | | | | 33,296 | |
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
Speyside Glenlivet – 3 Seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Walter Wilson | 35.9 | 1,307 | | | |
| | Independent | Derek Ross | 23.6 | 858 | 1,107 | | |
| | SNP | Louise Laing | 21.3 | 776 | 782 | 821 | 1,458 |
| | SNP | Angus Anderson | 19.2 | 698 | 705 | 727 | |
| Electorate: 7,365 Valid: 3,639 Spoilt: 77 Quota: 910 Turnout: 50.5% ||||||||
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
Keith and Cullen – 3 Seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Donald Gatt | 32.7 | 1,208 | | | |
| | SNP | Theresa Coull | 29.5 | 1,088 | | | |
| | Independent | Ron Shepherd (incumbent) | 18.02 | 665 | 765 | 783 | 1,069 |
| | SNP | Iain Grieve | 10.2 | 375 | 382 | 510 | 570 |
| | Independent | Rob Barsby | 9.6 | 354 | 442 | 447 | |
| Electorate: 8,118 Valid: 3,690 Spoilt: 62 Quota: 923 Turnout: 46.2% ||||||||
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
Buckie – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Tim Eagle | 33.8 | 1,060 | | | |
| | Independent | Gordon Cowie (incumbent) | 21.4 | 673 | 826 | | |
| | SNP | Sonya Warren (incumbent) | 22.8 | 716 | 728 | 734 | 1,369 |
| | SNP | Gordon McDonald (incumbent) | 22.0 | 691 | 702 | 710 | |
| Electorate: 7,962 Valid: 3,140 Spoilt: 47 Quota: 786 Turnout: 40.0% ||||||||
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
Fochabers Lhanbryde – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Marc Macrae | 42.7 | 1,747 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Shona Morrison | 16.7 | 682 | 702 | 708 | 738 | 759 | 794 | 872 |
| | SNP | David Bremner | 17.4 | 711 | 722 | 729 | 752 | 760 | 792 | 862 |
| | Independent | Ian Taylor | 6.7 | 274 | 361 | 374 | 441 | 578 | 701 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Donald Cameron | 5.2 | 211 | 318 | 394 | 445 | 511 | | |
| | Independent | Kenneth Gillespie | 4.1 | 166 | 282 | 294 | 344 | | | |
| | Independent | Sean Morton (incumbent) | 5.3 | 215 | 284 | 289 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Horton | 2.0 | 83 | 142 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 8,089 Valid: 4,089 Spoilt: 71 Quota: 1,023 Turnout: 51.4% |||||||||||
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
Heldon and Laich – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | James Allan | 37.9 | 1,953 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | John Cowe (incumbent) | 15.3 | 789 | 1,045 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Amy Patience | 18.9 | 976 | 996 | 997 | 1,014 | 1,110 | | |
| | Independent | Ryan Edwards | 10.5 | 541 | 662 | 668 | 706.01 | 769 | 788 | 1,170 |
| | Independent | Dennis Slater (incumbent) | 10.2 | 527 | 658 | 663 | 693 | 760 | 778 | |
| | Scottish Green | James Mackessack-Leitch | 4.7 | 240 | 286.8 | 288 | 347 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Mitchell | 2.3 | 116 | 201 | 201 | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,737 Valid: 5,142 Spoilt: 44 Quota: 1,029 Turnout: 48.3% |||||||||||
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
Elgin City North – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Conservative | Frank Brown | 32.9 | 1,181 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Sandy Cooper | 14.9 | 532 | 606 | 767 | 933 | | |
| | SNP | Paula Coy | 17.7 | 634 | 639 | 672 | 714 | 720 | 1,279 |
| | SNP | Patsy Gowans (incumbent) | 15.0 | 537 | 540 | 557 | 630 | 634 | |
| | Labour | Nick Taylor | 11.9 | 429 | 477 | 536 | | | |
| | Independent | Billy Adams | 7.4 | 266 | 339 | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,237 Valid: 3,579 Spoilt: 65 Quota: 895 Turnout: 39.5% ||||||||||
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
Elgin City South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Conservative | Ray McLean | 35.9 | 1,460 | |
| | SNP | Graham Leadbitter (incumbent) | 30.7 | 1,245 | |
| | Labour | John Divers (incumbent) | 24.8 | 1,009 | 1,126 |
| | Independent | Sean Malone | 8.5 | 347 | 531 |
| Electorate: 9,551 Valid: 4,061 Spoilt: 42 Quota: 1,016 Turnout: 43.0% ||||||
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
Forres - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Claire Feaver | 35.4 | 2,094 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Aaron McLean (incumbent) | 23.5 | 1,389 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | George Alexander (incumbent) | 16.6 | 981 | 1,247 | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Fabio Villani | 10.4 | 613 | 671 | 767 | 773 | 778 | 835 | |
| | Independent | Lorna Creswell (incumbent) | 9.4 | 555 | 739 | 779 | 815 | 841 | 1,015 | 1,505 |
| | Independent | Jeff Hamilton | 4.1 | 243 | 335 | 349 | 360 | 381 | | |
| | Independent | Terry Monaghan | 0.6 | 36 | 54 | 60 | 62 | | | |
| Electorate: 12,116 Valid: 5,911 Spoilt: 47 Quota: 1,183 Turnout: 49.2% |||||||||||
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-leaderGraham Leadbitter 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.
Elgin City North by-election (13 July 2017) - 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Conservative | Maria McLean | 40.0 | 923 | 970 | 1,061 |
| | SNP | Patsy Gowans | 38.8 | 895 | 904 | 994 |
| | Labour | Nick Taylor | 15.8 | 365 | 389 | |
| | Independent | Terry Monaghan | 5.4 | 124 | | |
| Electorate: 9,354 Valid: 2,307 Spoilt: 17 Quota: 1153.5 Turnout: 24.8% |||||||
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.
Keith and Cullen by-election (21 November 2019) - 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Conservative | Laura Powell | 41.5 | 1,142 | 1,177 | 1,339 |
| | SNP | Jock McKay | 38.1 | 1,047 | 1,077 | 1,184 |
| | Independent | Rob Barsby | 12.7 | 349 | 430 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ian Aitchison | 7.7 | 212 | | |
| Electorate: 8,191 Valid: 2,778 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 1,376 Turnout: 33.9% |||||||
Source: