# 2012 Moray Council election

The 2012 Moray Council election was held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other 31 local authorities in Scotland. 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.
The election saw the Scottish National Party (SNP) increase their representation by 1 seat, equalling the seat numbers of the independents who lost 2 seats, while becoming the largest party on the council in terms of vote share. The Conservatives retained their 3 seats while Labour gained an additional seat.
Following the election, a coalition was formed between the independents and the Conservatives which was a continuance of the arrangement from 2007 to 2012.

## Background
### Previous election

The previous election in 2007 were the first in Moray to use the STV electoral system. The results in 2007 saw the traditionally independent controlled council become a independent-Conservative controlled council. The independent group lost 4 seats, as the SNP gained 6, and the Conservatives gained 2. Labour lost 3, and the Liberal Democrats lost any representation on the council.
2007 Moray Council election results :
| Party | Seats | Vote share |
| Independent | 12 | 36.9% |
| SNP | 9 | 35.2% |
| Conservative | 3 | 15.8% |
| Labour | 2 | 8.7% |
Source:

### Composition

There were 2 by-elections in the 2007-12 term. One by-election was in the Elgin City South ward, which resulted in an SNP gain from independent. The other by-election was held in the Forres ward, which resulted in an independent gain from Conservative.
Composition of Moray Council :
| Party | 2007 election | Dissolution |
| Independent | 12 | 12 |
| SNP | 9 | 10 |
| Conservative | 3 | 2 |
| Labour | 3 | 3 |
Source:

## Results

2012 Moray Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 38.5 | 39.5 | 10,124 | 4.2 |
| | Independent | 10 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 38.5 | 28.8 | 7,386 | 8.1 |
| | Conservative | 3 | 1 | 1 | | 11.5 | 17.5 | 4,501 | 1.7 |
| | Labour | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 11.5 | 9.2 | 2,351 | 0.5 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 2.8 | 719 | New |
| | UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.3 | 340 | 1.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.7 | 167 | 1.1 |
| | Scottish Senior Citizens | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.3 | 78 | 1.0 |
| Total | Total | 26 | | | | | | 25,666 | |
Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2007. 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

* 2007: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent
* 2012: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Speyside Glenlivet – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Independent | Fiona Murdoch (incumbent) | 27.59% | 771 | | |
| | SNP | Pearl Paul (incumbent) | 27.17% | 759 | | |
| | SNP | Mike McConnachie (incumbent) | 22.87% | 639 | 656.6 | 705.6 |
| | Conservative | David Gambles | 13.46% | 376 | 393.2 | 395 |
| | UKIP | Matthew Desmond | 5.73% | 160 | 168 | 170.1 |
| | UKIP | Don Gatt | 3.19% | 89 | 96.1 | 97.9 |
| Electorate: 7,059 Valid: 2,794 Spoilt: 40 Quota: 699 Turnout: 2,834 (39.58%) |||||||

### Keith and Cullen

* 2007: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Keith and Cullen – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Gary Coull (incumbent) | 42.45% | 1,319 | | | | |
| | Independent | Ron Shepherd (incumbent) | 22.59% | 702 | 750.5 | 866.7 | | |
| | Independent | Stewart Cree (incumbent) | 15.25% | 474 | 591.5 | 706.1 | 752.5 | 964.8 |
| | Conservative | Valery Dickson | 10.04% | 312 | 336.2 | | | |
| | SNP | Hazel Thain | 9.66% | 300 | 615.2 | 633.5 | 650.6 | |
| Electorate: 7,810 Valid: 3,107 Spoilt: 33 Quota: 777 Turnout: 3,140 (39.78%) |||||||||

### Buckie

* 2007: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Buckie – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | SNP | Gordon McDonald (incumbent) | 38.37% | 967 | | | |
| | Independent | Anne McKay (incumbent) †† | 25.71% | 648 | | | |
| | Independent | Joe Mackay (incumbent) †††† | 22.10% | 557 | 596.9 | 607.2 | 728.6 |
| | Conservative | Margaret Gambles | 7.1% | 179 | 183.2 | 184.9 | |
| | SNP | Linda Scobie McDonald | 6.71% | 169 | 449.1 | 451.7 | 457.5 |
| Electorate: 7,336 Valid: 2,520 Spoilt: 39 Quota: 631 Turnout: 2,559 (34.35%) ||||||||

### Fochabers Lhanbryde

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xIndependent
* 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Independent
Fochabers Lhanbryde – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Douglas Ross (incumbent) | 39.5% | 1,318 | | | |
| | SNP | Margo Howe | 21.82% | 728 | 768.7 | 810.2 | 1,335 |
| | SNP | Anita McDonald (incumbent) | 18.34% | 612 | 676.1 | 708.2 | |
| | Labour | Sean Morton | 15.34% | 512 | 583.5 | 714.7 | 793.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Peter Horton | 5.0% | 167 | 304.1 | | |
| Electorate: 7,717 Valid: 3,337 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 835 Turnout: 3,365 (43.24%) ||||||||

### Heldon and Laich

* 2007: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Heldon and Laich – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Carolle Ralph† | 20.0% | 797 | 807 | | | | |
| | Independent | Eric McGillivray (incumbent) | 18.44% | 735 | 828 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Allan Wright (incumbent) | 17.26% | 688 | 699 | 703.4 | 703.5 | 763.7 | 835.8 |
| | SNP | David Stewart (incumbent) | 17.01% | 678 | 687 | 692.1 | 699.4 | 740.9 | |
| | Independent | Chris Tuke | 14.65% | 584 | 659 | 670 | 670.4 | 764.1 | 921.7 |
| | Scottish Green | James Mackessack-Leitch | 6.57% | 262 | 279 | 281.3 | 281.7 | | |
| | Independent | John Gordon | 6.05% | 241 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,287 Valid: 3,985 Spoilt: 56 Quota: 798 Turnout: 4,041 (38.74%) ||||||||||

### Elgin City North

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2012: 2xSNP; 1xLab
* 2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from Independent
Elgin City North – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Barry Jarvis (incumbent) | 29.85% | 766 | | | | |
| | SNP | Mike Shand (incumbent) | 23.23% | 596 | 612.5 | 661.7 | | |
| | SNP | Patsy Gowans | 20.07% | 515 | 526.9 | 550.4 | 566.8 | 688.3 |
| | Conservative | Frank Brown | 17.46% | 448 | 466.9 | 565.8 | 566.3 | |
| | Independent | Darren Margach | 9.39% | 241 | 274.2 | | | |
| Electorate: 8,386 Valid: 2,566 Spoilt: 31 Quota: 642 Turnout: 2,597 (30.6%) |||||||||

### Elgin City South

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2012: 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: Con gain from Independent
Elgin City South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | John Divers (incumbent) | 37.57% | 1,073 | |
| | Conservative | James Allan | 25.0% | 714 | 810.1 |
| | SNP | Graham Leadbitter (incumbent) | 23.63% | 675 | 771.1 |
| | SNP | John Sharp (incumbent) | 13.8% | 394 | 434 |
| Electorate: 8,356 Valid: 2,856 Spoilt: 40 Quota: 715 Turnout: 2,896 (34.18%) ||||||

### Forres

* 2007: 2xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2012: 3xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con
Forres – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | Independent | George Alexander | 25.19% | 1,134 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Lorna Creswell (incumbent) | 12.77% | 575 | 650.4 | 675.5 | 690.1 | 814.9 | 866.5 | 870.6 | 987.2 | | |
| | SNP | Aaron McLean | 12.15% | 547 | 559.1 | 568.5 | 574.7 | 588.4 | 924.1 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Paul McBain | 10.35% | 466 | 483.5 | 486.7 | 507.1 | 529.4 | 540.2 | 541 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Fabio Villani | 10.15% | 457 | 474.7 | 488.1 | 492.1 | 524.2 | 548.6 | 551.9 | 614.2 | 630.7 | |
| | SNP | Irene Ogilvie (incumbent) | 9.53% | 429 | 440.3 | 443.7 | 446.9 | 478.2 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Anne Audrey Skene | 9.11% | 410 | 441.2 | 450.8 | 468.7 | 549.9 | 569.3 | 571.7 | 731.6 | 764.2 | 1,072.5 |
| | Independent | Jeff Hamilton (incumbent) | 6.98% | 314 | 343.8 | 349.8 | 356.2 | | | | | | |
| | UKIP | Ian Meiklejohn | 2.02% | 91 | 96.1 | 98.5 | | | | | | | |
| | Scottish Senior Citizens | Andy Anderson | 1.73% | 78 | 85.4 | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,999 Valid: 4,501 Spoilt: 50 Quota: 901 Turnout: 4,551 (40.92%) ||||||||||||||

## Aftermath

As no single political group on the council won enough seats for a majority, the independent group and the Conservative group continued their coalition administration which had been in place since the 2007 election.

### 2013 Heldon and Laich by-election

SNP councillor Carolle Ralph resigned her seat on 7 December 2012. The by-election was held in the Heldon and Laich ward on 7 March 2013 and was won by independent candidate John Cowe.
Heldon and Laich by-election (7 March 2013) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Independent | John Cowe | 31.4 | 972 | 1,020 | 1,058 | 1,273 | 1,507 |
| | SNP | Stuart Crowther | 26.9 | 833 | 844 | 891 | 960 | 1,005 |
| | Conservative | Pete Bloomfield | 15.3 | 473 | 490 | 516 | 558 | |
| | Independent | Nick Traynor | 13.5 | 418 | 459 | 496 | | |
| | Scottish Green | James Edward Mackessack-Leitch | 7.4 | 228 | 242 | | | |
| | Independent | Jeff Hamilton | 5.7 | 175 | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,579 Valid: 3,099 Spoilt: 38 Quota: 1,550 Turnout: 29.7% |||||||||
Source:

### 2014 Buckie by-election

Independent councillor Anne McKay resigned her seat on 13 November 2013. A by-election was held in the Buckie ward on 30 January 2014 and was won by independent candidate Gordon Cowie.
Buckie by-election (30 January 2014) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Independent | Gordon Cowie | 43.9 | 830 | 907 | 1,034 |
| | SNP | Linda McDonald | 35.5 | 670 | 679 | 710 |
| | Independent | Marc Macrae | 11.7 | 220 | 248 | |
| | Conservative | Margaret Gambles | 7.6 | 143 | | |
| Electorate: 7,872 Valid: 1,889 Spoilt: 26 Quota: 933 Turnout: 24.3% |||||||
Source:

### Elgin City North by-election

Labour councillor Barry Jarvis resigned his seat on 26 September 2014 to train as a teacher. A by-election was held in the Elgin City North ward on 11 December 2014 and the seat was won by the SNP candidate Kirsty Reid.
Elgin City North by-election (11 December 2014) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Kirsty Ella Reid | 38.0 | 728 | 748 | 764 | 773 | 850 |
| | Independent | Sandy Cooper | 24.6 | 472 | 483 | 499 | 595 | 693 |
| | UKIP | Captain Craig Ahab Graham | 15.0 | 287 | 305 | 316 | 368 | |
| | Conservative | Alex Griffiths | 14.2 | 273 | 280 | 299 | | |
| | Labour | Ramsay Urquhart | 4.2 | 81 | 84 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Morvern Forrest | 4.0 | 77 | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,263 Valid: 1,918 Spoilt: 20 Quota: 960 Turnout: 20.9% |||||||||
Source:

### 2015 Buckie by-election

Independent councillor Joe Mackay died on 12 January 2015 after a fall from his mobility scooter. A by-election was held in the Buckie ward to fill the vacancy on 26 March 2015 and the seat was won by the SNP candidate Sonya Warren.
Buckie by-election (26 March 2015) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | SNP | Sonya Warren | 59.5 | 1,485 |
| | Independent | Norman Calder | 27.9 | 696 |
| | Conservative | Tim Eagle | 12.6 | 315 |
| Electorate: 7,798 Valid: 2,496 Spoilt: 25 Quota: 1,249 Turnout: 32.3% |||||
Source:

### 2015 Heldon and Laich by-election

Independent councillor Eric McGillivray announced on 31 July 2015 he was standing down from the council for personal reasons. A by-election was held in the Heldon and Laich ward on 1 October 2015 and the seat was won by independent candidate Dennis Slater.
Heldon and Laich by-election (1 October 2015) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Independent | Dennis Slater | 41.1 | 1,323 | 1,382 | 1,775 |
| | SNP | Joyce O'Hara | 31.1 | 1,003 | 1,054 | 1,100 |
| | Conservative | Pete Bloomfield | 21.8 | 703 | 725 | |
| | Scottish Green | James Edward Mackessack-Leitch | 6.0 | 192 | | |
| Electorate: 11,070 Valid: 3,221 Spoilt: 27 Quota: 1,612 Turnout: 29.3% |||||||
Source: