# Sgìre an Rubha

Sgìre an Rubha (Scottish Gaelic for 'Point District') is one of the 11 wards of Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (Scottish Gaelic for 'Council of the Western Isles'). Created in 2007, the ward elects two councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. Originally a three-member ward, the number of members elected in Sgìre an Rubha was reduced following a boundary review and it has elected two councillors since the 2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election.
Independents have dominated elections in the Western Isles and every councillor elected in the area has had no party affiliation.

## Boundaries

The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Sgìre an Rubha was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Knock and Bayble and Tiumpan wards as well as part of the former Braighe ward. The ward centres around the Eye Peninsula – also known as Point – in the northeast of the Isle of Lewis and includes the uninhabited Bayble Island. Proposals in the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections would have seen the ward's western boundary extended west to include the village of Sandwick and the ward renamed Sgìre an Rubha agus Sanndabhaig. However, these were not adopted by Scottish ministers as plans for the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 would bring forward an interim review following the 2017 elections.
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 allowed for the creation of single- and dual-member wards to allow for better representation of island areas. The ward's western boundary was brought east to the causeway which joins the Eye Peninsula to the Isle of Lewis so that an area including Stornoway Airport and the village of Melbost were transferred to Steòrnabhagh a Deas. As a result, it was reduced from a three-member ward to a dual-member ward.

## Councillors

| Election | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | | Donald J. MacSween (Independent) | | Norman M. MacLeod (Independent) | Donald I. Nicholson (Independent) |
| 2012 | Zena Stewart (Independent) | Alasdair McLeod (Independent) | | Norman M. MacLeod (Independent) |
| 2017 | Norrie MacDonald (Independent) | Alasdair McLeod (Independent) | Finlay Stewart (Independent) |
| 2022 | Norrie MacDonald (Independent) | | | Finlay Stewart (Independent) |

## Election results
### 2022 election

Sgìre an Rubha – 2 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Norrie T. MacDonald (incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Independent | Finlay M. Stewart (incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | | |
Source:

### 2017 election

Sgìre an Rubha – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Independent | Norrie MacDonald | 32.0 | 354 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Alasdair MacLeod (incumbent) | 29.7 | 329 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Finlay Stewart | 13.6 | 151 | 169 | 191 | 213 | 267 | 338 |
| | Independent | Tony Robson | 8.2 | 91 | 113 | 124 | 141 | 162 | |
| | Independent | John MacMillan | 9.0 | 100 | 113 | 120 | 133 | | |
| | Conservative | Don MacDonald | 7.4 | 83 | 88 | 92 | | | |
| Electorate: 1,905 Valid: 1,108 Spoilt: 26 Quota: 278 Turnout: 59.5% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2012 Election

2012 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election
Sgire an Rubha - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Independent | Zena Stewart | 17.52% | 205 | 238 | 276 | 316 | | | |
| | Independent | Alasdair MacLeod | 17.52% | 205 | 219 | 242 | 291 | 297.8 | | |
| | Independent | Donald John MacSween (incumbent) | 15.13% | 177 | 187 | 200 | 227 | 230.3 | 231.7 | |
| | Independent | Norman MacLeod (incumbent) | 15.04% | 176 | 186 | 202 | 252 | 256.2 | 257.6 | 349.0 |
| | Independent | Donald Nicholson (incumbent) | 14.44% | 169 | 183 | 197 | | | | |
| | SNP | John Norman MacDonald | 12.05% | 141 | 149 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Iain Don MacIver | 8.29% | 97 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 1,921 Valid: 1,170 Spoilt: 19 Quota: 293 Turnout: 1,189 (60.91)% |||||||||||

### 2007 Election

2007 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election, 2007: Sgire An Rubha :
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | % | Seat | Count |
| Independent | Donald John MacSween | 497 | 38.4 | 1 | 1 |
| Independent | Norman M MacLeod | 450 | 34.8 | 2 | 1 |
| Independent | Donald Iain Nicholson | 245 | 18.9 | 3 | 2 |
| Liberal Democrats | Stanley Bennie | 101 | 7.8 | | |