# 2022 Dundee City Council election

The 2022 Dundee City Council election took place on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 29 Councillors elected. Each ward elects either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.
The election resulted in the SNP gaining a majority, winning 15 seats after gaining a seat from Labour in the West End. Labour came second with no seat change from the last election, the Liberal Democrats gained two seats, rounding their total up to four and the Conservatives fell to fourth place, losing two seats making Derek Scott, the group leader, the sole councillor elected to the council. The sole Alba Party councillor, Alan Ross, who defected from the SNP, failed to retain his seat.
After the election, the SNP's Bill Campbell and Kevin Cordell were appointed Lord Provost and Deputy Lord Provost on 20 May 2022.

## Background
### Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won 14 seats and as a result, was the largest party. Despite two losses, the SNP continued to govern however, they no longer held a majority after the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats made gains. Labour was the second-largest party on the council with 9 seats, the Conservatives won 3 seats, up two and the Liberal Democrats won 2 seats, up one.
2017 Dundee City Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Vote share |
| SNP | 14 | 41.3% |
| Labour | 9 | 20.3% |
| Conservative | 3 | 17.2% |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 11.3% |
| Independent | 1 | 5.3% |
Source:

#### Composition

After the 2017 election, there were several changes to the composition of the council. Most were changes to the political affiliation of councillors including North East councillor Gregor Murray who resigned from the SNP in May 2019 after accusing the party of being transphobic and Lochee councillor Alan Ross who first left the SNP to become an independent before defecting to Alba in February 2022. A single by-election was held during the 2017-22 term which resulted in an SNP gain from Labour.
| Party | 2017 election | Dissolution |
| SNP | 14 | 13 |
| Labour | 9 | 8 |
| Conservative | 3 | 3 |
| Liberal Democrats | 2 | 2 |
| Independent | 1 | 2 |
| Alba | - | 1 |

### Retiring councillors

There were four councillors elected at the 2017 election which will depart ahead of the 2022 election.
| Ward | Party | Retiring councillor |
| Strathmartine | Independent | Ian Borthwick |
| Coldside | SNP | Anne Rendall |
| North East | Independent | Gregor Murray |
| East End | Labour | Margaret Richardson |

## Debates and hustings

Ahead of the election, a series of debates and hustings were held throughout the campaign period. DC Thomson hosted an election debate on 21 April 2022 which was moderated by Derek Healey, the political editor of The Courier. The debate featured only leaders and representatives of the five parties on the council and an appeal for questions to be considered were featured. It was announced shortly after that the debate would be streamed on The Courier's social media pages on 25 April 2022.
A husting took place on 27 April 2022 which was organised and moderated by the Dundee Social Enterprise Network. The hustings featured representatives of the four parties on the council along with the inclusion of the Scottish Greens but not the Alba Party.
2022 Dundee City Council election debates and hustings :
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited | P Present  S Surrogate  NI Not invited  A Absent invitee INV Invited |
| Date | Organisers | Moderator(s) | SNP | Labour | Conservatives | Lib Dems | Greens | Alba | Audience | Ref. |
| 21 April | DC Thomson | Derek Healey | P Alexander | S McCready | P Scott | P MacPherson | P Jones | P Ross | Virtual | |
| 27 April | Dundee SEN | Dundee SEN | S Short | S McCready | S MacKenzie | S Crichton | P Jones | NI | Yes | |

## Results

2022 Dundee City Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| SNP | 15 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 51.7 | 41.4 | 18,302 | 0.1 |
| Labour | 9 | 1 | 1 | | 31.0 | 22.0 | 9,740 | 1.7 |
| Liberal Democrats | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13.8 | 16.5 | 7,312 | 5.2 |
| Conservative | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3.5 | 11.0 | 4,861 | 6.2 |
| Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 5.7 | 2,538 | 3.2 |
| Alba | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 2.4 | 1,053 | New |
| Scottish Family | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.6 | 268 | New |
| TUSC | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.2 | 95 | 1.4 |
| Sovereignty | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.1 | 38 | New |

### Votes summary

| 15 | 9 | 4 | 1 |
| SNP | Labour | LD | Conservative |
First preference vote share
SNP
41.4%
Labour
22.0%
Liberal Democrats
16.5%
Conservative
11.0%
Green
5.7%
Other
3.3% :
Council seats
SNP
51.7%
Labour
31.0%
Liberal Democrats
13.8%
Conservative
3.5% :

### Ward summary

2022 Dundee City Council election by ward :
| Ward | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | % | Seats | Total |
| Ward | SNP | SNP | Lab | Lab | Conservative | Conservative | Lib Dem | Lib Dem | Green | Green | Others | Others | | Total |
| Strathmartine | 45.4% | 2 | 22.8% | 1 | 5.9% | 0 | 18.7% | 1 | 3.3% | 0 | 3.2% | 0 | 4 |
| Lochee | 43.2% | 2 | 35.8% | 2 | 8.4% | 0 | 3.1% | 0 | 3.1% | 0 | 5.3% | 0 | 4 |
| West End | 31.3% | 2 | 10.9% | 0 | 6.7% | 0 | 40.3% | 2 | 9.4% | 0 | 1.4% | 0 | 4 |
| Coldside | 44.5% | 2 | 31.1% | 2 | 7.9% | 0 | 3.1% | 0 | 9.9% | 0 | 3.4% | 0 | 4 |
| Maryfield | 47.4% | 2 | 22.6% | 1 | 8.8% | 0 | 4.7% | 0 | 10.6% | 0 | 5.9% | 0 | 3 |
| North East | 56.5% | 2 | 26.6% | 1 | 8.3% | 0 | 2.6% | 0 | 3.3% | 0 | 2.6% | 0 | 3 |
| East End | 52.8% | 2 | 26.0% | 1 | 10.7% | 0 | 2.8% | 0 | 4.1% | 0 | 3.7% | 0 | 3 |
| The Ferry | 27.6% | 1 | 10.0% | 1 | 23.0% | 1 | 34.7% | 1 | 3.0% | 0 | 1.7% | 0 | 4 |
| Total | 41.39% | 15 | 22.03% | 9 | 10.99% | 1 | 16.54% | 4 | 5.74% | 0 | 3.29% | 0 | 29 |

### Incumbents defeated

| Ward | Party | Defeated Councillor |
| Lochee | Alba | Alan Ross |
| West End | Conservative | Donald Hay |
| West End | Labour | Richard McCready |
| The Ferry | Conservative | Philip Scott |

## Ward results
### Strathmartine

Strathmartine - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | SNP | John Alexander (incumbent) | 36.0 | 2,143 | | |
| | Labour | Kevin Keenan (incumbent) | 22.8 | 1,359 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Daniel Coleman | 18.7 | 1,116 | 1,169 | 1,226 |
| | SNP | Stewart Hunter (incumbent) | 9.4 | 559 | 1,310 | |
| | Conservative | Calum Walker | 5.9 | 351 | 353 | 366 |
| | Scottish Green | Callum Baird | 3.3 | 199 | 268 | 284 |
| | Alba | Laura Whyte | 1.8 | 105 | 120 | 125 |
| | Scottish Family | Susan Ettle | 1.4 | 81 | 86 | 91 |
| | TUSC | Maddie Jamieson | 0.7 | 43 | 46 | 60 |
| Electorate: 15,266 Valid: 5,956 Spoilt: 168 Quota: 1,192 Turnout: 40.1% |||||||

### Lochee

Lochee - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | SNP | Roisin Smith (incumbent) | 37.2 | 2,174 | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Charlie Malone (incumbent) | 28.7 | 1,678 | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Gavin MacKenzie | 8.0 | 488 | 492 | 505 | 531 | 543 | 543 | 603 | 623 |
| | Labour | Wendy Scullin | 7.0 | 412 | 448 | 820 | 846 | 872 | 876 | 935 | 1,085 |
| | SNP | Siobhan Tolland | 6.0 | 351 | 1,128 | 1,137 | 1,144 | 1,204 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Kate Treharne | 4.0 | 244 | 308 | 318 | 326 | 369 | 383 | 438 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jonathan Bremner | 3.1 | 184 | 196 | 221 | 244 | 255 | 256 | | |
| | Alba | Alan Ross (incumbent) | 3.1 | 184 | 208 | 220 | 230 | | | |
| Electorate: 14,912 Valid: 5,843 Spoilt: 179 Quota: 1,169 Turnout: 40.4% ||||||||||||

### West End

West End - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Fraser MacPherson (incumbent) | 37.4 | 2,146 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Nadia El-Nakla | 16.1 | 924 | 961 | 964 | 974 | 978 | 1,127 | |
| | SNP | Bill Campbell (incumbent) | 15.2 | 872 | 922 | 923 | 939 | 946 | 1,058 | 1,119 |
| | Labour | Richard McCready (incumbent) | 10.9 | 624 | 731 | 734 | 740 | 831 | 928 | 931 |
| | Scottish Green | Ted Booth | 9.4 | 536 | 565 | 566 | 577 | 593 | | |
| | Conservative | Donald Hay (incumbent) | 6.7 | 386 | 453 | 453 | 547 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Michael Crichton | 2.9 | 165 | 821 | 823 | 836 | 1,021 | 1,102 | 1,105 |
| | Alba | Annie Jenkins | 1.1 | 54 | 68 | 72 | | | | |
| | ISP | Brooke Labagh | 0.3 | 14 | 17 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,626 Valid: 5,732 Spoilt: 104 Quota: 1,147 Turnout: 39.9% |||||||||||

### Coldside

Coldside - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | SNP | Heather Anderson | 31.1 | 1,737 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | George McIrvine (incumbent) | 17.2 | 960 | 970 | 982 | 987 | 1,011 | 1,044 | 1,155 |
| | Labour | Helen Wright (incumbent) | 13.9 | 777 | 785 | 797 | 812 | 822 | 854 | 937 |
| | SNP | Mark Flynn (incumbent) | 13.4 | 751 | 1,275 | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Tanya Jones | 9.9 | 551 | 584 | 636 | 656 | 702 | 764 | 808 |
| | Conservative | Naveed Ali | 7.9 | 444 | 446 | 448 | 450 | 463 | 485 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jenny Blain | 3.1 | 176 | 179 | 183 | 185 | 195 | | |
| | Alba | Scott Agnew | 2.5 | 141 | 150 | 164 | 165 | | | |
| | TUSC | Wayne Scott | 0.9 | 52 | 52 | 56 | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,893 Valid: 5,589 Spoilt: 238 Quota: 1,118 Turnout: 39.1% |||||||||||

### Maryfield

Maryfield - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | SNP | Ken Lynn (incumbent) | 24.6 | 1,037 | 1,037 | 1,042 | 1,093 |
| | SNP | Lynne Short (incumbent) | 22.8 | 960 | 962 | 974 | 1,005 |
| | Labour | Georgia Cruickshank (incumbent) | 22.6 | 956 | 957 | 1,017 | 1,062 |
| | Scottish Green | Martha Smart | 10.6 | 446 | 453 | 493 | 517 |
| | Conservative | Danielle Marr | 8.8 | 371 | 376 | 414 | 430 |
| | Alba | Sundas Kamran | 5.1 | 214 | 218 | 226 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Dewar | 4.7 | 198 | 202 | | |
| | Sovereignty | Ewan Gurr | 0.8 | 34 | | | |
| Electorate: 12,749 Valid: 4,213 Quota: 1,054 Turnout: 33.9% ||||||||

### North East

2022 Dundee City Council election: North East (3 seats) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | SNP | Steven Rome (incumbent) | 30.4 | 1,150 |
| | Labour | Jax Finniegan | 26.6 | 1,007 |
| | SNP | Willie Sawers (incumbent) | 26.2 | 991 |
| | Conservative | Lisa Franchi | 8.3 | 313 |
| | Scottish Green | Stuart White | 3.3 | 126 |
| | Alba | Heather McLean | 2.7 | 102 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Smith | 2.7 | 100 |
| Electorate: 11,792 Valid: 3,789 Spoilt: 96 Quota: 948 Turnout: 32.9% |||||

### East End

East End - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | SNP | Will Dawson (incumbent) | 32.8 | 1,350 | |
| | Labour | Dorothy McHugh | 26.0 | 1,071 | |
| | SNP | Christina Roberts (incumbent) | 20.0 | 823 | 1,088 |
| | Conservative | Bill Crabb | 10.7 | 440 | 444 |
| | Scottish Green | Alison McIntosh | 4.1 | 168 | 184 |
| | Alba | Allan Petrie | 3.7 | 151 | 158 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Outi Mȁȁttȁnen-Burke | 2.8 | 115 | 120 |
| Electorate: 12,005 Valid: 4,117 Quota: 1,030 Turnout: 35.2% ||||||

### The Ferry

The Ferry - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Craig Duncan (incumbent) | 34.7 | 3,112 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Kevin Cordell (incumbent) | 20.1 | 1,806 | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Derek Scott (incumbent) | 18.5 | 1,661 | 2,064 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Pete Shears | 10.0 | 899 | 1,150 | 1,156 | 1,157 | 1,168 | 1,180 | 1,292 | 1,462 |
| | SNP | Qaiser Habib | 7.5 | 674 | 819 | 820 | 829 | 832 | 867 | 1,030 | 1,043 |
| | Conservative | Philip Scott (incumbent) | 4.5 | 407 | 459 | 706 | 706 | 730 | 745 | 763 | |
| | Scottish Green | Mark Parsons | 3.0 | 269 | 398 | 400 | 401 | 413 | 423 | | |
| | Alba | Thomas Byrne | 1.0 | 92 | 109 | 109 | 109 | 113 | | | |
| | Scottish Family | Carole Smith | 0.7 | 59 | 87 | 88 | 88 | | | | |
| Electorate: 16,211 Valid: 8,979 Quota: 1,796 Turnout: 56.3% ||||||||||||

## Aftermath
### Lochee & Strathmartine by-elections

In July 2024 Lochee Labour councillor Charlie Malone died aged 63. This was followed in August by Strathmartine SNP councillor & Council Leader John Alexander deciding to leave politics to take up a new job at SSEN; he subsequently resigned as a councillor. By-elections to elect their replacements were scheduled for 3 October 2024. SNP candidate Lee Mills won the Lochee by-election while SNP candidate Jimmy Black won the Strathmartine by-election.
Lochee by-election (3 October 2024) - 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | SNP | Lee Mills | 37.3 | 1,203 | 1,211 | 1,226 | 1,292 | 1,369 | 1,390 | 1,742 |
| | Labour | Marty Smith | 35.6 | 1,148 | 1,167 | 1,211 | 1,236 | 1,285 | 1,357 | |
| | Conservative | Calum Walker | 6.8 | 219 | 230 | 258 | 268 | 284 | | |
| | Alba | Alan Ross | 5.5 | 178 | 204 | 212 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Katie Treharne | 5.5 | 176 | 190 | 217 | 238 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Outi Bourke | 4.8 | 156 | 171 | | | | | |
| | Workers Party | John Reddy | 4.4 | 143 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 15,237 Valid: 3,223 Spoilt: 31 Quota: 1,612 Turnout: 21.4% |||||||||||
Source:
Strathmartine by-election (3 October 2024) - 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Jimmy Black | 35.0 | 1,188 | 1,205 | 1,260 | 1,274 | 1,426 | 1,835 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jenny Blain | 26.9 | 912 | 932 | 963 | 1,016 | 1,394 | |
| | Labour | Richard McCready | 26.9 | 911 | 929 | 947 | 972 | | |
| | Conservative | Naveed Ali | 4.2 | 143 | 145 | 150 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Callum Baird | 3.6 | 121 | 134 | | | | |
| | TUSC | Donald Macleod | 3.4 | 116 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 15,403 Valid: 3,432 Spoilt: 41 Quota: 1,696 Turnout: 22.3% ||||||||||
Source: