# Fortissat

Fortissat is one of the twenty-one wards used to elect members of the North Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, it originally returned three councillors; a 2017 national review resulted in no changes in the boundaries but an extra seat being added. The ward's territory covers the town of Shotts and surrounding areas (including Allanton, Bonkle, Harthill, Hartwood, Morningside and Salsburgh) with a population of 15,730 in 2019.

## Councillors

| Election | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | | Jim Robertson (Labour) | | Charles Cefferty (Ind.) | | Malcolm McMillan (SNP) | 3 seats |
| 2012 | Thomas Cochrane (SNP, then Ind.) | Jim Robertson (Labour) | | Charles Cefferty (Ind.) | | | 3 seats |
| 2017 | Thomas Cochrane (SNP, then Ind.) | Martin McCulloch (Labour) | | Kenneth Stevenson (Labour) | | Sandy Thornton (Conservative) |
| 2017 by- | Thomas Cochrane (SNP, then Ind.) | Martin McCulloch (Labour) | | Kenneth Stevenson (Labour) | Clare Quigley (Labour) |
| 2021 by- | | Martin McCulloch (Labour) | Peter Kelly (Labour) | Kenneth Stevenson (Labour) | Clare Quigley (Labour) |
| 2022 | | Martin McCulloch (Labour) | Margaret Hughes (SNP) | Kenneth Stevenson (Labour) | | John Jo Leckie (BUP) |
| 2024 by- | Clare Quigley (Labour) | Martin McCulloch (Labour) | Margaret Hughes (SNP) | | | John Jo Leckie (BUP) |

## Election results
### 2024 by-election

Fortissat (10 October 2024) – 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Clare Quigley | 36.6 | 807 | 818 | 834 | 892 | 1,007 | 1,292 |
| | Progressive Change North Lanarkshire | Mary McIntosh | 24.0 | 529 | 542 | 556 | 634 | 757 | |
| | SNP | Brendan McAleese | 20.3 | 447 | 452 | 457 | 466 | | |
| | BUP | Billy Acheson | 10.9 | 241 | 245 | 297 | | | |
| | Conservative | Sheila Cameron | 5.6 | 124 | 131 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Leigh Butler | 2.6 | 57 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 12,422 Valid: 2,205 Spoilt: 22 Quota: 1,103 Turnout: 17.9% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2022 election

Fortissat – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Martin McCulloch (incumbent) | 22.5 | 1,028 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Margaret Hughes | 20.8 | 949 | | | | | |
| | BUP | John Jo Leckie | 18.8 | 859 | 864 | 864 | 870 | 1,136 | |
| | Labour | Kenneth Stevenson (incumbent) | 14.0 | 636 | 729 | 730 | 753 | 867 | 957 |
| | Conservative | Ben Callaghan | 11.2 | 512 | 514 | 515 | 523 | | |
| | SNP | Sarah Quinn | 10.0 | 457 | 463 | 494 | 547 | 561 | 571 |
| | Scottish Green | Emma Rachel Cuthbertson | 2.6 | 118 | 119 | 121 | | | |
| Electorate: 12,104 Valid: 4,559 Spoilt: 123 Quota: 912 Turnout: 38.7% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2017 election

Fortissat - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Martin McCulloch | 29.29 | 1,477 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Thomas Cochrane (incumbent) | 20.15 | 1,016 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Sandy Thornton | 13.29 | 670 | 678 | 678 | 691 | 948 | 1,121 |
| | BUP | Jeffrey McDonald | 11.08 | 559 | 574 | 574 | 591 | | |
| | Independent | Charlie Cefferty (incumbent) | 10.09 | 509 | 527 | 527 | 661 | 754 | |
| | SNP | Mags Murphy | 8.9 | 449 | 469 | 475 | | | |
| | Labour | Kenneth Stevenson | 7.2 | 363 | 715 | 715 | 806 | 891 | 1,117 |
| Electorate: 12,051 Valid: 5,043 Spoilt: 139 Quota: 1,009 Turnout: 5,182 (43.0%) ||||||||||

#### 2017 by-election

Conservative candidate Sandy Thornton refused to sign his acceptance of office, resulting in the seat becoming vacant on 28 June 2017. A by-election took place on 7 September 2017 and was won by Clare Quigley of the Scottish Labour Party.
Fortissat By-election (7 September 2017) - 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Labour | Clare Quigley | 38.5 | 1,420 | 1,421 | 1,426 | 1,466 | 1,546 | 1,827 | 2,117 |
| | BUP | John Jo Leckie | 23.3 | 858 | 865 | 867 | 913 | 1,088 | 1,139 | |
| | SNP | Mags Murphy | 20.6 | 761 | 762 | 770 | 791 | 804 | | |
| | Conservative | Norma McNab | 11.5 | 424 | 427 | 428 | 459 | | | |
| | Independent | Charlie Cefferty | 5.0 | 184 | 184 | 188 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Kyle Davidson | 0.7 | 24 | 26 | | | | | |
| | UKIP | Daryl Gardner | 0.5 | 18 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 12,163 Valid: 3,689 Spoilt: 47 Quota: 1,845 Turnout: 3,736 (30.7%) |||||||||||

#### 2021 by-election

On 8 May 2018, councillor Tommy Cochrane resigned from the SNP and became an Independent, citing lack of SNP support in the area. He resigned his seat on 18 March 2020 saying he was increasingly unable to manage personal and work commitments. A by-election was held in 2021 (delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland), won by Labour's Peter Kelly.
Fortissat by-election (4 March 2021) - 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Labour | Peter Kelly | 38.4% | 1,071 | 1,073 | 1,093 | 1,408 |
| | SNP | Sarah Quinn | 34.6% | 965 | 970 | 994 | 1,026 |
| | Conservative | Ben Callaghan | 23.5% | 656 | 664 | 679 | |
| | Scottish Green | Kyle Davidson | 2.5% | 69 | 74 | | |
| | UKIP | Neil Wilson | 1.1% | 31 | | | |
| Electorate: TBC Valid: 2,792 Spoilt: 29 Quota: 1,397 Turnout: 23.3% ||||||||

### 2012 election

Fortissat - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Francis Fallan | 23.0% | 983 | 988 | 1,022 | 1,023.4 | |
| | Labour | Jim Robertson (incumbent) | 22.9% | 982 | 1,000 | 1,046 | 1,048.3 | 1,843.2 |
| | Independent | Charlie Cefferty (incumbent) | 22.9% | 981 | 1,023 | 1,079 | | |
| | SNP | Thomas Cochrane | 16.2% | 695 | 700 | 1,062 | 1,063.4 | 1,136.6 |
| | SNP | Malcolm McMillan (incumbent) | 12.4% | 529 | 543 | | | |
| | Conservative | Sandy Thornton | 2.6% | 111 | | | | |
| Electorate: 11,314 Valid: 4,281 Spoilt: 94 Quota: 1,071 Turnout: 4,375 (38.67%) |||||||||

### 2007 election

North Lanarkshire council election, 2007: Fortissat :
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | % | Seat | Count |
| Labour | Jim Robertson | 1,596 | 28.3 | 1 | 1 |
| Independent | Charles Cefferty | 1,529 | 27.1 | 1 | 1 |
| SNP | Malcolm McMillan | 1,396 | 24.7 | 1 | 2 |
| Labour | Clare Margaret Quigley | 1,125 | 19.9 | | |