# 1982 Shetland Islands Area Council election

An election to Shetland Islands Council was held on 6 May 1982 as part of the 1982 Scottish regional elections and yielded a swing to candidates supportive of Home Rule for the islands. Whilst no candidates appeared on the ballot as members of the Shetland Movement (all Shetland candidates were independents), the Shetland Movement did publish a list of candidates supportive of Shetland Home Rule. Ultimately of the 25 members of the Shetland council, 14 were supporters of the movement.
Supporters of island autonomy similarly contested council elections in neighboring Orkney.
The councils for the Shetland Islands, Orkney, and the Western Isles operated as combined authorities, meaning that instead of having both regional and district governance, the Islands had a single level combined of governance. These councils were elected at the same time as Scottish regional councils.

## Aggregate results

Shetland Islands Council election, 1982 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Independent | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 92.0 | 87.8 | 2,991 | 6.7 |
| Labour | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8.0 | 6.5 | 222 | 12.4 |
| Ratepayers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 194 | New |

## Ward results

1st, Lerwick Sound :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | John Graham | Unopposed | Unopposed |
2nd, Lerwick–Clickimin :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Thomas M. Y. Manson | 121 | 35.4% |
| | Independent | Cecil B. Eunson | 112 | 32.7% |
| | Independent | Ian Byrne (Incumbent) | 109 | 31.9% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9 | 2.7% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |
3rd, Lerwick–North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Leonard G. Groat | 221 | 52.0% |
| | Ratepayers | Robert Tulloch (Incumbent) | 194 | 48.0% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 17 | 4.0% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
| | Independent gain from Ratepayers | Independent gain from Ratepayers | Independent gain from Ratepayers | Independent gain from Ratepayers |
4th, Lerwick Central :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Bill Smith (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
5th, Lerwick Harbour :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Edward Thomason (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
6th, Lerwick Twageos :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Sandy Clunes (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
7th, Lerwick Breiwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Leslie Eunson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
8th, Unst :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Alan B. Fraser | 157 | 41.1% |
| | Independent | Karl M. Gray | 148 | 38.7% |
| | Independent | William Playfair (Incumbent) | 77 | 20.2% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9 | 2.4% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
| | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold | Independent hold |
9th, Yell North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | David Johnson (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
10th, Yell South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Stewart Gray (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
11th, Northmavine :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Christopher D. Dowle (Incumbent) | 222 | 55.8% |
| | Independent | Gilbert J. Mowat | 127 | 31.9% |
| | Independent | William J. Beattie | 49 | 12.3% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 95 | 23.9% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
| | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent |
12th, Delting North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Fraser Paterson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
13th, Delting South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Albert Hunter (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
14th, Nesting and Lunnasting :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Benji Hunter (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
15th, Bressay :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | James Irvine (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
16th, Scalloway :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | William Anderson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
17th, Whiteness, Weisdale and Tingwall :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Cecil R. H. Eunson | 258 | 55.7% |
| | Independent | Florence B. Grains (Incumbent) | 205 | 44.3% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 53 | 11.4% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
18th, Whalsay and Skerries :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Henry Stewart (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
19th, Sandsting and Aithsting :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Alexander Tulloch (Incumbent) | 247 | 57.6% |
| | Independent | William Tait | 182 | 42.4% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 65 | 15.2% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
20th, Sandness and Walls :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Gordon Walterson (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
21st, Cunningsburgh :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Joan Macleod | Unopposed | Unopposed |
22nd, Burra and Trondra :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | William A. Cumming | 316 | 75.2% |
| | Independent | Susan G. Morrow-Irvine | 104 | 24.8% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 212 | 50.4% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
23rd, Sandwick :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Malcolm S. Bray | 198 | 57.9% |
| | Independent | Peter Watts | 144 | 42.1% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 54 | 15.8% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
24th, Dunrossness North :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | William Tait (Incumbent) | Unopposed | Unopposed |
25th, Dunrossness South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Raymond R. Bentley (Incumbent) | 142 | 65.7% |
| | Independent | John F. D. MacKenzie | 74 | 34.3% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 68 | 31.4% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |

## By-elections since 1982

1982 Delting North by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Roberta Clubb | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent | Labour gain from Independent |
1983 Delting North by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Independent | Andrea Manson | 337 | 76.8% |
| | Labour | Paul Thorn | 102 | 23.2% |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 235 | 53.6% |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | | |
| | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour | Independent gain from Labour |