# 2012 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

The 2012 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The election used the thirteen wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 47 councillors being elected.
The election saw Labour replace the Conservatives as the largest party on the council as they gained 1 seat while the Conservatives lost 4 seats. The Scottish National Party retained their third place on the authority but did not gain any additional seats. Independents proved to be the biggest winners as they returned to the council with 7 seats and 5 net gains which included 2 former members of the Labour party. The Liberal Democrats proved to be the worst performers of the election, being reduced to just a single seat.
Following the election the Conservative Party formed a coalition with the support of the SNP. This replaced the previous Conservative-Lib Dem coalition which existed from 2007 to 2012.

## Results

2012 Dumfries and Galloway Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 15 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 31.9 | 29.3 | 14,828 | 1.2 |
| Conservative | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 29.8 | 26.6 | 13,446 | 5.6 |
| SNP | 10 | 1 | 1 | | 21.3 | 19.5 | 9,837 | 0.5 |
| Independent | 7 | 5 | 0 | 5 | 14.9 | 18.1 | 9,126 | 6.9 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2.1 | 4.0 | 1,997 | 4.3 |
| Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.8 | 932 | 0.8 |
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.7 | 372 | 0.4 |
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.

## Ward results
### Stranraer and North Rhins

* 2007: 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2012: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con
Stranraer and North Rhins – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Independent | Willie Scobie (incumbent) | 62.15 | 2,057 | | |
| | Conservative | John Dougan (incumbent) | 15.02 | 497 | 643.9 | |
| | SNP | Iain Dick (incumbent) | 13.60 | 450 | 678.8 | 836.62 |
| | Labour | Marion McCutcheon | 9.24 | 306 | 679.4 | 808.2 |
| Electorate: 7,185 Valid: 3,310 Spoilt: 38 Quota: 828 Turnout: 3,348 (46.07%) |||||||

### Wigtown West

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2012: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lab
Wigtown West – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Independent | Grahame Forster (incumbent) | 45.1 | 1,330 | | | |
| | SNP | Jim McClung | 25.13 | 741 | | | |
| | Conservative | Roberta Tuckfield (incumbent)†† | 16.11 | 475 | 643.3 | 643.7 | 859.3 |
| | Labour | John McCutcheon | 13.67 | 403 | 585.5 | 586.7 | |
| Electorate: 6,753 Valid: 2,949 Spoilt: 26 Quota: 738 Turnout: 2,975 (43.67%) ||||||||

### Mid Galloway

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
* 2012: 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lib Dem
Mid Galloway – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Alistair Geddes (incumbent) | 29.66 | 1,027 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Jim McColm | 28.68 | 993 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Graham Nicol (incumbent) | 18.6 | 644 | 665.6 | 699.2 | 776.2 | 819.6 | 948.2 |
| | Labour | Heather Meldrum | 13.6 | 471 | 495.5 | 523.4 | 530.7 | 612.5 | |
| | SNP | Doug Snell * | 6.56 | 227 | 301.9 | 318.7 | 324.2 | | |
| | Conservative | Sheila Stewart | 2.89 | 100 | 106.9 | 120.2 | | | |
| Electorate: 7,539 Valid: 3,462 Spoilt: 49 Quota: 866 Turnout: 3,511 (45.92%) ||||||||||
* = Sitting Councillor for a different Ward.

### Dee

* 2007: 1xCon; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xIndependent; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP
Dee – 3 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 |
| | Independent | Colin Wyper | 36.51 | 1,473 | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Jane Maitland (incumbent) | 18.39 | 742 | 815.4 | 849.4 | 889.9 | 956.9 | 1,055.2 | | |
| | Conservative | Patsy Gilroy (incumbent) | 18.05 | 728 | 780.9 | 795.4 | 801.3 | 831.9 | 849.4 | 868.4 | 1,021.2 |
| | SNP | Thomas Jacques (incumbent) | 11.48 | 463 | 525.4 | 536.2 | 567.4 | 600.3 | 693.6 | 701.6 | |
| | Labour | Marsali Caig | 7.06 | 285 | 355.6 | 369.2 | 386.4 | 422.2 | | | |
| | Independent | Franca Bruno | 3.5 | 141 | 181.9 | 196.7 | 220.3 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | James Smyth | 2.85 | 115 | 127.9 | 140.5 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Womersley | 2.16 | 87 | 116.3 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 7,373 Valid: 4,034 Spoilt: 38 Quota: 1,009 Turnout: 4,072 (54.71%) ||||||||||||

### Castle Douglas and Glenkens

* 2007: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
* 2012: 1xCon; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Castle Douglas and Glenkens – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | Finlay Carson | 27.08 | 904 | | | | |
| | Independent | George Nicol Prentice (incumbent) | 23.88 | 797 | 813 | 826.5 | | |
| | SNP | Brian Collins (incumbent) | 23.88 | 797 | 800 | 811.2 | 811.5 | 899.6 |
| | Labour | Daniel Scheffer | 10.04 | 335 | 350.6 | 376.8 | 376.9 | 430.9 |
| | Scottish Green | Paul Taylorson | 6.05 | 202 | 203.2 | 229.4 | 229.6 | |
| | Conservative | Gary Wardell | 5.90 | 197 | 235 | 249.9 | 250.2 | 265 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Metcalf | 3.18 | 106 | 109 | | | |
| Electorate: 8,014 Valid: 3,338 Spoilt: 34 Quota: 835 Turnout: 3,372 (41.65%) |||||||||

### Abbey

* 2007: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Con
Abbey – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Tom McAughtrie (incumbent) | 22.95 | 903 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Blake (incumbent) | 21.75 | 856 | |
| | SNP | Rob Davidson (incumbent) | 20.69 | 814 | |
| | Labour | Davie Stitt (incumbent) | 19.9 | 783 | 870.2 |
| | Conservative | Charles Milroy | 10.29 | 405 | 411.1 |
| | UKIP | Bill Wright | 4.42 | 174 | 178.6 |
| Electorate: 9,019 Valid: 3,935 Spoilt: 65 Quota: 788 Turnout: 4,000 (43.63%) ||||||

### North West Dumfries

* 2007: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
North West Dumfries – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Ronnie Nicholson (incumbent) | 23.25 | 932 | | | | |
| | Conservative | John Graham Bell (incumbent)†† | 22.43 | 899 | | | | |
| | Labour | David John McKie (incumbent) | 21.38 | 857 | | | | |
| | SNP | Andy Ferguson | 18.44 | 739 | 746.1 | 768.5 | 773.2 | 982.1 |
| | Labour | Paula Stevenson | 14.50 | 581 | 690.1 | 702.2 | 746.7 | |
| Electorate: 9,906 Valid: 4,008 Spoilt: 66 Quota: 802 Turnout: 4,074 (40.46%) |||||||||

### Mid and Upper Nithsdale

* 2007: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Mid and Upper Nithsdale – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Jim Dempster (incumbent) | 27.45 | 1,194 | |
| | Conservative | Gill Dykes (incumbent) | 26.53 | 1,154 | |
| | SNP | Andrew Stuart Wood (incumbent) | 20.51 | 892 | |
| | Labour | John Syme (incumbent) | 19.08 | 830 | 1,098.6 |
| | UKIP | Douglas Watters | 4.55 | 198 | 209.1 |
| | Conservative | Elly Hurren | 1.86 | 81 | 88.3 |
| Electorate: 9,239 Valid: 4,349 Spoilt: 67 Quota: 870 Turnout: 4,416 (47.07%) ||||||

### Lochar

* 2007: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Con
Lochar – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Yen Hongmei Jin†††† | 28.46 | 1,190 | | | | |
| | Labour | Jeff Leaver (incumbent) | 27.73 | 1,159 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Ivor Alexander Hyslop (incumbent) | 15.86 | 663 | 703 | 710.5 | 723.7 | 1,266.4 |
| | Conservative | John Anthony Charteris (incumbent) | 15.05 | 629 | 675.9 | 685.6 | 700.3 | |
| | Labour | Ted Thompson | 12.89 | 539 | 660 | 941.7 | | |
| Electorate: 9,295 Valid: 4,180 Spoilt: 62 Quota: 837 Turnout: 4,242 (44.97%) |||||||||

### Nith

* 2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Nith – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Labour | John Allan Martin (incumbent) | 25.93 | 1,079 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Colin Smyth (incumbent) | 19.20 | 799 | 1,010.3 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Alastair Witts (incumbent) | 18.84 | 784 | 789.7 | 822 | 830.2 | 850.9 | | |
| | Conservative | Jack Groom (incumbent)†† | 15.67 | 652 | 657.5 | 669.5 | 675.9 | 687.8 | 689.9 | 900.9 |
| | Conservative | David Slater | 8.56 | 356 | 361 | 366.5 | 369.5 | 382.5 | 383.6 | |
| | Independent | Andrew Crosbie | 8.36 | 348 | 352.8 | 376.2 | 391.6 | 430.4 | 435.1 | 514.1 |
| | Independent | Nello Paoletti | 2.19 | 91 | 93.1 | 103.1 | 108.4 | | | |
| | Independent | Lee Vann-Wakelin | 1.25 | 52 | 53.6 | 59.81 | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,844 Valid: 4,161 Spoilt: 66 Quota: 833 Turnout: 4,227 (42.27%) |||||||||||

### Annandale South

* 2007: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Annandale South – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard John Brodie (incumbent) | 21.09 | 959 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Sean William Marshall (incumbent) | 19.55 | 889 | 901.3 | 903.3 | 905.7 | 1,005.7 | |
| | Conservative | Ian Brian Carruthers (incumbent)†† | 19.38 | 881 | 889.6 | 933 | | | |
| | Labour | Ronnie Ogilvie (incumbent) | 16.74 | 761 | 764.6 | 766.7 | 767.4 | 842.6 | 916.3 |
| | SNP | Andrew Wilson | 12.49 | 568 | 573.9 | 577 | 578.9 | 664.9 | 670.9 |
| | Independent | Marion F.B. Stewart | 9.15 | 416 | 424.7 | 432.9 | 438.6 | | |
| | Conservative | Brian Pope | 1.61 | 73 | 73.9 | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,864 Valid: 4,547 Spoilt: 55 Quota: 910 Turnout: 4,602 (41.85%) ||||||||||

### Annandale North

* 2007: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
* 2012: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from Lib Dem
Annandale North – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Labour | Ted Brown (incumbent)† | 19.59 | 845 | 923 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Stephen Thompson | 16.78 | 724 | 768 | 782.5 | 796.9 | 799.1 | 800.4 | 1,067.9 |
| | Conservative | Peter Diggle†† | 15.11 | 652 | 690 | 693.1 | 875.4 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Alis Ballance | 14.26 | 615 | 673 | 687.3 | 755.7 | 759.4 | 761.4 | |
| | Conservative | Gail MacGregor (incumbent) | 13.07 | 564 | 641 | 645.5 | 885.3 | | | |
| | Conservative | Roger Brian Grant (incumbent) | 12.31 | 531 | 566 | 568.7 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hugh Young | 8.88 | 383 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,175 Valid: 4,314 Spoilt: 34 Quota: 863 Turnout: 4,348 (42.4%) |||||||||||

### Annandale East and Eskdale

* 2007: 3xCon; 1xLab
* 2012: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con
Annandale East and Eskdale – 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 |
| | Labour | Archie Dryburgh (incumbent) | 22.20 | 877 | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Denis Raymond Male (incumbent) | 15.29 | 604 | 609.8 | 609.8 | 618.9 | 732.3 | 778.3 | 778.9 | 963.2 |
| | Independent | Craig Peacock | 14.98 | 592 | 607.3 | 621.9 | 654.9 | 716.8 | 797.1 | | |
| | Conservative | Karen Carruthers†† | 13.92 | 550 | 554.8 | 554.8 | 560.8 | 661.2 | 690.9 | 691.6 | 808.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jock Dinwoodie | 11.69 | 462 | 473.8 | 479.5 | 483.7 | 513.4 | 587.8 | 588.9 | |
| | SNP | Brian Richardson | 10.66 | 421 | 430.2 | 434.4 | 436.8 | 447 | | | |
| | Conservative | Stuart Thompson | 8.88 | 351 | 353.3 | 356.6 | 363.9 | | | | |
| | Independent | Allan Graham (incumbent) | 1.24 | 49 | 52.2 | 68.8 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Sidney John Elder | 1.14 | 45 | 50.2 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,663 Valid: 3,951 Spoilt: 36 Quota: 791 Turnout: 4,348 (40.89%) ||||||||||||

## Aftermath

On 20 September 2013 6 members of the Conservative Party quit their group and became Independents.
In August 2015 Lochar SNP Cllr resigned from the party and became an Independent citing racial prejudice towards her and having lost out at a candidate selection for the Scottish Parliament election, 2016.

### By-elections
#### Annandale North by-election (2012)

Annandale North Labour Cllr Ted Brown died on 4 September 2012. A by-election was held on 15 November 2012 which was won by Graeme Tait of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.
Annandale North By-election (15 November 2012) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Graeme Tait††† | 46.0 | 1,819 | 1,857 | 1,922 | 1,980 |
| | Labour | Peter Glanton | 25.3 | 1,002 | 1,008 | 1,053 | 1,149 |
| | Scottish Green | Alis Ballance | 11.7 | 464 | 475 | 508 | 617 |
| | SNP | Frank MacGregor | 9.4 | 371 | 375 | 399 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hugh Young | 5.3 | 208 | 211 | | |
| | UKIP | Bill Wright | 2.3 | 89 | | | |
| | Conservative gain from Labour | Conservative gain from Labour | Swing | | |
| Valid: 3,953 Spoilt: 27 Quota: 1,977 Turnout: 3,980 ||||||||

#### Annandale North by-election (2016)

Annandale North Conservative Cllr Graeme Tait announced on 20 March 2014 that he had defected to the Labour Party stating that he felt its "policies and values" better reflect his own and resigned his Council seat on 22 September 2016. A by-election was held on 17 November 2016 and was won by the Conservative Party's Douglas Fairbairn.
Annandale North By-election (17 November 2016) – 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | Conservative | Douglas Fairbairn | 57.4 | 2041 |
| | SNP | Sylvia Moffat | 21.1 | 749 |
| | Labour | Adam Wilson | 17.2 | 611 |
| | Scottish Green | Chris Ballance | 4.3 | 152 |
| | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
| Valid: 3553 Spoilt: 35 Quota: |||||