# 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

The 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The election used the twelve 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 43 councillors being elected, a reduction of 4 members and 1 ward since 2012.
Following the election the Conservative Party became the largest party, with Labour falling from first place into third place in terms of votes and seats. The SNP also drew with Labour in terms of seats as they both won 11 seats.
This election also saw Independent councillors Willie Scobie and Jane Maitland returned, but saw Marion McCutcheon, George Prentice, Tom McAughtrie, Yen Hongmei Jin, Denis Male and Craig Peacock all losing their seats. Elaine Murray, the former Labour MSP for Dumfriesshire was elected to the Council in the Nith ward.
Following the election, Ian Carruthers (Annandale South) was elected as the Conservative group leader, Rob Davidson (Abbey) as the SNP group leader and Elaine Murray (Nith) as the Labour group leader. Richard Brodie (Annandale South), is the sole Liberal Democrat councillor.
On 23 May, almost three weeks following the election, Labour and the SNP formed a coalition to form a majority council with Murray as council leader and Rob Davidson as depute leader and civic head. Although the Conservatives were elected the largest party with 16 seats, they remained in opposition.

## Results

2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Conservative | 16 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 37.2 | 38.7 | 21,138 | 12.1 |
| SNP | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25.6 | 21.6 | 11,779 | 2.1 |
| Labour | 11 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 25.6 | 18.5 | 10,077 | 10.9 |
| Independent | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 9.3 | 17.3 | 9,425 | 0.8 |
| Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 2.3 | 2.5 | 1,350 | 1.5 |
| Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.9 | 1,026 | 0.1 |
| Scottish Libertarian | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.2 | 118 | New |
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 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

## Ward results
### Stranraer and the Rhins

* 2012: 1x Ind, 1x SNP, 1xLab
* 2017: 1x No description, 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Lab
* 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain extra seat
Stranraer and the Rhins - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | No description | Willie Scobie (incumbent) | 36.53 | 1,925 | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Andrew Giusti | 32.31 | 1,703 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Ros Surtees | 14.52 | 765 | 869.4 | 884.62 | 903.35 | 919.09 | 953.34 | 1,013.39 |
| | Labour | Tommy Sloan | 5.92 | 312 | 589.94 | 661.86 | 694.11 | 723.69 | 774.28 | 912.14 |
| | Independent | Tracy Davidson | 3.43 | 181 | 251.95 | 317.4 | 338.72 | 381.51 | | |
| | Independent | Marion McCutcheon (incumbent) | 3.15 | 166 | 259.55 | 332.23 | 363.55 | 418.26 | 533.25 | |
| | Independent | Robert McCrae | 2.33 | 123 | 164.13 | 231.48 | 242.73 | | | |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Chris Collings | 1.80 | 95 | 134.77 | 174.72 | | | | |
| Electorate: 11,382 Valid: 5,270 Spoilt: 80 Quota: 1,055 Turnout: 46.3% |||||||||||

### Mid Galloway and Wigtown West

* 2017: 2x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
* 2012-2017 Change: New ward
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West- 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Conservative | David Inglis | 26.07 | 1,403 | | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Jim McColm (incumbent) | 18.13 | 976 | 1,012.01 | 1,027.25 | 1,050.25 | 1,158.41 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Graham Nicol (incumbent) ††††† | 13.43 | 723 | 960.46 | 962.93 | 971.02 | 1,009.64 | 1,032.12 | 1,234.63 | | |
| | SNP | Katie Hagmann | 13.02 | 701 | 703.32 | 708.32 | 733.32 | 806.49 | 811.66 | 860.02 | 867.82 | 1,416.84 |
| | SNP | Steve Norris | 10.63 | 572 | 574.32 | 577.56 | 587.56 | 606.25 | 612.84 | 657.4 | 664.87 | |
| | Independent | Richard Oxley | 8.83 | 475 | 48.01 | 496.24 | 506.24 | 551.94 | 579.43 | | | |
| | Labour | Matthew Curry | 6.84 | 368 | 375.67 | 379.9 | 407.36 | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Barbara Bannatyne | 2.16 | 116 | 118.32 | 121.79 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | John McCutcheon | 0.89 | 48 | 49.86 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,594 Valid: 5,382 Spoilt: 120 Quota: 1,076 Turnout: 57.3% |||||||||||||

### Dee and Glenkens

* 2017: 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
* 2012-2017 Change: New ward
Dee and Glenkens- 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 |
| | Conservative | Patsy Gilroy (incumbent)† | 33.47 | 1,547 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Dougie Campbell | 19.56 | 904 | 909.31 | 916.81 | 921.32 | 934.82 | 967.08 | 1,121.83 | 1,250.09 |
| | Independent | Douglas Swan | 15.84 | 732 | 788.11 | 804.12 | 817.64 | 844.2 | 886.49 | 925.55 | |
| | Independent | Jane Maitland (incumbent) | 14.37 | 664 | 824.49 | 833.27 | 850.57 | 937.7 | 983.26 | 1,096.79 | 1,522.66 |
| | Scottish Green | Laura Moodie | 6.32 | 292 | 303.88 | 305.88 | 321.67 | 333.43 | 402.21 | | |
| | Labour | Elizabeth Maxwell | 4.69 | 217 | 237.72 | 238.98 | 258.26 | 262.28 | | | |
| | Independent | Andi Holmes | 2.60 | 120 | 144.52 | 157.28 | 174.57 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Metcalf | 1.84 | 85 | 106.74 | 111.99 | | | | | |
| | No description | John Thorn | 1.32 | 61 | 70.6 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 8,239 Valid: 4,622 Spoilt: 34 Quota: 1,156 Turnout: 56.5% ||||||||||||

### Castle Douglas and Crocketford

* 2017: 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
* 2012-2017 Change: New ward
Castle Douglas and Crocketford - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Conservative | David James††† | 35.79 | 1,346 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Iain Howie | 23.96 | 901 | 1,033.99 | | | | |
| | SNP | John Young | 20.10 | 756 | 761.72 | 772.23 | 837.81 | 928.28 | 1,099.88 |
| | Independent | George Nicol Prentice (incumbent) | 9.70 | 365 | 451.66 | 496.45 | 522.15 | 628.9 | |
| | Labour | Lucy McKie | 7.02 | 264 | 307.03 | 316.87 | 354.5 | | |
| | Scottish Green | Paul Taylorson | 3.43 | 129 | 147.66 | 155.77 | | | |
| Electorate: 7,433 Valid: 3,761 Spoilt: 41 Quota: 941 Turnout: 50.6% ||||||||||

### Abbey

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
* 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
* 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. Labour lose 1 seat.
Abbey - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Ian Blake (incumbent) | 39.38 | 1,664 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Davie Stitt (incumbent) | 21.92 | 926 | 1,084.31 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Rob Davidson (incumbent) | 16.21 | 685 | 698.13 | 703.77 | 738.18 | 932.12 | 988.26 | 1,159.28 |
| | No description | Tom McAughtrie (incumbent) | 10.60 | 448 | 517.31 | 521.99 | 532.31 | 540.35 | 645.66 | |
| | SNP | Kim Lowe | 4.90 | 207 | 209.92 | 211.17 | 235.76 | | | |
| | Independent | Belle Doyle | 4.14 | 175 | 268.75 | 271.41 | 314.93 | 324.82 | | |
| | Scottish Green | Clare Phillips | 2.84 | 120 | 151.74 | 155.6 | | | | |
| Electorate: 8,284 Valid: 4,225 Spoilt: 59 Quota: 1,057 Turnout: 51.0% |||||||||||

### North West Dumfries

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
* 2017: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
* 2012-2017 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 |
| | Conservative | John Graham Bell (incumbent) | 32.54 | 1,374 | | | | |
| | SNP | Andy Ferguson (incumbent) | 16.41 | 693 | 708.02 | 736.4 | 774.41 | 1,314.26 |
| | Labour | Ronnie Nicholson (incumbent)†† | 16.08 | 679 | 722.51 | 732.59 | 763.44 | 778.6 |
| | Labour | David John McKie (incumbent) | 14.47 | 611 | 694.93 | 720.86 | 784.57 | 809.27 |
| | SNP | Stacy Bradley | 13.60 | 574 | 588.25 | 613.02 | 642.33 | |
| | Independent | Billy Farries | 3.86 | 163 | 268.88 | 304.73 | | |
| | Scottish Green | Michelle Johnston | 3.03 | 128 | 156.49 | | | |
| Electorate: 9,981 Valid: 4,222 Spoilt: 112 Quota: 845 Turnout: 42.3% |||||||||

### Mid and Upper Nithsdale

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
* 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
* 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. Labour lose 1 seat.
Mid and Upper Nithsdale - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | Matthew Ronnie | 27.98 | 1,211 | | | | |
| | Labour | Jim Dempster (incumbent) | 24.38 | 1,055 | 1,087.55 | | | |
| | SNP | Andrew Stuart Wood (incumbent)†††† | 20.15 | 872 | 876.65 | 876.96 | 1,043.9 | 1,286.21 |
| | Labour | John Syme (incumbent) | 16.73 | 724 | 730.76 | 734.26 | 839.41 | |
| | No description | Graham Watson | 10.77 | 466 | 497.92 | 498.1 | | |
| Electorate: 8,105 Valid: 4,328 Spoilt: 50 Quota: 1,083 Turnout: 53.4% |||||||||

### Lochar

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
* 2017: 1x Lab, 2x Con, 1x SNP
* 2012-2017 Change: Con gain from Lab
Lochar - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Conservative | John Anthony Charteris | 24.19 | 1,208 | | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Ivor Alexander Hyslop (incumbent) | 16.88 | 843 | 1,000.61 | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Jeff Leaver (incumbent) | 13.72 | 685 | 688.29 | 688.5 | 701.68 | 833.24 | 875.96 | 899.3 | 916.78 | 1,153.64 |
| | SNP | Tracey Little | 13.20 | 659 | 661.08 | 661.09 | 685.1 | 689.1 | 710.45 | 1,099.98 | | |
| | Independent | Yen Hongmei Jin (incumbent) | 12.13 | 606 | 620.71 | 620.97 | 637.15 | 652.15 | 777.22 | 786.22 | 810.59 | |
| | SNP | Joe McGurk | 8.33 | 416 | 417.21 | 417.23 | 440.58 | 447.58 | 459.75 | | | |
| | Independent | Maureen Johnstone | 5.99 | 299 | 310.94 | 311.21 | 322.73 | 326.73 | | | | |
| | Labour | Keith Walters | 3.16 | 158 | 158.69 | 158.74 | 175.92 | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Arthur Ramsay | 2.40 | 120 | 121.38 | 121.43 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,603 Valid: 4,994 Spoilt: 118 Quota: 999 Turnout: 47.1% |||||||||||||

### Nith

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x SNP, 1x Con
* 2017: 2x Lab, 1x SNP, 1x Con
* 2012-2017 Change: No Change
Nith - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | Conservative | Malcolm Johnstone | 29.30 | 1,481 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Elaine Murray | 19.01 | 961 | 1,033.2 | | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | John Campbell | 16.97 | 858 | 862.75 | 863.32 | 887.71 | 901.77 | 922.72 | 950.35 | 1,379.72 | | |
| | SNP | Alastair Witts (incumbent) | 8.66 | 438 | 441.48 | 441.96 | 468.7 | 488.37 | 493.71 | 507.68 | | | |
| | Labour | John Martin (incumbent) | 8.39 | 424 | 463.9 | 478.72 | 500.8 | 523.66 | 540.98 | 579.72 | 599.29 | 682.97 | 837.94 |
| | Independent | David Robert Slater | 5.88 | 297 | 362.55 | 363.43 | 380.02 | 401.18 | 459.13 | 586.3 | 606.99 | 676.46 | |
| | Independent | Niall Cowan | 3.88 | 196 | 246.35 | 247.12 | 252.05 | 278.76 | 321.56 | | | | |
| | Independent | Andrew Crosbie | 3.03 | 153 | 188.15 | 188.47 | 192.81 | 210.46 | | | | | |
| | Independent | John Dennis | 2.49 | 126 | 151.02 | 151.67 | 168.34 | | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Sandy Rogerson | 2.39 | 121 | 133.67 | 134.22 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,233 Valid: 5,055 Spoilt: 77 Quota: 1,012 Turnout: 49.4% ||||||||||||||

### Annandale South

* 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Lib Dem, 1x Con
* 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lib Dem, 1x SNP, 1x Lab
* 2012-2017 Change: SNP gain from Lab
Annandale South - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Ian Brian Carruthers (incumbent) | 31.48 | 1,621 | | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Richard John Brodie (incumbent) | 19.58 | 1,008 | 1,183.73 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Henry McClelland | 17.81 | 917 | 933.41 | 950.54 | 950.67 | 972.18 | 999.06 | 1,152.05 |
| | Labour | Sean Marshall (incumbent) | 13.61 | 701 | 768.08 | 811.3 | 819.7 | 1,190.65 | | |
| | Independent | Allan Weild | 8.74 | 450 | 550.99 | 585.58 | 599.68 | 634.99 | 674.21 | |
| | Labour | Ronnie Ogilvie (incumbent) | 8.33 | 429 | 451.6 | 467.73 | 470.63 | | | |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Peter McKain | 0.45 | 23 | 31.02 | 34.55 | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,955 Valid: 5,149 Spoilt: 72 Quota: 1,030 Turnout: 47.0% |||||||||||

### Annandale North

* 2012 Notional: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
* 2017: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
* 2012-2017 Change: No Change
Annandale North - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Douglas Fairbairn (incumbent) | 28.76 | 1,573 | | | |
| | Conservative | Gail McGregor (incumbent) | 25.72 | 1,407 | | | |
| | SNP | Stephen Thompson (incumbent) | 23.91 | 1,308 | | | |
| | Labour | Adam Wilson | 16.91 | 925 | 998.84 | 1,055.83 | 1,126.99 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lisa Courts | 4.70 | 257 | 356.37 | 438.41 | 500.94 |
| Electorate: 11,540 Valid: 5,470 Spoilt: 69 Quota: 1,095 Turnout: 47.4% ||||||||

### Annandale East and Eskdale

* 2012: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1X Ind
* 2017: 2x Con, 1x Lab
* 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. 1 Independent loss.
Annandale East and Eskdale - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | Karen Carruthers (incumbent) | 29.59 | 1,290 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Ronnie Tait | 17.06 | 744 | 881.45 | 901.22 | 983.92 | 1,266.4 |
| | No description | Denis Raymond Male (incumbent) | 16.54 | 721 | 732.42 | 809.57 | 934.96 | |
| | Labour | Archie Dryburgh (incumbent) | 14.63 | 638 | 652.04 | 776.35 | 1,029.74 | 1,362.05 |
| | Independent | Craig Peacock (incumbent) | 11.77 | 513 | 529.2 | 630.51 | | |
| | SNP | Sylvia Moffat | 10.41 | 454 | 455.85 | | | |
| Electorate: 8,466 Valid: 4,360 Spoilt: 65 Quota: 1,091 Turnout: 51.5% |||||||||

## Aftermath

On 26 February 2019, Labour Cllr Ronnie Nicholson resigned from the party and became an Independent.
On 12 April 2019, Castle Douglas and Crocketford Conservative Cllr David James resigned from the party and became an Independent claiming the party avoided making policies.
On 5 July 2019, Mid and Upper Nithsdale SNP Cllr Andrew Wood resigned from the party and became an Independent. On 21 September 2020, Cllr. Wood announced that he had joined the Conservative party.

### By-elections
#### Dee and Glenkens by-election

On 18 October 2018, Dee and Glenkens Conservative councillor Patsy Gilroy resigned her seat. She was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of the Stewartry by Her Majesty The Queen on 5 November 2018. A by-election was held on 13 December 2018. The seat was won by Pauline Drysdale of the Conservative party.
Dee and Glenkens By-election (13 December 2018) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Pauline Louise Drysdale | 45.9 | 1,682 | 1,704 | 1,740 | 1,956 |
| | SNP | Glen Murray | 28.0 | 1,024 | 1,026 | 1,183 | 1,357 |
| | Independent | Colin Matthew Wyper | 15.5 | 569 | 575 | 651 | |
| | Scottish Green | Laura Elizabeth Moodie | 9.3 | 342 | 349 | | |
| | UKIP | Jennifer Blue | 1.3 | 42 | | | |
| Electorate: 8,088 Valid: 3,663 Spoilt: 29 Quota: 1,832.00 Turnout: 3,692 (45.65%) ||||||||

#### Mid Galloway and Wigtown West by-election

On 25 October 2019, Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Conservative Cllr Graham Nicol died suddenly. A by-election was held on the 23 January 2020. The seat was won by Jackie McCamon of the Conservative party.
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West By-election (23 January 2020) :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | Conservative | Jackie McCamon | 61.8 | 2,177 |
| | SNP | Tony Berretti | 25.5 | 898 |
| | Scottish Green | Peter Barlow | 6.4 | 225 |
| | Labour | Gill Hay | 6.3 | 220 |
| Quota: Turnout: 3,520 (32.5%) |||||