# 2022 Falkirk Council election

The 2022 Falkirk Council election was held on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the nine wards created following the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland's 5th Review, with 30 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either three or four members, using the STV electoral system.
At the last election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats and formed a minority administration.

## Background
### Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party, despite losing one seat, overtaking Labour who lost five seats. Two independents were elected, one less than 2012 while the Conservatives gained five seats.
2017 Falkirk Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 12 | | 1 | 1 | 40.0 | 38.8 | 20,861 | 1.6 |
| | Labour | 9 | | 5 | 5 | 30.0 | 23.1 | 12,421 | 14.6 |
| | Conservative | 7 | 5 | | 5 | 23.3 | 24.5 | 13,168 | 13.3 |
| | Independent | 2 | | 1 | 1 | 6.7 | 9.8 | 5,308 | 0.7 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | | | | 0.0 | 3.6 | 1,933 | New |
| Total | Total | 30 | | | | | | 53,754 | |

#### Notes

* Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections in May 2012. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.
* Following boundary changes, the number of seats in Falkirk fell from 32 in 2012 to 30 in 2017. Gains and losses are represented against national results which may differ from other published sources.

### Composition

Since the previous election, several changes in the composition of the council occurred. Labour councillor John McLuckie and Conservative councillor James Kerr were suspended by their respective parties after having been charged by the police following an investigation into planning irregularities in Falkirk. SNP councillor Niall Coleman resigned from the party to become an independent. Two by-elections were held and resulted in an SNP hold and an SNP gain from Labour.
| Party | 2017 result | Dissolution |
| SNP | 12 | 12 |
| Labour | 9 | 7 |
| Conservative | 7 | 7 |
| Independents | 2 | 4 |

### Retiring councillors

| Ward | Party | Retiring councillor |
| Grangemouth | Labour | Allyson Black |
| Denny and Banknock | Labour | Jim Blackwood |
| Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst | Labour | Joan Coombes |
| Bonnybridge and Larbert | Independent | Niall Coleman |
| Falkirk North | SNP | David Alexander |
| Falkirk North | Independent | Dennis Goldie |
| Falkirk South | Conservative | John Patrick |
| Lower Braes | Conservative | Malcolm Nicol |
| Upper Braes | SNP | Gordon Hughes |

## Results

2022 Falkirk Council election :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 40.0 | 39.7 | 21,066 | 0.9 |
| | Labour | 9 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 30.0 | 23.0 | 12,179 | 0.1 |
| | Conservative | 5 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 16.7 | 19.5 | 10,326 | 5.0 |
| | Independent | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 13.3 | 11.4 | 6,018 | 1.6 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 4.5 | 2,365 | 0.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.1 | 603 | New |
| | Alba | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.8 | 424 | New |
| | Other | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.1 | 27 | 0.0 |
| Total | Total | 30 | | | | | | 53,008 | |

### Ward summary

Results of the 2022 Falkirk Council election by ward :
| Ward | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | Total Cllrs |
| Ward | SNP | SNP | Lab | Lab | Conservative | Conservative | Green | Green | Lib Dem | Lib Dem | Ind | Ind | Alba | Alba | Others | Others | | Total Cllrs |
| Bo'ness and Blackness | 21.74 | 1 | 18.64 | 1 | 15.12 | 0 | 2.44 | 0 | 1.61 | 0 | 40.58 | 1 | | | | | 3 |
| Grangemouth | 44.85 | 1 | 23.38 | 1 | 15.23 | 0 | 2.42 | 0 | | | 15.06 | 1 | | | 0.54 | 0 | 3 |
| Denny and Banknock | 46.49 | 2 | 20.66 | 1 | 16.16 | 0 | 3.15 | 0 | | | 13.54 | 1 | | | | | 4 |
| Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst | 44.37 | 2 | 24.55 | 1 | 24.06 | 1 | 4.14 | 0 | 2.88 | 0 | | | | | | | 4 |
| Bonnybridge and Larbert | 33.88 | 1 | 17.60 | 1 | 18.41 | 0 | 4.91 | 0 | | | 25.22 | 1 | | | | | 3 |
| Falkirk North | 47.41 | 2 | 28.86 | 1 | 13.27 | 1 | 5.90 | 0 | | | | | 4.55 | 0 | | | 4 |
| Falkirk South | 41.66 | 1 | 22.34 | 1 | 28.56 | 1 | 5.67 | 0 | | | 1.77 | 0 | | | | | 3 |
| Lower Braes | 39.35 | 1 | 27.00 | 1 | 23.34 | 1 | 5.78 | 0 | 3.24 | 0 | | | 1.30 | 0 | | | 3 |
| Upper Braes | 34.88 | 1 | 23.13 | 1 | 21.86 | 1 | 5.60 | 0 | 2.53 | 0 | 10.88 | 0 | 1.15 | 0 | | | 3 |
| Total | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | 30 |

## Ward results
### Bo'ness and Blackness

* 2012: 2xSNP; 1xLab
* 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2017-2022 Change: Independent gain one seat from Conservative
Bo'ness and Blackness - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Independent | Ann Ritchie (incumbent) | 40.51 | 2,262 |
| | SNP | Stacey Devine | 21.70 | 1,212 | 1,434.54 |
| | Labour | David Aitchison (incumbent) | 18.64 | 1,041 | 1,229.03 | 1,238.47 |
| | Conservative | Lynn Munro (incumbent) | 15.10 | 843 | 950.83 | 951.93 | 984.18 | 995.82 |
| | Scottish Green | Debra Pickering | 2.44 | 136 | 136 | 193.94 | 245.43 | 211.02 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas William Pitts | 1.61 | 90 | 125.3 | 126.18 |
| Electorate: 12,389 Valid: 5,584 Spoilt: 70 Quota: 1,394 Turnout: 45.6% |||||||||

### Grangemouth

* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
* 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2022: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Grangemouth - 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 |
| | SNP | David Balfour (incumbent) | 35.85 | 1,808 |
| | Labour | Alan Nimmo | 23.38 | 1,179 | 1,211.98 | 1,217.28 | 1,244.09 | 1,281.31 |
| | Conservative | Mandy Bryson | 13.58 | 685 | 694.08 | 708.01 | 702.38 | 725.98 | 729.38 |
| | Independent | Robert Spears (incumbent) | 12.12 | 611 | 645.79 | 647.79 | 668.61 | 731.75 | 738.42 | 1,071.96 | 1,391.08 |
| | SNP | John Haston | 9.00 | 454 | 873.93 | 876.23 | 942.91 | 960.45 | 962.68 | 984.84 |
| | Independent | Marc Bozza | 3.11 | 157 | 165.78 | 169.77 | 176.68 |
| | Scottish Green | Rhys Stenhouse | 2.42 | 122 | 137.73 | 138.43 |
| | UKIP | Martin Stuart | 0.54 | 27 | 27.61 |
| Electorate: 12,741 Valid: 5,043 Spoilt: 161 Quota: 1,261 Turnout: 40.5% ||||||||||||

### Denny and Banknock

* 2012: 2xSNP; 1xLab 1xIndependent
* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2017-2022 Change: Independent gain one seat from Conservative
Denny and Banknock - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | SNP | Paul Garner (incumbent) | 29.42 | 1,868 |
| | SNP | Fiona Collie (incumbent) | 17.07 | 1,084 | 1,571.69 |
| | Conservative | Nigel Harris (incumbent) | 16.16 | 1,026 | 1,033.67 | 1,041.5 | 1,056.96 | 1,073.66 | 1,092.16 |
| | Labour | Alf Kelly | 14.00 | 889 | 903.71 | 935.17 | 1,011.42 | 1,368.98 |
| | Independent | Brian McCabe | 13.54 | 860 | 890.68 | 929.43 | 1,031.31 | 1,072.02 | 1,106.23 | 1,610.76 |
| | Labour | James Marshall | 6.66 | 423 | 433.27 | 444.87 | 461.56 |
| | Scottish Green | Rachel Hart | 3.15 | 200 | 223.01 | 346.01 |
| Electorate: 15,534 Valid: 6,350 Spoilt: 128 Quota: 1,271 Turnout: 43.8% ||||

### Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst

* 2012: 2xLab; 2xSNP
* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst - 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 | Gary Bouse (incumbent) | 27.32 | 1,961 |
| | Labour | Margaret Anslow | 24.55 | 1,762 | 1,762 | 1,436. |
| | SNP | Laura Murtagh (incumbent) | 17.05 | 1,224 | 1,670.56 |
| | Conservative | Jim Flynn (incumbent) | 15.06 | 1,081 | 1,088.49 | 1.143.63 | 1,150.23 |
| | Conservative | Robert Kemp | 9.00 | 646 | 649.75 | 674.35 | 678.09 | 711.89 | 778.53 |
| | Scottish Green | Tom McLaughlin | 4.14 | 297 | 326.45 | 270.98 | 370.48 | 492.89 | 610.00 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean McCay | 2.88 | 207 | 215.57 | 278.97 | 314.47 |
| Electorate: 17,252 Valid: 7,178 Spoilt: 156 Quota: 1,436 Turnout: 42.5% |||||||||||

### Bonnybridge and Larbert

* 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2017: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xIndependent
* 2022: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2017-2022 Change: Labour gain one seat from Conservative
Bonnybridge and Larbert - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Independent | Billy Buchanan (incumbent) | 25.22 | 1,423 |
| | SNP | Bryan Deakin | 21.48 | 1,212 | 1,214.26 | 1,276.53 | 1,988.19 |
| | Conservative | David Grant (incumbent) | 18.39 | 1,038 | 1,040.52 | 1,056.57 | 1,064.59 | 1,084.79 |
| | Labour | Jack Redmond | 17.60 | 993 | 996.38 | 1,072.64 | 1,111.79 | 1,327.54 | 1,942.15 |
| | SNP | Jim Muir | 12.40 | 700 | 700.94 | 797.07 |
| | Scottish Green | David Robertson | 4.91 | 277 | 277.94 |
| Electorate: 13,094 Valid: 5,643 Spoilt: 87 Quota: 1,411 Turnout: 43.8% ||||||||||

### Falkirk North

* 2012: 2xSNP; 2xLab
* 2017: 2xSNP; 2xLab
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: Conservative gain one seat from Labour
Falkirk North - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | SNP | Cecil Meiklejohn (incumbent) | 35.01 | 2,260 |
| | Labour | Robert Bissett (incumbent) | 22.68 | 1,464 |
| | Conservative | James Bundy | 13.27 | 857 | 863.85 | 867.95 | 880.64 | 912.95 | 947.87 | 1,277.89 |
| | SNP | Iain Sinclair | 12.41 | 801 | 1,625.50 |
| | Labour | Robbie Burgess | 6.18 | 399 | 423.41 | 466.48 | 604.17 | 651.31 | 929.0 |
| | Scottish Green | Judith McLaughlin | 5.90 | 381 | 424.26 | 553.38 | 557.96 | 631.1 |
| | Alba | Zohaib Arshad | 4.55 | 294 | 307.28 | 345.31 | 348.36 |
| Electorate: 16,749 Valid: 6,456 Spoilt: 174 Quota: 1,292 Turnout: 39.6% ||||

### Falkirk South

* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2017: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2022: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLab
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Falkirk South - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Lorna Binnie (incumbent) | 30.18 | 1,843 |
| | Conservative | Sarah Patrick | 28.56 | 1,744 |
| | Labour | Euan Stainbank | 22.34 | 1,364 | 1,380.46 | 1,478.63 | 1,524.51 | 1,652.32 |
| | SNP | Emma Russell (incumbent) | 11.48 | 701 | 959.03 | 964.61 | 977.33 |
| | Scottish Green | Hunter Thomson | 5.67 | 346 | 359.16 | 377.86 | 408.23 |
| | Independent | Richard Wilson | 1.77 | 108 | 111.09 | 138.58 |
| Electorate: 13,395 Valid: 6,106 Spoilt: 102 Quota: 1,527 Turnout: 46.3% |||||||||

### Lower Braes

* 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2022: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Lower Braes - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Anne Hannah | 27.00 | 1,393 |
| | SNP | Gordon Forrest | 23.36 | 1,205 | 1,213.21 | 1,237.65 | 1,248.06 | 1,330.98 |
| | Conservative | James Kerr | 23.34 | 1,204 | 1,225.29 | 1,237.65 | 1,297.984 | 1,330.97 |
| | SNP | Adanna McCue (incumbent) | 15.99 | 825 | 830.32 | 841.55 | 848.75 | 848.91 |
| | Scottish Green | Doug Sheehan | 5.78 | 298 | 309.76 | 378.19 | 320.97 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Hunter Ashley | 3.24 | 167 | 195.32 | 201.86 |
| | Alba | Scott Fallon | 1.30 | 67 | 69.44 |
| Electorate: 12,003 Valid: 5,159 Spoilt: 48 Quota: 1,290 Turnout: 43.6% ||||||||||

### Upper Braes

* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
* 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2022: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Upper Braes - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 |
| | SNP | Jim Robertson | 34.88 | 1,918 |
| | Labour | Siobhan Paterson | 23.13 | 1,272 | 1,365.42 | 1,370.55 | 1,384.12 |
| | Conservative | Claire Brown | 21.86 | 1,202 | 1,214.45 | 1,219.45 | 1,224.46 | 1,225.95 | 1,233.53 | 1,259.08 | 1,406.68 |
| | Independent | John McLuckie (incumbent) | 8.35 | 459 | 489.57 | 499.27 | 548.80 | 550.05 | 568.17 | 603.26 |
| | Scottish Green | Rachel Kidd | 5.60 | 308 | 516.93 | 520.78 | 535.32 | 536.81 | 586.76 | 644.66 | 740.41 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Austin Reid | 2.53 | 139 | 161.65 | 161.65 | 168.21 | 170.22 | 177.23 |
| | Independent | Ian Kennedy | 1.62 | 89 | 98.34 | 114.04 |
| | Alba | Colin Todd | 1.15 | 63 | 110.56 | 114.13 | 118.13 | 118.39 |
| | Independent | Mark Tunnicliff | 0.89 | 49 | 55.23 |
| Electorate: 12,734 Valid: 5,499 Spoilt: 79 Quota: 1,375 Turnout: 43.8% ||||

## Aftermath
### Falkirk South by-election

In July 2024, Labour councillor Euan Stainbank was elected as MP for Falkirk at the 2024 United Kingdom general election and subsequently resigned as a councillor in August 2024. A by-election was held on 17 October 2024 and was won by Labour candidate Claire Aitken.
Falkirk South (17 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 | Carol Anne Beattie | 31.3 | 1,043 | 1,048 | 1,113 | 1,156 | 1,189 | 1,218 | |
| | Labour | Claire Aitken | 30.5 | 1,014 | 1,048 | 1,090 | 1,132 | 1,161 | 1,329 | 1,724 |
| | Conservative | David Grant | 14.7 | 488 | 498 | 503 | 524 | 652 | | |
| | Reform UK | Stuart Martin | 9.9 | 330 | 341 | 343 | 371 | | | |
| | Independent | Sharron McKean | 5.5 | 184 | 199 | 216 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Tom McLaughlin | 4.5 | 151 | 161 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sean McCay | 3.6 | 119 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,528 Valid: 3,329 Spoilt: 36 Quota: 1,665 Turnout: 24.9% |||||||||||
Source: