# 2022 East Ayrshire Council election

Elections to East Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
For the third consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 14 seats but remained shy of an overall majority. Labour gained back some of the ground they had lost at the previous election and were again returned as the second-largest party with 10 seats. The Conservatives lost one-third of their seats to return four councillors while The Rubbish Party retained their only seat. Three independent candidates were also elected.
The minority SNP administration retained control of the council with incumbent council leader Cllr Douglas Reid re-elected to the post unopposed. Former SNP Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were also reinstated less than a year after being voted out of the roles.

## Background
### Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) again won the most seats and governed with a minority administration. Overall, the SNP lost one seat to hold 14. Labour lost five seats but were still the second largest party with nine councillors and the Conservatives made a net gain of four to hold six seats. Two independents were elected – up one – and The Rubbish Party - standing in its first election - had their first councillor elected.
2017 East Ayrshire Council election result :
| Party | Seats | Vote share |
| SNP | 14 | 38.5% |
| Labour | 9 | 25.2% |
| Conservatives | 6 | 24.2% |
| Independent | 2 | 8.1% |
| Rubbish | 1 | 1.9% |
Source:

### Electoral system

The election used the nine wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 32 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

### Composition

No by-elections were held following the previous election in 2017. The only changes in the political composition of the council came when Councillor Ian Grant was expelled from the Conservative group and became an independent in February 2022 and when Councillor John Bell resigned from the SNP in March 2022.
Composition of East Ayrshire Council :
| Party | 2017 result | Dissolution |
| SNP | 14 | 13 |
| Labour | 9 | 9 |
| Conservative | 6 | 5 |
| Rubbish | 1 | 1 |
| Independents | 2 | 4 |

### Retiring councillors

Retiring councillors :
| Ward | Party | Retiring councillor |
| Annick | SNP | Gordon Jenkins |
| Kilmarnock North | SNP | Helen Coffey |
| Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse | Conservative | Tom Cook |
| Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | SNP | Fiona Campbell |
| Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | SNP | John Campbell |
| Kilmarnock South | Labour | John Knapp |
| Irvine Valley | Labour | George Mair |
| Irvine Valley | SNP | Elena Whitham |
| Ballochmyle | Labour | Neil McGhee |
| Ballochmyle | SNP | Jim Roberts |
| Cumnock and New Cumnock | Conservative | Walter Young |
| Doon Valley | Labour | Elaine Dinwoodie |
Source:

### Candidates

The total number of candidates fell from 63 in 2017 to 54. As was the case five years previous, the SNP fielded the highest number of candidates at 17 (one less than in 2017) across the nine wards. Both Labour and the Conservatives also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 11 candidates fielded by Labour were two less than in 2017 whereas the Conservatives maintained a total of nine candidates. Unlike the previous election, the Libertarians did not contest every ward after only one candidate was selected. The Greens only fielded one candidate, down from four in 2017 while The Rubbish Party maintained their number of candidates at one. The Liberal Democrats contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time since 2012 as they fielded two candidates. As was the case in 2017, nine independent candidates stood for election and the Alba Party contested an election in East Ayrshire for the first time.

## Results

2022 East Ayrshire Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 14 | 1 | 1 | | 43.7 | 37.9 | 15,767 | 0.6 |
| | Labour | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 31.2 | 29.5 | 12,251 | 4.3 |
| | Conservative | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12.5 | 17.7 | 7,351 | 6.5 |
| | Independent | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 9.3 | 11.4 | 4,730 | 3.3 |
| | Rubbish | 1 | 0 | 0 | | 3.1 | 1.9 | 787 | |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 228 | 1.1 |
| | Alba | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.5 | 227 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.4 | 183 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.1 | 38 | 0.4 |
| Total | Total | 32 | | | | | | 41,562 | |
Source:
Note: 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 on 4 May 2017. 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 the dissolution of Scotland's councils.

### Ward summary

Results of the 2022 East Ayrshire Council election by ward :
| Ward | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | Total Cllrs |
| Ward | SNP | SNP | Labour | Labour | Conservative | Conservative | Rubbish | Rubbish | Others | Others | | Total Cllrs |
| Annick | 33.1 | 1 | 19.1 | 1 | 24.5 | 1 | | | 23.2 | 1 | 4 |
| Kilmarnock North | 47.6 | 2 | 27.9 | 1 | 13.8 | 0 | | | 10.7 | 0 | 3 |
| Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse | 38.4 | 2 | 28.2 | 1 | 22.0 | 1 | | | 11.4 | 0 | 4 |
| Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | 37.2 | 2 | 38.5 | 1 | 12.1 | 0 | | | 12.2 | 1 | 4 |
| Kilmarnock South | 53.3 | 2 | 31.4 | 1 | 12.2 | 0 | | | 3.2 | 0 | 3 |
| Irvine Valley | 41.6 | 1 | 22.6 | 1 | 17.3 | 0 | 18.5 | 1 | | | 3 |
| Ballochmyle | 39.7 | 2 | 32.7 | 1 | 16.8 | 1 | | | 10.9 | 0 | 4 |
| Cumnock and New Cumnock | 33.9 | 1 | 41.2 | 2 | 18.5 | 1 | | | 2.4 | 0 | 4 |
| Doon Valley | 20.8 | 1 | 23.1 | 1 | 16.7 | 0 | | | 39.4 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 37.9 | 14 | 29.5 | 10 | 17.7 | 4 | 1.9 | 1 | 12.9 | 3 | 32 |
Source:

### Seats changing hands

Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat.
Seats changing hands :
| Seat | 2017 | 2017 | 2017 | 2022 | 2022 | 2022 |
| Seat | Party | Party | Member | Party | Party | Member |
| Kilmarnock North | | Conservative | Ian Grant | | SNP | David William Richardson |
| Kilmarnock East and Hurlford | | Conservative | John Herd | | Independent | Graham Boyd |
| Cumnock and New Cumnock | | SNP | Jacqui Todd | | Labour | June Kyle |

#### Notes

* ^ Note 1: In 2017, Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate but was later expelled from the party.

## Ward results
### Annick

The SNP, the Conservatives, Labour and independent candidate Ellen Freel held the seats they won at the previous election.
Annick – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | John McFadzean (incumbent) | 24.5 | 1,516 | | | | |
| | Labour | John McGhee (incumbent) | 19.1 | 1,183 | 1,270 | | | |
| | SNP | Stephen Canning | 16.9 | 1,048 | 1,052 | 1,054 | 1,139 | 2,086 |
| | SNP | Wendy Hannah | 16.1 | 998 | 1,004 | 1,007 | 1,063 | |
| | Independent | Ellen Freel (incumbent) | 13.1 | 812 | 872 | 883 | 1,216 | 1,274 |
| | Independent | John Cairns | 10.1 | 627 | 666 | 672 | | |
| Electorate: 12,530 Valid: 6,184 Spoilt: 80 Quota: 1,237 Turnout: 50.0% |||||||||
Source:

### Kilmarnock North

The SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to the SNP. Independent candidate Ian Grant was elected as a Conservative candidate in 2017 but was later expelled from the party.
Kilmarnock North – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Elaine Cowan | 38.2 | 1,483 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Maureen McKay (incumbent) | 27.9 | 1,084 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Allan MacDonald | 13.8 | 536 | 542 | 566 | 574 | 713 | |
| | SNP | David William Richardson | 9.4 | 364 | 788 | 804 | 855 | 939 | 1,035 |
| | Independent | Ian Grant (incumbent) | 8.1 | 316 | 343 | 366 | 397 | | |
| | Alba | Wendy MacDonald | 2.6 | 99 | 113 | 119 | | | |
| Electorate: 9,748 Valid: 3,882 Spoilt: 53 Quota: 971 Turnout: 40.4% ||||||||||
Source:

### Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Labour | Lillian Jones (incumbent) | 28.2 | 1,662 | | | |
| | Conservative | James Adams | 22.0 | 1,297 | | | |
| | SNP | Iain Linton (incumbent) | 19.8 | 1,168 | 1,219 | | |
| | SNP | Douglas Reid (incumbent) | 18.6 | 1,093 | 1,142 | 1,149 | 1,182 |
| | Independent | Frank McNiff | 6.3 | 369 | 475 | 516 | 517 |
| | Scottish Green | Elizabeth Brown | 3.9 | 228 | 299 | 308 | 312 |
| | Alba | Guy Njali Bola | 1.2 | 71 | 81 | 82 | 83 |
| Electorate: 13,347 Valid: 5,888 Spoilt: 70 Quota: 1,178 Turnout: 44.6% ||||||||
Source:

### Kilmarnock East and Hurlford

The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won in the previous election while the Conservatives lost their only seat to independent candidate Graham Boyd.
Kilmarnock East and Hurlford – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Barry Douglas (incumbent) | 38.5 | 2,053 | | | | |
| | SNP | Graham Barton | 28.2 | 1,501 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Jon Herd (incumbent) | 12.1 | 645 | 796 | 798 | 854 | |
| | Independent | Graham Boyd | 10.8 | 574 | 776 | 799 | 879 | 1,288 |
| | SNP | Neal Ingram | 9.0 | 481 | 616 | 983 | 1,000 | 1,030 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Trevor Grant | 1.4 | 74 | 209 | 218 | | |
| Electorate: 12,370 Valid: 5,328 Spoilt: 69 Quota: 1,066 Turnout: 43.6% |||||||||
Source:

### Kilmarnock South

The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election
Kilmarnock South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | SNP | Jim Todd (incumbent) | 32.6 | 990 |
| | Labour | Peter Mabon | 31.4 | 954 | |
| | SNP | Claire Maitland (incumbent) | 20.7 | 627 | 828 |
| | Conservative | Robin Bawa | 12.2 | 370 | 374 |
| | Alba | Stewart John McLintock | 1.9 | 57 | 62 |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Keyrin James Von-Döring | 1.3 | 38 | 40 |
| Electorate: 8,186 Valid: 3,036 Spoilt: 67 Quota: 760 Turnout: 37.9% ||||||
Source:

### Irvine Valley

The SNP, Labour and the Rubbish Party retained the seats they won at the previous election
Irvine Valley – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Beverley Michele Clark | 30.8 | 1,309 | | | | |
| | Labour | Kevin McGregor | 22.6 | 962 | 974 | 1,153 | | |
| | Rubbish | Sally Cogley (incumbent) | 18.5 | 787 | 801 | 982 | 1,017 | 1,547 |
| | Conservative | Susan McFadzean | 17.3 | 737 | 739 | 763 | 782 | |
| | SNP | Lee-Anne Margaret To | 10.8 | 461 | 667 | | | |
| Electorate: 9,797 Valid: 4,256 Spoilt: 46 Quota: 1,065 Turnout: 43.9% |||||||||
Source:

### Ballochmyle

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.
Ballochmyle – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Claire Leitch (incumbent) | 28.0 | 1,301 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Linda Holland | 23.4 | 1,085 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Alyson Simmons (incumbent) | 16.8 | 779 | 781 | 786 | 912 | 914 | 1,112 |
| | SNP | William Lennox | 11.7 | 542 | 863 | 869 | 981 | | |
| | Independent | David Shaw | 10.9 | 507 | 522 | 532 | | | |
| | Labour | Stephen McCarron | 9.3 | 432 | 444 | 565 | 691 | 706 | |
| Electorate: 11,193 Valid: 4,646 Spoilt: 100 Quota: 930 Turnout: 42.4% ||||||||||
Source:

### Cumnock and New Cumnock

Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election while the SNP retained one seat and lost one seat to Labour.
Cumnock and New Cumnock – 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Billy Crawford (incumbent) | 30.1 | 1,349 | | | | |
| | SNP | Jim McMahon (incumbent) | 20.0 | 897 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Neill Watts | 18.5 | 827 | 847 | 858 | 858 | 915 |
| | SNP | Jacqui Todd (incumbent) | 15.7 | 701 | 714 | 723 | 724 | 752 |
| | Labour | June Kyle | 13.2 | 593 | 961 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Fraser Wright | 2.4 | 109 | 114 | 127 | 127 | |
| Electorate: 11,044 Valid: 4,476 Spoilt: 116 Quota: 896 Turnout: 41.6% |||||||||
Source:

### Doon Valley

Independent candidate Drew Filson, Labour and the SNP held the seats they won at the previous election. Independent candidate John Bell was elected as an SNP candidate in 2017 but he later resigned from the party.
Doon Valley – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Independent | Drew Filson (incumbent) | 27.9 | 1,077 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Elaine Stewart | 23.1 | 894 | 929 | 974 | | | |
| | SNP | Jennifer Hogg | 20.8 | 803 | 817 | 826 | 827 | 927 | 1,074 |
| | Conservative | Samantha Hainey | 16.7 | 644 | 651 | 681 | 682 | 780 | |
| | Independent | John Bell (incumbent) | 8.0 | 311 | 333 | 373 | 375 | | |
| | Independent | Murray Hendrie | 3.5 | 137 | 146 | | | | |
| Electorate: 8,932 Valid: 3,866 Spoilt: 59 Quota: 967 Turnout: 43.9% ||||||||||
Source:

## Aftermath

The SNP, who have run East Ayrshire Council since forming an administration as a result of the 2007 election, retained control of the council. It was reported that the party had been worried they would lose control of the council – as was the case in other councils across Scotland where unionist parties had voted together to prevent nationalist leadership – but the Labour and Conservative groups didn't oppose Cllr Douglas Reid's re-election as council leader. Provost Jim Todd and Depute Provost Claire Leitch were reinstated to their roles despite Labour and the Conservatives putting forward candidates for the roles however, the two parties did not support each other. The pair had been voted out in June 2021 when the opposition parties had voted together to have the leadership roles of the council shared more evenly across the council reflecting the fact the SNP administration was a minority administration.
Former Conservative group leader Tom Cook stood down at the 2022 election. He was replaced in the role by Annick councillor John McFadzean.
In October 2024, Provost Todd announced "with regret" that he would stand down as Provost due to "personal circumstances". He was replaced in the role by Deputy Provost Leitch and, in turn, Cllr John McGee was elected as Provost Leitch's replacement as Deputy Provost.
Labour group leader Maureen McKay died in November 2024. She was replaced in the role by Kilmarnock East and Hurlford councillor Barry Douglas.

### November 2024 by-elections

Following their successful campaigns during the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse councillor Lillian Jones and Doon Valley councillor Elaine Stewart - who were elected as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun and Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock respectively - announced that they had resigned their council seats in September 2024. By-elections, held on 14 November 2024, were won by Labour candidates Jim Kyle and Jayne Sangster.
Doon Valley by-election (14 November 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 |
| | Labour | Jim Kyle | 32.2 | 516 | 516 | 523 | 537 | 569 | 699 | 826 |
| | Conservative | Tracey Clark | 25.5 | 410 | 411 | 412 | 423 | 475 | 506 | |
| | SNP | Lorraine Pollock | 23.7 | 379 | 379 | 391 | 400 | 432 | | |
| | Independent | Jim Ireland | 10.7 | 172 | 175 | 179 | 195 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Trevor Grant | 4.2 | 68 | 68 | 77 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Korin Matthew Vallance | 3.0 | 48 | 49 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Stef McNamara | 0.5 | 9 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 8,763 Valid: 1,602 Spoilt: 27 Quota: 802 Turnout: 18.6% |||||||||||
Source:
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse by-election (14 November 2024) – 1 seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Jayne Sangster | 39.4 | 1,213 | 1,225 | 1,276 | 1,468 | 1,935 |
| | SNP | Marie Robertson | 33.3 | 1,025 | 1,032 | 1,060 | 1,127 | |
| | Conservative | Allan MacDonald | 20.2 | 623 | 635 | 675 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lee Manley | 38.1 | 145 | 162 | | | |
| | Independent | Stephen McNamara | 2.4 | 75 | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,260 Valid: 3,081 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 1,541 Turnout: 23.4% |||||||||
Source:

### Kilmarnock North by-election

Kilmarnock North councillor Maureen McKay died in November 2024. A by-election, held on 20 February 2025, was won by SNP candidate Caroline Barton. Sandra Kirkwood was listed on the ballot paper as a Reform UK candidate but was withdrawn by the party over comments made on social media.
Kilmarnock North by-election (20 February 2025) – 1 seat :
| 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 | Caroline Barton | 35.7 | 748 | 748 | 751 | 778 | 788 | 809 | 867 | 1,067 |
| | Labour | Greg MacKenzie | 27.8 | 582 | 582 | 592 | 612 | 648 | 673 | 764 | |
| | Independent | Ian Grant | 13.2 | 277 | 277 | 286 | 294 | 326 | 395 | | |
| | Reform UK | Sandra Kirkwood | 10.1 | 212 | 212 | 213 | 215 | 241 | | | |
| | Conservative | Allan MacDonald | 7.6 | 159 | 159 | 163 | 167 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Finlay Affleck | 0.8 | 75 | 76 | 78 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lee Manley | 1.7 | 37 | 37 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Stephen McNamara | 0.1 | 2 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,726 Valid: 2,092 Spoilt: 18 Quota: 1,047 Turnout: 21.7% ||||||||||||
Source: