# 2022 Renfrewshire Council election

The 2022 Renfrewshire Council elections took place on 5 May 2022, as part of the 2022 Scottish local elections on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local authorities were up for election. The election used the 12 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 and last changed as a result of the 2015-16 Boundary Commission review, with 43 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.
At the last election in 2017, the SNP won the most seats and formed a minority administration taking over from the previous Labour majority administration. This election saw the SNP grow their number of seats to 21, one short of a majority, along with seats gains by Labour to bring them up to 15. The Conservatives lost seats, reducing their representation to 5. Liberal Democrats retained their single seat and Independents on the council were reduced to also a single seat.

## Background
### Retiring councillors

| Ward | Party | Retiring councillor |
| Renfrew North and Braehead | Conservative | Jane Strang |
| Renfrew North and Braehead | Labour | Bill Brown |
| Paisley Northeast and Ralston | Labour | Jim Sharkey |
| Paisley Northwest | Labour | Karen Kennedy |
| Paisley Northwest | Conservative | John McIntyre |
| Paisley Southwest | Liberal Democrats | Eileen McCartin |
| Johnstone South and Elderslie | Conservative | Alistair MacKay |
| Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch | Conservative | Bill Binks |
| Houston, Crosslee and Linwood | Labour | Jim Sheridan |
| Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank | SNP | Natalie Don |
| Erskine and Inchinnan | Labour | Jim Harte |
| Erskine and Inchinnan | Conservative | Tom Begg |

## Results

2022 Renfrewshire Council election :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | SNP | 21 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 48.84 | 41.72 | 25,624 | 4.09 |
| | Labour | 15 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 34.88 | 32.34 | 19,860 | 4.12 |
| | Conservative | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 11.63 | 16.28 | 9,999 | 4.76 |
| | Liberal Democrats | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.33 | 3.86 | 2,371 | 0.28 |
| | Independent | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2.33 | 3.65 | 2,240 | 1.67 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | - | - | - | - | 1.55 | 949 | 1.71 |
| | Scottish Family | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.30 | 187 | New |
| | Alba | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.09 | 53 | New |
| | TUSC | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.07 | 46 | 0.07 |
| | Scottish Libertarian | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.07 | 45 | New |
| | Scottish Socialist | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.07 | 44 | 0.13 |
| Total | Total | 43 | Electorate: 141,764 | Turnout: 62,973 (44.4%) | Total valid: 61,418 | 100.00 | | - |
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 5 May 2017. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of council.

## Ward results
### Renfrew North and Braehead

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No Change
Renfrew North and Braehead - 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 | Lisa-Marie Hughes (incumbent) | 24.48 | 1,376 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | John Shaw (incumbent) | 24.44 | 1,374 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Jamie McGuire | 24.39 | 1,371 | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | John Gray | 15.96 | 897 | 903.56 | 914.62 | 933.28 | 940.64 | 1,007.17 | 1,305.47 |
| | Labour | Sophia Daphne Rose Dowling Sparks | 5.18 | 291 | 351.56 | 406.83 | 603.13 | 630.38 | 795.03 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ross Stalker | 4.50 | 253 | 289.30 | 325.18 | 335.41 | 357.95 | | |
| | Independent | Peter Morton | 1.05 | 59 | 72.68 | 86.09 | 88.24 | | | |
| Electorate: 13,717 Valid: 5,621 Spoilt: 215 Quota: 1,125 Turnout: 42.5% |||||||||||

### Renfrew South and Gallowhill

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab;
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab;
* 2017-2022 Change: No Change
Renfrew South and Gallowhill - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | SNP | Cathy McEwan (incumbent) | 30.02 | 1,129 | |
| | Labour | Edward Grady (incumbent) | 26.27 | 1,003 | |
| | SNP | Jim Paterson (incumbent) | 22.39 | 842 | 1,007.18 |
| | Conservative | Dale Nelson | 11.56 | 446 | 449.00 |
| | Labour | Kate Hughes | 9.07 | 341 | 350.49 |
| Electorate: 9,357 Valid: 3,761 Spoilt: 93 Quota: 941 Turnout: 41.2% ||||||

### Paisley Northeast and Ralston

* 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No Change
Paisley Northeast and Ralston - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | SNP | Jennifer Adam-McGregor (incumbent) | 40.23 | 1,843 | | | |
| | Labour | Graeme Clark | 33.97 | 1,556 | | | |
| | Conservative | Neill Graham (incumbent) | 19.84 | 909 | 943.79 | 1,033.64 | 1,429.46 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan McInnes | 5.96 | 273 | 626.98 | 818.01 | |
| Electorate: 9,141 Valid: 4,581 Spoilt: 70 Quota: 1,146 Turnout: 50.9% ||||||||

### Paisley Northwest

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 2xLab;
* 2017-2022 Change: Labour gain one seat from Conservative
Paisley Northwest - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| | SNP | Kenny MacLaren (incumbent) | 27.31 | 1,305 | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Janis McDonald | 17.83 | 852 | 860.29 | 885.96 | 898.48 | 901.57 | 918.00 | 956.15 | | | | |
| | SNP | Mags MacLaren (incumbent) | 17.81 | 851 | 1,151.32 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Ben Smith | 14.21 | 679 | 684.62 | 697.96 | 697.96 | 703.26 | 708.87 | 723.88 | 723.99 | 764.21 | 892.17 | 1,089.34 |
| | Conservative | Fraser Paul | 9.27 | 443 | 443.27 | 444.69 | 444.69 | 444.74 | 453.74 | 477.58 | 477.59 | 503.07 | 515.67 | |
| | Scottish Green | Cara Rae | 4.77 | 228 | 243.24 | 314.99 | 322.85 | 338.29 | 343.92 | 360.82 | 360.83 | 391.98 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Bailey | 2.68 | 128 | 129.34 | 135.28 | 138.49 | 140.70 | 150.14 | | | | | |
| | Independent | John McIntyre (incumbent) | 2.49 | 119 | 121.94 | 131.11 | 141.64 | 156.68 | 176.20 | 191.82 | | | | |
| | Scottish Family | Rosa Grieve | 1.57 | 75 | 75.80 | 78.99 | 82.25 | 88.81 | | | | | | |
| | Alba | Samuel Oludare Yerokun | 1.11 | 53 | 54.87 | 63.85 | 66.11 | | | | | | | |
| | TUSC | Jim Halfpenny | 0.96 | 46 | 46.80 | 50.90 | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,728 Valid: 4,779 Spoilt: 177 Quota: 956 Turnout: 36.1% |||||||||||||||

### Paisley East and Central

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Paisley East and Central - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | John McNaughtan (incumbent) | 32.41 | 1,241 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Carolann Davidson (incumbent) | 27.16 | 1,040 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Will Mylet (incumbent) | 12.69 | 486 | 730.91 | 734.23 | 742.23 | 918.86 | 1,011.63 |
| | Conservative | John Cameron | 10.92 | 418 | 418.91 | 421.99 | 433.14 | 456.76 | 561.64 |
| | Labour | Jonathan Smith | 7.99 | 306 | 312.61 | 377.34 | 384.50 | 445.77 | |
| | Scottish Green | Athol Bond | 7.65 | 293 | 310.33 | 314.27 | 322.51 | | |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Duncan Grant | 1.18 | 45 | 45.68 | 46.31 | | | |
| Electorate: 10,103 Valid: 3,829 Spoilt: 144 Quota: 958 Turnout: 39.3% ||||||||||

### Paisley Southeast

* 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xIndependent
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab;
* 2017-2022 Change: SNP gain one seat from Independent
Paisley Southeast - 3 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 |
| | SNP | Bruce MacFarlane | 21.13 | 862 | 862.00 | 871.00 | 938.00 | 959.00 | 967.96 | 1,036.62 | | |
| | Labour | Eddie Devine (incumbent) | 19.61 | 800 | 805.00 | 836.00 | 857.00 | 1,093.00 | | | | |
| | SNP | Marie McGurk (incumbent) | 16.99 | 693 | 700.00 | 705.00 | 777.00 | 799.00 | 805.26 | 875.85 | 888.21 | 956.10 |
| | Conservative | Jim McIlroy | 12.16 | 496 | 498.00 | 527.00 | 531.00 | 576.00 | 587.07 | 702.32 | 702.44 | |
| | Independent | Paul Mack (incumbent) | 11.08 | 452 | 459.00 | 470.00 | 491.00 | 526.00 | 533.84 | | | |
| | Labour | Stuart Alexander McAusland | 9.44 | 385 | 389.00 | 415.00 | 429.00 | | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | David Richard Laffan | 4.75 | 194 | 208.00 | 227.00 | | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Allan Heron | 3.77 | 154 | 157.00 | | | | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Sandra Amelia Webster | 1.08 | 44 | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,546 Valid: 4,080 Spoilt: 105 Quota: 1,021 Turnout: 43.8% |||||||||||||

### Paisley Southwest

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
* 2017-2022 Change: No Change
Paisley Southwest - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Labour | Kevin Montgomery (incumbent) | 26.29 | 1,384 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Stephen Burns (incumbent) | 24.47 | 1,288 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Lorraine Cameron (incumbent) | 21.28 | 1,120 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Anne Hannigan | 14.32 | 754 | 863.54 | 921.19 | 939.55 | 963.67 | 1,055.80 |
| | Conservative | Marc Schmitz | 9.95 | 524 | 567.29 | 570.39 | 571.23 | 586.74 | 616.32 |
| | Independent | Richard Vassie | 2.05 | 108 | 134.79 | 149.93 | 156.87 | 226.04 | |
| | Independent | Scott Kerr | 1.63 | 86 | 105.13 | 135.97 | 143.09 | | |
| Electorate: 11,998 Valid: 5,264 Spoilt: 135 Quota: 1,053 Turnout: 45.0% ||||||||||

### Johnstone South and Elderslie

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 2xLab;
* 2017-2022 Change: Labour gain one seat from Conservative.
Johnstone South and Elderslie - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | SNP | Jacqueline Cameron (incumbent) | 29.00 | 1,613 | | | |
| | Labour | John Hood (incumbent) | 23.55 | 1,310 | | | |
| | Labour | Iain McMillian | 22.83 | 1,270 | | | |
| | SNP | Andy Steel (incumbent) | 11.40 | 634 | 1,077.58 | 1,105.10 | 1,129.82 |
| | Conservative | Brian Jackson | 10.70 | 595 | 599.65 | 636.19 | 663.39 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert MacIntyre | 2.53 | 141 | 151.85 | 190.65 | 217.72 |
| Electorate: 13,298 Valid: 5,563 Spoilt: 160 Quota: 1,113 Turnout: 43.0% ||||||||

### Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch

* 2017: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xIndependent
* 2022: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
* 2017-2022 Change: Labour gain one seat from Conservative
Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch - 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 |
| | Independent | Andy Doig (incumbent) | 24.33 | 1,416 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Emma Rodden (incumbent) | 20.87 | 1,215 | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Chris Gilmour | 16.63 | 968 | 1,017.81 | 1,018.47 | 1,036.12 | 1,056.76 | 1,242.80 | | |
| | Labour | Gillian Graham | 11.84 | 689 | 723.39 | 724.42 | 749.07 | 788.30 | 934.89 | 1,000.20 | 1,264.60 |
| | Conservative | Louise Reid | 10.79 | 628 | 667.70 | 667.91 | 686.57 | 696.70 | | | |
| | SNP | Graeme Stockton | 9.99 | 582 | 625.07 | 668.53 | 673.28 | 811.35 | 826.95 | 828.79 | |
| | Scottish Green | Heather Hudson | 4.02 | 234 | 262.36 | 265.28 | 280.16 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Andrew Jackson | 1.53 | 89 | 107.43 | 107.60 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 11,956 Valid: 5,821 Spoilt: 136 Quota: 1,165 Turnout: 49.8% ||||||||||||

### Houston, Crosslee and Linwood

* 2017: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: SNP gain one seat from Labour.
Houston, Crosslee and Linwood - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Alison Ann-Dowling (incumbent) | 27.96 | 1,568 | | | | |
| | Conservative | David McGonigle | 23.78 | 1,334 | | | | |
| | SNP | Audrey Doig (incumbent) | 20.89 | 1,172 | | | | |
| | SNP | Robert Innes | 18.19 | 1,020 | 1,033.08 | 1,038.17 | 1,082.71 | 1,381.70 |
| | Labour | Connor Cunningham | 9.18 | 515 | 909.22 | 1,030.16 | 1,032.33 | |
| Electorate: 12,758 Valid: 5,609 Spoilt: 143 Quota: 1,122 Turnout: 45.1% |||||||||

### Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank

* 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2022: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Bishopton, Bridge of Weir and Langbank - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | SNP | Fiona Airlie-Nicolson | 36.31 | 2,384 | | | | |
| | Labour | Colin McCulloch (incumbent) | 23.37 | 1,534 | 1,821.27 | | | |
| | Conservative | James MacLaren (incumbent) | 20.61 | 1,353 | 1,381.32 | 1,404.97 | 1,573.57 | 2,514.06 |
| | Conservative | Mark Dougan | 13.74 | 902 | 915.38 | 928.24 | 1,029.96 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Grant Toghill | 5.97 | 392 | 579.37 | 676.96 | | |
| Electorate: 13,065 Valid: 6,565 Spoilt: 71 Quota: 1,642 Turnout: 50.8% |||||||||

### Erskine and Inchinnan

* 2017: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2022: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon
* 2017-2022 Change: No change
Erskine and Inchinnan - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Sam Mullin | 33.61 | 1,998 | |
| | SNP | Iain Nicolson (incumbent) | 23.23 | 1,381 | |
| | SNP | Michelle Campbell (incumbent) | 20.40 | 1,213 | |
| | Conservative | Alec Leishman | 17.73 | 1,054 | 1,236.79 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alan Jelfs | 3.15 | 187 | 442.58 |
| | Scottish Family | Robert Irwin | 1.88 | 112 | 167.00 |
| Electorate: 13,097 Valid: 5,945 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 1,190 Turnout: 46.2% ||||||

## Changes since Election

November 2022
* At the start of the month Paisley Southeast Labour Cllr and former Labour Group Leader, Eddie Devine, left the party over "backstabbing that’s been going on in the past year or so" in the Labour group.
* Halfway through the month, veteran Johnstone South and Elderslie Labour Cllr, John Hood, left the party over becoming "disillusioned" with his party. Hood stated his party "doesn't want him"
June 2024
* At the end of the month, Paisley East and Central SNP Cllr, Will Mylet, left the party accusing the Renfrewshire Council’s leader of trying to “ridicule and subdue” him.
February 2025
* Halfway through the month, Erskine and Inchinnan Conservative Cllr, Alec Leishman, defected to Reform UK to become the first councillor for the party.
March 2025
* At the start of the month, Renfrew North and Braehead Conservative Cllr, John Gray, became the second councillor to defect to Reform UK.