# 2012 East Dunbartonshire Council election

Elections to East Dunbartonshire Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 24 Councillors being elected. Each ward elected 3 members, using the STV electoral system.
The election saw Labour gain 2 seats to draw level with the Scottish National Party. However, Labour remained the largest party in terms of vote share. The Scottish National Party retained all their existing 8 seats and did not run any additional candidates though did significantly raised their vote share. The Scottish Liberal Democrats retained their 3 seats on the council. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party lost 3 seats, just 2 in number, the equivalent numbers of the East Dunbartonshire Independent Alliance. Former Lib Dem Cllr Duncan Cumming was elected as an Independent.

## Election result

East Dunbartonshire Local Election Result 2012 :
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| Labour | 8 | 2 | 0 | +2 | 33.3 | 28.3 | 10,334 | +2.4 |
| SNP | 8 | - | - | - | 33.3 | 25.4 | 9,277 | +7.2 |
| Liberal Democrats | 3 | - | - | - | 12.5 | 14.9 | 5,450 | -3.0 |
| Conservative | 2 | 0 | 3 | -3 | 8.3 | 15.4 | 5,629 | -6.1 |
| EDIA | 2 | - | - | - | 8.3 | 8.1 | 2,973 | -3.3 |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | +1 | 4.2 | 6.1 | 2,224 | +3.7 |
| Scottish Green | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.7 | 247 | -1.1 |
| Scottish Christian | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.5 | 183 | +0.3 |
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.4 | 134 | -0.3 |
| UKIP | 0 | - | - | - | - | 0.1 | 42 | 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 2007. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

## Ward results
### Milngavie

* 2007: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
* 2012: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Con
Milngavie – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eric Gotts (incumbent) | 36.6 | 1,751 | | |
| | SNP | Jim Gibbons (incumbent) | 28.0 | 1,338 | | |
| | Labour | Maureen Henry | 20.0 | 955 | 1,177 | 1,283 |
| | Conservative | Bill Binks (incumbent) | 14.6 | 696 | 866 | 889 |
| Electorate: 10,289 Valid: 4,740 Spoilt: 42 Quota: 1,186 Turnout: 46.07% |||||||

### Bearsden North

* 2007: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
* 2012: 1xIndependent; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con
Bearsden North – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Independent | Duncan Cumming (incumbent) | 33.2 | 1,837 | | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ashay Ghai * | 17.1 | 944 | 1,082 | 1,087 | 1,093 | 1,100 | 1,337 | 1,801 |
| | SNP | Ian Mackay (incumbent) | 17.4 | 962 | 1,030 | 1,041 | 1,050 | 1,063 | 1,205 | 1,335 |
| | Conservative | Amanda Stewart (incumbent) | 16.7 | 921 | 1,017 | 1,019 | 1,039 | 1,066 | 1,141 | |
| | Labour | Stewart Moohan | 12.7 | 700 | 758 | 770 | 774 | 785 | | |
| | Scottish Christian | Bob Handyside | 1.1 | 59 | 70 | 71 | 79 | | | |
| | UKIP | Mitch Sorbie | 0.8 | 42 | 59 | 61 | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Neil Scott | 0.6 | 34 | 40 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,801 Valid: 5,499 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 1,375 Turnout: 50.91% |||||||||||
* = Sitting Councillor from a different Ward.

### Bearsden South

* 2007: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
* 2012: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xLab
* 2007-2012: Lab gain one seat from Con
Bearsden South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Vaughan Moody (incumbent) | 26.8 | 1,309 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Keith Small | 25.4 | 1,243 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Manjinder Shergill | 20.4 | 996 | 1,022 | 1,028 | 1,046 | 1,178 | 1,408 |
| | Conservative | David Mason | 19.2 | 937 | 963 | 966 | 1,018 | 1,049 | |
| | Scottish Green | Scott Ferguson | 5.0 | 247 | 263 | 272 | 292 | | |
| | Scottish Christian | Christine Cormack | 2.5 | 124 | 127 | 129 | | | |
| Electorate: 10,452 Valid: 4,856 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 1,215 Turnout: 46.46% ||||||||||

### Campsie & Kirkintilloch North

* 2007: 1xEDIA; 1xLab; 1xSNP
* 2012: 1xEDIA; 1xLab; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Campsie & Kirkintilloch North – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | EDIA | Charles Kennedy (incumbent) † | 50.8 | 2,032 | |
| | Labour | John Dempsey (incumbent) | 21.8 | 872 | 1,197 |
| | SNP | David Ritchie (incumbent) | 20.3 | 813 | 1,066 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Lothian | 4.6 | 183 | 253 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Morag Daly | 2.4 | 97 | 155 |
| Electorate: 8,948 Valid: 3,997 Spoilt: 47 Quota: 1,000 Turnout: 44.67% ||||||

### Bishopbriggs North and Torrance

* 2007: 1xCon; 1xLab; 1xSNP
* 2012: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Bishopbriggs North and Torrance – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Una Walker (incumbent) | 29.7 | 1,557 | |
| | SNP | Anne McNair (incumbent) | 26.4 | 1,384 | |
| | Conservative | Billy Hendry (incumbent) | 24.4 | 1,279 | 1,316 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Cathy McInnes | 12.1 | 633 | 693 |
| | Independent | Alan Brown | 7.4 | 387 | 441 |
| Electorate: 10,771 Valid: 5,240 Spoilt: 36 Quota: 1,311 Turnout: 48.65% ||||||

### Bishopbriggs South

* 2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP
* 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Bishopbriggs South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Alan Moir (incumbent) | 32.8 | 1,267 | |
| | SNP | Gordan Low (incumbent) | 29.9 | 1,158 | |
| | Labour | Michael O'Donnell (incumbent) | 18.7 | 724 | 985 |
| | Conservative | Alisdair Sinclair | 9.4 | 362 | 373 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gary Pews | 7.7 | 297 | 307 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Mark Callaghan | 1.5 | 59 | 62 |
| Electorate: 9,406 Valid: 3,930 Spoilt: 63 Quota: 967 Turnout: 41.78% ||||||

### Lenzie & Kirkintilloch South

* 2007: 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP
* 2012: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Lenzie & Kirkintilloch South – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Labour | Rhondda Geekie (incumbent) | 36.6 | 1,729 | |
| | SNP | Gillian Renwick (incumbent) | 32.0 | 1,511 | |
| | Conservative | Anne Jarvis (incumbent) | 24.0 | 1,133 | 1,240 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Duncan | 7.5 | 353 | 533 |
| Electorate: 10,412 Valid: 4,726 Spoilt: 38 Quota: 1182 Turnout: 45.39% ||||||

### Kirkintilloch East & Twechar

* 2007: 1xLab; 1xEDIA; 1xSNP
* 2012: 1xLab; 1xEDIA; 1xSNP
* 2007-2012 Change: No change
Kirkintilloch East & Twechar – 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Labour | Stewart MacDonald (incumbent) | 36.2 | 1,293 | | |
| | EDIA | Jack Young (incumbent) | 26.4 | 941 | | |
| | SNP | John Jamieson (incumbent) | 24.3 | 868 | 892 | 904 |
| | Labour | Jim Neill | 6.8 | 241 | 571 | 583 |
| | Conservative | Alison Lothian | 3.3 | 118 | 121 | 124 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Samantha Johnstone | 1.8 | 66 | 70 | 72 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Willie Telfer | 1.1 | 41 | 47 | 51 |
| Electorate: 8,918 Valid: 3,568 Spoilt: 72 Quota: 893 Turnout: 40.01% |||||||

## Aftermath

Following the election, the Labour Party led a three-party coalition administration with the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives, replacing the previous Labour/Conservative coalition that had run the council from 2007 to 2012. The leader of the council remained Labour councillor Rhondda Geekie, and Labour councillor Una Walker became provost. The depute leader and depute provost were the Lib Dem councillor Ashay Ghai and the Conservative councillor Anne Jarvis.
Following a disagreement between the Liberal Democrats and their administration colleagues, the ruling three-party coalition reverted to a minority two-party Labour/Conservative coalition in January 2016, and the Conservatives' Billy Hendry resumed the role of depute council leader.

## Post Election Changes

* † Campsie and Kirkintilloch North EDIA Cllr Charles Kennedy died on 13 July 2012. The by-election was held on 14 September 2012 and was won by Labour's Gemma Welsh.

## By Elections since 2012

Campsie & Kirkintilloch North By-election (14 September 2012) - 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Labour | Gemma Welsh | 30.8 | 851 | 860 | 874 | 939 | 1,146 |
| | SNP | Billy Hutchinson | 26.9 | 743 | 762 | 767 | 845 | 1,044 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Susan Murray | 25.0 | 693 | 702 | 740 | 788 | |
| | Independent | Brian Reid | 9.9 | 274 | 284 | 318 | | |
| | Conservative | Alisdair Sinclair | 5.1 | 141 | 143 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Ross Greer | 2.3 | 65 | | | | |
| | Labour gain from EDIA | Labour gain from EDIA | Swing | | |
| Electorate: 9,277 Valid: 2,767 Spoilt: 28 Quota: 1,384 Turnout: 2,795 (30.1%) |||||||||