2022 Moray Council election

The 2022 Moray Council election was held on 5 May 2022, on 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 26 Councillors elected. Each ward elects either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system - a form of proportional representation.

2022 Moray Council election

← 2017 5 May 2022 (2022-05-05) 2027 →
All 26 seats to Moray Council 14 seats needed for a majority
Registered	66,419
Turnout	45.0%
First party Second party Third party   Leader Tim Eagle (not standing for re-election) Graham Leadbitter & Shona Morrison John Divers Party Conservative SNP Labour Leader's seat Did not contest Elgin City South & Fochabers Lhanbryde Elgin City South Last election 8 seats, 36.1% 9 seats, 31.6% 1 seats, 4.3% Seats before 9 9 1 Seats won 11 8 3 Seat change 3 1 2 Popular vote 10,698 10,613 3,641 Percentage 36.2% 36.0% 12.3% Swing 0.1% 4.4% 8.0%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Various Christopher Thomas Price Lisa Mead & Fabio Villani Party Independent Liberal Democrats Green Leader's seat Various Buckie Did not contest Last election 8 seats, 24.1% 0 seats, 1.2% 0 seats, 2.6% Seats before 7 0 0 Seats won 2 1 1 Seat change 6 1 1 Popular vote 2,327 1,121 1,001 Percentage 7.9% 3.8% 3.4% Swing 16.2% 2.6% 0.8%
Council Leader before election Graham Leadbitter[1] SNP Council Leader after election Neil McLennan & Kathleen Robertson Conservative

Following the election, on 18 May 2022, it was announced that the council would be run by a minority Conservative group, alongside two Independents.^[2]

Background

Previous election

Main article: 2017 Moray Council election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won the most seats on the council, forming the largest block, but were 5 seats short of a majority. The Conservatives won the next largest amount of seats, and increased their vote share by 18.6%, gaining 5 seats. Two Independent councillors lost their seats, and so did 2 Labour councillors. Following the result a Conservative-Independent administration was formed, with an Independent councillor being appointed council leader. However, in May 2018, the Conservative-Independent administration collapsed. One month later, the SNP group formed a minority administration, following negotiations with other groups.

2017 Moray Council election result

Party		Seats	Vote share
	SNP	9	31.6%
	Conservative	8	36.1%
	Independent	8	24.1%
	Labour	1	4.3%

Source:^[3][4]

Electoral system

The election used the 8 wards created following the fifth statutory review of electoral arrangements conducted by Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 2016, with 26 councillors elected. Each ward elected either three or four councillors, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

Composition

There were two by-elections during the 2017-22 term. One by-election was held in the Elgin City North ward in May 2017, which resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent.^[5] The other by-election was held in the Keith and Cullen ward in October 2019, which also resulted in a Conservative gain from Independent.^[6] One Conservative councillor left the Conservative group in October 2017, he sat as an Independent for the remainder of the term.^[7]

Composition of Moray Council

Party		2017 election	Dissolution
	SNP	9	9
	Conservative	8	9
	Independent	8	7
	Labour	1	1

Retiring Councillors

Retiring councillors

Council Ward	Party		Retiring Councillor
Speyside Glenlivet		Independent	Walter Wilson
		SNP	Louise Laing
Keith and Cullen		Conservative	Laura Powell
Buckie		Conservative	Tim Eagle
		Independent	Gordon Cowie
Heldon and Laich		SNP	Amy Patience
		Independent	Ryan Edwards
Elgin City North		Conservative	Frank Brown
			Moira McLean
Elgin City South		Conservative	Ray McLean
Forres		SNP	Aaron McLean
		Conservative	Claire Feaver
		Independent	George Alexander
			Lorna Creswell

Source:^[4]

Candidates

The total number of candidates fell from 45 in 2017 to 42. Unlike in 2017, the Conservatives stood the most candidates, standing 11, an increase of 3, while the SNP stood 4 less candidates compared to 2017 at 9. The number of independent candidates fell sharply, with only 6 independents standing, compared to 17 in 2017. Liberal Democrats also stood 6 candidates, an increase of 3, while Labour stood 5, also an increase of 3. The Greens stood 3, an increase of 1, and the Scottish Family Party and the Sovereignty Party also stood 1 candidate each.

Results

2022 Moray Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	11	3	0	3	42.3	36.2	10,698	0.1
	SNP	8	0	1	1	30.8	36.0	10,613	4.4
	Labour	3	2	0	2	11.5	12.3	3,641	8.0
	Independent	2	0	6	6	7.7	7.9	2,327	16.2
	Liberal Democrats	1	1	0	1	3.9	3.8	1,121	2.6
	Green	1	1	0	1	3.9	3.4	1,001	0.8
	Scottish Family	0	0	0		0.0	0.3	99	New
	Sovereignty	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	23	New
Total		26						29,523

Source:^[8]

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.^[9][10]

Ward summary

Results of the 2022 Moray Council election by ward

Ward	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	Total
	Con		SNP		Lab		Lib Dem		Grn		Others
Speyside Glenlivet	33.8	1	36.8	1					8.6	0	20.8	1	3
Keith and Cullen	43.7	2	43.5	1			9.9	0			2.9	0	3
Buckie		1		1				1					3
Fochabers Lhanbryde	39.8	1	43.0	1	10.1	1							3
Heldon and Laich	39.7	2	29.5	1	7.7	0	4.6	0			18.5	1	4
Elgin City North	25.9	1	32.6	1	28.5	1	3.9	0	4.5	0	4.6	0	3
Elgin City South	26.8	1	35.6	1	28.1	1	3.1	0			6.5	0	3
Forres	40.9	2	34.3	1	10.6	0			9.1	1	5.1	0	4
Total	36.2	11	36.0	8	12.3	3	3.8	1	3.4	1	8.3	2	26

Source:^[8]

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			2022
	Party		Member	Party		Member
Keith and Cullen		Independent	Ron Shepherd		Conservative	Tracy Colyer
Buckie		Independent	Gordon Cowie		Liberal Democrats	Christopher Price
Fochobers Lhanbryde		SNP	David Bremner		Labour	Ben Williams
Heldon and Laich		Independent	Ryan Edwards		Conservative	Bridget Mustard
Elgin City North		Independent	Sandy Cooper		Labour	Sandy Keith
Forres		Independent	George Alexander		Conservative	Paul McBain
		Independent	Lorna Creswell		Greens	Draeyk Van der Horn

Source:^[4][8]

Ward results

The incumbent councillors for each ward as of March 2022 are listed below.^[11] Candidates for the election were confirmed on 30 March 2022.^[12]

Speyside Glenlivet

Incumbent councillors:

• Derek Ross, Independent
• Walter Wilson, Independent (elected as Conservative)
• Louise Laing, Scottish National Party

Speyside Glenlivet - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	SNP	Juli Harris	36.8	1,227
	Conservative	David Gordon	33.8	1,129
	Independent	Derek Ross (incumbent)	20.1	672	750	898
	Green	Elidh Myrvang Brown	8.6	286	492	520
	Sovereignty	David Philip McHutchon	0.7	23	31	51
Electorate: 7,382   Valid: 3,374   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 835   Turnout: 45.7%

Source:^[13][14]

Keith and Cullen

Incumbent councillors:

• Donald Gatt, Scottish Conservatives
• Theresa Coull, Scottish National Party
• Laura Powell, Scottish Conservatives. Replaced Ron Shepherd (Independent) in November 2019.

Keith and Cullen - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Theresa Coull (incumbent)	43.5	1,493
	Conservative	Donald Gatt (incumbent)	24.7	849	884
	Conservative	Tracy Colyer	18.9	650	674	694	733	955
	Liberal Democrats	Leslie Tarr	9.9	341	589	592	674
	Scottish Family	William Barclay	2.9	99	178	178
Electorate: 8,102   Valid: 3,432   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 859   Turnout: 45.7%

Source:^[15][16]

Buckie

Incumbent councillors:

• Tim Eagle, Scottish Conservatives
• Gordon Cowie, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)
• Sonya Warren, Scottish National Party

Buckie - 3 seats
Party		Candidate
	Conservative	Neil McLennan
	Liberal Democrat	Christopher Thomas Price
	SNP	Sonya Warren (incumbent)

Note: This election was uncontested, as there are 3 candidates and 3 seats available.

Source:^[17]

Fochabers Lhanbryde

Incumbent councillors:

• Marc Macrae, Scottish Conservatives
• Shona Morrison, Scottish National Party
• David Bremner, Scottish National Party

Fochabers Lhanbryde - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Conservative	Marc Macrae (incumbent)	39.7	1,590
	SNP	Shona Morrison (incumbent)	23.5	940	959	1,005
	SNP	David Bremner (incumbent)	19.4	778	792	812	816
	Labour	Ben Williams	10.1	404	535	831	831	1,178
	Liberal Democrats	Donald Cameron	7.0	284	496
Electorate: 8,253   Valid: 3,996   Spoilt: 68   Quota: 1,000   Turnout: 49.2%

Source:^[18][19]

Heldon and Laich

Incumbent councillors:

• James Allan, Scottish Conservatives
• Amy Patience, Scottish National Party
• John Cowe, Independent
• Ryan Edwards, Independent

Heldon and Laich - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Neil Cameron	29.5	1,455
	Conservative	James Allan (incumbent)	27.0	1,331
	Independent	John Cowe (incumbent)	18.5	914	1,045
	Conservative	Bridget Mustard	12.7	629	639	885	898	947	1,150
	Labour	Andrew O'Neill	7.7	404	489	512	526	725
	Liberal Democrats	Calum Cameron	4.6	228	307	326	337
Electorate: 10,794   Valid: 4,936   Spoilt: 60   Quota: 988   Turnout: 46.3%

Source:^[20][21]

Elgin City North

Incumbent councillors:

• Frank Brown, Scottish Conservatives
• Maria McLean, Scottish Conservatives. Replaced Sandy Cooper (Independent) in July 2017.
• Vacancy. Paula Coy Scottish National Party was elected in 2017.

Elgin City North - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	SNP	Jérémie Fernandes	32.6	1,199
	Labour	Sandy Keith	28.5	1,048
	Conservative	Amber Dunbar	25.9	952
	Independent	Graham Jarvis	4.6	170
	Green	Rebecca Kail	4.5	165
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Alexander	3.9	144
Electorate: 9,228   Valid: 3,678   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 920   Turnout: 40.2%

Source:^[22][23]

Elgin City South

Incumbent councillors:

• Ray McLean, Scottish Conservatives
• John Divers, Scottish Labour
• Graham Leadbitter, Scottish National Party

Elgin City South - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	SNP	Graham Leadbitter (incumbent)	35.5	1,444
	Labour	John Divers (incumbent)	28.1	1,142
	Conservative	Peter Bloomfield	26.8	1,090
	Independent	Michaela French	4.0	161
	Liberal Democrats	Bernard Salmon	3.1	124
	Independent	Paul Briggs	2.5	101
Electorate: 10,149   Valid: 4,062   Spoilt: 51   Quota: 1,016   Turnout: 40.5%

Source:^[24][25]

Forres

Incumbent councillors:

• Claire Feaver, Scottish Conservatives
• Aaron McLean, Scottish National Party
• George Alexander, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)
• Lorna Creswell, Councillors Open Group (elected as Independent)

Forres - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Scott Lawrence	34.3	2,077
	Conservative	Kathleen Robertson	25.0	1,516
	Conservative	Paul McBain	15.9	962	991	1,240
	Labour	James Hynam	10.6	643	830	845	852	1,001
	Green	Draeyk Van der Horn	9.1	550	928	933	934	1,047	1,514
	Independent	Shaun Moat	5.1	309	403	417	424
Electorate: 12,511   Valid: 6,128   Spoilt: 71   Quota: 1,212   Turnout: 49.0%

Source:^[26][27]

Aftermath

Both the SNP and Conservative groups fell short of the required 14 seats for a majority. As such negotiations took place after the election to see who would form the next administration. Council leader before the election Elgin City South SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter proposed the continuation of the previous SNP minority administration but the council instead voted 12 to 8 to approve a minority Conservative administration, co-led by Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan and Forres Conservative councillor Kathleen Robertson.^[2]

In July 2022, Buckie Conservative councillor Neil McLennan left the Conservative grouping on the council after being removed as joint group leader in a secret vote.^[28][29]

In August 2022, Heldon and Laich Conservative councillor James Allan left the Conservative grouping on the council, and now sits as a "non-aligned Conservative."^[30][31]

In May 2024, Buckie SNP councillor John Stuart left the SNP group on the council to sit as an independent.^[32][33]

In December 2025, Buckie independent councillor John Stuart joined the Greens.^[34][35]

Buckie by-election

In August 2022, the sole Liberal Democrat councillor Christopher Price resigned after only 109 days in the job.^[36][37] A by-election was held in the Buckie ward on 3 November 2022, and was won by SNP candidate John Stuart.^[38][39]

Buckie by-election (3 November 2022) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	SNP	John Stuart	48.9	1,172	1,181	1,192	1,269
	Conservative	Tim Eagle	36.7	879	884	904	989
	Labour	Keighley Goldie	10.0	239	247	276
	Liberal Democrats	Les Tarr	2.8	67	78
	Independent	Neil Houlden	1.6	38
Electorate: 8,139   Valid: 2,395   Spoilt: 13   Quota: 1,199   Turnout: 29.6%

Source:^[40][41]

Elgin City South by-election

In July 2024, SNP councillor Graham Leadbitter was elected to be the MP for the Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey constituency at the 2024 United Kingdom general election and decided to resign as a councillor on 14 August 2024.^[42][43] A by-election was held in the Elgin City South ward on 7 November 2024, and was won by Conservative candidate Elaine Kirby.^[44][45]

Elgin City South by-election (7 November 2024) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	SNP	Laura Mitchell	32.2	849	928	1,093
	Conservative	Elaine Kirby	31.6	834	962	1,160
	Labour	Catriona McBain	18.5	487	615
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Alexander	17.7	466
Electorate: 10,355   Valid: 2,636   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 1,319   Turnout: 25.8%

Source:^[46][47]