2017 Aberdeenshire Council election

The Aberdeenshire Council election of 2017 was held on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election will use the 19 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system a form of proportional representation, with 70 councillors being elected, an increase of one member compared to 2012.

Main article: 2017 Scottish local elections

2017 Aberdeenshire Council election

4 May 2017 (2017-05-04)
All 70 seats to Aberdeenshire Council 36 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jim Gifford Richard Thomson Peter Argyle Party Conservative SNP Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Mid Formantine Ellon and District Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside Last election 14 seats, 21.2% 28 seats, 38.9% 12 seats, 15.4% Seats won 23 21 14 Seat change 9 7 2 First preferences 37,301 26,180 12,606 First preferences (%) 40.4% 28.4% 13.7% Swing (pp) 19.2% 10.5% 1.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Norman Smith Alison Evison Martin Ford Party Independent Labour Scottish Green Last election 11 seats, 14.7% 2 seats, 6.8% 1 seat, 2.4% Seats after 10 1 1 Seat change 1 1 First preferences 10,168 4,094 1,781 First preferences (%) 11.0% 4.4% 1.9% Swing (pp) 3.7% 2.4% 0.5%
Results by ward.
Council Leader before election Hamish Vernal Council Leader after election Jim Gifford

The Scottish Conservatives returned the most councillors, the first time it has been the largest party in the region since the 1982 election, when the area was under the Grampian Regional Council, although they were stopped short of an overall majority. The number of Scottish National Party councillors fell by a quarter but remained the second largest group. The Scottish Liberal Democrats picked up a couple of seats while the other parties gained roughly the same results as the previous election.

On 18 May, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Aligned Independents formed an administration, with Jim Gifford (Conservative) elected as council leader and Bill Howatson (Liberal Democrat) was made Provost.[1]

Results

[2]

Aberdeenshire Local Election Result 2017

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	23	9	0	+9	32.86	40.1	37,291	+18.9
	SNP	21	0	7	-7	30.00	28.2	26,200	-10.7
	Liberal Democrats	14	2	0	+2	20.00	14.4	13,355	-1.0
	Independent	10	2	3	-1	14.29	10.9	10,168	-3.8
	Labour	1	0	1	-1	1.43	4.4	4,094	-2.4
	Scottish Green	1	0	0	-	1.43	1.9	1,781	-0.5
	Libertarian	0	-	-	-	0.0	0.08	79	+0.08
	SDP	0	-	-	-	0	0.05	48	+0.05

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

Banff and District

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017: 1 x Independent gain from SNP

Banff and District - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1
	Conservative	Mike Roy (incumbent)	36.18%	1,509
	Independent	John B. Cox (incumbent)	26.18%	1,092
	SNP	Glen Reynolds	25.15%	1,049
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Simpson	12.49%	521
Electorate: 9,187   Valid: 4,171   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 1,043   Turnout: 46.0%

Troup

• 2012: 1 x SNP, 1 x Independent, 1 x Conservative
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Independent, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Troup - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	Mark Findlater (incumbent)	44.79%	1,535
	Independent	Hamish Partridge (incumbent)	14.97%	513	721	759	912
	SNP	Ross Cassie (incumbent)	20.63%	707	740	759	795	804	1,165
	SNP	Ricky Taylor	11.47%	393	406	420	438	443
	Liberal Democrats	Sandy Leslie	4.17%	143	278	355
	Labour	Ray Stephen	3.97%	136	201
Electorate: 7,902   Valid: 3,427   Spoilt: 68   Quota: 857   Turnout: 44.20%

Fraserburgh and District

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 2 x Independent
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Independent

Fraserburgh and District - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7	Count 8	Count 9
	Conservative	Andy Kille	24.10%	1,229
	Independent	Doreen Mair	14.57%	743	781	790	873	950	1,061
	SNP	Charles Cummin Buchan (incumbent)	12.04%	614	617	758	783	811	855	859	910	999
	SNP	Brian Topping (incumbent)	12.78%	652	653	709	731	763	776	780	827	968
	Independent	Ian Tait (incumbent)	9.73%	496	529	532	564	590	637	644	743
	Independent	Michael Watt (incumbent)	6.45%	329	352	359	397	429	470	478
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Bell	5.14%	262	292	299	313	362
	Labour	Kenneth Watt	5.23%	267	282	287	311
	Independent	Charlie Reid	4.94%	252	258	267
	SNP	David Donn	5.02%	256	257
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,100   Spoilt: 93   Quota: 1,021   Turnout: 42.9%

Central Buchan

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017: Change: 1 x Liberal Democrat gain from SNP

Central Buchan - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Marion Buchan	37.28%	1,808
	SNP	Jim Ingram (incumbent)	24.50%	1,188
	Independent	Norman Smith (incumbent)	17.79%	863	1,133
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Simpson	10.41%	505	760	777	854	1,169
	SNP	Lenny Pirie (incumbent)	10.02%	486	518	700	728
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,850   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 971   Turnout: 44.3%

Peterhead North and Rattray

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 2 x Independent
• 2017: 2 x Independent, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from SNP

Peterhead North and Rattray - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	Dianne Beagrie	41.33%	1,899
	SNP	Anne Allan (incumbent)	22.02%	1,012
	Independent	Alan S. Buchan (incumbent)	12.77%	587	855	861	925
	Independent	Iain Sutherland	9.64%	443	658	661	728	731	972
	SNP	Fiona McRae (incumbent)	11.95%	549	593	667	689	690
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Massey	2.29%	105	228	230
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,595   Spoilt: 95   Quota: 920   Turnout: 39.0%

Peterhead South and Cruden

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from SNP

Peterhead South and Cruden - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Alan Fakley	37.00%	1,364
	SNP	Stephen William Smith (incumbent)	21.35%	787	801	828	857	1,384
	Independent	Stephen Calder	15.16%	559	618	719	909	932
	SNP	Stuart Wallace Pratt (incumbent)	15.16%	559	567	583	616
	Independent	Sam Coull	7.40%	273	351	416
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Simpson	5.07%	187	289
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,687   Spoilt: 82   Quota: 922   Turnout: 40.8%

Turriff and District

• 2012: 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative win due to one additional seat compared to 2012

Turriff and District - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Iain Taylor*	37.36%	1,854
	SNP	Alastair Forsyth	25.39%	1,260
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Robertson (incumbent)	19.77%	981	1,324
	Independent	Sandy Duncan (incumbent)	10.96%	544	682	802	918	1,262
	Independent	Mike Rawlins	6.53%	324	429	514	559
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,963   Spoilt: 52   Quota: 993   Turnout: 46.8%

• = Sitting Councillor for Banff and District Ward.

Mid-Formartine

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Liberal Democrat gain from SNP

Mid-Formartine - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	Conservative	Jim Gifford (incumbent)	34.61%	1,797
	Independent	Paul Johnston (incumbent)	20.61%	1,070
	SNP	Karen Adam	19.99%	1,038	1,057
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Hassan	9.46%	491	724	731	731	860	930	1,227
	Independent	Jeff Goodhall	4.79%	249	456	467	468	534	627
	SNP	Cryle Shand (incumbent)	5.82%	302	310	314	329	358
	Labour	Kirsten Muat	4.72%	245	301	303	303
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,192   Spoilt: 43   Quota: 1,039   Turnout: 46.1%

Ellon and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

Ellon and District - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Gillian Louise Owen (incumbent)	40.94	2,258
	Liberal Democrats	Isobel Davidson (incumbent)	19.71	1,087	1,703.86
	SNP	Richard Thomson (incumbent)††††	17.9	987	1,034.02	1,093.74	1,264.34
	SNP	Anouk Kahanov-Kloppert	13.93	768	793.55	843.88	1,024.70
	Labour	John Morgan	7.52	415	548.39	835.99
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,515   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 1,104   Turnout: 5,579 (47.2%)

West Garioch

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

West Garioch - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	Sebastian Leslie††	42.49	1,809
	SNP	Victoria Harper	19.73	840	858.10	874.33	879.02	979.03	1,487.26
	Liberal Democrats	Hazel Smith	15.64	666	1,011.06	1,155.76
	SNP	Elaine Mitchell	10.31	439	450.52	460.75	465.65	577.54
	Scottish Green	Richard Paul Openshaw	7.19	306	353.71	401.52	436.47
	Labour	Peter Young	4.63	197	266.5
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,257   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 1,065   Turnout: 4,310 (47.6%)

Inverurie and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLibDem; 1xIndependent
• 2012-2017 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP

Inverurie and District - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Colin Clark (incumbent)†	35.95	1,732
	SNP	Neil Baillie	22.52	1,085
	Independent	Judy Margaret Whyte	20.38	982
	Liberal Democrats	Marion Ewenson	11.79	568	951.1	958.69	965.63
	SNP	Bryan Hunter Stuart (incumbent)	5.09	245	261.41	360.1	362.9
	Labour	Sarah Flavell	4.28	206	265.42	269.77	271.69
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,818   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 964   Turnout: 4,866 (43.3%)

East Garioch

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xGRN; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xGRN; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2012-2017 Change: One additional seat in the assembly, gained by Conservatives

East Garioch - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	Dominic Lonchay	31.34	1,429
	Scottish Green	Martin Anthony Ford (incumbent)	18.64	850	921.27
	Liberal Democrats	Fergie Hood (incumbent)	18.47	842	1,077.53
	SNP	Glen Reid	15.09	688	695.96	706.30	707.68	752.38	1,360.51
	SNP	Conor McKay	12.52	571	577.87	590.28	591.88	658.89
	Labour	Ann Thorpe	3.93	179	228.57	294.78	297.37
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,559   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 912   Turnout: 4,596 (45.17%)

Westhill and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from SNP

Westhill and District - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	Conservative	Ron McKail (incumbent)	33.67	2,019
	Liberal Democrats	Iris Margaret Walker (incumbent)	22.85	1,370
	SNP	David Robert Aitchison (incumbent)	14.63	877	884.71	893.94	912.92	921.93	987.15	1,603.65
	Conservative	Alistair McKelvie	13.81	828	1,564
	SNP	Heather Coull	9.29	557	561.06	567.94	584.07	593.09	689.29
	Labour	Lindsey Kirkhill	4.44	266	279.39	331.55	377.96	422.04
	Libertarian	Derek Scott	1.31	79	83.46	114.63	126.79
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,996   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 1,200   Turnout: 6,061 (50.4%)

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Independent

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	Moira Ingleby (incumbent)	30.69	1,741
	Conservative	Robbie Withey	20.43	1,159
	Liberal Democrats	John Latham (incumbent)	17.54	995	1,212.54
	SNP	Gwyneth Petrie (incumbent)	15.78	895	924.24	930.54	931.06	994.03	1,639.02
	SNP	Kate Monahan	10.38	589	594.92	601.66	602.01	701.6
	Labour	Bryan Begg	5.18	294	363.27	390.63	396.05
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,673   Spoilt: 112   Quota: 1,135   Turnout: 5,785 (47.8%)

Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2
	Conservative	Paul Gibb	43.97	2,093
	SNP	Geva Blackett (incumbent)	29.66	1,364
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Argyle (incumbent)	18.91	900	1,307.70
	Independent	Anne Reid	4.74	226	338.17
	Labour	Claire Miller	3.7	176	238.99
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,759   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 1,190   Turnout: 4,791 (53.2%)

Banchory and Mid-Deeside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

Banchory and Mid-Deeside - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Ann Ross	52.8	2,525
	SNP	Eileen Durno	21.89	1,046	1,088.11	1,162.35	1,417.64
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Bruce	20.25	968	1,689.6
	Labour	Iain Gillies	5.04	241	352.58	596.12
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,780   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 1,196   Turnout: 4,813 (54.6%)

North Kincardine

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

North Kincardine - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3
	Conservative	Colin Pike	30.46	1,685
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Mollison (incumbent)	22.08	1,221
	SNP	Alastair Bews (incumbent) ††††††	20.55	1,138
	Labour	Alison Evison (incumbent)	16.27	901	1,074.91	1,124.67
	SNP	Kes Smith	6.47	358	375.49	387.16
	Scottish Green	William Ball	3.25	180	224.25	237.88
	SDP	David Lansdell	0.87	48	95.34	100.66
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,531   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 1,107   Turnout: 5,579 ()

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Labour

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Wendy Agnew (incumbent)	30.83	1,703
	SNP	Dennis Robertson	23.54	1,300
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Dickinson	17.09	944	1,030.38	1,057.08	1,084.63	1,155.68
	Conservative	Sandy Wallace†††	14.85	820	1,196.42
	Labour	Raymond Christie (incumbent)	6.36	351	381.9	403.05	410.4	457.09
	Scottish Green	Rachel Shanks	3.84	212	223.24	312.79	316.27	365.31
	Independent	Philip Bishop	3.49	193	217.23	229.83	243.06
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,523   Spoilt: 87   Quota: 1,105   Turnout: 5,610 (49.7%)

Mearns

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Independent

Mearns - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	Conservative	George Carr (incumbent)	36.19	2,034
	SNP	Leigh Wilson†††††	16.03	901	914.41	935.75	936.02	997.27	1,045.19	1,735.42
	SNP	Carole Wise	12.46	700	705.36	715.36	715.57	751.47	815.73
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Howatson (incumbent)	10.66	599	701.79	767.94	772.58	863.53	1,100.31	1,145.13
	Independent	Dave Stewart (incumbent)	8.4	472	517.14	546.48	549.66	596.82
	Conservative	Jeff Hutchison	8.2	461	1,116.16	1,141.52
	Scottish Green	Karen Allan	4.15	233	248.19	284.09	284.94
	Labour	Patrick Coffield	3.91	220	237.43
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,620   Spoilt: 70   Quota: 1,125   Turnout: 5,690 (48.3%)

Changes since 2017

• † Inverurie & District Conservative Cllr Colin Clark was elected as an MP for Gordon on 8 June 2017. He resigned his Council seat on 28 June 2017.[3] A by-election was held on 12 October 2017 and Lesley Berry of the Conservatives won.
• †† West Garioch Conservative Cllr Sebastian Leslie was suspended from the party on 18 September 2018 and became an Independent having refused to pay his Council Tax.
• ††† Stonehaven and Lower Deeside Conservative Cllr Sandy Wallace resigned from the party and became an Independent on 12 December 2018 citing he had no faith in either the Prime Minister or the Conservative controlled Coalition in Aberdeenshire.[4]
• †††† Ellon & District SNP Cllr Richard Thomson was elected an MP for Gordon in the 2019 UK General Election. He resigned his Council seat in April 2020.[5] A by-election will be held on 1 October 2020.
• ††††† Mearns SNP Cllr Leigh Wislson resigned from the party and became an Independent on 15 May 2020 citing professional circumstances.[6]
• †††††† North Kincardine SNP Cllr Alistair Bews resigned from the party and became an Independent on 17 May 2020 citing personal and professional reasons.[7]

By-elections since 2017

Inverurie & District By-election (12 October 2017) - 1 Seat[8]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Lesley Berry	48.53%	1,672	1,679	1,715	1,871
	SNP	Elaine Mitchell	33.27%	1,146	1,161	1,234	1,300
	Liberal Democrats	Scott Bremner	8.56%	295	309	412
	Labour	Sarah Flavell	8.01%	276	290
	Scottish Green	Craig Stewart	1.62%	56
Electorate: NA   Valid: 3,445   Spoilt: 26   Quota: 1,723   Turnout: 30.9%

References

1. "Aberdeenshire council chief hails authority for getting job done without any 'political spats' - Evening Express". Evening Express. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-07-02. Retrieved 2017-04-12.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
3. http://www.ellontimes.co.uk/news/politics/gordon-mp-to-stand-down-as-councillor-1-4488505
4. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/1631026/north-east-councillor-quits-tory-party-because-he-has-no-faith-in-council-leaders/
5. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/north-east/2169445/gordon-mp-stands-down-from-role-as-aberdeenshire-councillor/
6. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/2203435/aberdeenshire-councillor-resigns-from-snp-to-sit-as-an-independent-candidate/
7. https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/2206868/second-councillor-quits-snp-group-on-aberdeenshire-council/
8. https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/inverurie-and-district-by-election/

External links

• Aberdeenshire 2017 election results
• Aberdeenshire 2012 election results