2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

The 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Dumfries and Galloway Council. The election used the twelve 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 43 councillors being elected, a reduction of 4 members and 1 ward since 2012.

Main article: 2017 Scottish local elections

2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

4 May 2017 (2017-05-04)
All 43 seats to Dumfries and Galloway Council 22 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Ian Carruthers Rob Davidson Elaine Murray Party Conservative SNP Labour Leader's seat Annandale South Abbey Nith Last election 14 seats, 26.6% 10 seats, 19.5% 15 seats, 29.3% Seats before 13 11 12 Seats after 16 11 11 Seat change 2 1 4   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Jane Maitland Richard John Brodie Party Independent Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Dee and Glenkens Annandale South Last election 7 seats, 18.1% 1 seat, 4.0% Seats before 5 1 Seats after 4 1 Seat change 3 -
The 12 multi-member wards
Council Leader before election Ronnie Nicholson Labour Council Leader after election Elaine Murray Labour

Following the election the Conservative Party became the largest party, with Labour falling from first place into third place in terms of votes and seats. The SNP also drew with Labour in terms of seats as they both won 11 seats.

This election also saw Independent councillors Willie Scobie and Jane Maitland returned, but saw Marion McCutcheon, George Prentice, Tom McAughtrie, Yen Hongmei Jin, Denis Male and Craig Peacock all losing their seats. Elaine Murray, the former MSP for Dumfriesshire was elected to the Council in the Nith ward.

Following the election, Ian Carruthers (Annandale South) was elected as the Conservative group leader, Rob Davidson (Abbey) as the SNP group leader and Elaine Murray (Nith) as the Labour group leader. Richard Brodie (Annandale South), is the sole Liberal Democrat councillor.

On 23 May, almost three weeks following the election, Labour and the SNP formed a coalition to form a majority council with Elaine Murray as council leader and Rob Davidson as depute leader and civic head. Although the Conservatives were elected the largest party with 16 seats, they remain in opposition.

Election result

Dumfries and Galloway Local Election Result 2017

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	16	2	0	+2	37.21	38.70	21,138	+12.09
	SNP	11	1	0	+1	25.58	21.56	11,779	+2.10
	Labour	11	0	4	-4	25.58	18.45	10,077	-10.89
	Independent	4	0	3	-3	9.30	17.26	9,425	-0.80
	Liberal Democrats	1	0	0	0	2.33	2.47	1,350	-1.48
	Scottish Green	0	0	0	0	0.00	1.87	1,026	+0.03
	Libertarian	0	0	0	0	0.00	0.22	118	+0.22

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 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward results

Stranraer and the Rhins

• 2012: 1x Ind, 1x SNP, 1xLab
• 2017: 1x No description, 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Lab
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain extra seat

Stranraer and the Rhins - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	No description	Willie Scobie (incumbent)	36.53	1,925
	Conservative	Andrew Giusti	32.31	1,703
	SNP	Ros Surtees	14.52	765	869.4	884.62	903.35	919.09	953.34	1,013.39
	Labour	Tommy Sloan	5.92	312	589.94	661.86	694.11	723.69	774.28	912.14
	Independent	Tracy Davidson	3.43	181	251.95	317.4	338.72	381.51
	Independent	Marion McCutcheon (incumbent)	3.15	166	259.55	332.23	363.55	418.26	533.25
	Independent	Robert McCrae	2.33	123	164.13	231.48	242.73
	Libertarian	Chris Collings	1.80	95	134.77	174.72
Electorate: 11,382   Valid: 5,270   Spoilt: 80   Quota: 1,055   Turnout: 46.3

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West

• 2017: 2x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
• 2012-2017 Change: New ward

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West- 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7	Count 8	Count 9
	Conservative	David Inglis	26.07	1,403
	Independent	Jim McColm (incumbent)	18.13	976	1,012.01	1,027.25	1,050.25	1,158.41
	Conservative	Graham Nicol (incumbent) †††††	13.43	723	960.46	962.93	971.02	1,009.64	1,032.12	1,234.63
	SNP	Katie Hagmann	13.02	701	703.32	708.32	733.32	806.49	811.66	860.02	867.82	1,416.84
	SNP	Steve Norris	10.63	572	574.32	577.56	587.56	606.25	612.84	657.4	664.87
	Independent	Richard Oxley	8.83	475	48.01	496.24	506.24	551.94	579.43
	Labour	Matthew Curry	6.84	368	375.67	379.9	407.36
	Scottish Green	Barbara Bannatyne	2.16	116	118.32	121.79
	Independent	John McCutcheon	0.89	48	49.86
Electorate: 9,594   Valid: 5,382   Spoilt: 120   Quota: 1,076   Turnout: 57.3

Dee and Glenkens

• 2017: 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
• 2012-2017 Change: New ward

Dee and Glenkens- 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7	Count 8
	Conservative	Patsy Gilroy (incumbent)†	33.47	1,547
	SNP	Dougie Campbell	19.56	904	909.31	916.81	921.32	934.82	967.08	1,121.83	1,250.09
	Independent	Douglas Swan	15.84	732	788.11	804.12	817.64	844.2	886.49	925.55
	Independent	Jane Maitland (incumbent)	14.37	664	824.49	833.27	850.57	937.7	983.26	1,096.79	1,522.66
	Scottish Green	Laura Moodie	6.32	292	303.88	305.88	321.67	333.43	402.21
	Labour	Elizabeth Maxwell	4.69	217	237.72	238.98	258.26	262.28
	Independent	Andi Holmes	2.60	120	144.52	157.28	174.57
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Metcalf	1.84	85	106.74	111.99
	No description	John Thorn	1.32	61	70.6
Electorate: 8,239   Valid: 4,622   Spoilt: 34   Quota: 1,156   Turnout: 56.5

Castle Douglas and Crocketford

• 2017: 1x Con, 1x SNP, 1x Ind
• 2012-2017 Change: New ward

Castle Douglas and Crocketford - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6
	Conservative	David James†††	35.79	1,346
	Independent	Iain Howie	23.96	901	1,033.99
	SNP	John Young	20.10	756	761.72	772.23	837.81	928.28	1,099.88
	Independent	George Nicol Prentice (incumbent)	9.70	365	451.66	496.45	522.15	628.9
	Labour	Lucy McKie	7.02	264	307.03	316.87	354.5
	Scottish Green	Paul Taylorson	3.43	129	147.66	155.77
Electorate: 7,433   Valid: 3,761   Spoilt: 41   Quota: 941   Turnout: 50.6

Abbey

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
• 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. Labour lose 1 seat.

Abbey - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	Conservative	Ian Blake (incumbent)	39.38	1,664
	Labour	Davie Stitt (incumbent)	21.92	926	1,084.31
	SNP	Rob Davidson (incumbent)	16.21	685	698.13	703.77	738.18	932.12	988.26	1,159.28
	No description	Tom McAughtrie (incumbent)	10.60	448	517.31	521.99	532.31	540.35	645.66
	SNP	Kim Lowe	4.90	207	209.92	211.17	235.76
	Independent	Belle Doyle	4.14	175	268.75	271.41	314.93	324.82
	Scottish Green	Clare Phillips	2.84	120	151.74	155.6
Electorate: 8,284   Valid: 4,225   Spoilt: 59   Quota: 1,057   Turnout: 51.0

North West Dumfries

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
• 2017: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

North West Dumfries - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	John Graham Bell (incumbent)	32.54	1,374
	SNP	Andy Ferguson (incumbent)	16.41	693	708.02	736.4	774.41	1,314.26
	Labour	Ronnie Nicholson (incumbent)††	16.08	679	722.51	732.59	763.44	778.6
	Labour	David John McKie (incumbent)	14.47	611	694.93	720.86	784.57	809.27
	SNP	Stacy Bradley	13.60	574	588.25	613.02	642.33
	Independent	Billy Farries	3.86	163	268.88	304.73
	Scottish Green	Michelle Johnston	3.03	128	156.49
Electorate: 9,981   Valid: 4,222   Spoilt: 112   Quota: 845   Turnout: 42.3

Mid and Upper Nithsdale

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
• 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. Labour lose 1 seat.

Mid and Upper Nithsdale - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Matthew Ronnie	27.98	1,211
	Labour	Jim Dempster (incumbent)	24.38	1,055	1,087.55
	SNP	Andrew Stuart Wood (incumbent)††††	20.15	872	876.65	876.96	1,043.9	1,286.21
	Labour	John Syme (incumbent)	16.73	724	730.76	734.26	839.41
	No description	Graham Watson	10.77	466	497.92	498.1
Electorate: 8,105   Valid: 4,328   Spoilt: 50   Quota: 1,083   Turnout: 53.4

Lochar

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Con, 1x SNP
• 2017: 1x Lab, 2x Con, 1x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: Con gain from Lab

Lochar - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7	Count 8	Count 9
	Conservative	John Anthony Charteris	24.19	1,208
	Conservative	Ivor Alexander Hyslop (incumbent)	16.88	843	1,000.61
	Labour	Jeff Leaver (incumbent)	13.72	685	688.29	688.5	701.68	833.24	875.96	899.3	916.78	1,153.64
	SNP	Tracey Little	13.20	659	661.08	661.09	685.1	689.1	710.45	1,099.98
	Independent	Yen Hongmei Jin (incumbent)	12.13	606	620.71	620.97	637.15	652.15	777.22	786.22	810.59
	SNP	Joe McGurk	8.33	416	417.21	417.23	440.58	447.58	459.75
	Independent	Maureen Johnstone	5.99	299	310.94	311.21	322.73	326.73
	Labour	Keith Walters	3.16	158	158.69	158.74	175.92
	Scottish Green	Arthur Ramsay	2.40	120	121.38	121.43
Electorate: 10,603   Valid: 4,994   Spoilt: 118   Quota: 999   Turnout: 47.1

Nith

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x SNP, 1x Con
• 2017: 2x Lab, 1x SNP, 1x Con
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Nith - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7	Count 8	Count 9	Count 10
	Conservative	Malcolm Johnstone	29.30	1,481
	Labour	Elaine Murray	19.01	961	1,033.2
	SNP	John Campbell	16.97	858	862.75	863.32	887.71	901.77	922.72	950.35	1,379.72
	SNP	Alastair Witts (incumbent)	8.66	438	441.48	441.96	468.7	488.37	493.71	507.68
	Labour	John Martin (incumbent)	8.39	424	463.9	478.72	500.8	523.66	540.98	579.72	599.29	682.97	837.94
	Independent	David Robert Slater	5.88	297	362.55	363.43	380.02	401.18	459.13	586.3	606.99	676.46
	Independent	Niall Cowan	3.88	196	246.35	247.12	252.05	278.76	321.56
	Independent	Andrew Crosbie	3.03	153	188.15	188.47	192.81	210.46
	Independent	John Dennis	2.49	126	151.02	151.67	168.34
	Scottish Green	Sandy Rogerson	2.39	121	133.67	134.22
Electorate: 10,233   Valid: 5,055   Spoilt: 77   Quota: 1,012   Turnout: 49.4

Annandale South

• 2012: 2x Lab, 1x Lib Dem, 1x Con
• 2017: 1x Con, 1x Lib Dem, 1x SNP, 1x Lab
• 2012-2017 Change: SNP gain from Lab

Annandale South - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5	Count 6	Count 7
	Conservative	Ian Brian Carruthers (incumbent)	31.48	1,621
	Liberal Democrats	Richard John Brodie (incumbent)	19.58	1,008	1,183.73
	SNP	Henry McClelland	17.81	917	933.41	950.54	950.67	972.18	999.06	1,152.05
	Labour	Sean Marshall (incumbent)	13.61	701	768.08	811.3	819.7	1,190.65
	Independent	Allan Weild	8.74	450	550.99	585.58	599.68	634.99	674.21
	Labour	Ronnie Ogilvie (incumbent)	8.33	429	451.6	467.73	470.63
	Libertarian	Peter McKain	0.45	23	31.02	34.55
Electorate: 10,955   Valid: 5,149   Spoilt: 72   Quota: 1,030   Turnout: 47

Annandale North

• 2012 Notional: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
• 2017: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Annandale North - 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Douglas Fairbairn (incumbent)	28.76	1,573
	Conservative	Gail McGregor (incumbent)	25.72	1,407
	SNP	Stephen Thompson (incumbent)	23.91	1,308
	Labour	Adam Wilson	16.91	925	998.84	1,055.83	1,126.99
	Liberal Democrats	Lisa Courts	4.70	257	356.37	438.41	500.94
Electorate: 11,540   Valid: 5,470   Spoilt: 69   Quota: 1,095   Turnout: 47.4

Annandale East and Eskdale

• 2012: 2x Con, 1x Lab, 1X Ind
• 2017: 2x Con, 1x Lab
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 less seat compared to 2012. 1 Independent loss.

Annandale East and Eskdale - 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4	Count 5
	Conservative	Karen Carruthers (incumbent)	29.59	1,290
	Conservative	Ronnie Tait	17.06	744	881.45	901.22	983.92	1,266.4
	No description	Denis Raymond Male (incumbent)	16.54	721	732.42	809.57	934.96
	Labour	Archie Dryburgh (incumbent)	14.63	638	652.04	776.35	1,029.74	1,362.05
	Independent	Craig Peacock (incumbent)	11.77	513	529.2	630.51
	SNP	Sylvia Moffat	10.41	454	455.85
Electorate: 8,466   Valid: 4,360   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 1,091   Turnout: 51.5

Changes since the election

• †On 18 October 2018, Dee and Glenkens Conservative councillor Patsy Gilroy resigned her seat.[1] She was appointed as Lord Lieutenant of the Stewartry by Her Majesty The Queen on 5 November 2018.[2] A by-election was held on 13 December 2018. The seat was won by Pauline Drysdale of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.[3]
• ††On 26 February 2019 Labour Cllr Ronnie Nicholson resigned from the party and became an Independent.[4]
• †††On 12 April 2019 Castle Douglas and Crocketford Conservative Cllr David James resigned from the party and became an Independent claiming the party avoided making policies.[5]
• ††††On 5 July 2019 Mid and Upper Nithsdale SNP Cllr Andrew Wood resigned from the party and became an Independent.
• †††††On 25 October 2019 Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Cllr Graham Nicol died suddenly. A by-election was held on the 23 January 2020.[6] The seat was won by Jackie McCamon of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party.

By-elections since 2017

Dee and Glenkens By-election (13 December 2018)[7]
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1	Count 2	Count 3	Count 4
	Conservative	Pauline Louise Drysdale	45.9	1,682	1,704	1,740	1,956
	SNP	Glen Murray	28.0	1,024	1,026	1,183	1,357
	Independent	Colin Matthew Wyper	15.5	569	575	651
	Scottish Green	Laura Elizabeth Moodie	9.3	342	349
	UKIP	Jennifer Blue	1.3	42
Electorate: 8,088   Valid: 3,663   Spoilt: 29   Quota: 1832.00   Turnout: 3,692 (45.65%)

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West By-election (23 January 2020)
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count 1
	Conservative	Jackie McCamon	61.8	2,177
	SNP	Tony Berretti	25.5	898
	Scottish Green	Peter Barlow	6.4	225
	Labour	Gill Hay	6.3	220

References

1. https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/local-news/dee-glenkens-conservative-councillor-patsy-13435757
2. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/queen-appoints-lord-lieutenant-of-the-stewartry-of-kirkcudbright
3. https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/article/18086/Dee-and-Glenkens-By-Election
4. Findlay, Nicola (February 26, 2019). "Former Council leader quits over teacher cuts". bbc.co.uk.
5. Findlay, Nicola (April 12, 2019). "Castle Douglas Cllr resigns". dailyrecord.
6. Nicol, Graham (November 7, 2019). "Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Cllr dies". www.bbc.co.uk.
7. https://www.dumgal.gov.uk/media/20748/Breakdown-of-results-Dee-and-Glenkens-By-Election/pdf/Breakdown_of_results.pdf

• list of candidates 2017