2022 Highland Council election

Since the previous election, several changes in the composition of the council occurred. A number were changes to the political affiliation of councillors including SNP councillors Calum MacLeod, Maxine Smith, Pauline Munro and Liz MacDonald who resigned from the party to become independents[7][8] and independent councillor Donnie Mackay who resigned from the independent administration to join the Conservatives.[9] Independent councillor Andrew Baxter was removed from the independent administraion and initially continued under the designation "Real Independent" before joining the Conservatives.[10] SNP councillor Ken Gowans resigned from the party to become an independent in 2017 before susequently rejoining the party the following year.[11] In total, nine by-elections were held and resulted in an independent gain from the Liberal Democrats,[12] a Liberal Democrats gain from the SNP,[13] an SNP gain from the Liberal Democrats,[14] an SNP hold,[15] an independent hold,[16] an independent gain from the Conservatives,[17] two Liberal Democrats gains from independents[18] and an SNP gain from the Conservatives.[19] Independent councillor Ben Thompson resigned from the council in November 2021 and Tom Heggie, also an independent councillor, died in February 2022 which left vacancies on the council which would not be filled as they occurred less than six months before the election.[20][21]

Notes

Of the 72 sitting councillors prior to the election, 30 are not standing for re-election. Additionally, four councillors will contest different wards to the ones they currently represent.

Following the passing of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, a review of the boundaries was undertaken in North Ayrshire, Argyll and Bute, Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. The Act allowed single- or two-member wards to be created to provide better representation of island communities. New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have reduced the number of wards by one to 20 and the number of councillors by one to 73. The proposals would have made no changes to the boundaries or numbers of councillors in Cromarty Firth; Fort William and Ardnamurchan; Nairn and Cawdor and Thurso and North West Caithness. The boundaries in Eilean a' Cheò and North, West and Central Sutherland would have remained the same but the numbers of councillors would have been reduced from four to three and from three to two respectively. Further changes would have seen four new wards created in Inverness, with the total number of councillors representing the city rising from 16 to 18 while Caol and Mallaig would have been renamed Caol, Mallaig and the Small Isles to recognise the island communities within the ward. Boundaries Scotland said the changes would "create more recognisable ward boundaries by Inverness, Tain and Knoydart" and "better align with the historical Caithness–Sutherland county boundary". However, the proposals in Highland were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the 21 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 remained in place.[3][22]

After nominations closed on 30 March 2022, there were not enough candidates in Caol and Mallaig to require an election: three candidates stood for the three seats available. As a result, Green candidate Andrew Baldrey, Liberal Democrats candidate John Colin Grafton and Conservative candidate Liz Saggers will be elected without a poll. The ward was one of a number across Scotland which will be uncontested, with a total of 18 councillors automatically elected. Despite their candidate being elected without a poll, the lack of interest in standing for election was called a "threat to local democracy" by the Greens. During the 2017 local elections in Scotland, just three council wards were uncontested, but votes were held in every ward in both 2007 and 2012 – the first elections to use multi-member wards and the Single transferable vote. Public disinterest in standing for election to local councils has been linked to the "ridiculous" size of some local authorities and the low pay councillors receive for their work.[23][24][25]