2022 Orkney Islands Council election

Elections to the Orkney Islands Council will be held on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election will use the six wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 21 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.[2]

2022 Orkney Islands Council election
5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
All 21 seats to Orkney Islands Council
11 seats needed for a majority
 
Leader James Stockan[1] Steve Sankey &
Helen Woodsford-Dean
Party Independent Green
Leader's seat Stromness and South Isles East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray
& contesting West Mainland
Last election 18 seats, 83.5% 1 seat, 4.5%
Current seats 18 1
Incumbent Council Leader

James Stockan
Independent


Ward boundaries differ slightly from previous elections, with minor changes being made to the two Kirkwall wards, as well as the boundary nearest Kirkwall in East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray.[3]

At the last election in 2017, independent councillors won the most seats and ran the council.

Background

Composition

There were no official changes to the political composition of the council in the preceding term. However, independent councillor John Ross Scott did announce he had joined the Greens in 2021, which did not change his affiliation on the council.[4] One by-election was held and resulted in an independent hold.[5]

Party 2017 result Current composition
Independents 18 18
Orkney Manifesto Group 2 2
Greens 1 1

Retiring councillors
Ward Party Retiring councillor
Kirkwall West and Orphir Orkney Manifesto Group John Richards
West Mainland Independent Harvey Johnston
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray Independent Norman Rae Craigie
Andrew Drever
Scottish Green Party Steve Sankey
North Isles Independent Graham Sinclair

Boundary changes

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. As a result, the boundaries of the existing wards were changed but the number of councillors remained the same. North Isles, Stromness and South Isles and West Mainland were unchanged. The boundaries in and around Kirkwall were amended to better reflect local ties. Kirkwall Airport and neighbouring communities were placed in Kirkwall wards instead of East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray while the boundary between Kirkwall East and Kirkwall West and Orphir was amended by the harbour to make a more identifiable boundary.[3][6]

Election result
Orkney Local Election Result 2022
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Independent
  Green

Ward summary
Results of the Orkney Islands Council election, 2022
by ward
Ward  %
Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
 Total
Cllrs
Ind Green
Kirkwall East 4
Kirkwall West and Orphir 4
Stromness and South Isles 3
West Mainland 4
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray 3
North Isles 3
Total 21

Ward results

Kirkwall East
Kirkwall East - 4 seats[7]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1
Independent David Dawson (incumbent)
Independent Steven Heddle (incumbent)
Independent Graham MacDonald
Green John Ross Scott (incumbent)
Independent Gwenda Shearer (incumbent)

    Kirkwall West and Orphir
    Kirkwall West and Orphir - 4 seats[7]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    1
    Independent Beverly Clubley
    Independent Sandy Cowie (incumbent)
    Independent Barbara Foulkes (incumbent)
    Green Kristopher Leask
    Independent Leslie Manson (incumbent)
    Independent Leslie Sinclair
    Independent Ivan Taylor
    Independent Cameron Whittle

      Stromness and South Isles
      Stromness and South Isles - 3 seats[7]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      1
      Independent Graham Bevan
      Green Maia Brodie
      Independent Rob Crichton (incumbent)
      Independent Lindsay Hall
      Independent James Stockan (incumbent)
      Independent Magnus Thomson (incumbent)

        West Mainland
        West Mainland - 4 seats[7]
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        1
        Independent Rachael Anne King (incumbent)
        Independent Sean Lewis
        Independent Jean Stevenson
        Independent Owen Tierney (incumbent)
        Independent Duncan Tullock (incumbent)
        Green Helen Woodsford-Dean

          East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray
          East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray - 3 seats[7]
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          1
          Independent James Moar
          Green Eric Page
          Independent Raymie Peace
          Independent Julie Rickards
          Independent Gillian Skuse

            North Isles
            North Isles - 3 seats[7]
            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
            1
            Independent Stephen Clackson (incumbent)
            Independent Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde
            Independent Paul Rendall
            Independent Mellissa Thomson
            Independent Heather Woodbridge (Incumbent)

              References
              1. "James Stockan". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
              2. "Elections". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 29 January 2022.
              3. "2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
              4. "Councillor John Ross Scott joins Scottish Greens". The Orcadian. 22 March 2021. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
              5. "Heather Woodbridge wins North Isles council seat". The Orcadian. 2 October 2020. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
              6. "News Release" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
              7. "Local Government Election - 5 May 2022". Orkney Islands Council. Retrieved 30 March 2022.
              This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.