2012 Fife Council election

Elections to Fife Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 23 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 form of proportional representation, with 78 Councillors elected.

The biggest benefactors were the Labour Party who regained the 11 seats they had lost in the 2007 Local Elections thus increase its share to remain the largest party. Scottish Liberal Democrats lost over half their seats, with labour picking up most of the seats, while the Scottish National Party increased their representation by 3 seats and remained in second place on the authority. Most of their gains were in the wards of the Fife North East constituency where they had previously only had a single seat. The Independents lost a seat while the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party lost 2 seats. The UK Independence Party lost its only Scottish Councillor who had defected from the Conservatives in 2008.

Following the election the Labour Party formed a minority administration with the support of the Independents and the Conservative Party. This replaced the previous SNP - Lib Dem coalition administration.

Election results
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
Obelisks (†) indicate changes since the election, and link to further details.

West Fife and Coastal Villages

 * 2007: 1xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Dunfermline North

 * 2007: 1xLib Dem; 1xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Dunfermline Central

 * 2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Dunfermline South

 * 2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xLab
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Rosyth

 * 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay

 * 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem


 * = Outgoing Councillor from a different Ward.

The Lochs

 * 2007: 1xIndependent; 1xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 1xLab; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Cowdenbeath

 * 2007: 1xLab; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Independent

Lochgelly and Cardenden

 * 2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Burntisland, Kinghorn and Western Kirkcaldy

 * 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
 * 2012: 1xLab; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Kirkcaldy North

 * 2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Kirkcaldy Central

 * 2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Kirkcaldy East

 * 2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Glenrothes West and Kinglassie

 * 2007: 2xSNP; 2xLab
 * 2012: 2xSNP; 2xLab
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch

 * 2007: 2xSNP; 2xLab
 * 2012: 2xSNP; 2xLab
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Glenrothes Central and Thornton

 * 2007: 2xSNP; 1xLab
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from SNP

Howe of Fife and Tay Coast

 * 2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon
 * 2007-2012 Change: Con gain one seat from Lib Dem

Tay Bridgehead

 * 2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xCon
 * 2012: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from Con

St. Andrews

 * 2007: 3xLib Dem; 1xCon
 * 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xLab
 * 2007-2012 Change: SNP and Lab each gain one seat from Lib Dem

East Neuk and Landward

 * 2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xCon
 * 2012: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from UKIP

Cupar

 * 2007: 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent; 1xCon
 * 2012: 1xIndependent; 1xLib Dem; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from Con

Leven, Kennoway and Largo

 * 2007: 2xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
 * 2012: 2xLab; 2xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Lib Dem

Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages

 * 2007: 2xLab; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
 * 2012: 2xLab; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP
 * 2007-2012 Change: No change

Changes since the election
<!--#Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch Labour Cllr William Kay died in May 2013. The by-election was held on 20 June 2013 and the seat was held by Labour's John Wincott.
 * 1) Dunfermline South Labour Cllr Mike Rumney died on 26 July 2013. The seat was held by Labour's Billy Pollock on 24 October 2013.
 * 2) The Lochs Labour Cllr Alex Rowley won a by-election to the Scottish Parliament for the Cowdenbeath constituency on 23 January 2014. The by-election was held on 22 May 2014 and was won by Labour's Alex Campbell.
 * 3) Cowdenbeath Labour Cllr Jayne Baxter resigned her seat upon being appointed a list MSP in April 2014. The by-election was held on 22 May 2014 and was won by Labour's Gary Guichan.
 * 4) Kirkcaldy East SNP Cllr Arthur Morrison resigned on 31 October 2014 due to poor attendance. The by-election was held on 22 January 2015 and the seat was held by the SNP's Marie Penman. She resigned from the party and became an Independent on 14 March 2016 accusing the SNP of ignoring her claims of bullying and harassment.
 * 5) Glenrothes West and Kinglassie Labour Cllr Betty Campbell died suddenly on 22 January 2015. A by-election was held on 26 March 2015 and the seat was won by the SNP's Craig Walker.
 * 6) Dunfermline South Labour Cllr Cara Hilton was elected an MSP for the Dunfermline constituency on 23 October 2014. She resigned her Council seat in early 2015 and the by-election was held on 7 May 2015. This seat was won by the SNP's Fay Sinclair.
 * 7) Glenrothes West and Kinglassie SNP Cllr Bill Brown resigned from the party for personal reasons on 25 May 2015 and now sits as an Independent.
 * 8) Glenrothes West and Kinglassie SNP Cllr Peter Grant was elected as a MP for Glenrothes on 7 May 2015. He resigned his Council seat on 3 July 2015, which was held in a by-election on 1 October 2015 by the party's Julie Ford.
 * 9) On 28 September 2015 Rosyth SNP Cllr Douglas Chapman resigned his Council seat having been elected as MP for Dunfermline and West Fife. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 26 November 2015 and the seat was won by the SNP's Sharon Wilson.
 * 10) In September 2015 Dunfermline North SNP Cllr David Mogg resigned his Council seat. A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 26 November 2015 and the seat was won by the SNP's Ian Ferguson.
 * 11) On 1 June 2016 Independent The Lochs Cllr William L. Clarke announced he was resigning from the Council. A by-election was held on 25 August 2016 and it was won by Labour's Mary Bain Lockhart.
 * 12) On 20 October 2016 Leven, Kennoway and Largo SNP Cllr Alistair Hunter resigned his seat as he and his family were emigrating to Australia. The by-election was held on 15 December 2016 and was won by the SNP's Alistair Suttie.
 * 13) On 19 November 2016 Kirkcaldy East Labour Cllr Kay Morrison died after a battle with cancer. -->

By-elections
The detailed results of the 12 by-elections are as follows: