2022 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

Elections to Dumfries and Galloway Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

For the second consecutive election, the Conservatives were returned as the largest party with 16 seats but remained shy of an overall majority. The Scottish National Party (SNP) increased their vote share by 7.5% but failed to make any gains and were again returned as the second-largest party with 11 seats. Labour lost two seats to return nine councillors while the Liberal Democrats retained their only seat. Six independent candidates were also elected – an increase of two.

The Labour–SNP coalition administration retained control of the council with support from two independents and Lib Dem councillor Richard Brodie. Cllrs Stephen Thompson and Linda Dorward were elected co-leaders of the council. However, the partnership collapsed less than a year after the election as the Conservatives took minority control of the council.

Previous election
At the previous election in 2017, the Conservatives gained two seats to hold 16 and replaced Labour as the largest party on the council. Labour lost four seats and the Scottish National Party (SNP) gained one as both returned 11 councillors. The two parties would form a coalition to run the council. The Liberal Democrats retained their only seat while the number of independents fell from seven to four.

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Electoral system
The election used the nine wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 32 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.

Composition
Between the 2017 and 2022 elections, there were a few changes to the composition of the council. All of these were due to changes in the political affiliations of councillors. Former council leader and Labour councillor Ronnie Nicolson and Conservative councillor David James resigned from their respective parties to sit as independents. Labour councillor Tommy Sloan resigned from the party and sat as an independent councillor and member of the Dumfries and Galloway Socialists Group while SNP councillor Dougie Campbell left the party and stood as an independent at the 2022 election. SNP councillor Andrew Wood initially resigned from the party to sit as an independent. He later joined the Conservatives. There were two by-elections and both resulted in Conservative holds.

Retiring councillors
Many prominent elected members stood down at this election, including the leader of the council, and former Dumfriesshire MSP, Elaine Murray.

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Results
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Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Aftermath
Over the 2017–2022 term, the SNP and Labour ran a coalition, while the Conservatives were the largest party. Following this election, the SNP under Cllr Stephen Thompson, Labour under Cllr Linda Dorward and the Independent Group (including 6 Independents and 1 Liberal Democrat) under Cllr Richard Brodie agreed to work together and form a "Rainbow Coalition". Thompson and Dorward became co-leaders of the council.

Despite the collaboration between the SNP and Labour, Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar claimed that the deal was an interim arrangement and "not for the duration of the entire council term". Ultimately, the coalition agreement lasted only 8 months and the Conservatives (with Independent support) took control of the administration.

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West by-election
In October 2022, Labour councillor Sandy Whitelaw resigned, triggering a by-election in Ward 2 - Mid Galloway and Wigtown West, which was held on 8 December 2022.

Change in Council Leadership
In February 2023, Labour councillors agreed to terminate their formal coalition with the SNP and Independent Councillors. The resulting agreement led to Councillor Stephen Thompson (SNP) being declared Leader of Dumfries & Galloway Council and Councillor Richard Brodie (Lib Dem) declared as Deputy Leader.

In March 2023, Labour abstentions and Independent Councillors' support allowed a Conservative budget to pass. As a result, the SNP leadership resigned, including Councillor Thompson. One week later, the Conservatives (with independent group support) elected Gail MacGregor as Council Leader, resulting in Dumfries and Galloway Council coming under Conservative administration.