2022 Highland Council election
5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
All 74 seats to The Highland Council
38 seats needed for a majority
Turnout47.4%[lower-alpha 1]
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Raymond Bremner Margaret Davidson[lower-alpha 2] Alasdair Christie
Party SNP Independent Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Wick and East Caithness Aird and Loch Ness (retiring) Inverness Ness-side
Last election 22 seats, 24.9% 28 seats, 36.1% 10 seats, 12.9%
Seats before 19 28[lower-alpha 3] 11
Seats won 22 21 15
Seat change Steady0 Decrease7 Increase5
Popular vote 25,915 22,035 16,920
Percentage 30.1% 25.6% 19.7%
Swing Increase5.2pp Decrease10.5pp Increase6.8pp
  Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party
 
Leader Andrew Jarvie Chris Ballance & Debra Nicolson[1] Jimmy Gray
Party Conservative Scottish Green Labour
Leader's seat Wick and East Caithness Aird and Loch Ness & contested in Shetland Inverness Millburn (retiring)
Last election 10 seats, 15.7% 1 seats, 3.1% 3 seats, 6.9%
Seats before 10 1 3
Seats won 10 4 2
Seat change Steady0 Increase3 Decrease1
Popular vote 12,544 3,459 4,308
Percentage 14.6% 4.0% 5.0%
Swing Decrease1.1pp Increase0.9pp Decrease1.9pp
Council Leader before election

Margaret Davidson
Independent

 Council Leader after election

Raymond Bremner
SNP

Elections to The Highland Council were held on 5 May 2022, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 21 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 74 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.[2]

New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021 which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 73; however these were rejected by the Scottish Parliament.[3]

At the previous election in 2017, independent councillors won the most seats and formed a coalition administration with the Labour and Liberal Democrat groups.[4]

Background

Composition

Since the previous election, there were several changes in the composition of the council. 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[5][6] and independent councillor Donnie Mackay who resigned from the independent administration to join the Conservatives.[7] Independent councillor Andrew Baxter was removed from the independent administration and initially continued under the designation "Real Independent" before joining the Conservatives.[8] SNP councillor Ken Gowans resigned from the party to become an independent in 2017 before subsequently rejoining the party the following year.[9]

In total, nine by-elections were held and resulted in an independent gain from the Liberal Democrats,[10] a Liberal Democrats gain from the SNP,[11] an SNP gain from the Liberal Democrats,[12] an SNP hold,[13] an independent hold,[14] an independent gain from the Conservatives,[15] two Liberal Democrats gains from independents[16] and an SNP gain from the Conservatives.[17] 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.[18][19]

Party 2017 result Final composition[Note 1]
Independents 28 28[lower-alpha 3]
SNP 22 19
Conservative 10 10
Liberal Democrats 10 11
Labour 3 3
Green 1 1
Notes
  1. ^
    Note 1: Two vacancies created less than six months before the election were not filled so there were only 72 councillors prior to the poll.

Retiring councillors

Of the 72 sitting councillors before the election, 30 did not stand for re-election. Additionally, four councillors contested different wards from the ones they previously represented. With four sitting councillors defeated at the polls, only 38 sitting councillors were re-elected in 2022.

Ward Party Retiring councillor
North, West and Central Sutherland SNP Kirsteen Currie
Liberal Democrats Linda Munro
Thurso and North West Caithness Conservative Donnie Mackay
Wick and East Caithness Liberal Democrats Jill Tilt
East Sutherland and Edderton Labour Deirdre Mackay
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh SNP Ian Cockburn
Alexander MacInnes
Conservative Derek MacLeod
Cromarty Firth Independent Mike Finlayson
Carolyn Wilson
Dingwall and Seaforth Independent Alister MacKinnon
Black Isle Liberal Democrats Gordon Adam
Independent Jennifer Barclay
SNP Craig Fraser
Eilean a' Cheò Independent John Gordon
Calum MacLeod
Caol and Mallaig Independent Allan Henderson
Liberal Democrats Denis Rixson
Aird and Loch Ness Independent Helen Carmichael
Margaret Davidson
Inverness Central Independent Janet Campbell
SNP Emma Roddick
Inverness Ness-side Conservative Callum Smith
Inverness Millburn Labour Jimmy Gray
Culloden and Ardersier Independent Roddy Balfour
Nairn and Cawdor Independent Liz MacDonald
Conservative Peter Saggers
Inverness South Liberal Democrats Carolyn Caddick
Fort William and Ardnamurchan SNP Blair Allan
Niall McLean

Proposed 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. 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][20]

Uncontested seats

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 were elected without a poll. This was one of a number of uncontested wards across Scotland, 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.[21][22][23]

Results

The Highland Council elections 2022
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 22 3 3 Steady0 29.73 30.12 25,915 Increase5.19
  Independent 21 1 8 Decrease7 28.38 25.61 22,035 Decrease10.46
  Liberal Democrats 15 6 1 Increase5 20.27 19.67 16,920 Increase6.81
  Conservative 10 2 2 Steady0 13.51 14.58 12,544 Decrease1.07
  Scottish Green 4 4 1 Increase3 5.41 4.02 3,459 Increase0.88
  Labour 2 1 2 Decrease1 2.70 5.01 4,308 Decrease1.90
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.56 484 New
  Scottish Family 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.19 163 New
  Libertarian 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.08 71 Increase0.04
  Freedom Alliance 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.06 48 New
  TUSC 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.05 47 New
  ISP 0 0 0 Steady0 0 0.05 46 New

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 4 May 2017. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward summary

Results of the Highland Council election, 2022 by ward
Ward  %
Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
  %
 Cllrs
 Total
Cllrs
SNP Ind Lib Dem Conservative Green Lab Others
North, West and Central Sutherland 35.1 1 17.3 1 28.1 1 11.0 0 3.9 0 4.6 0 3
Thurso and North West Caithness 18.4 1 36.2 1 27.5 1 17.9 1 4
Wick and East Caithness 25.3 1 23.3 1 29.8 1 15.1 1 6.5 0 4
East Sutherland and Edderton 26.5 1 19.0 1 35.8 1 17.0 0 1.6 0 3
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh 41.1 2 28.7 1 12.9 0 17.3 1 4
Cromarty Firth 29.1 1 29.2 2 27.9 1 6.7 0 2.9 0 4.2 0 4
Tain and Easter Ross 30.6 1 37.3 1 21.5 1 10.6 0 3
Dingwall and Seaforth 32.2 1 28.0 2 16.7 1 14.0 0 4.5 0 4.7 0 4
Black Isle 24.9 1 26.3 1 15.7 1 14.8 0 13.3 0 5.2 0 3
Eilean a' Cheò 22.6 1 56.1 2 3.5 0 10.7 1 3.5 0 3.7 0 4
Caol and Mallaig Uncontested 1 1 1 3
Aird and Loch Ness 26.2 1 31.0 1 6.6 0 21.1 1 10.2 1 4.9 0 4
Inverness West 31.2 1 8.1 0 34.2 1 9.3 0 7.5 1 8.4 0 1.3 0 3
Inverness Central 41.3 2 5.1 0 6.4 0 12.8 0 7.5 0 24.1 1 2.8 0 3
Inverness Ness-side 29.2 1 5.6 0 44.5 1 8.7 0 5.2 0 6.4 1 0.4 0 3
Inverness Millburn 40.8 1 23.8 1 21.6 1 13.9 0 3
Culloden and Ardersier 37.6 1 15.9 1 15.3 1 17.9 0 10.1 0 3.3 0 3
Nairn and Cawdor 27.2 1 43.9 2 10.5 0 16.2 1 2.2 0 4
Inverness South 35.2 1 24.8 1 8.6 1 16.9 1 5.4 0 7.3 0 1.9 0 4
Badenoch and Strathspey 22.7 1 38.4 2 8.8 0 15.6 1 10.3 0 4.2 0 4
Fort William and Ardnamurchan 33.5 1 9.3 1 37.5 1 10.1 0 9.6 1 4
Total 30.1 22 25.6 21 19.7 15 14.6 10 4.0 4 5.0 2 1.0 0 74

Ward results

North, West and Central Sutherland

  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
  • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
  • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
North, West and Central Sutherland - 3 seats[24]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456
SNP Marianne Hutchison 35.12% 968
Liberal Democrats Michael Baird 28.05% 773
Independent Hugh Morrison (incumbent) 17.31% 477 573.5 594.9 618.9 657.6 714.4
Conservative Charlotte Gibson 10.96% 302 309.2 333.7 338.0 354.1 383.5
Labour Clive Soley 3.92% 108 164.0 179.0 181.0 197.7
Scottish Family Philipp Tanzer 2.90% 80 92.3 96.4 107.2
Freedom Alliance (UK) Robert Alan Jardine 1.74% 48 58.3 61.5
Electorate: 4,998   Valid: 2,756   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 690   Turnout: 55.8%  

    Thurso and North West Caithness

    • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
    • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
    • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
    Thurso and North West Caithness - 4 seats[24]
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    12345
    Liberal Democrats Ron Gunn 27.46% 1,411
    Independent Matthew Reiss (incumbent) 20.41% 1,049
    SNP Karl Rosie (incumbent) 18.43% 947 1,004.0 1,007.7 1,008.8 1,056.4
    Conservative Struan Mackie (incumbent) 17.92% 921 1,044.0
    Independent Iain Gregory 12.84% 660 765.3 776.1 782.6 869.6
    Independent Alexander Glasgow 2.94% 151 174.1 175.6 177.0
    Electorate: 10,242   Valid: 5,139   Spoilt: 34   Quota: 1,028   Turnout: 50.5%  

      Wick and East Caithness

      • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
      • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
      • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
      Wick and East Caithness - 4 seats[24]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      12345
      Liberal Democrats Jan McEwan 29.78% 1,245
      SNP Raymond Bremner (incumbent) 25.33% 1,059
      Conservative Andrew Jarvie[INV S] 15.12% 632 700.2 705.2 755.3 873.4
      Independent A.I. Willie MacKay (incumbent) 12.78% 534 635.6 699.9 801.9 1,125.4
      Independent Bill Fernie 10.48% 438 518.9 571.1 669.3
      Labour Neil MacDonald 6.51% 272 347.7 385.0
      Electorate: 10,103   Valid: 4,180   Spoilt: 45   Quota: 837   Turnout: 41.8%  

        East Sutherland and Edderton

        • 2017: 1 Lib Dem; 1 Labour; 1 Independent
        • Pre-election: 1 Lib Dem; 1 Labour; 1 Independent
        • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
        East Sutherland and Edderton - 3 seats[24]
        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
        1234
        Liberal Democrats Richard Gale (incumbent) 35.81% 1,151
        SNP Leslie-anne Niven 26.54% 853
        Independent Jim McGillivray (incumbent) 19.01% 611 775.6 796.6 834.1
        Conservative Max Bannerman 16.99% 546 613.8 615.4 635.1
        Libertarian Harry Christian 1.65% 53 80.4 84.6
        Electorate: 6,446   Valid: 3,214   Spoilt: 39   Quota: 804   Turnout: 50.5%  

          Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh

          • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
          • Pre-election: 2 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
          • 2022: 2 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
          Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh - 4 seats[24]
          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
          12345
          Independent Biz Campbell (incumbent) 28.68% 1,552
          SNP Liz Kraft 22.81% 1,234
          SNP Chris Birt 18.26% 988 1,092.6
          Conservative Patrick Logue 17.32% 937 1,029.2 1,032.1 1,032.4 1,479.2
          Liberal Democrats Margot Kerr 12.94% 700 882.5 956.6 960.8
          Electorate: 10,406   Valid: 5,411   Spoilt: 74   Quota: 1,083   Turnout: 52.7%  

            Cromarty Firth

            • 2017: 2 SNP; 2 Independent
            • Pre-election: 4 Independent
            • 2022: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem
            Cromarty Firth - 4 seats[24]
            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
            123456789
            SNP Tamala Collier 29.12% 1,127
            Liberal Democrats Molly Nolan 27.88% 1,079
            Independent Pauline Munro (incumbent) 17.55% 679 749.3 804.5
            Independent Maxine Morley-Smith (incumbent) 7.31% 283 323.0 355.9 370.8 383.2 446.6 498.9 575.6 705.0
            Conservative Andrew Phillip Baxter[FWA] 6.74% 261 266.0 315.0 315.8 322.1 346.3 350.4 397.4
            Labour Kirsty Stewart 4.19% 162 194.2 238.1 239.5 249.3 267.9 343.6
            Independent Kate Stevenson 3.15% 122 135.7 174.3 178.9 192.0
            Scottish Green Daniel Reat 2.89% 112 223.5 243.2 244.4 247.3 260.7
            Independent Eric Fraser 1.16% 45 54.7 64.0 65.7
            Electorate: 9,918   Valid: 3,870   Spoilt: 58   Quota: 775   Turnout: 39.6%  

              Tain and Easter Ross

              • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
              • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
              • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
              Tain and Easter Ross - 3 seats[24]
              PartyCandidateFPv%Count
              123
              SNP Derek Louden (incumbent) 30.61% 1,051
              Liberal Democrats Sarah Rawlings† 21.52% 739 780.7 922.0
              Independent Alasdair Rhind (incumbent) 21.14% 726 776.2 876.3
              Independent Fiona Robertson (incumbent) 16.13% 554 604.8 668.5
              Conservative Veronica Morrison 10.60% 364 368.6
              Electorate: 7,234   Valid: 3,434   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 859   Turnout: 48%  

                Dingwall and Seaforth

                • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem
                • Pre-election: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem
                • 2022: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem
                Dingwall and Seaforth - 4 seats[24]
                PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                1234567
                SNP Graham Alexander MacKenzie (incumbent) 32.20% 1,494
                Liberal Democrats Angela MacLean (incumbent) 16.66% 773 853.9 947.8
                Independent Margaret Paterson (incumbent) 15.04% 698 833.4 863.9 871.4 1,033.1
                Conservative Gavin Berkenheger 14.01% 650 659.5 688.0 691.0 701.3 715.2
                Independent Sean Edward Kennedy 12.91% 599 663.3 694.1 697.1 741.3 790.2 1,136.4
                Labour Les Hood 4.66% 216 249.7
                Scottish Green Thomas Widrow 4.53% 210 366.2 399.0 401.1
                Electorate: 10,385   Valid: 4,640   Spoilt: 60   Quota: 929   Turnout: 45.3%  

                  Black Isle

                  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                  • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                  • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                  Black Isle - 3 seats[24]
                  PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                  12345678
                  SNP Lyndsey Johnston 24.87% 1,171 1,199
                  Liberal Democrats Morven-May MacCallum 15.69% 739 826 829.4 869.5 927.7 1,146.7 1,153.6 1,494.6
                  Conservative Theo Stratton 14.76% 695 703 703.2 727.2 774.2 789.3 791.5
                  Independent Sarah Atkin 13.46% 634 660 661.8 769.9 947.3 1,195.8
                  Scottish Green Anne Thomas 13.25% 624 646 655.7 682.9 713.2
                  Independent Okain John McLennan 6.73% 317 338 339.3 402.5
                  Independent Bev Smith 6.07% 286 298 298.8
                  Labour Margaret Bryant 5.16% 243
                  Electorate: 8,842   Valid: 4,709   Spoilt: 43   Quota: 1,178   Turnout: 53.7%  

                    Eilean a' Cheò

                    • 2017: 3 Independent; 1 SNP
                    • Pre-election: 4 Independent
                    • 2022: 2 Independent: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                    Eilean a' Cheò - 4 seats[24]
                    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                    123456789
                    Independent John Finlayson (incumbent) 32.12% 1,450
                    SNP Drew Millar 22.57% 1,019
                    Independent Calum Munro (incumbent) 12.91% 583 792.0 813.7 838.8 928.3
                    Conservative Ruraidh Stewart 10.74% 485 521.1 522.4 535.1 538.3 539.7 595.1 654.7 806.7
                    Independent Fay Thomson 5.71% 258 339.7 348.9 372.1 409.0 416.8 464.1 632.2
                    Independent Donald MacDonald 5.32% 240 319.5 329.4 342.2 369.1 376.2 429.1
                    Alba Hector MacLeod 3.68% 166 185.6 208.8 211.7
                    Liberal Democrats Jack Clark 3.48% 157 188.3 196.7 258.0 271.9 273.2
                    Labour Peter Ó Donnghaile 3.48% 157 180.3 189.0
                    Electorate: 8,912   Valid: 4,515   Spoilt: 56   Quota: 904   Turnout: 51.3%  

                      Caol and Mallaig

                      • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP
                      • Pre-election: 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent; 1 Vacant
                      • 2022: 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Green
                      Caol and Mallaig - 3 seats[24]
                      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                      1
                      Scottish Green Andrew Baldrey uncontested uncontested
                      Liberal Democrats John Colin Grafton uncontested uncontested
                      Conservative Liz Saggers uncontested uncontested
                      Valid:   Quota:  

                        Aird and Loch Ness

                        • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                        • Pre-election: 3 Independent; 1 SNP
                        • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Green; 1 Independent
                        Aird and Loch Ness - 4 seats[24]
                        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                        1234567
                        SNP Emma Knox (incumbent) 26.24% 1,364
                        Independent David Fraser (incumbent) 22.74% 1,182
                        Conservative Helen Crawford 21.14% 1,099
                        Scottish Green Chris Ballance 10.16% 528 706.1 727.9 730.0 783.0 924.5 1,165.0
                        Independent Aarron Duncan-MacLeod 8.27% 430 471.8 535.1 556.1 596.2 774.1
                        Liberal Democrats Holly Kingham 6.58% 342 369.3 385.5 398.3 523.1
                        Labour Michael Perera 4.87% 253 276.5 286.8 291.9
                        Electorate: 10,213   Valid: 5,198   Spoilt: 57   Quota: 1,040   Turnout: 51.5%  

                          Inverness West

                          • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                          • Pre-election: 2 Lib Dem; 1 SNP
                          • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Green
                          Inverness West - 3 seats[24]
                          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                          123456789
                          Liberal Democrats Alex Graham (incumbent) 34.20% 1,198
                          SNP Bill Boyd (incumbent) 31.17% 1,092
                          Conservative Ryan Forbes 9.33% 327 378.3 383.1 384.9 390.3 403.5 454.1 538.6
                          Labour Shaun Alexander Fraser 8.42% 295 361.1 389.2 389.4 401.9 409.6 453.8
                          Scottish Green Ryan MacKintosh 7.48% 262 299.4 381.6 385.3 416.0 448.1 483.3 597.3 690.4
                          Independent Duncan McDonald 4.94% 173 226.8 235.7 236.9 247.8 286.3
                          Independent Helen Smith 2.85% 100 121.0 126.9 130.5 137.5
                          ISP Iain Forsyth 1.31% 46 55.7 96.0 97.3
                          Independent David Sansum 0.29% 10 15.1 17.1
                          Electorate: 8,495   Valid: 3,503   Spoilt: 42   Quota: 876   Turnout: 41.7%  

                            Inverness Central

                            • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Labour; 1 Independent
                            • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Labour; 1 Independent
                            • 2022: 2 SNP; 1 Labour
                            Inverness Central - 3 seats[24]
                            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                            12345678910
                            Labour Bet McAllister (incumbent) 24.13% 793 793 805 811 840
                            SNP Michael Cameron 23.40% 769 770 772 773 796 797.4 809.6 867.9
                            SNP Kate MacLean 17.92% 589 589 591 593 612 614.0 628.2 766.7 807.4 867.7
                            Conservative Donald MacKenzie 12.78% 420 421 424 437 455 457.1 510.3 526.6 527.5
                            Scottish Green Arun Sharma 7.46% 245 250 258 262 292 293.8 347.7
                            Liberal Democrats Martin Rattray 6.42% 211 211 212 218 229 234.5
                            Independent Andrew Barnett 4.29% 141 152 162 173
                            TUSC Sean Robertson 1.43% 47 47
                            Scottish Family John William McColl 1.37% 45 50 54
                            Independent Luigi Andrew MacKinnon 0.79% 26
                            Electorate: 8,647   Valid: 3,286   Spoilt: 76   Quota: 822   Turnout: 38.9%  

                              Inverness Ness-side

                              • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative
                              • Pre-election: 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                              • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Labour
                              Inverness Ness-side - 3 seats[24]
                              PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                              1234567
                              Liberal Democrats Alasdair Christie (incumbent) 44.50% 1,934
                              SNP Jackie Hendry 29.22% 1,270
                              Conservative Ric Scott 8.72% 379 562.1 564.1 567.0 574.5 672.0
                              Labour Andrew MacKintosh 6.35% 276 453.4 482.0 490.3 606.5 782.4 1,016.3
                              Independent Ron MacWilliam (incumbent) 5.59% 243 404.2 424.8 431.6 532.7
                              Scottish Green Claire MacLean 5.20% 226 320.2 405.5 410.5
                              Libertarian Calum Mark Liptrot 0.41% 18 29.8 33.3
                              Electorate: 8,857   Valid: 4,346   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 1,087   Turnout: 49.4%  

                                Inverness Millburn

                                • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Labour; 1 Conservative
                                • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Labour; 1 Conservative
                                • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative
                                Inverness Millburn - 3 seats[24]
                                PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                1234
                                SNP Ian Brown (incumbent) 40.76% 1,430
                                Liberal Democrats David Gregg 23.80% 835 1,009.1
                                Conservative Isabelle MacKenzie (incumbent) 21.58% 757 781.7 818.6 1,101.4
                                Labour Lewis Whyte 13.85% 486 657.8 722.3
                                Electorate: 7,602   Valid: 3,508   Spoilt: 45   Quota: 878   Turnout: 46.7%  

                                  Culloden and Ardersier

                                  • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                                  • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                                  • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Independent
                                  Culloden and Ardersier - 3 seats[24]
                                  PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                  123456
                                  SNP Glynis Campbell-Sinclair (incumbent) 37.61% 1,542
                                  Conservative Mary Scanlon 17.85% 732 743.0 745.0 753.4 805.1
                                  Independent Morven Reid 15.27% 626 721.0 740.4 831.2 960.0 1,148.0
                                  Liberal Democrats Trish Robertson (incumbent) 15.27% 626 693.9 695.9 727.7 931.8 1,298.1
                                  Labour Steven Calvert 10.07% 413 505.4 507.0 545.1
                                  Alba Mya Chemonges-Murzynowska 3.34% 137 244.4 245.1
                                  Independent Mel Robertson 0.59% 24 31.4
                                  Electorate: 9,107   Valid: 4,100   Spoilt: 40   Quota: 1,026   Turnout: 45.5%  

                                    Nairn and Cawdor

                                    • 2017: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                                    • Pre-election: 3 Independent; 1 Conservative
                                    • 2022: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                                    Nairn and Cawdor - 4 seats[24]
                                    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                    12345678
                                    SNP Paul Oldham 27.17% 1,401
                                    Independent Laurie Fraser (incumbent) 23.56% 1,215
                                    Independent Michael Green 16.62% 857 929.2 1,015.8 1,024.5 1,054.1
                                    Conservative Barbara Babs Jarvie 16.21% 836 840.2 861.3 866.1 872.2 875.5 914.0 1,161.6
                                    Liberal Democrats Kevin James Reid 10.47% 540 609.3 631.6 640.3 666.3 671.9 783.8
                                    Independent Kevin Brooks 3.72% 192 229.9 254.0 263.0 294.9 301.8
                                    Alba Marjory Smith 1.49% 77 142.8 145.9 151.9
                                    Scottish Family Cal MacLeod 0.74% 38 48.5 50.3
                                    Electorate: 10,721   Valid: 5,156   Spoilt: 62   Quota: 1,032   Turnout: 48.7%  

                                      Inverness South

                                      • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                                      • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                                      • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                                      Inverness South - 4 seats[24]
                                      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                      123456
                                      SNP Ken Gowans (incumbent) 35.16% 1,949
                                      Independent Duncan MacPherson (incumbent) 24.81% 1,375
                                      Conservative Andrew Sinclair[WEC] 16.89% 936 949.8 1,007.6 1,017.2 1,073.9 1,096.1
                                      Liberal Democrats Colin Aitken[INV W] 8.62% 478 550.0 618.3 640.8 868.2 1,228.6
                                      Labour David Jardine 7.25% 402 502.0 536.4 557.6
                                      Scottish Green Claire Filer 5.39% 299 597.2 628.4 724.5 841.3
                                      Alba Jimmy Duncan 1.88% 104 216.5 225.6
                                      Electorate: 12,571   Valid: 5,543   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 1,109   Turnout: 44.4%  

                                        Badenoch and Strathspey

                                        • 2017: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Green; 1 Independent
                                        • Pre-election: 1 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Green; 1 Independent
                                        • 2022: 2 Independent; 1 SNP; 1 Conservative
                                        Badenoch and Strathspey - 4 seats[24]
                                        PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                        12345678
                                        Independent Russell Jones 23.15% 1,280
                                        SNP Muriel Cockburn (incumbent) 16.02% 886 900.1 914.3 1,210.0
                                        Conservative John Bruce (incumbent) 15.57% 861 878.9 899.4 906.4 907.9 1,043.8 1,051.1 1,217.6
                                        Independent Bill Lobban (incumbent) 15.23% 842 895.1 946.9 962.3 978.4 1,133.3
                                        Scottish Green Pippa Hadley (incumbent) 10.27% 568 593.3 624.8 655.1 702.7 850.5 858.3
                                        Liberal Democrats Declan Gallacher 8.84% 489 503.1 575.6 596.3 605.4
                                        SNP Dave Fallows 6.71% 371 381.7 397.9
                                        Labour Charlie Whelan 4.20% 232 241.7
                                        Electorate: 10,899   Valid: 5,529   Spoilt: 92   Quota: 1,106   Turnout: 51.6%  

                                          Fort William and Ardnamurchan

                                          • 2017: 2 SNP; 1 Conservative; 1 Independent
                                          • Pre-election: 3 SNP; 1 Conservative
                                          • 2022: 1 SNP; 1 Lib Dem; 1 Green; 1 Independent
                                          Fort William and Ardnamurchan - 4 seats[24]
                                          PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                          1234
                                          Liberal Democrats Angus MacDonald 37.47% 1,500
                                          SNP Sarah Fanet (incumbent) 33.50% 1,341
                                          Conservative Fiona Fawcett 10.09% 404 551.7 570.6
                                          Scottish Green Kate Willis 9.62% 385 500.6 798.6 837.6
                                          Independent Thomas MacLennan 9.32% 373 640.5 724.6 1,057.4
                                          Electorate: 9,021   Valid: 4,003   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 801   Turnout: 45%  

                                            Changes since 2022

                                            • † Tain and Easter Ross Liberal Democrat Cllr Sarah Rawlings resigned in June 2023.[25] A by-election was held on 28 September 2023 with independent Maureen Ross elected.[26] Cllr Ross has joined the Highland Independent grouping on the council.[27]

                                            By-elections since 2022

                                            Tain and Easter Ross

                                            Tain and Easter Ross By-election (28 September 2023)[26]
                                            PartyCandidateFPv%Count
                                            123456
                                            Independent Maureen Ross 41.49% 1,022 1,025 1,033 1,058 1,131 1,312
                                            Liberal Democrats Charles Stephen 24.48% 603 605 618 644 705 801
                                            SNP Gordon Allison 18.84% 464 467 491 506 514
                                            Conservative Veronica Morrison 8.40% 207 210 210 216
                                            Labour Michael Perera 3.57% 88 90 96
                                            Scottish Green Andrew Barnett 2.27% 56 58
                                            Libertarian Harry Christian 0.93% 23
                                            Electorate: 7,226   Valid: 2,463   Spoilt: 25   Quota: 1,232   Turnout: 24.4%  


                                              Notes

                                              1. ^
                                                FWA: Sitting councillor for Fort William and Ardnamurchan.
                                              2. ^
                                                INV S: Sitting councillor for Inverness South.
                                              3. ^
                                                INV W: Sitting councillor for Inverness West.
                                              4. ^
                                                WEC: Sitting councillor for Wick and East Caithness.

                                              Footnotes

                                              1. ↑ excluding uncontested wards
                                              2. ↑ for the administration group
                                              3. 1 2 23 in the administration group, 3 Highland Matters, 1 Sutherland Independent, and 1 non-aligned

                                              References

                                              1. ↑ "People". Scottish Green Party - Highlands & Islands branch. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
                                              2. ↑ "Notice of Election". The Highland Council. 14 March 2022. Retrieved 7 April 2022.
                                              3. 1 2 "2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 3 January 2022.
                                              4. ↑ "Independent, Lib Dem, Labour coalition to run Highland". BBC News. 10 May 2017. Retrieved 6 April 2022.
                                              5. ↑ "Isle of Skye councillor found guilty of abuse charge". West Highland Free Press. 16 March 2018. Archived from the original on 26 March 2018. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
                                              6. ↑ MacAulay, Susy (17 September 2020). "Three SNP councillors step down from party citing deep divisions within the Highland group". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              7. ↑ "Veteran Highland councillor quits administration to join the Tories". Ross-shire Journal. 16 June 2018. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              8. ↑ MacLennan, Scott (3 July 2020). "Highland Council independent group kicks out councillor for being 'too independent'". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              9. ↑ "Bitter row as SNP councillor resigns from party group". Highland News. 7 September 2017. Archived from the original on 20 September 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2018.
                                              10. ↑ Henderson, Michelle (30 September 2017). "Alasdair Rhind re-elected for Tain and Easter Ross". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              11. ↑ MacLennan, Scott (7 April 2018). "Liberal Democrat Denis Rixson wins Highland Council by-election". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              12. ↑ MacAulay, Susy (8 December 2018). "SNP notch up victory over Tories in Highland by-election battle". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              13. ↑ MacLennan, Scott (15 November 2019). "SNP candidate Emma Roddick wins Inverness Central ward by-election to become new Highland councillor". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              14. ↑ MacAulay, Susy (13 March 2020). "Calum Munro elected to serve Skye and Raasay as Independent councillor". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              15. ↑ MacLennan, Scott (12 March 2021). "Independent candidate David Fraser is elected to represent the vacant Highland Council seat in super-close contest". Ross-shire Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              16. ↑ MacLennan, Scott (13 August 2021). "Liberal Democrats delight at winning twin Highland Council by-elections as newly elected Councillor Colin Aitken becomes the second youngest member". Inverness Courier. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              17. ↑ Scott, Fiona (7 December 2021). "Sarah is ready to roll out the welcome mat after by-election victory". The Oban Times. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              18. ↑ Sinclair, Nicola (27 October 2021). "Lochaber councillor Ben Thompson announces resignation". Press and Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              19. ↑ Wilson, Donald (24 February 2022). "Highland Council colleagues pay tribute to 'a man of kindness and courage' Tom Heggie". Ross-shire Journal. Retrieved 5 April 2022.
                                              20. ↑ "Review of Electoral Arrangements The Highland Council Area Final Proposals" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2021. Retrieved 4 April 2022.
                                              21. ↑ Bhadani, Anita (31 March 2022). "'Threat to local democracy' as councillors elected without votes". The National. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
                                              22. ↑ Learmonth, Andrew (31 March 2022). "Eighteen councillors already elected in Scotland's local elections". The Herald. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
                                              23. ↑ Bowie, Justin; Philip, Andy (1 April 2022). "18 councillors are already elected ahead of May vote – here's why you should be alarmed". The Press and Journal. Retrieved 3 April 2022.
                                              24. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 "2022 Local Government elections results". The Highland Council. Retrieved 6 May 2022.
                                              25. ↑ "Resignation of Ross-shire councillor in Tain ward triggers by-election timetable". Ross-shire Journal. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
                                              26. 1 2 "The Highland Council By-Election Election of Councillor Ward 7 – Tain and Easter Ross". The Highland Council. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
                                              27. ↑ "Councillors". The Highland Council. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
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