Highland
Every election cycle we have data for, most recent first.
Cycles
Council composition as of 2025
74 councillors, by party. One square per seat. Source: opencouncildata annual snapshot — reflects the council on 1 January 2025 including by-elections and defections. Hover any seat for the party.
Most recent election (2022)
In 2022, 71 seats were up across 20 wards. The table below shows what each party actually won — alongside what they would have won if the 71 seats had been shared in proportion to votes received (how, with caveats). The Δ column is the actual seat count minus the proportional seat count — positive numbers are parties First-Past-the-Post over-represented; negative are parties it under-represented.
| Party | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | % of seats | Proportional seats | Proportional % | Δ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scottish National Party | 25,915 | 30.1% | 22 | 31.0% | 22 | 31.0% | 0 |
| Independent | 22,035 | 25.6% | 21 | 29.6% | 19 | 26.8% | +2 |
| Liberal Democrats | 16,920 | 19.7% | 14 | 19.7% | 14 | 19.7% | 0 |
| Conservative Party | 12,544 | 14.6% | 9 | 12.7% | 10 | 14.1% | -1 |
| Labour Party | 4,308 | 5.0% | 2 | 2.8% | 3 | 4.2% | -1 |
| Green Party | 3,459 | 4.0% | 3 | 4.2% | 3 | 4.2% | 0 |
| Alba Party | 484 | 0.6% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Scottish Family Party | 163 | 0.2% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Scottish Libertarian Party | 71 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Freedom Alliance- Integrity, Society, Economy | 48 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition | 47 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Independence for Scotland Party | 46 | 0.1% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 | 0.0% | 0 |
| Total | 86,040 | 100.0% | 71 | 100.0% | 71 | 100.0% | 0 |
Vote share vs seats won
The top bar is each party's share of votes cast in this council. Below, one square per seat, coloured by the party that won it — first the actual First-Past-the-Post result, then what a proportional method would have produced from the same vote totals. Divergence between the bar and the actual grid is the indictment of the method.
Council composition: what this election replaced
The 2022 cycle was an all-out election — every seat was contested. The two opencouncildata snapshots below show the council immediately after the 2022 election (current) and on the eve of it (2021), so you can see what the result replaced.