← Highland (all cycles) · 5 May 2022 cohort

Highland 2022

Local elections held 5 May 2022.

20 ward races

71 seats

39 elected below the proportional quota

54.9% of seats below quota

How to read this page

Each race below shows the share of valid ballots the marginal elected candidate actually won, and compares it to the proportional quota: the share they'd need to clinch the seat under any proportional voting method (1 seats + 1). For a 1-seat ward the quota is 50%; for 2 seats, 33.3%; for 3 seats, 25%.

Where the actual winning share fell below the quota, we show the signed gap as points below quota (a negative number) — the editorial indictment. Above-quota results clear the bar and pass without comment. The voting method is the subject of every observation here. Named candidates appear as the public election record requires; the cause being audited is the voting method, not the individuals. See the methodology page for derivations.

If votes were counted by party

Across the 20 wards in this cycle, parties received the vote totals below. The proportional column shows what each party would have won if the 71 seats had been shared out 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.

Vote share

Actual seats

Proportional seats

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.

Current (2022)

Previous (2021)

Wards in this council

Sorted with the largest gap below the quota first. Click any ward to jump to its full result.

Inverness Ness-side · 3 seats · won at 6.4% · −18.6 pts below quota
Inverness West · 3 seats · won at 7.5% · −17.5 pts below quota
Cromarty Firth · 4 seats · won at 7.3% · −12.7 pts below quota
Black Isle · 3 seats · won at 13.5% · −11.5 pts below quota
Inverness South · 4 seats · won at 8.6% · −11.4 pts below quota
Fort William and Ardnamurchan · 4 seats · won at 9.3% · −10.7 pts below quota
Aird and Loch Ness · 4 seats · won at 10.2% · −9.8 pts below quota
Culloden and Ardersier · 3 seats · won at 15.3% · −9.7 pts below quota
Eilean a′ Cheò · 4 seats · won at 10.7% · −9.3 pts below quota
North, West and Central Sutherland · 3 seats · won at 17.3% · −7.7 pts below quota
Wick and East Caithness · 4 seats · won at 12.8% · −7.2 pts below quota
Dingwall and Seaforth · 4 seats · won at 12.9% · −7.1 pts below quota
Inverness Central · 3 seats · won at 17.9% · −7.1 pts below quota
East Sutherland and Edderton · 3 seats · won at 19.0% · −6.0 pts below quota
Badenoch and Strathspey · 4 seats · won at 15.2% · −4.8 pts below quota
Tain and Easter Ross · 3 seats · won at 21.1% · −3.9 pts below quota
Nairn and Cawdor · 4 seats · won at 16.2% · −3.8 pts below quota
Inverness Millburn · 3 seats · won at 21.6% · −3.4 pts below quota
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh · 4 seats · won at 17.3% · −2.7 pts below quota
Thurso and Northwest Caithness · 4 seats · won at 17.9% · −2.1 pts below quota

Race results

Inverness Ness-side · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 6.4% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −18.6 pts Valid ballots 4,346

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Alasdair Christie	Liberal Democrats	1,934	44.5%	+19.5 pts	Elected
2	Jackie Hendry	Scottish National Party	1,270	29.2%	+4.2 pts	Elected
3	Ric Scott	Conservative Party	379	8.7%	—
4	Andrew Mackintosh	Labour Party	276	6.4%	−18.6 pts	Elected
5	Ron MacWilliam	Independent	243	5.6%	—
6	Claire Maclean	Green Party	226	5.2%	—
7	Calum Mark Liptrot	Scottish Libertarian Party	18	0.4%	—

Electorate 8,857 · Ballots cast 4,379 · Invalid 33 · EC ward code gss-S13003004 · Back to ward index

Inverness West · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 7.5% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −17.5 pts Valid ballots 3,503

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Alex Graham	Liberal Democrats	1,198	34.2%	+9.2 pts	Elected
2	Bill Boyd	Scottish National Party	1,092	31.2%	+6.2 pts	Elected
3	Ryan Forbes	Conservative Party	327	9.3%	—
4	Shaun Fraser	Labour Party	295	8.4%	—
5	Ryan Mackintosh	Green Party	262	7.5%	−17.5 pts	Elected
6	Duncan McDonald	Independent	173	4.9%	—
7	Helen Smith	Independent	100	2.9%	—
8	Iain Cullens Forsyth	Independence for Scotland Party	46	1.3%	—
9	David Sansum	Independent	10	0.3%	—

Electorate 8,495 · Ballots cast 3,545 · Invalid 42 · EC ward code gss-S13003002 · Back to ward index

Cromarty Firth · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 7.3% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −12.7 pts Valid ballots 3,870

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Tamala Collier	Scottish National Party	1,127	29.1%	+9.1 pts	Elected
2	Molly Nolan	Liberal Democrats	1,079	27.9%	+7.9 pts	Elected
3	Pauline Munro	Independent	679	17.5%	−2.5 pts	Elected
4	Maxine Morley-Smith	Independent	283	7.3%	−12.7 pts	Elected
5	Andrew Phillip Baxter	Conservative Party	261	6.7%	—
6	Kirsty Stewart	Labour Party	162	4.2%	—
7	Kate Stevenson	Independent	122	3.2%	—
8	Daniel Reat	Green Party	112	2.9%	—
9	Eric Fraser	Independent	45	1.2%	—

Electorate 9,918 · Ballots cast 3,928 · Invalid 58 · EC ward code gss-S13002995 · Back to ward index

Black Isle · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 13.5% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −11.5 pts Valid ballots 4,709

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Lyndsey Johnston	Scottish National Party	1,171	24.9%	−0.1 pts	Elected
2	Morven-May MacCallum	Liberal Democrats	739	15.7%	−9.3 pts	Elected
3	Theo Stratton	Conservative Party	695	14.8%	—
4	Sarah Atkin	Independent	634	13.5%	−11.5 pts	Elected
5	Anne Thomas	Green Party	624	13.3%	—
6	Okain John Mclennan	Independent	317	6.7%	—
7	Bev Smith	Independent	286	6.1%	—
8	Margaret Bryant	Labour Party	243	5.2%	—

Electorate 8,842 · Ballots cast 4,752 · Invalid 43 · EC ward code gss-S13002998 · Back to ward index

Inverness South · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 8.6% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −11.4 pts Valid ballots 5,543

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Ken Gowans	Scottish National Party	1,949	35.2%	+15.2 pts	Elected
2	Duncan Macpherson	Independent	1,375	24.8%	+4.8 pts	Elected
3	Andrew Sinclair	Conservative Party	936	16.9%	−3.1 pts	Elected
4	Colin Aitken	Liberal Democrats	478	8.6%	−11.4 pts	Elected
5	David Jardine	Labour Party	402	7.3%	—
6	Claire Filer	Green Party	299	5.4%	—
7	Jimmy Duncan	Alba Party	104	1.9%	—

Electorate 12,571 · Ballots cast 5,580 · Invalid 37 · EC ward code gss-S13003008 · Back to ward index

Fort William and Ardnamurchan · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 9.3% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −10.7 pts Valid ballots 4,003

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Angus Macdonald	Liberal Democrats	1,500	37.5%	+17.5 pts	Elected
2	Sarah Fanet	Scottish National Party	1,341	33.5%	+13.5 pts	Elected
3	Fiona Fawcett	Conservative Party	404	10.1%	—
4	Kate Willis	Green Party	385	9.6%	−10.4 pts	Elected
5	Thomas Maclennan	Independent	373	9.3%	−10.7 pts	Elected

Electorate 9,021 · Ballots cast 4,056 · Invalid 53 · EC ward code gss-S13003010 · Back to ward index

Aird and Loch Ness · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 10.2% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −9.8 pts Valid ballots 5,198

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Emma Knox	Scottish National Party	1,364	26.2%	+6.2 pts	Elected
2	David Fraser	Independent	1,182	22.7%	+2.7 pts	Elected
3	Helen Crawford	Conservative Party	1,099	21.1%	+1.1 pts	Elected
4	Chris Ballance	Green Party	528	10.2%	−9.8 pts	Elected
5	Aarron Duncan-MacLeod	Independent	430	8.3%	—
6	Holly Kingham	Liberal Democrats	342	6.6%	—
7	Michael Perera	Labour Party	253	4.9%	—

Electorate 10,213 · Ballots cast 5,255 · Invalid 57 · EC ward code gss-S13003001 · Back to ward index

Culloden and Ardersier · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 15.3% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −9.7 pts Valid ballots 4,100

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Glynis Campbell-Sinclair	Scottish National Party	1,542	37.6%	+12.6 pts	Elected
2	Mary Scanlon	Conservative Party	732	17.9%	—
3	Trish Robertson	Liberal Democrats	626	15.3%	−9.7 pts	Elected
4	Morven Reid	Independent	626	15.3%	−9.7 pts	Elected
5	Steven Calvert	Labour Party	413	10.1%	—
6	Mya Chemonges-Murzynowska	Alba Party	137	3.3%	—
7	Mel Robertson	Independent	24	0.6%	—

Electorate 9,107 · Ballots cast 4,140 · Invalid 40 · EC ward code gss-S13003006 · Back to ward index

Eilean a′ Cheò · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 10.7% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −9.3 pts Valid ballots 4,515

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	John Finlayson	Independent	1,450	32.1%	+12.1 pts	Elected
2	Drew Millar	Scottish National Party	1,019	22.6%	+2.6 pts	Elected
3	Calum Munro	Independent	583	12.9%	−7.1 pts	Elected
4	Ruraidh Stewart	Conservative Party	485	10.7%	−9.3 pts	Elected
5	Fay Thomson	Independent	258	5.7%	—
6	Donald Macdonald	Independent	240	5.3%	—
7	Hector Macleod	Alba Party	166	3.7%	—
8	Peter O'Donnghaile	Labour Party	157	3.5%	—
9	Jack Clark	Liberal Democrats	157	3.5%	—

Electorate 8,912 · Ballots cast 4,571 · Invalid 56 · EC ward code gss-S13002999 · Back to ward index

North, West and Central Sutherland · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 17.3% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −7.7 pts Valid ballots 2,756

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Marianne Hutchison	Scottish National Party	968	35.1%	+10.1 pts	Elected
2	Michael Baird	Liberal Democrats	773	28.0%	+3.0 pts	Elected
3	Hugh Morrison	Independent	477	17.3%	−7.7 pts	Elected
4	Charlotte Gibson	Conservative Party	302	11.0%	—
5	Clive Soley	Labour Party	108	3.9%	—
6	Philipp Tanzer	Scottish Family Party	80	2.9%	—
7	Robert Alan Jardine	Freedom Alliance- Integrity, Society, Economy	48	1.7%	—

Electorate 4,998 · Ballots cast 2,768 · Invalid 12 · EC ward code gss-S13002990 · Back to ward index

Wick and East Caithness · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 12.8% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −7.2 pts Valid ballots 4,180

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Jan Mcewan	Liberal Democrats	1,245	29.8%	+9.8 pts	Elected
2	Raymond Bremner	Scottish National Party	1,059	25.3%	+5.3 pts	Elected
3	Andrew Jarvie	Conservative Party	632	15.1%	−4.9 pts	Elected
4	A.I. Willie Mackay	Independent	534	12.8%	−7.2 pts	Elected
5	Bill Fernie	Independent	438	10.5%	—
6	Neil Macdonald	Labour Party	272	6.5%	—

Electorate 10,103 · Ballots cast 4,225 · Invalid 45 · EC ward code gss-S13002992 · Back to ward index

Dingwall and Seaforth · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 12.9% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −7.1 pts Valid ballots 4,640

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Graham Alexander MacKenzie	Scottish National Party	1,494	32.2%	+12.2 pts	Elected
2	Angela Maclean	Liberal Democrats	773	16.7%	−3.3 pts	Elected
3	Margaret Paterson	Independent	698	15.0%	−5.0 pts	Elected
4	Gavin Berkenheger	Conservative Party	650	14.0%	—
5	Sean Edward Kennedy	Independent	599	12.9%	−7.1 pts	Elected
6	Les Hood	Labour Party	216	4.7%	—
7	Thomas Widrow	Green Party	210	4.5%	—

Electorate 10,385 · Ballots cast 4,700 · Invalid 60 · EC ward code gss-S13002997 · Back to ward index

Inverness Central · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 17.9% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −7.1 pts Valid ballots 3,286

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Bet McAllister	Labour Party	793	24.1%	−0.9 pts	Elected
2	Michael Cameron	Scottish National Party	769	23.4%	−1.6 pts	Elected
3	Kate MacLean	Scottish National Party	589	17.9%	−7.1 pts	Elected
4	Donald MacKenzie	Conservative Party	420	12.8%	—
5	Arun Sharma	Green Party	245	7.5%	—
6	Martin Rattray	Liberal Democrats	211	6.4%	—
7	Andrew Barnett	Independent	141	4.3%	—
8	Sean Robertson	Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition	47	1.4%	—
9	John William McColl	Scottish Family Party	45	1.4%	—
10	Luigi Andrew MacKinnon	Independent	26	0.8%	—

Electorate 8,647 · Ballots cast 3,362 · Invalid 76 · EC ward code gss-S13003003 · Back to ward index

East Sutherland and Edderton · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 19.0% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −6.0 pts Valid ballots 3,214

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Richard Gordon Gale	Liberal Democrats	1,151	35.8%	+10.8 pts	Elected
2	Leslie-anne Niven	Scottish National Party	853	26.5%	+1.5 pts	Elected
3	Jim McGillivray	Independent	611	19.0%	−6.0 pts	Elected
4	Max Bannerman	Conservative Party	546	17.0%	—
5	Harry Christian	Scottish Libertarian Party	53	1.6%	—

Electorate 6,446 · Ballots cast 3,253 · Invalid 39 · EC ward code gss-S13002993 · Back to ward index

Badenoch and Strathspey · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 15.2% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −4.8 pts Valid ballots 5,529

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Russell Jones	Independent	1,280	23.2%	+3.2 pts	Elected
2	Muriel Cockburn	Scottish National Party	886	16.0%	−4.0 pts	Elected
3	John Bruce	Conservative Party	861	15.6%	−4.4 pts	Elected
4	Bill Lobban	Independent	842	15.2%	−4.8 pts	Elected
5	Pippa Hadley	Green Party	568	10.3%	—
6	Declan Gallacher	Liberal Democrats	489	8.8%	—
7	Dave Fallows	Scottish National Party	371	6.7%	—
8	Charlie Whelan	Labour Party	232	4.2%	—

Electorate 10,899 · Ballots cast 5,621 · Invalid 92 · EC ward code gss-S13003009 · Back to ward index

Tain and Easter Ross · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 21.1% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −3.9 pts Valid ballots 3,434

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Derek Louden	Scottish National Party	1,051	30.6%	+5.6 pts	Elected
2	Sarah Rawlings	Liberal Democrats	739	21.5%	−3.5 pts	Elected
3	Alasdair Rhind	Independent	726	21.1%	−3.9 pts	Elected
4	Fiona Robertson	Independent	554	16.1%	—
5	Veronica Morrison	Conservative Party	364	10.6%	—

Electorate 7,234 · Ballots cast 3,471 · Invalid 37 · EC ward code gss-S13002996 · Back to ward index

Nairn and Cawdor · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 16.2% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −3.8 pts Valid ballots 5,156

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Paul Oldham	Scottish National Party	1,401	27.2%	+7.2 pts	Elected
2	Laurie Fraser	Independent	1,215	23.6%	+3.6 pts	Elected
3	Michael Green	Independent	857	16.6%	−3.4 pts	Elected
4	Barbara Babs Jarvie	Conservative Party	836	16.2%	−3.8 pts	Elected
5	Kevin James Reid	Liberal Democrats	540	10.5%	—
6	Kevin Brooks	Independent	192	3.7%	—
7	Marjory Smith	Alba Party	77	1.5%	—
8	Cal MacLeod	Scottish Family Party	38	0.7%	—

Electorate 10,721 · Ballots cast 5,218 · Invalid 62 · EC ward code gss-S13003007 · Back to ward index

Inverness Millburn · 3-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 21.6% Proportional quota 25.0% Below quota −3.4 pts Valid ballots 3,508

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Ian Brown	Scottish National Party	1,430	40.8%	+15.8 pts	Elected
2	David Gregg	Liberal Democrats	835	23.8%	−1.2 pts	Elected
3	Isabelle MacKenzie	Conservative Party	757	21.6%	−3.4 pts	Elected
4	Lewis Whyte	Labour Party	486	13.9%	—

Electorate 7,602 · Ballots cast 3,553 · Invalid 45 · EC ward code gss-S13003005 · Back to ward index

Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 17.3% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −2.7 pts Valid ballots 5,411

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Biz Campbell	Independent	1,552	28.7%	+8.7 pts	Elected
2	Liz Kraft	Scottish National Party	1,234	22.8%	+2.8 pts	Elected
3	Christopher Birt	Scottish National Party	988	18.3%	−1.7 pts	Elected
4	Patrick Logue	Conservative Party	937	17.3%	−2.7 pts	Elected
5	Margot Kerr	Liberal Democrats	700	12.9%	—

Electorate 10,406 · Ballots cast 5,485 · Invalid 74 · EC ward code gss-S13002994 · Back to ward index

Thurso and Northwest Caithness · 4-seat (bloc vote)

Marginal winner 17.9% Proportional quota 20.0% Below quota −2.1 pts Valid ballots 5,139

Rank	Candidate	Party	Votes	Share	Below quota	Elected
1	Ron Gunn	Liberal Democrats	1,411	27.5%	+7.5 pts	Elected
2	Matthew Reiss	Independent	1,049	20.4%	+0.4 pts	Elected
3	Karl Rosie	Scottish National Party	947	18.4%	−1.6 pts	Elected
4	Struan Mackie	Conservative Party	921	17.9%	−2.1 pts	Elected
5	Iain Gregory	Independent	660	12.8%	—
6	Alexander Glasgow	Independent	151	2.9%	—

Electorate 10,242 · Ballots cast 5,173 · Invalid 34 · EC ward code gss-S13002991 · Back to ward index