The 2017 Orkney Islands Council election took place on 4 May 2017 to elect members of Orkney Islands Council. The election used the six 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 21 councillors being elected.
The Scottish Green Party contested two wards in Orkney for the first time. Another group; the Orkney Manifesto Group, ran as a registered party for the first time, gaining the largest vote share of any party in the council's history. The OMG advocates the politicisation of the Orkney Islands Council, however is unaffiliated to any national party. The group has a liberal-left political outlook.
Election result
Source:
Notes: 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 3 May 2012. 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.
Ward results Kirkwall East
Kirkwall West and Orphir
Stromness and South Isles
West Mainland
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray
North Isles
Aftermath 2020 North Isles by-election North Isles Independent Cllr Kevin Woodbridge died on 19 April 2020 after a short illness. A by-election was held on 1 October 2020 and was won by Kevin Woodbridge's daughter, Heather Woodbridge.
Footnotes