Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022, 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. New ward boundaries were proposed by Boundaries Scotland in 2021, which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 34. However, these were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the boundaries used at the previous election remained in place.

For the second consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 12 seats—one more than in 2017 but seven short of an overall majority. The Conservatives solidified the gains they had made at the previous election and increased their number by one to return 10 councillors and become the second-largest group on the council. The number of independent councillors fell by almost one third to seven while the Liberal Democrats lost one seat to return five councillors. The remaining two seats were won by Labour and the Greens.

The incumbent Conservative-Liberal Democrat-independent coalition—known as The Argyll, Lomond and Islands group (TALIG)—retained control of the council, with Cllr Robin Currie re-elected as council leader and Maurice Corry elected as Provost.

Background Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party despite losing two seats, overtaking the number of independents which fell by five. A coalition of independents, Conservatives and Liberal Democrats retained control of the council after the Conservatives made five gains and the Liberal Democrats increased their number by two.

+2017 Argyll and Bute Council election resultPartySeatsVote shareSNP1127.7%Independent1030.4%Conservatives925.1%Liberal Democrats610.8%

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Electoral system The election used the eight wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 28 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 After the 2017 election, a few changes in the composition of the council happened. Changes in the political affiliation of councillors occurred when Conservative councillor Alastair Redman was suspended over Islamophobia allegations and independent councillor Roddy McCuish joined the Independence for Scotland Party. In the run-up to the election, Conservative councillors Donald Kelly and Jamie McGrigor were deselected by the party but continued on as independents. Cllr McGrigor was subsequently expelled by the party for standing as an independent. Three by-elections were held and resulted in an independent hold, a Conservative gain from the Lib Dems and a Conservative hold.

+Composition of Argyll and Bute CouncilParty2017 resultDissolutionSNP1111Independents1012Conservative97Liberal Democrats65ISP01

Retiring councillors

+Retiring councillorsWardPartyRetiring councillorKintyre and the IslandsSNPAnne HornMid ArgyllSNPSandy TaylorOban South and the IslesIndependentMary-Jean DevonISPRoddy McCuishOban North and LornIndependentElaine RobertsonCowalLiberal DemocratsAlan ReidDunoonIndependentJim AndersonConservativeBobby GoodIsle of ButeSNPJim FindlayLomond NorthConservativePaul CollinsHelensburgh CentralSNPLorna DouglasLiberal DemocratsAileen MortonHelensburgh and Lomond SouthSNPRichard Trail

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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 increased the number of wards by one to 12 but reduced the number of councillors by two to 34. Two new two-member, island-only wards would have been created to represent Islay, Jura and Colonsay and Mull, Iona, Coll and Tiree. As a result, the Kintyre peninsula would have been represented by a single ward instead of multiple wards which cover a mix of mainland and island communities.

The proposals would have made no changes to the boundaries or numbers of councillors in Cowal; Dunoon and Lomond North. The boundaries in Isle of Bute would have remained the same, but the number of councillors would have been reduced from three to two. Minimal changes would have been made to the boundaries of Helensburgh Central and Helensburgh and Lomond South, but the number of councillors in Helensburgh Central would have been reduced by one from four to three. Oban would have been placed in its own ward with four members, and a new two-member Lorn ward including the inhabited island of Lismore would have been created. However, the proposals in Argyll and Bute were rejected by the Scottish Parliament and the 11 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 remained in place.

Candidates The total number of candidates increased from 77 in 2017 to 79. The number of independent candidates—25—outstripped any individual party but fell by four from the previous election. The SNP and Conservatives both stood 13 candidates; more than any other party. The SNP's total was a reduction of three from the previous election whereas the Conservatives increased their number by two. Both the Liberal Democrats and Labour increased their number of candidates by one from the previous election—standing 11 and eight respectively—while the Greens stood five candidates, two more than five years previous. For the first time, the Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) (two), the Scottish Family Party (one) and the Alba Party (one) fielded candidates in an Argyll and Bute election. Unlike the 2017 election, the UK Independence Party (UKIP) did not field any candidates.

Results

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Ward summary

|- class="unsortable" align="centre" !rowspan=2 align="left"|Ward ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs !rowspan=2|TotalCllrs |- class="unsortable" align="center" !colspan=2|SNP !colspan=2|Ind !colspan=2|Con !colspan=2|Lib Dem !colspan=2|Lab !colspan=2|Green !colspan=2|Others |- |align="left"|South Kintyre |32.8 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|35.9 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |22.5 |1 |8.7 |0 |colspan="2" |colspan="2" |colspan="2" |3 |- |align="left"|Kintyre and the Islands |29.9 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|39.9 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |9.6 |0 |16.4 |1 |4.2 |0 |colspan="2" |colspan="2" |3 |- |align="left"|Mid Argyll |31.2 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|46.6 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |11.6 |1 |3.3 |0 |4.9 |0 |colspan="2" |2.4 |0 |3 |- |align="left"|Oban South and the Isles |bgcolor="#efe146"|38.2 |bgcolor="#efe146"|2 |29.8 |1 |12.4 |1 |5.2 |0 |4.7 |0 |9.7 |0 |colspan="2" |4 |- |align="left"|Oban North and Lorn |30.6 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|31.6 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |18.7 |1 |6.5 |0 |colspan="2" |9.7 |1 |2.9 |0 |4 |- |align="left"|Cowal |bgcolor="#efe146"|41.9 |bgcolor="#efe146"|1 |5.2 |0 |26.1 |1 |16.8 |1 |7.7 |0 |colspan="2" |2.4 |0 |3 |- |align="left"|Dunoon |bgcolor="#efe146"|40.9 |bgcolor="#efe146"|1 |16.2 |0 |17.9 |1 |16.9 |1 |6.5 |0 |colspan="2" |1.6 |0 |3 |- |align="left"|Isle of Bute |25.4 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|46.1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |17.8 |1 |1.1 |0 |4.3 |0 |3.0 |0 |2.4 |0 |3 |- |align="left"|Lomond North |24.3 |1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|34.1 |bgcolor="#c0c0c0"|1 |26.4 |1 |2.8 |0 |12.4 |0 |colspan="2" |colspan="2" |3 |- |align="left"|Helensburgh Central |21.4 |1 |2.2 |0 |bgcolor="#add8e6"|37.1 |bgcolor="#add8e6"|1 |11.1 |1 |21.3 |1 |6.8 |0 |colspan="2" |4 |- |align="left"|Helensburgh and Lomond South |26.0 |1 |colspan="2" |bgcolor="#add8e6"|47.7 |bgcolor="#add8e6"|1 |17.8 |1 |colspan="2" |8.6 |0 |colspan="2" |3 |- class="unsortable" class="sortbottom" !Total !31.0 !12 !25.3 !7 !22.7 !10 !9.6 !5 !6.4 !1 !3.9 !1 !1.1 !0 !36

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Seats changing hands Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in the political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat. +Seats changing handsSeat20172022PartyMemberPartyMemberSouth KintyreLiberal DemocratsRory ColvilleIndependentDonald KellyKintyre and the IslandsConservativeAlastair RedmanIndependentJohn McAlpineMid ArgyllIndependentDonnie MacMillanConservativeGarret CornerOban South and the IslesIndependentRoddy McCuishSNPWillie HumeOban North and LornIndependentElaine RobertsonGreenLuna MartinDunoonIndependentJim AndersonLiberal DemocratsRoss MorelandIsle of ButeIndependentJean Murray MoffatConservativePeter WallaceHelensburgh CentralLiberal DemocratsAileen MortonLabourFiona Howard

Notes

Ward results South Kintyre The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Donald Kelly gained a seat from the Lib Dems. In 2017, Cllr Kelly was elected as a Conservative candidate, however, he was deselected by the party in the run-up to the 2022 election and chose to stand as an independent.

Kintyre and the Islands The SNP and Lib Dems retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their seat to independent candidate John McAlpine. In 2017, independent candidate Alastair Redman was elected as a Conservative candidate before being suspended by the party. He did not retain his seat but was subsequently re-elected following a by-election in September 2022.

Mid Argyll The SNP and independent candidate Dougie Philand retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained a seat from independent candidate Donnie MacMillan.

Oban South and the Isles The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP and independent candidate Andrew Kain gained a seat from former independent councillors Roddy McCuish and Mary-Jean Devon. In 2017, Jamie McGrigor was elected as a Conservative candidate, however, he was deselected by the party in the run-up to the 2022 election and chose to stand as an independent. Roddy McCuish was elected as an independent candidate at the 2017 election before joining the Independence for Scotland Party. He stood down prior to the 2022 election.

Oban North and Lorn The SNP, Conservatives and independent candidate Kieron Green retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Greens gained one seat from retiring independent councillor Elaine Robertson.

Cowal The SNP, Conservatives and Lib Dems retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Dunoon The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Lib Dems gained a seat from retiring independent councillor Jim Anderson.

Isle of Bute The SNP and independent candidate Liz McCabe retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained a seat from independent candidate Jean Murray Moffat.

Lomond North The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Mark Irvine gained a seat from independent candidate George Freeman.

Helensburgh Central The SNP and Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Lib Dems held one of their two seats and Labour gained a seat from the Lib Dems.

Helensburgh and Lomond South