Elections to Argyll and Bute Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election will use the 11 wards created under the

Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 The Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 (asp 9) is an Act of the Scottish Parliament which provided, amongst other things, for the election of councillors to the local authorities in Scotland by the single transferable vote system. The Commissi ...

, with 36 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system. New ward boundaries were proposed by

Boundaries Scotland Boundaries Scotland is an independent body in Scotland created as the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973. According to its website, it is responsible for: carrying out reviews of boun ...

in 2021 which would have reduced the total number of councillors to 34, however these were rejected by the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

. At the previous election in

2017 File:2017 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The War Against ISIS at the Battle of Mosul (2016-2017); aftermath of the Manchester Arena bombing; The Solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 ("Great American Eclipse"); North Korea tests a ser ...

, the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; sco, Scots National Pairty, gd, Pàrtaidh Nàiseanta na h-Alba ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic political party in Scotland. The SNP supports and campaigns for Scottish independence from ...

(SNP) won the most seats, however a coalition of

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

, Liberal Democrats and independents, referred to as The Argyll, Lomond and the Isles Group (TALIG) ran the council.

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in

, the

(SNP) became the largest party despite losing two seats, overtaking the number of independents which fell by five. A coalition of independents,

and Liberal Democrats retained control of the council after the Conservatives made five gains and the Liberal Democrats increased their number by two. ;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 in 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 dissolution of Scotland's councils. Source:

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 Islamophobia is the fear of, hatred of, or prejudice against the religion of Islam or Muslims in general, especially when seen as a geopolitical force or a source of terrorism. The scope and precise definition of the term ''Islamophobia'' ...

allegations and independent councillor Roddy McCuish joined the

Independence for Scotland Party The Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) (Scottish Gaelic: Pàrtaidh Neo-eisimeileachd do dh'Alba) is a political party in Scotland which supports Scottish independence within the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). History The party was ...

. In the run up to the election, Conservative councillor Donald Kelly was deselected by the party but continued on 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.

Retiring councillors

Proposed boundary changes

Following the passing of the

Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 Acts of the Scottish Parliament Additionally, the UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Legal Continuity) (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 21 March 2018 but was referred to, and struck down by, the Supreme Court due to ...

, a review of the boundaries was undertaken in

North Ayrshire North Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Àir a Tuath, ) is one of 32 council areas in Scotland. The council area borders Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire to the northeast, and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the east and so ...

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

Shetland Islands Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands and formerly Zetland, is a subarctic archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the no ...

and

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Comhairle nan Eilean Siar (, for, , Scottish Gaelic, Council of the Western Isles) is the local government council for ''Na h-Eileanan Siar'' (the Outer Hebrides) council area of Scotland.

. The Act allowed single- or two-member wards to be created to provide better representation of island communities. New ward boundaries were proposed by

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 Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...

, Jura and

Colonsay Colonsay (; gd, Colbhasa; sco, Colonsay) is an island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland, located north of Islay and south of Mull. The ancestral home of Clan Macfie and the Colonsay branch of Clan MacNeil, it is in the council area of Argyll ...

and

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides **Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica *Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highway ...

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

Coll Coll (; gd, Cola; sco, Coll)Mac an Tàilleir (2003) p. 31 is an island located west of the Isle of Mull in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Coll is known for its sandy beaches, which rise to form large sand dunes, for its corncrakes, and ...

and

Tiree Tiree (; gd, Tiriodh, ) is the most westerly island in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The low-lying island, southwest of Coll, has an area of and a population of around 650. The land is highly fertile, and crofting, alongside tourism, and ...

. As a result, the

Kintyre peninsula Kintyre ( gd, Cinn Tìre, ) is a peninsula in western Scotland, in the southwest of Argyll and Bute. The peninsula stretches about , from the Mull of Kintyre in the south to East and West Loch Tarbert in the north. The region immediately north ...

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 Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde. The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arrochar ...

;

Dunoon Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As well ...

and Lomond North. The boundaries in

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault. Formerly a constituent isl ...

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 Oban ( ; ' in Scottish Gaelic meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William. During the tourist season, th ...

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

and the 11 wards created under the

remained in place.

Results

Ward summary

, - class="unsortable" align="centre" !rowspan=2 align="left", Ward ! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
! %
!Cllrs
!rowspan=2, Total
Cllrs
, - class="unsortable" align="center" !colspan=2 bgcolor="", SNP !colspan=2 bgcolor="", Independents !colspan=2 bgcolor="", Conservative !colspan=2 bgcolor="", Lib Dem !colspan=2 bgcolor="", Lab !colspan=2 bgcolor="", Green !colspan=2 bgcolor="white", Others , - , align="left", South Kintyre , 32.8 , 1 , 35.9 , 1 , 22.5 , 1 , 8.7 , 0 , colspan="2" , colspan="2" , colspan="2" , 3 , - , align="left", Kintyre and the Islands , 29.9 , 1 , 39.9 , 1 , 9.6 , 0 , 16.4 , 1 , 4.2 , 0 , colspan="2" , colspan="2" , 3 , - , align="left", Mid Argyll , 31.2 , 1 , 46.6 , 1 , 11.6 , 1 , 3.3 , 0 , 4.9 , 0 , colspan="2" , 2.4 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left", Oban South and the Isles , 38.2 , 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 , 31.6 , 1 , 18.7 , 1 , 6.5 , 0 , colspan="2" , 9.7 , 1 , 2.9 , 0 , 4 , - , align="left",

, 41.9 , 1 , 5.2 , 0 , 26.1 , 1 , 16.8 , 1 , 7.7 , 0 , colspan="2" , 2.4 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left",

, 40.9 , 1 , 16.2 , 0 , 17.9 , 1 , 16.9 , 1 , 6.5 , 0 , colspan="2" , 1.6 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left",

, 25.4 , 1 , 46.1 , 1 , 17.8 , 1 , 1.1 , 0 , 4.3 , 0 , 3.0 , 0 , 2.4 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left", Lomond North , 24.3 , 1 , 34.1 , 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 , 37.1 , 1 , 11.1 , 1 , 21.3 , 1 , 6.8 , 0 , colspan="2" , 4 , - , align="left", Helensburgh and Lomond South , 26.0 , 1 , colspan="2" , 47.7 , 1 , 17.8 , 1 , colspan="2" , 8.6 , 0 , colspan="2" , 3 , - class="unsortable" class="sortbottom" !align="left", Total !31.0 !12 !25.3 !7 !22.7 !10 !9.6 !5 !6.4 !1 !3.9 !1 !1.1 !0 !36

Ward results

South Kintyre

Kintyre and the Islands

Mid Argyll

Oban South and the Isles

Oban North and Lorn

Cowal

Dunoon

Isle of Bute

Lomond North

Helensburgh Central

Helensburgh and Lomond South

Changes since 2022

By-elections since 2022

Kintyre and the Islands

References

{{2022 United Kingdom local elections

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle, in modern Gaelic, ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. Argyll is of ancient origin, and corresponds to most of the part of the ancient kingdom of ...

Argyll and Bute Council elections