Elections to North Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using

single transferable vote Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate p ...

(STV) – a form of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

– in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference. For the third consecutive election, 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) received the highest vote share and returned the most seats at 12 – one more than the previous election. The

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 ...

built on their success from five years previous and bucked the national trend as they recorded their best-ever performance in a North Ayrshire election, leapfrogging

Labour Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

into second place with 10 seats. Labour fell from their position as the joint-largest party to third, returning only nine councillors – their worst-ever performance in a North Ayrshire election. The number of independents elected fell from four to two. The SNP subsequently took the leadership of the council, running a minority administration with Cllr Marie Burns elected as council leader.

Background

Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the

(SNP) and

won the joint-most seats, with 11 each. The SNP's number had reduced by one, while Labour maintained their number of councillors. The

gained six seats to record their best result in a North Ayrshire election with seven, while the number of independents fell from six to four. Source:

Electoral system

Local elections in Scotland use the

(STV) electoral system – a form of

– in which voters rank candidates in order of preference. The 2022 election was the first to use the nine wards created under 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 ...

, with 33 councillors being elected. Each ward – except Arran, which returned one member – elected either three, four or five members.

Composition

Since the previous election, several changes in the composition of the council occurred. Most were changes to the political affiliation of councillors, including Labour councillor Jimmy Miller who resigned to become an independent and SNP councillor Ellen McMaster who first joined

Alba ''Alba'' ( , ) is the Scottish Gaelic name for Scotland. It is also, in English language historiography, used to refer to the polity of Picts and Scottish people, Scots united in the ninth century as the Kingdom of Alba, until it developed i ...

before becoming an independent. One by-election was held after SNP councillor Joy Brahim resigned due to ill health and resulted in a gain for the Conservatives.

Retiring councillors

Source:

Boundary changes

Following the implementation of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, a review of the boundaries was undertaken in North Ayrshire,

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 the

Western Isles The Outer Hebrides () or Western Isles ( gd, Na h-Eileanan Siar or or ("islands of the strangers"); sco, Waster Isles), sometimes known as the Long Isle/Long Island ( gd, An t-Eilean Fada, links=no), is an island chain off the west coas ...

. The act allowed for single- or two-member wards to be created to allow for better representation of island communities. The review coincided with the introduction of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 which allowed for the creation of five-member wards. As a result, the number of wards in North Ayrshire was reduced from 10 to nine but the number of councillors will remain at 33. No changes were proposed in

Kilwinning Kilwinning (, sco, Kilwinnin; gd, Cill D’Fhinnein) is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is on the River Garnock, north of Irvine, about southwest of Glasgow. It is known as "The Crossroads of Ayrshire". Kilwinning was also a Civil Pa ...

or the three

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

wards. The former Ardrossan and Arran ward was split into two wards – a single-member ward for the island of Arran and a three-member ward for Ardrossan. A single ward for Saltcoats and Stevenson was reintroduced after it was split into two separate wards prior to the 2017 election however the area will be represented by five members rather than four as was the case between 2007 and 2017. The former Dalry and West Kilbride, Kilbirnie and Beith, and North Coast and Cumbraes wards were reorganised from two three- and one four-member wards into two five-member wards:

North Coast North Coast or Northcoast may refer to : Antigua and Barbuda * Major Division of North Coast, a census division in Saint John Parish Australia *New South Wales North Coast, a region Canada *The British Columbia Coast, primarily the communiti ...

and

Garnock Valley Garnock Valley is an area in the northern part of North Ayrshire, Scotland, adjoining Renfrewshire. The region includes the towns of Beith, Dalry, and Kilbirnie, and some smaller villages such as Gateside, Barrmill, Longbar and Glengarnock; ...

Candidates

The total number of candidates increased from 70 in 2017 to 74. As was the case five years previous, the SNP fielded the highest number of candidates at 17 across the nine wards – two less than in 2017. Both Labour and the Conservatives also fielded at least one candidate in every ward but the 14 candidates fielded by Labour was three less than in 2017 whereas the 11 candidates named by the Conservatives was an increase of one. The Greens again contested three wards while the Liberal Democrats contested an election in North Ayrshire for the first time in a decade after they named six candidates. The number of independent candidates fell from 15 in 2017 to 12. Socialist Labour named two candidates, an increase of one, while the

Scottish Socialist Party The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP; gd, Pàrtaidh Sòisealach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Socialist Pairtie) is a left-wing political party campaigning for the establishment of an independent socialist Scotland. The party was founded in 1998. It c ...

and the

Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition (TUSC) is a socialist electoral alliance launched in Britain for the 2010 general election. TUSC's co-founder was the RMT union general secretary Bob Crow. Members of the PCS, NUT, FBU and POA unio ...

(TUSC) again named one candidate. For the first time, the

Scottish Family Party The Scottish Family Party (SFP) is a socially conservative political party in Scotland. The SFP formed in 2017. It is led by former UKIP member Richard Lucas. The SFP contested their first seats in the 2019 UK general election, and also fielded ...

(three candidates), 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 ...

(ISP) (two candidates), the

Alba Party The Alba Party is a Scottish nationalist and pro-independence political party in Scotland. The party was founded in February 2021, with Alex Salmond (a former first minister of Scotland) announced as party leader shortly thereafter. Salmond lau ...

and the Freedom Alliance (both one candidate) fielded candidates in a North Ayrshire election. Neither the

UK Independence Party The UK Independence Party (UKIP; ) is a Eurosceptic, right-wing populist political party in the United Kingdom. The party reached its greatest level of success in the mid-2010s, when it gained two members of Parliament and was the largest par ...

(UKIP) nor the

British Unionist Party The British Unionist Party (BUP) is a Scottish unionist political party founded in December 2015 as A Better Britain – Unionist Party by activists from the Better Together campaign against Scottish independence. Unlike the mainstream unionist p ...

, who had both contested the 2017 election, fielded any candidates.

Results

Source: Note: 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 4 May 2017. 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 summary

, - class="unsortable" align="centre" !rowspan=2 align="left", Ward ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs ! % !Cllrs !rowspan=2, Total
Cllrs , - class="unsortable" align="center" !colspan=2, SNP !colspan=2, Lab !colspan=2, Con !colspan=2, Others , - , align="left",

, bgcolor="#efe146", 31.0 , bgcolor="#efe146", 2 , 10.1 , 0 , 30.1 , 2 , 28.8 , 1 , 5 , - , align="left",

, bgcolor="#efe146", 31.3 , bgcolor="#efe146", 2 , 14.1 , 1 , 24.8 , 1 , 29.8 , 1 , 5 , - , align="left",

Ardrossan Ardrossan (; ) is a town on the North Ayrshire coast in southwestern Scotland. The town has a population of 10,670 and forms part of a conurbation with Saltcoats and Stevenston known as the 'Three Towns'. Ardrossan is located on the east shore ...

, bgcolor="#efe146", 41.2 , bgcolor="#efe146", 1 , 27.0 , 1 , 20.0 , 1 , 11.8 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left", Arran , 25.7 , 0 , 10.0 , 0 , bgcolor="#add8e6", 32.4 , bgcolor="#add8e6", 1 , 31.9 , 0 , 1 , - , align="left", Saltcoats and Stevenson , 39.6 , 2 , bgcolor="#eea2ad", 40.2 , bgcolor="#eea2ad", 2 , 11.4 , 1 , 8.8 , 0 , 5 , - , align="left",

, 34.9 , 1 , bgcolor="#eea2ad", 46.0 , bgcolor="#eea2ad", 2 , 15.6 , 1 , 3.4 , 0 , 4 , - , align="left", Irvine West , bgcolor="#efe146", 40.7 , bgcolor="#efe146", 2 , 29.8 , 1 , 20.0 , 1 , 9.6 , 0 , 4 , - , align="left", Irvine East , bgcolor="#efe146", 44.5 , bgcolor="#efe146", 1 , 27.2 , 1 , 19.8 , 1 , 8.4 , 0 , 3 , - , align="left", Irvine South , bgcolor="#efe146", 44.6 , bgcolor="#efe146", 1 , 32.4 , 1 , 19.4 , 1 , 3.6 , 0 , 3 , - class="unsortable" class="sortbottom" !align="left", Total !36.3 !12 !25.4 !9 !21.7 !10 !16.6 !2 !33 Source:

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 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. Due to boundary changes, some wards may differ between the 2017 and 2022 elections. ;Notes

Ward results

At the previous election, the North Coast and Garnock Valley wards were previously represented by three wards: Dalry and West Kilbride, Kilbirnie and Beith and North Coast and Cumbraes. The three wards elected 10 councillors in total, including three SNP, three independents, two Labour and two Conservatives. The newly created wards elected four SNP, three Conservatives, two independents and one Labour, resulting in a gain for the SNP and the Conservatives and a loss each for Labour and independent candidate Robert Barr.

North Coast

Garnock Valley

Ardrossan

At the previous election, Ardrossan was included in a ward representing Ardrossan and Arran which returned one SNP, one Labour and one Conservative councillor. The new ward returned the same political mix despite the boundary changes.

Arran

At the previous election, Arran was included in a ward representing Ardrossan and Arran. The newly re-established Arran ward resulted in a Conservative win.

Saltcoats and Stevenston

At the previous election, Saltcoats and Stevenston was represented by two separate wards, one for Saltcoats and one for Stevenston. In total, they elected six councillors including three Labour, two SNP and an independent. The newly re-established ward which had been used between 2007 and 2017 elected two SNP, two Labour and one Conservative councillor resulting in a Conservative gain and a loss for Labour and independent candidate Ronnie McNicol. Independent candidate Jimmy Miller was elected as a Labour candidate in 2017 but later resigned from the party.

Kilwinning

Labour (2), the SNP (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.

Irvine West

The SNP retained the seat they had won at the previous election and gained one from Labour, while the Conservatives retained their only seat and Labour retained one of their two seats.

Irvine East

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Irvine South

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Aftermath

The SNP recorded one of their best results in North Ayrshire, and group leader Cllr Marie Burns said after the election that she was "so pleased and so grateful to the people of North Ayrshire for putting their trust in us". Despite losing support and placing third in the popular vote, the Conservatives recorded their best-ever result in a North Ayrshire election by becoming the second-largest party on the council. Conservative group leader Cllr Tom Marshall said the result was "a great achievement" as the party bucked the national trend which saw the Conservatives lose seats. In contrast, Labour recorded their worst election performance in North Ayrshire as they slipped to third with nine seats. Outgoing council leader and Labour group leader Cllr Joe Cullinane said that he did not believe the result was a "reflection of the campaign we ran nor the work we did in administration" and that he was "really gutted". After winning the largest number of seats, the SNP formed a minority administration to take control of the council for the first time since 2016. Cllr Marie Burns was elected council leader and Cllr Shaun MacAuley was elected as depute leader. Cllr Anthea Dickson was elected as Provost and Labour councillor John Sweeney was elected as Depute Provost.

Notes

References

{{2022 United Kingdom local elections North Ayrshire Council elections

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 ...