2022 Shetland Islands Council Election on:
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Elections to the
Shetland Islands Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the other
Scottish local government elections. Seven
wards
Ward may refer to:
Division or unit
* Hospital ward, a hospital division, floor, or room set aside for a particular class or group of patients, for example the psychiatric ward
* Prison ward, a division of a penal institution such as a priso ...
will be contested, each ward electing two to four Councillors using the
single transferable vote system form of
proportional representation, with 23 Councillors elected.
The elections will be the first held since the passage of the
Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which allowed wards in Scottish councils containing islands to be reduced to single and dual member wards. As a result, the Shetland West ward was reduced from three members to two.
The
Scottish Greens contested a Shetland Islands Council election for the first time, standing three candidates and electing one councillor in Shetland South.
[Scottish Labour
Scottish Labour ( gd, Pàrtaidh Làbarach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Labour Pairty; officially the Scottish Labour Party) is a social democratic political party in Scotland. It is an autonomous section of the UK Labour Party. From their peak of ...]
elected its first councillor to the Shetland Islands Council since 1994.
Background
Composition
There were no changes to the political composition of the council following the election in 2017. Two by-elections were held and both were won by independents.
Retiring councillors
Boundary changes
Following the implementation of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, 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,
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. The act allowed for single- or two-member wards to be created to allow for better representation of island communities.
As a result, the seven existing wards were retained with realigned boundaries but the number of councillors was increased from 22 to 23. Lerwick North was renamed Lerwick North and Bressay but was otherwise unchanged, as were North Isles and Shetland North. The boundaries were adjusted in the remaining wards which resulted in Shetland Central and Shetland South being increased from three- to four-member wards and Shetland West being reduced to a dual-member ward.
Uncontested Seats
After nominations closed on 30 March 2022, two wards –
North Isles
The North Isles are the northern islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The main islands in the group are Yell, Unst and Fetlar. Sometimes the islands in Yell Sound are included in this group.
Importance
They are a significant group, ...
and
Shetland North – didn't receive enough candidates to trigger an election. Both are three member wards and only five candidates stood in total. As a result, all five candidates were automatically elected without a poll being conducted and a by-election will be scheduled to fill the vacant North Isles seat.
The lack of interest in standing for election was called a "threat to local democracy" by the
Greens
Greens may refer to:
*Leaf vegetables such as collard greens, mustard greens, spring greens, winter greens, spinach, etc.
Politics Supranational
* Green politics
* Green party, political parties adhering to Green politics
* Global Greens
* Europ ...
. Across Scotland, 18 councillors were automatically elected because the number of candidates was not enough to trigger an election. During the
2017 local elections in Scotland, just three council wards were uncontested but votes were held in every ward in both
2007
File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...
and
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
– the first elections to use multi-member wards and the
single transferable vote. Public disinterest in standing for election to local councils has been linked to the "ridiculous" size of some local authorities and the low pay councillors receive for their work.
Campaign
During the election campaign, candidates gave particular focus to the cost of living, housing and the proposed construction of fixed link tunnels. A survey conducted by
The Shetland Times prior to the election found highest support for the issues of fuel poverty, fixed links and digital connectivity as priorities for the new council.
Election results
Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.
Ward summary
, - class="unsortable" align="center"
!rowspan=2 align="left", Ward
! %
! Cllrs
! %
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! Cllrs
!rowspan=2, Total
cllrs
, - class="unsortable" align="center"
!colspan=2 bgcolor="",
Independents
!colspan=2 bgcolor="",
SNP
!colspan=2 bgcolor="",
Green
!colspan=2 bgcolor="",
Labour
!colspan=2 bgcolor="white",
Others
, -
, align="left",
North Isles
The North Isles are the northern islands of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The main islands in the group are Yell, Unst and Fetlar. Sometimes the islands in Yell Sound are included in this group.
Importance
They are a significant group, ...
,
, 2
, colspan=8 align="center"
, 2
, -
, align="left",
Shetland North
,
, 2
, colspan=5 align="center"
, 1
, colspan=2
, 3
, -
, align="left",
Shetland West
, bgcolor="", 83.11
, bgcolor="", 2
, 7.8
, 0
, 9.1
, 0
, colspan=2 rowspan=5
, colspan=2
, 2
, -
, align="left",
Shetland Central
, 42.72
, 2
, colspan=2 rowspan=3
, 7.0
, 0
, bgcolor="", 50.29
, bgcolor="", 2
, 4
, -
, align="left",
Lerwick North and Bressay
, bgcolor="", 100
, bgcolor="", 3
, colspan=2 rowspan=2
, colspan=2
, 3
, -
, align="left",
Lerwick South
, bgcolor="", 92.11
, bgcolor="", 4
, 7.8
, 0
, 4
, -
, align="left",
Shetland South
, bgcolor="", 73.34
, bgcolor="", 2
, 11.8
, 1
, 14.8
, 1
, colspan=2
, 4
, - class="unsortable" class="sortbottom"
!align="left", Total
!
!17
!
!1
!
!1
!n/a
!1
!
!2
!22
;Notes
Ward results
North Isles
Shetland North
Shetland West
Shetland Central
Lerwick North and Bressay
Lerwick South
Shetland South
Aftermath
Following the election, independent councillors Andrea Manson and Emma MacDonald were elected as the council's convener and political leader, the first time either position had been held by women.
A by-election was called shortly after the election in North Isles ward due to the lack of nominations received at the full election of the council. The by-election was held on 4 August 2022. Two of the declared candidates, Stewart Douglas and Marie Williamson, stood unsuccessfully in other wards (Shetland South and Lerwick North & Bressay respectively) during the full election. The by-election was won by Robert Thomson.
John Leask stood down from the Shetland West ward in August 2022, triggering a second by-election.
References
{{2022 United Kingdom local elections
Shetland Islands Council elections
Shetland
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 ...
21st century in Shetland