The 2012 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of

Dumfries and Galloway Council Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcu ...

. The election used the thirteen

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 ...

created as a result of 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 each ward electing three or four councillors using the

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 ...

system 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 ...

, with 47 councillors being elected. The election saw

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 ...

replace the

Scottish Conservative Party The Scottish Conservative & Unionist Party ( gd, Pàrtaidh Tòraidheach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Tory an Unionist Pairty), often known simply as the Scottish Conservatives and colloquially as the Scottish Tories, is a centre-right political par ...

as the largest party on the council as they gained 1 seat while the Tories lost 4 seats. 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 ...

retained their third place on the authority but did not gain any additional seats. Independents proved to be the biggest winners as they returned to the council with 7 seats and 5 net gains which included 2 former members of the Labour party. The

Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats ( gd, Pàrtaidh Libearal Deamocratach na h-Alba, sco, Scots Leeberal Democrats) is a liberal, federalist political party in Scotland, a part of the United Kingdom Liberal Democrats. The party currently holds 4 o ...

proved to be the worst performers of the election, being reduced to just a single seat. Following the election the Conservative Party formed a coalition with the support of the SNP. This replaced the previous Conservative-Lib Dem coalition which existed from 2007 to 2012.

Election result

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 3 May 2007. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward results

Stranraer and North Rhins

*2007: 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2012: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xLab *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con

Wigtown West

*2007: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon *2012: 1xIndependent; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lab

Mid Galloway

*2007: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem *2012: 1xSNP; 1xIndependent; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lib Dem * = Sitting Councillor for a different Ward.

Dee

*2007: 1xCon; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP *2012: 2xIndependent; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP

Castle Douglas and Glenkens

*2007: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xIndependent *2012: 1xCon; 1xIndependent; 1xSNP *2007-2012 Change: No change

Abbey

*2007: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab *2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Con

North West Dumfries

*2007: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2007-2012 Change: No change

Mid and Upper Nithsdale

*2007: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2012: 2xLab; 1xCon; 1xSNP *2007-2012 Change: No change

Lochar

*2007: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xSNP *2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: Lab gain one seat from Con

Nith

*2007: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2012: 2xLab; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: No change

Annandale South

*2007: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon *2012: 2xLab; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: No change

Annandale North

*2007: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem *2012: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xSNP *2007-2012 Change: SNP gain one seat from Lib Dem

Annandale East and Eskdale

*2007: 3xCon; 1xLab *2012: 2xCon; 1xLab; 1xIndependent *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Con

Changes since election

*† Annandale North Labour Cllr Ted Brown died on 4 September 2012
Annandale councillor Ted Brown's death shocks council
A by-election was held on 15 November 2012 which was won by Graeme Tait of the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party. *†† On 20 September 2013 6 members of the Conservative Party quit their group and became Independent
Dumfries and Galloway Council resignations hit ruling group
*††† Annandale North Conservative Cllr Graeme Tait announced on 20 March 2014 that he has defected to the Labour Party stating that he felt its "policies and values" better reflect his own
Annandale Conservative councillor Graeme Tait joins Labour
He resigned his Council seat on 22 September 201
Dumfries and Galloway councillor Graeme Tait resigns
A by-election was held on 17 November 2016 and was won by the Conservative Party's Douglas Fairbairn. *†††† In August 2015 Lochar SNP Cllr resigned from the party and became an Independent citing racial prejudice towards her and having lost out at a candidate selection for the Scottish Parliament election, 201
SNP under fire for shocking racism and bullying claims by Chinese councillorSNP branches hit back at councillor who quit party over racism claims

By-elections since 2012

References

{{United Kingdom local elections, 2012

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 ...

2012 Scottish local elections