The 2022 Dumfries and Galloway Council election took place on 5 May 2022 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 ...

representing the Local Authority area of

Dumfries and Galloway 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 counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

. It resulted in a council composition with no party receiving a majority of seats. The election used the twelve

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 43 councillors being elected. Many prominent elected members stood down at this election, including the Leader of the Council, and former Dumfriesshire MSP,

Elaine Murray Elaine Kildare Murray (born 22 December 1954) is a retired Scottish Labour politician. She was leader of Dumfries and Galloway Council for the 2017–2022 term. She was also the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Dumfries from 1999 to ...

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 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 the Rhins

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West

Dee and Glenkens

Castle Douglas and Crocketford

Abbey

North West Dumfries

Mid and Upper Nithsdale

Lochar

Nith

Annandale South

Annandale North

Annandale East and Eskdale

Aftermath

Over the 2017–2022 term, the SNP and

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 ...

ran a coalition, while 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 ...

were the largest party. Following this election, the SNP under Cllr Stephen Thompson, Labour under Cllr Linda Dorward and the

Independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Group (including 6 Independents and 1

Liberal Democrat Several political party, political parties from around the world have been called the Liberal Democratic Party or Liberal Democrats. These parties usually follow a liberal democracy, liberal democratic ideology. Active parties Former parties ...

) under Cllr Richard Brodie agreed to work together and form a " Rainbow Coalition". Thompson and Dorward became co-leaders of the council. Despite the collaboration between the SNP and Labour, Scottish Labour leader

Anas Sarwar Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016, having been Member of Parliame ...

claimed that the deal was an interim arrangement and "not for the duration of the entire council term". Ultimately, the coalition agreement lasted only 8 months and the Conservatives (with Independent support) took control of the administration.

Changes since 2022

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West by-election

In October 2022, Labour councillor Sandy Whitelaw resigned, triggering a by-election in Ward 2 - Mid Galloway and Wigtown West, which was held on 8 December 2022.

Change in Council Leadership

In February 2023, Labour councillors agreed to terminate their formal coalition with the SNP and Independent Councillors. The resulting agreement led to Councillor Stephen Thompson ( SNP) being declared Leader of Dumfries & Galloway Council and Councillor Richard Brodie (

Lib Dem The Liberal Democrats (commonly referred to as the Lib Dems) are a liberal political party in the United Kingdom. Since the 1992 general election, with the exception of the 2015 general election, they have been the third-largest UK political ...

) declared as Deputy Leader. In March 2023, Labour abstentions and Independent Councillors' support allowed a Conservative budget to pass. As a result, the SNP leadership resigned, including Councillor Thompson. One week later, the Conservatives (with Independent Group support) elected Gail MacGregor as Council Leader, resulting in Dumfries & Galloway Council coming under Conservative administration.

References

{{2022 United Kingdom local elections

Dumfries and Galloway Council elections