Elections to Aberdeenshire Council were held on 3 May 2012, on the same day as the other Scottish local government

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operate ...

. The election used the 19

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, 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 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 ...

, with 68 Councillors being elected. The 2007 election saw 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 ...

form a coalition on the Council with the

Scottish Conservative and Unionist 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 ...

. The 2012 election saw the SNP gain an additional 6 seats and become the largest party on the Council, supplanting the Lib Dems. The Tories retained their 14 seats on the Council and as a result became the second largest party. The Lib Dems lost half their Councillors falling from 24 to 12 seats. Independents also increased their overall numbers to 11 seats while

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 ...

and the Scottish Green Party won seats in Aberdeenshire for the first time. Following the election a Tory-Lib Dem-Independent administration was formed and in 2013 they were joined by the 2 Labour members. On 8 June 2015, a new administration was formed by the SNP and a 'Progressive Alliance' between Scottish Labour and 2 Progressive Independent councilors, who had been members of the previous administration.

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

Banff and District

*2007: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent *2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon *2007-2012: SNP and Con gain one seat from Independent and Lib Dem

Troup

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

Fraserburgh and District

*2007: 3xSNP; 1xIndependent *2012: 2xSNP; 2xIndependent *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP

Central Buchan

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

Peterhead North and Rattray

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

Peterhead South and Cruden

*2007: 2xSNP; 1xLib Dem *2012: 2xSNP; 1xIndependent *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain one seat from Lib Dem

Turriff and District

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

Mid-Formartine

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

Ellon and District

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

West Garioch

*2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP *2012: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon *2007-2012 Change: Con gain from Lib Dem

Inverurie and District

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

East Garioch

*2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP *2012: 1xSNP; 1xGRN; 1xLib Dem *2007-2012 Change: GRN gain from Lib Dem

Westhill and District

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

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford

*2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain from Lib Dem

Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside

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

Banchory and Mid-Deeside

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

North Kincardine

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

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside

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

Mearns

*2007: 2xLib Dem; 1xSNP; 1xCon *2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent *2007-2012 Change: Independent gain from Lib Dem

Post-Election Changes

*† East Garioch Cllr Fergie Hood defected from the SNP and joined the Liberal Democrats on 3 May 2013
SNP councillor in Alex Salmond's constituency defects to the Lib Dems
*†† West Garioch Cllr Sheena Lonchay and Inverurie and District Cllr Martin Kitts-Hayes both defected from the Liberal Democrats and became Independents on 25 April 201
Lib Dems quit council group amid 'backstabbing' claims
Cllr Kitts-Hayes resigned as a Councillor on 31 August 2016 citing bullying and harassment arising out of the LEGOGATE ro
Councillor resigns after personal abuse claim over "Legogate"
A by-election was held on 3 November 2016 and the seat was gained by Colin Clark (Conservative). *††† Troup Conservative Cllr John Duncan died on 4 September 201
Political parties gear up for Troup by-election
A by-election was held on 27 November 2014 and was gained by Ross Cassie (SNP). *†††† Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford SNP Cllr Joanne Strathdee died on 23 August 2015 after a long battle with cance
Council HQ flags at half mast following Joanna Strathdee's death
A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 5 November 2015 and the seat was retained by Gwyneth Petrie (SNP

*††††† Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford Liberal Democrat Cllr Alastair Ross resigned on health grounds on 1 September 201
Voters to go to the polls in Aberdeenshire by-elections
A by-election was held to fill the vacancy on 5 November 2015 and the seat was gained by Margo Stewart (Conservative

*†††††† Troup Independent Cllr Mark Findlater ceased to be an Independent and joined the Conservatives on 23 February 201
Independent councillor joins Conservatives
*††††††† Troup SNP Cllr Hamish Partridge resigned from the party on 17 June 2016 and became an Independent citing curtailments to his freedom of speec
Troup councillor resigns from SNP
*†††††††† Banff and District SNP Cllr Ian Gray died on 27 August 2016 after a long illnes
Tributes paid to North-east councillor who has died
A by-election was held on 3 November 2016 and the seat was gained by Iain Taylor (Conservative). *††††††††† Banff and District SNP Cllr John Cox resigned from the party and became an Independent on 20 February 201
End of the road for SNP councillor as party block his election bid

By-elections

References

External links

Aberdeenshire 2012 election results
{{United Kingdom local elections, 2012

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2012 Scottish local elections 21st century in Aberdeenshire