2012 South Ayrshire Council election

2012 South Ayrshire Council election

← 2007 3 May 2012 (2012-05-03) 2017 →
All 30 seats to South Ayrshire Council 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Con Leader Bill McIntosh Allan Dorans Party Conservative SNP Leader's seat Troon Ayr West Last election 12 seats, 37.2% 8 seats, 25.3% Seats before 12 8 Seats won 10 9 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 12,050 11,203 Percentage 31.5% 29.3% Swing 5.7% 4.0%   Third party Fourth party   Lab Ind Leader John McDowall Brian Connolly Party Labour Independent Leader's seat Girvan and South Carrick Maybole, North Carrick & Coylton Last election 9 seats, 28.4% 1 seat, 8.3% Seats before 9 1 Seats won 9 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 9,563 5,166 Percentage 25.0% 13.5% Swing 3.4% 5.2%
The 8 multi-member wards
Council Leader before election Bill McIntosh (Conservative) No overall control Council Leader after election Bill McIntosh (Conservative) No overall control

The 2012 South Ayrshire Council election took place on 3 May 2012 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 (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

The election saw the Conservatives remain as the largest party on the council despite losing two seats. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained one seat and were second on the popular vote as they tied with Labour as the second largest party. Labour retained their nine seats despite their vote share decreasing by 3.4% and after suffering three defections during the last term. The number of independent candidates elected doubled to two seats.

Following the election, the Conservatives formed a minority administration working in a partnership agreement with Labour and both independents. This replaced the previous Conservative minority administration.

2012 South Ayrshire Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	10	0	2	2	33.3	31.51	12,050	5.7
	SNP	9	1	0	1	30.0	29.3	11,203	4.0
	Labour	9	0	0		30.0	25.0	9,563	3.4
	Independent	2	1	0	1	6.7	13.5	5,166	5.2
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.0	0.7	255	New
Total		30						38,237

Source: ^[1]

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.

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

Source:^[1][2]

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

Source:^[1][3]

Labour (2), the SNP (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election. In 2007, Cllr Campbell was elected as a Labour candidate but subsequently resigned from the party and later joined the SNP.

Source:^[1][4]

Labour and the SNP retained the seats they had won at the previous elections while the Conservatives retained one seat and lost one seat to the SNP.

Source:^[1][5]

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

Source:^[1][6]

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

Source:^[1][8]

Labour, the SNP, the Conservatives and independent councillor Brian Connolly retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Source:^[1][9]

The SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election while independent candidate Alec Clark gained a seat from the Conservatives.

Source:^[1][10]

Ayr East SNP councillor Corri Wilson was elected as MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock on 7 May 2015. She resigned her council seat on 23 June 2015^[11] and a by-election was held on 17 September 2015. The seat was held by the SNP's John Wallace.

Source:^[12]