2017 Clackmannanshire Council election

2017 Scottish local government election

Main article: 2017 Scottish local elections

2017 Clackmannanshire Council election

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| <- 2012 | 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) | 2022 ->

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All 18 seats to Clackmannanshire Council
10 seats needed for a majority
|  | First party  | Second party  | Third party

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|  |  |
Leader  | Les Sharp  | Dave Clark  | Bill Mason
Party  | SNP | Labour | Conservative
Leader's seat  | Clackmannanshire West | Clackmannanshire North | Clackmannanshire East
Last election  | 8 seats, 46.1% | 8 seats, 38.1% | 1 seat, 9.9%
Seats before  | 8 | 8 | 1
Seats won  | 8  | 5  | 5
Seat change  | 0  | 3  | 4

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The 5 multi-member ward. (Colour of ward represents the political party that received most votes in that ward)

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| Council Leader before election

Gary Womersley
SNP

| Council Leader after election

Les Sharp
SNP

|

The Clackmannanshire Council election of 2017 was held on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the 31 other local authorities in Scotland. It was the third successive election to run under the STV electoral system and used the five wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 18 councillors being elected.

## Result

[edit]

As Scottish Labour lost three seats and the Scottish National Party held all of theirs, the SNP became the largest party for the first time. The Scottish Conservatives unexpectedly won a seat in every ward, equalling their representation on the council with that of Labour.[1]

During the first meeting of the new council on 18 May, however, an agreement was not reached on how to form an administration.[2] In June 2017 a minority SNP administration was formed.[3]

2017 Clackmannanshire Council election result  Party  | Seats  | Gains  | Losses  | Net gain/loss  | Seats %  | Votes %  | Votes  | +/−

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| SNP | 8  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 44.4  | 37.1 | 6,525 | -8.8
| Labour | 5  | 0  | 3  | -3  | 27.8  | 27.8  | 4,887  | -10.3
| Conservative | 5  | 4  | 0  | +4  | 27.8  | 24.9  | 4,382  | +15.1
| Scottish Green | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 6.5  | 1,141  | New
| Liberal Democrats | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0  | 0.0  | 3.1  | 553  | +2.3
| Independent | 0  | 0  | 1  | -1  | 0.0  | 0.5  | 85  | -4.6

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 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

## Ward results

[edit]

### Clackmannanshire West

[edit]

* 2012-2017 Change: 1 Lab loss and 1 Con gain

Clackmannanshire West – 4 seats[4] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
| Conservative | Darren Lee | 21.4  | 808 |  |  |  |  |
| Labour | George Matchett (incumbent)  | 19.9  | 753  | 763 |  |  |  |
| SNP | Tina Margaret Murphy (incumbent)  | 18.6  | 704  | 705  | 705  | 717  | 722  | 766
| SNP | Les Sharp (incumbent)  | 17.8  | 675  | 675  | 676  | 680  | 701  | 751
| Labour | Craig Miller  | 12.6  | 478  | 482  | 488  | 505  | 541  | 590
| Scottish Green | Cara Quinn  | 4.2  | 159  | 161  | 161  | 177  | 215  |
| Liberal Democrats | Jim Hay  | 2.9  | 112  | 122  | 122  | 142  |  |
| Independent | Thomas Joshua Harrison  | 2.2  | 85  | 91  | 91  |  |  |
Electorate: 8,726  Valid: 3,774  Spoilt: 97  Quota: 755  Turnout: 3,871 (44.36%)

### Clackmannanshire North

[edit]

* 2012-2017 Change: 1 Independent loss and 1 Con gain

Clackmannanshire North – 4 seats[4] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
| Conservative | Martha Benny | 24.0  | 969 |  |  |  |
| SNP | Archie Drummond (incumbent)†  | 16.6  | 672  | 675  | 709  | 745  | 909
| SNP | Donald Balsille (incumbent)  | 16.3  | 660  | 666  | 690  | 711  | 841
| Labour | Dave Clark (incumbent)  | 15.9  | 644  | 678  | 698  | 764  | 773
| Labour | Bobby McGill (incumbent)  | 10.7  | 432  | 446  | 453  | 507  | 513
| SNP | Helen Lewis  | 7.2  | 292  | 293  | 313  | 323  |
| Liberal Democrats | Damian Sherwood-Johnson  | 5.1  | 206  | 240  | 283  |  |
| Scottish Green | Jack Gervaise  | 3.8  | 157  | 167  |  |  |
Electorate: 8,371  Valid: 4,032  Spoilt: 127  Quota: 807  Turnout: 4,159 (49.68%)

### Clackmannanshire Central

[edit]

* 2012-2017 Change: 1 Lab Loss; 1 Con Gain

Clackmannanshire Central – 3 seats[4] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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|
|

1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
| Labour | Derek Stewart (incumbent)  | 32.8  | 846 |  |  |  |
| SNP | Phil Fairlie†††  | 27.7  | 714 |  |  |  |
| Conservative | Mike Watson | 16.6  | 428  | 443  | 444  | 464  | 550
| SNP | Jo Wilkinson  | 10.5  | 273  | 281  | 337  | 393  | 438
| Labour | Graham Watt (incumbent)  | 7.1  | 183  | 321  | 324  | 356  |
| Scottish Green | John Short  | 5.1  | 133  | 139  | 143  |  |
Electorate: 6,297  Valid: 2,577  Spoilt: 79  Quota: 645  Turnout: 2,656 (42.18%)

### Clackmannanshire South

[edit]

* 2012-2017 Change: 1 Con Gain from Lab

Clackmannanshire South – 4 seats[4] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
| SNP | Craig Holden (incumbent)  | 22.4  | 831 |  |  |  |
| Conservative | Chris Dixon††  | 19.6  | 725  | 726  | 759 |  |
| SNP | Ellen Forson (incumbent)  | 17.5  | 649  | 716  | 721  | 721  | 730
| Labour | Kenneth Earle (incumbent)  | 17.3  | 640  | 644  | 660  | 665  | 817
| Scottish Green | Bryan Quinn  | 15.1  | 560  | 569  | 583  | 587  | 601
| Labour | Christine Sinclair  | 5.5  | 205  | 207  | 212  | 214  |
| Liberal Democrats | John Shier Biggam  | 2.2  | 84  | 84  |  |  |
Electorate: 8,976  Valid: 3,694  Spoilt: 86  Quota: 739  Turnout: 3,780 (42.11%)

### Clackmannanshire East

[edit]

* 2012-2017 Change: None

Clackmannanshire East – 3 seats[4] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4
| Conservative | Bill Mason††††  | 41.0  | 1,452 |  |  |
| Labour | Kathleen Martin (incumbent)  | 19.9  | 706  | 839  | 868  | 882
| SNP | Graham Lindsay | 19.5  | 692  | 699  | 724  | 1,079
| Liberal Democrats | Anne Anderson  | 4.3  | 151  | 345  | 406  | 414
| SNP | Jane McTaggart  | 10.3  | 363  | 368  | 390  |
| Scottish Green | Marion Robertson  | 3.7  | 132  | 160  |  |
Electorate: 6,607  Valid: 3496  Spoilt: 40  Quota: 875  Turnout: 3,536 (53.52%)

## Changes since 2017

[edit]

* † Clackmannanshire North SNP Cllr Archie Drummond resigned his seat for personal reasons in late December 2017.[5] A by-election was held on 1 March 2018 and the seat was retained by the party's Helen Lewis.
* ††Clackmannanshire South Cllr Chris Dixon on 7 March 2018 resigned from the Scottish Conservative Party on health reasons and now sits as an independent councillor.[6]
* ††† Clackmannanshire Central SNP Cllr Phil Fairlie resigned his seat due to personal and professional reasons.[7] A by-election was held on 18 March 2019. The seat was retained by Jane McTaggart of the SNP.
* †††† Clackmannanshire East Conservative Cllr Bill Mason resigned his seat due to ill-health on 31 December 2019.[8] This by-election was scheduled for 19 March but was deferred due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Scotland until 19 November 2020, when it was retained by Denis Coyne of the Scottish Conservative Party.

## By-elections since 2017

[edit]

Clackmannanshire North By-election (1 March 2018)[9] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5
| SNP | Helen Lewis | 36.8  | 769  | 795  | 818  | 980  | 1,128
| Conservative | Alex Stewart  | 31.5  | 658  | 661  | 693  | 784  |
| Labour | Afifa Khanam  | 23.6  | 493  | 513  | 538  |  |
| Liberal Democrats | Damian Sherwood-Johnson  | 4.0  | 84  | 101  |  |  |
| Scottish Green | Marion Robertson  | 3.5  | 74  |  |  |  |
Electorate: 8,457  Valid: 2,078  Spoilt: 14  Quota: 1,040  Turnout: 2,092 (24.7%)

Clackmannanshire Central By-election (28 March 2019)[10] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6
| SNP | Jane McTaggart | 40.9  | 865  | 872  | 888  | 902  | 933  | 1,166
| Labour | Margaret Brookes  | 31.9  | 675  | 684  | 696  | 702  | 814  |
| Conservative | William Marlin  | 19.8  | 419  | 423  | 433  | 447  |  |
| UKIP | Dawson Michie  | 3.3  | 69  | 70  | 74  |  |  |
| Scottish Green | Marion Robertson  | 2.5  | 53  | 60  |  |  |  |
| Liberal Democrats | John Biggam  | 1.7  | 36  |  |  |  |  |
Electorate: 6,184  Valid: 2,117  Spoilt: 29  Quota: 1,059  Turnout: (34.7%)
Clackmannanshire East By-election (19 November 2020)[11] Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count

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| Conservative | Denis Coyne | 51.2  | 1,226
| SNP | Stephen Leitch  | 32.0  | 766
| Labour | Carolynne Hunter  | 8.1  | 195
| Scottish Green | Marion Robertson  | 5.8  | 139
| Liberal Democrats | Jim Hay  | 2.9  | 69
Valid: 2,395  Quota: 1,197

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Clacks election result". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
2. ^ "SNP and Labour freeze out Tories in East Renfrewshire". BBC News. 19 May 2017. Retrieved 20 May 2017.
3. ^ "Cooperation and collaboration on the agenda at Clacks Council".
4. ^ a b c d e "Local Election Results 2017 – Clackmannanshire". Local Elections Archive Project. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
5. ^ "Councillor Drummond cites personal reason for resignation". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
6. ^ "Councillor Chris Dixon". clacks.gov.uk. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
7. ^ "SNP Councillor Phil Fairlie resigns". Alloa and Hillfoots Advertiser. Retrieved 1 April 2019.
8. ^ "Clacks by-election triggered as councillor steps down". Alloa Advertiser. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 15 April 2021.
9. ^ "Ward 2 Clackmannanshire North" (PDF). Clackmannanshire Council. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
10. ^ "Ward 3 Clackmannanshire Central" (PDF). Clackmannanshire Council. Retrieved 12 February 2025.
11. ^ "Clackmannanshire East By-Election, 19/11/20". Ballot Box Scotland. 18 February 2020. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021.

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