The Highland Council election, 2007
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Elections to the Highland Council were held on 3 May 2007; the same day as elections to the Scottish Parliament and to the 31 other councils in Scotland. Previous elections to the Council had been conducted using the single member plurality system (a.k.a 'First Past the Post'). Changes implemented by the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 meant that future local government elections were to be conducted using the Single Transferable Vote, beginning with those in 2007. The 80 Highland Councillors were now to be elected from 22 wards, returning either three or four members.
The election saw Independent councillors retain their plurality, despite losing a significant number of members, and the Liberal Democrats and Scottish National Party both increasing their representation, with that of the Labour Party decreasing. The Independent and SNP groups subsequently went into coalition to form the Administration of the Council.
[edit] Post-election changes
- On May 6, 2007, Badenoch and Strathspey Cllr Gregor Rimell became a Liberal Democrat and ceased to be an Independent
- On October 26, 2007, Tain and Easter Ross Cllr Richard Durham became an Independent after leaving the Liberal Democrats
- On December 12, 2007, Tain and Easter Ross Cllr Alan Torrance became a member of the Scottish National Party and ceased to be an Independent
- On April 3, 2008, Landward Caithness Cllr David Bremner became an Independent, separate from the Administration, after being expelled from the Scottish National Party
[edit] Election result
| The Highland Council elections, 2007 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net Gain/Loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/- | |
| Independent | 35 | ― | ― | −18 | 43.8 | 40.9 | 37,844 | ― | |
| Liberal Democrats | 21 | ― | ― | +8 | 26.3 | 19.3 | 17,917 | ― | |
| Scottish National Party | 17 | ― | ― | +11 | 21.3 | 20.4 | 18,933 | ― | |
| Labour | 7 | ― | ― | −1 | 8.8 | 10.5 | 9,734 | ― | |
| Conservative | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | ― | 7.1 | 6,565 | ― | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | ― | 0.7 | 664 | ― | |
| Scottish Green | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | ― | 0.7 | 642 | ― | |
| Solidarity | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | ― | 0.3 | 273 | ― | |
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | ― | ― | 0 | ― | 0.1 | 59 | ― | |
[edit] Ward results
| The Highland Council election, 2007: North, West and Central Sutherland | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | George Farlow | 586 | 19.9 | 1 | 8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robbie Rowantree | 410 | 14.0 | 2 | 10 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | Russel Taylor | 314 | 10.7 | |||
| Independent | Linda Munro | 303 | 10.3 | 3 | 10 | |
| Independent | David Forbes | 297 | 10.1 | |||
| Independent | William Johnston | 282 | 9.6 | |||
| Conservative | Margaret Payne | 216 | 7.4 | |||
| Labour | Dave Andrews | 184 | 6.3 | |||
| Scottish Green | Ailsa Spindler | 168 | 5.7 | |||
| Independent | Kirstie Dawson | 99 | 3.4 | |||
| Independent | Michael Otter | 80 | 2.7 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Thurso | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Donald Mackay | 1,001 | 30.1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | John Rosie | 704 | 21.2 | 2 | 4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Marion Thurso | 541 | 16.3 | 3 | 7 | |
| Scottish National Party | Donald Mackintosh | 433 | 13.0 | |||
| Labour | Roger Saxon | 408 | 12.3 | |||
| Independent | Ian Grant | 125 | 3.8 | |||
| Conservative | Alexander Bain | 112 | 3.4 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Wick | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Bill Fernie | 793 | 30.3 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Katrina MacNab | 451 | 17.2 | 2 | 7 | |
| Scottish National Party | Niall Smith | 443 | 16.9 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Graeme Smith | 407 | 15.5 | 3 | 7 | |
| Labour | Jim Oag | 366 | 14.0 | |||
| Independent | Heather Miller | 98 | 3.7 | |||
| Conservative | Jack Brooker | 46 | 1.8 | |||
| Independent | Laurel Bush | 17 | 0.6 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Landward Caithness | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | David Bremner | 871 | 18.8 | 3 | 5 | |
| Independent | Willie MacKay | 845 | 18.2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Flear | 805 | 17.4 | 2 | 5 | |
| Independent | Robert Coghill | 657 | 14.2 | 4 | 8 | |
| Labour | Bill Mowat | 532 | 11.5 | |||
| Conservative | Colin Sutherland | 531 | 11.5 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Alastair MacDonald | 349 | 7.5 | |||
| Independent | Duncan Winfield | 41 | 0.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: East Sutherland and Edderton | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Liberal Democrats | Ian Ross | 838 | 22.8 | 1 | 7 | |
| Labour | Deirdre Mackay | 703 | 19.2 | 2 | 10 | |
| Scottish National Party | Derek Louden | 511 | 13.9 | |||
| Independent | Jim McGillivray | 482 | 13.1 | 3 | 10 | |
| Conservative | Michael Napper | 423 | 11.5 | |||
| Independent | Jimmy Melville | 252 | 6.9 | |||
| Independent | Evelyn MacKenzie | 155 | 4.2 | |||
| Independent | Gordon Campbell | 125 | 3.4 | |||
| Independent | Gordon Clunie | 114 | 3.1 | |||
| Independent | Richard Easson | 40 | 1.1 | |||
| Solidarity | Frank Ward | 27 | 0.7 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Jean Urquhart | 1,486 | 26.1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Biz Campbell | 1,242 | 21.8 | 2 | 1 | |
| Independent | Richard Greene | 792 | 13.9 | 3 | 7 | |
| Independent | Audrey Sinclair | 608 | 10.7 | 4 | 9 | |
| Conservative | John Scott | 451 | 7.9 | |||
| Labour | Christine Conniff | 354 | 6.2 | |||
| Independent | Marie Tait | 328 | 5.8 | |||
| Independent | Donald Macdonald | 232 | 4.1 | |||
| Independent | Alastair Armitstead | 199 | 3.5 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Cromarty Firth | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Carolyn Wilson | 1,348 | 29.7 | 1 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | Maxine Smith | 1,021 | 22.5 | 2 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Martin Rattray | 647 | 14.3 | 3 | 7 | |
| Independent | Mike Finlayson | 438 | 9.7 | 4 | 9 | |
| Labour | John MacInnes | 438 | 9.7 | |||
| Independent | John Connell | 307 | 6.8 | |||
| Conservative | Hamish Keir | 141 | 3.1 | |||
| Independent | Mary MacDonald | 104 | 2.3 | |||
| Solidarity | Findlay Walker | 88 | 1.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Tain and Easter Ross | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Alasdair Rhind | 1,406 | 36.2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Richard Durham | 627 | 16.2 | 2 | 8 | |
| Scottish National Party | Jim McCreath | 465 | 12.0 | |||
| Independent | Alan Torrance | 436 | 11.2 | 3 | 10 | |
| Independent | Murray MacLeod | 294 | 7.6 | |||
| Independent | Michael Herd | 204 | 5.3 | |||
| Labour | Sunny Moodie | 148 | 3.8 | |||
| Conservative | David Rutherford | 124 | 3.2 | |||
| Independent | John Boocock | 116 | 3.0 | |||
| Scottish Socialist | Donnie Fraser | 59 | 1.5 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Dingwall and Seaforth | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Margaret Paterson | 1,078 | 23.1 | 1 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Angela MacLean | 1,015 | 21.8 | 2 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | Peter Cairns | 853 | 18.3 | 3 | 5 | |
| Independent | David Chisholm | 639 | 13.7 | 4 | 8 | |
| Labour | Michael MacMillan | 556 | 11.9 | |||
| Conservative | Gerald Lowe | 218 | 4.7 | |||
| Scottish Green | David Jardine | 207 | 4.4 | |||
| Independent | David Edes | 102 | 2.2 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Black Isle | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Billy Barclay | 1,233 | 24.4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Isobel McCallum | 985 | 19.5 | 2 | 2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Alston | 973 | 19.3 | 3 | 3 | |
| Scottish National Party | Craig Fraser | 558 | 11.1 | 4 | 8 | |
| Independent | Okain McLennan | 433 | 8.6 | |||
| Conservative | Morris Downie | 408 | 8.1 | |||
| Scottish Green | John Wood | 267 | 5.3 | |||
| Labour | Chris Birt | 192 | 3.8 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Eilean a' Cheò | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Liberal Democrats | Drew Millar | 960 | 21.2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Hamish Fraser | 795 | 17.6 | 2 | 4 | |
| Independent | John Laing | 734 | 16.2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Scottish National Party | Ian Renwick | 669 | 14.8 | 4 | 8 | |
| Independent | John Murray | 498 | 11.0 | |||
| Labour | Vicki Samuels | 351 | 7.8 | |||
| Independent | Iain MacDonald | 338 | 7.5 | |||
| Conservative | John Hodgson | 178 | 3.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Caol and Mallaig | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Bill Clark | 975 | 24.8 | 1 | 2 | |
| Independent | Allan Henderson | 881 | 22.4 | 2 | 7 | |
| Independent | Eddie Hunter | 550 | 14.0 | 3 | 10 | |
| Labour | Mairi MacLean | 473 | 12.0 | |||
| Scottish National Party | David Ingham | 389 | 9.9 | |||
| Independent | Sandra Casey | 188 | 4.8 | |||
| Conservative | Chris Carver | 156 | 4.0 | |||
| Independent | George MacLeod | 151 | 3.8 | |||
| Independent | Alistair MacGregor | 100 | 2.5 | |||
| Independent | Scott Waugh | 64 | 1.6 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Aird and Loch Ness | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Independent | Margaret Davidson | 1,215 | 24.6 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Helen Carmichael | 1,125 | 22.8 | 2 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | Drew Hendry | 892 | 18.1 | 3 | 5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Hamish Wood | 550 | 11.1 | 4 | 8 | |
| Conservative | Margaret Chown | 355 | 7.2 | |||
| Independent | John Martin | 322 | 6.5 | |||
| Labour | Andrew MacKintosh | 292 | 5.9 | |||
| Independent | Alexander Nicol | 192 | 3.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Inverness West | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Pauline Munro | 965 | 28.8 | 1 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Alex Graham | 840 | 25.1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Independent | Jimmy MacDonald | 778 | 23.2 | 3 | 4 | |
| Labour | Caroline Parr | 536 | 16.0 | |||
| Conservative | Mary Fraser | 230 | 6.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Inverness Central | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Donnie Kerr | 1,019 | 21.9 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Peter Corbett | 776 | 16.6 | 4 | 9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Janet Campbell | 729 | 15.6 | 2 | 6 | |
| Labour | Bet McAllister | 720 | 15.4 | 3 | 6 | |
| Independent | William Smith | 575 | 12.3 | |||
| Conservative | David Bonsor | 268 | 5.8 | |||
| Independent | Ivor Bisset | 252 | 5.4 | |||
| Labour | Tej Manda | 237 | 5.1 | |||
| Solidarity | George MacDonald | 88 | 1.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Inverness Ness-side | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Liberal Democrats | David Henderson | 1,127 | 22.5 | 1 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | John Finnie | 1,016 | 20.2 | 2 | 1 | |
| Independent | Norrie Donald | 750 | 14.9 | 3 | 8 | |
| Labour | Fraser Parr | 688 | 13.7 | 4 | 10 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Angus Dick | 468 | 9.3 | |||
| Conservative | Margaret MacDonald | 361 | 7.1 | |||
| Independent | Thomas Lamont | 232 | 4.6 | |||
| Independent | Steve Rodger | 226 | 4.5 | |||
| Independent | Jean Slater | 82 | 1.6 | |||
| Solidarity | Steve Arnott | 70 | 1.4 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Inverness Millburn | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Labour | Jimmy Gray | 1,123 | 31.2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | Ian Brown | 1,005 | 27.9 | 2 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Kenneth MacLeod | 510 | 14.2 | 3 | 6 | |
| Independent | Etta Mackay | 430 | 11.9 | |||
| Conservative | Donald MacKenzie | 356 | 9.9 | |||
| Independent | Willie Fraser | 178 | 4.9 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Culloden and Ardersier | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Robert Wynd | 1,335 | 28.7 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Roddy Balfour | 1,308 | 28.1 | 2 | 1 | |
| Labour | John Ford | 816 | 17.5 | 3 | 4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Glynis Sinclair | 663 | 14.3 | 4 | 4 | |
| Conservative | John Ross | 318 | 6.8 | |||
| Independent | Jim Ferguson | 213 | 4.6 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Nairn | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Liz MacDonald | 1,576 | 30.7 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Sandy Park | 855 | 16.6 | 2 | 4 | |
| Independent | Laurie Fraser | 669 | 13.0 | 3 | 6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Graham Marsden | 535 | 10.4 | 4 | 8 | |
| Independent | Jim Lennon | 476 | 9.3 | |||
| Labour | Ron Stevenson | 402 | 7.8 | |||
| Conservative | Bob Ross | 356 | 6.9 | |||
| Independent | David Fraser | 273 | 5.3 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Inverness South | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Scottish National Party | Roy Pedersen | 1,058 | 27.0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Thomas Prag | 902 | 23.0 | 2 | 1 | |
| Labour | John Holden | 671 | 17.1 | 4 | 4 | |
| Independent | Jim Crawford | 524 | 13.4 | 3 | 4 | |
| Conservative | Donald MacDonald | 413 | 10.5 | |||
| Independent | Barrie Haycock | 353 | 9.0 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Badenoch and Strathspey | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Liberal Democrats | Stuart Black | 1,720 | 31.2 | 1 | 1 | |
| Scottish National Party | David Fallows | 1,347 | 24.4 | 2 | 1 | |
| Independent | Gregor Rimell | 736 | 13.3 | 3 | 5 | |
| Conservative | Les Durance | 532 | 9.6 | |||
| Independent | Jaci Douglas | 484 | 8.8 | 4 | 7 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | Donald Scobbie | 350 | 6.4 | |||
| Independent | Angela Cox | 347 | 6.3 | |||
| The Highland Council election, 2007: Fort William and Ardnamurchan | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | 1st Pref | % | Seat | Count | |
| Liberal Democrats | Michael Foxley | 1,059 | 20.4 | 1 | 1 | |
| Independent | Donald Cameron | 939 | 18.1 | 2 | 7 | |
| Scottish National Party | Bren Gormley | 778 | 15.0 | 3 | 10 | |
| Labour | Brian Murphy | 501 | 9.7 | 4 | 10 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Baxter | 372 | 7.2 | |||
| Independent | Thomas MacLennan | 322 | 6.2 | |||
| Independent | Darren Woods | 317 | 6.1 | |||
| Independent | Patricia Jordan | 271 | 5.2 | |||
| Independent | Drew McFarlane-Slack | 241 | 4.6 | |||
| Independent | Iain Thornber | 195 | 3.8 | |||
| Independent | Neil Clark | 194 | 3.7 | |||
| Preceded by The Highland Council election, 2003 |
Politics of the Highland council area | Succeeded by The Highland Council election, 2011 |
