Wikipedia

2022 East Renfrewshire Council election

The 2022 East Renfrewshire Council election took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 5 wards created under the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with 18 councillors being elected. Each ward elected either 3 or 4 members, using the STV electoral system.[3]

2022 East Renfrewshire Council election
← 2017
5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)
2027 →
All 18 seats to East Renfrewshire Council
10 seats needed for a majority
Turnout52.7%
  First party Second party
  Blank Blank
Leader Tony Buchanan Gordon Wallace[1]
Party SNP Conservative
Leader's seat Newton Mearns North and Neilston Giffnock and Thornliebank
Last election 5 7
Seats won 6 5
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 2
Popular vote 11,249 11,599
Percentage 28.6% 29.5%
Swing Increase 4.3% Decrease 8.8%
  Third party Fourth party
  Blank Blank
Leader Owen O'Donnell[2] N/A
Party Labour Independent
Leader's seat Newton Mearns North and Neilston N/A
Last election 4 2
Seats won 5 2
Seat change Increase 1 Steady
Popular vote 7,973 5,571
Percentage 20.2% 14.1%
Swing Increase 2.8% Decrease 4.9%
Council Leader before election

Tony Buchanan
SNP

 Council Leader after election

Owen O'Donnell
Labour

Background

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Composition

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Party 2017 result Dissolution
SNP 5 5
Labour 4 4
Conservative 7 5
Independent 2 4

Changes since 2017

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Barrhead, Liboside & Uplawmoor Conservative Cllr Paul Aitken resigned from the Scottish Conservatives and became an Independent on 22 January 2018.[4]

Clarkston, Netherlee & Williamwood Conservative Cllr Stewart Miller resigned from the Scottish Conservatives and became an Independent on 10 September 2020.[5]

Results

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2022 East Renfrewshire Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  SNP 6 1 0 Increase 1 33.3 28.6 11,249 Increase 4.3
  Conservative 5 0 2 Decrease 2 27.8 29.5 11,599 Decrease 8.8
  Labour 5 1 0 Increase 1 27.8 20.2 7,973 Increase 2.8
  Independent 2 0 0 Steady 11.1 14.1 5,571 Decrease 4.9
  Green 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 5.4 2,111 Increase 4.0
  Alba 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.9 341 New
  Liberal Democrats 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.5 203 Decrease 1.7
  Scottish Family 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.5 203 New
  Freedom Alliance 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.2 67 New
  ISP 0 0 0 Steady 0.0 0.1 57 New

Source:

Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils.[6][7]

Ward summary

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Results of the 2022 East Renfrewshire Council election by ward (first preferences)
Ward %
Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 %
 Cllrs
 Total
Cllrs
SNP Labour Conservative Independent Others
Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor 33.4 2 20.1 1 10.7 0 31.1 1 4.5 0 4
Newton Mearns North and Neilston 32.1 1 25.4 1 34.5 1 8.0 0 3
Giffnock and Thornliebank 26.1 1 22.2 1 25.1 1 19.9 0 6.7 0 3
Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood 29.0 1 16.8 1 23.5 1 20.7 1 10.0 0 4
Newton Mearns South & Eaglesham 24.3 1 19.1 1 48.9 2 7.8 0 4
Total 28.5 6 20.2 5 29.5 5 14.1 2 7.6 0 18

Ward results

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Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor

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Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor - 4 seats[8][9]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345678
Independent Danny Devlin (incumbent) 26.0% 1,753              
SNP Angela Convery (incumbent) 24.3% 1,639              
Labour Betty Wood Cunningham (incumbent) 20.1% 1,355              
Conservative Greg Turner† 10.7% 722 760 761 762 767 780 898  
SNP Chris Lunday 9.1% 616 691 935 936 968 1,105 1,198 1,282
Independent Paul Aitken (incumbent) 5.1% 345 462 470 472 491 536    
Green Frank Wilson 3.4% 229 258 272 273 285      
Alba Neil Anderson 1.1% 74 91 96 96        
Electorate: 14,485   Valid: 6,733   Spoilt: 133[10] (1.93%)   Quota: 1,347   Turnout: 47.2%  

† Greg Turner was suspended from the Conservative Party on 21 April 2022, prior to the election, after being linked to derogatory online remarks against Catholics.[11] His name remained on the ballot paper, as the deadline for nominations had passed.

Newton Mearns North and Neilston

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Newton Mearns North and Neilston - 3 seats[8]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
1
SNP Tony Buchanan (incumbent) 32.1% 1,938
Conservative Andrew Morrison 26.2% 1,579
Labour Owen O'Donnell 25.4% 1,532
Conservative Farooq Choudhry 8.3% 501
Green Adrian Egglestone 5.3% 322
Scottish Family Maria Reid 1.4% 84
Alba Carol McKenzie 0.9% 55
Freedom Alliance (UK) Derek McMillan 0.4% 23
Electorate: 12,397   Valid: 6,034   Spoilt: 72[12] (1.2%)   Quota: 1,509   Turnout: 49%  

Giffnock and Thornliebank

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Giffnock and Thornliebank - 3 seats[8]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345
SNP Colm Merrick (incumbent) 26.1% 1,888        
Conservative Gordon Wallace (incumbent) 25.1% 1,816        
Labour Mary Montague 22.2% 1,608 1,629 1,630 1,662 1,863
Independent Allan Steele 13.5% 978 983 986 998 1,033
Independent Alice Roy 6.4% 464 469 470 488 576
Green Karen Sharkey 5.4% 387 418 418 439  
Alba George Gebbie 1.3% 92 97 97    
Electorate: 12,996   Valid: 7,233   Spoilt: 80[13] (1.1%)   Quota: 1,809   Turnout: 56.2%  

Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood

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Clarkston, Netherlee and Williamwood - 4 seats[8]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345678
SNP Annette Ireland (incumbent) 21.6% 2,119              
Conservative Kate Campbell 17.2% 1,692 1,692 1,694 1,710 2,254      
Labour Katie Victoria Pragnell 16.8% 1,647 1,654 1,657 1,728 1,743 1,798 1,908 2,116
Independent David Macdonald (incumbent) 14.3% 1,407 1,415 1,425 1,448 1,471 1,541 1,868 2,017
SNP David Tam McDonald 7.4% 724 838 852 863 864 867 895 1,233
Green Gordon Keenan 7.3% 717 737 745 780 787 796 846  
Independent Stewart Miller (incumbent) 6.4% 624 626 634 656 673 718    
Conservative Gerald Edwards 6.3% 622 622 622 627        
Liberal Democrats Daphne Vlastari 2.1% 203 204 206          
ISP Colette Walker 0.6% 57 58            
Electorate: 16,612   Valid: 9,812   Spoilt: 165[14] (1.6%)   Quota: 1,963   Turnout: 60.2%  

Newton Mearns South and Eaglesham

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Newton Mearns South and Eaglesham - 4 seats[8][9]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456789
SNP Caroline Bamforth[15] (incumbent) 24.3% 2,325                
Conservative Paul Edlin[15] 21.1% 2,016                
Labour Andrew Anderson[15] 19.1% 1,831 1,938              
Conservative Jim McLean[15] (incumbent) 16.6% 1,584 1,600 1,685 1,690 1,691 1,721 1,733 1,823 2,888
Conservative Paul Smith 11.2% 1,067 1,070 1,082 1,083 1,087 1,106 1,113 1,154  
Green Victoria Palmer-Dyer 4.8% 456 649 650 658 665 688 738    
Alba Amer Siddiqui 1.3% 120 146 147 147 152 164      
Scottish Family Luke Reid 1.2% 119 123 123 124 133        
Freedom Alliance (UK) Mark Niven Turnbull[9] 0.5% 44 45 45 46          
Electorate: 18,174   Valid: 9,562   Spoilt: 139[16] (1.4%)   Quota: 1,913   Turnout: 53.1%  

Aftermath

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After this election, a minority coalition was formed with the five Labour councillors and the two Independent councillors, David Macdonald and Danny Devlin. The SNP accused Labour of a 'backroom deal' with the Conservatives.[17]

On 4 July 2022, Macdonald left the coalition, and the council's administration.[18] Responding to a query on social media, he said: "The agreement I reached with the Labour group leader for my support to install a minority Labour, Independent administration was not going to be delivered. I lost trust and confidence and for that reason I could not, in good faith, continue."[19]

In April 2024, SNP councillor Annette Ireland resigned from the SNP group and became an Independent.[20]

Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor by-election

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In June 2025, Labour councillor for Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor, Betty Wood Cunningham, died. A by-election was held on 21 August 2025[21] and was won by Labour candidate Julie Ann Costello McHale.[22]

Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor by-election (21 August 2025) - 1 seat[23]
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456
Labour Julie Costello McHale 41.9% 1,901 1,906 1,970 2,029 2,217 2,866
SNP David McDonald 25.1% 1,142 1,142 1,151 1,292 1,431  
Reform Andy MacGibbon 22.4% 1,018 1,022 1,076 1,089    
Green Karen Sharkey 5.4% 247 252 266      
Conservative Farooq Choudury 4.6% 207 211        
Abolish the Scottish Parliament Gus Ferguson 0.6% 27          
Valid: 4,542   Spoilt: 43   Quota: 2,272   Turnout: 4,585  

Source:

References

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  1. ↑ "Cllr Gordon Wallace". East Renfrewshire Conservatives.
  2. ↑ Sandelands, Drew (19 May 2022). "Labour plans minority administration in East Renfrewshire". Glasgow World.
  3. ↑ "Scottish Local Government Elections - 5 May 2022". East Renfrewshire Council. 21 April 2022. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  4. ↑ Gordon, Tom (22 January 2018). "Barrhead's first Tory in 25 years quits over "party diktat"". The Herald.
  5. ↑ "Stewart Miller : Tory leader in East Renfrewshire quits over lack of trust". GlasgowTimes. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 7 January 2022.
  6. ↑ Faulds, Allan. "The Local STV Voting System Explained". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Single Transferable Vote". Electoral Reform Society. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 "Notice of poll and situation of polling stations" (PDF). East Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 3 May 2022.
  9. 1 2 3 "East Renfrewshire Council : Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  10. ↑ "East Renfrewshire Council : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  11. ↑ McCall, Chris (21 April 2022). "Scots Tory candidate dropped after branding Catholic school a 'bigot factory'". Daily Record.
  12. ↑ "East Renfrewshire Council : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  13. ↑ "East Renfrewshire Council : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  14. ↑ "East Renfrewshire Council : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 "Local government election results 2022". East Renfrewshire Council.
  16. ↑ "East Renfrewshire Council : Declaration of Results" (PDF). Eastrenfrewshire.gov.uk. Retrieved 5 July 2022.
  17. ↑ Sandelands, Drew (26 May 2022). "Labour to run East Renfrewshire amid accusations of 'backroom deal with Tories'". Glasgow Live.
  18. ↑ Sandelands, Drew (4 July 2022). "Independent member quits East Renfrewshire Council's minority administration". Barrhead News. Retrieved 4 July 2022.
  19. ↑ Sandelands, Drew (4 July 2022). "East Renfrewshire councillor quits administration just weeks after election". GlasgowLive. Retrieved 13 September 2022.
  20. ↑ "Councillor QUITS SNP to be an independent". Barrhead News. 18 April 2024.
  21. ↑ "Local Government By-election". East Renfrewshire Council.
  22. ↑ "Scottish Labour win East Renfrewshire by-election". The National. 22 August 2025.
  23. ↑ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report" (PDF). East Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 27 August 2025.
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