2017 West Lothian Council election

2017 West Lothian Council election

4 May 2017 (2017-05-04)
All 33 seats to West Lothian Council 17 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Leader Peter Johnston John McGinty Party SNP Labour Leader's seat Livingston South Bathgate Last election 15 seats, 40.4% 16 seats, 38.1% Seats before 15 16 Seats won 13 12 Seat change 2 4 Popular vote 23,218 18,082 Percentage 37.3% 29.0% Swing 3.1% 9.1%   Third party Fourth party   Leader Damian Timson Stuart Borrowman Party Conservative Independent Leader's seat East Calder and East Livingston Armadale and Blackridge Last election 1 seat, 3.1% 1 seat, 5.3% Seats before 1 1 Seats won 7 1 Seat change 6 Popular vote 14,449 3,088 Percentage 23.2% 5.0% Swing 14.3% 0.3%
Overall Result SNP vote share by wards Labour vote share by wards Conservative vote share by wards
Council Leader before election John McGinty Labour Council Leader after election Lawrence Fitzpatrick Labour

The 2017 West Lothian Council election took place on 4 May 2017. The election used the 9 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 33 Councillors being elected. The election resulted in no overall party majority, leading to the Labour Party and the Conservative Party forming a coalition administration.^{[citation needed]}

Results

2017 West Lothian local election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	SNP	13	0	2	2	39.4	37.3	23,218	3.1
	Labour	12	0	4	4	36.4	29.0	18,082	9.1
	Conservative	7	6	0	6	21.2	23.2	14,449	14.3
	Independent	1	0	0		3.0	5.0	3,088	0.3
	Scottish Green	0	0	0		0.0	2.7	1,695	New
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.0	2.6	1,632	2.2
	TUSC	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	57	New
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	40	0.1

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections in 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Ward results

Linlithgow

• 2012: 1 x Conservative, 1 x SNP, 1 x Labour
• 2017: 1 x Conservative, 1 x SNP, 1 x Labour
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Linlithgow - 3 seats^[1]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Conservative	Tom Kerr (incumbent)	41.92%	3,037
	Labour	Tom Conn (incumbent)	14.63%	1,060	1,425	1,450	1,558	1,956
	SNP	David Tait (incumbent)	16.01%	1,160	1,215	1,217	1,310	1,390	1,405	2,529
	SNP	Sue Friel	15.06%	1,091	1,126	1,129	1,246	1,319	1,341
	Liberal Democrats	Sally Pattle	5.26%	381	692	714	872
	Scottish Green	Maire McCormack	6.57%	476	535	541
	UKIP	Alan Cooper	0.55%	40	113
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 7,245   Spoilt: 74   Quota: 1,812   Turnout: 59.0%

Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 2 x SNP
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Labour, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Labour

Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh - 4 seats^[2]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Diane Calder (incumbent)	27.24%	1,898
	Conservative	Chris Horne	27.23%	1,897
	Labour	Angela Doran†††	19.00%	1,324	1,340	1,448
	SNP	Janet Campbell (incumbent)	8.37%	583	868	880	882	894	961	990	1,057	1,666
	SNP	Pippa Plevin	6.06%	422	571	577	577	580	626	668	739
	Labour	Audrey Middleton	4.49%	313	318	368	410	423	467	628
	Liberal Democrats	John Woods	3.12%	217	224	350	352	368	454
	Scottish Green	June Douglas	3.67%	256	274	297	299	313
	TUSC	Elaine Mallon	0.82%	57	59	72	74
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 6,967   Spoilt: 165   Quota: 1,394   Turnout: 46.2%

Livingston North

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 2 x Labour
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Labour, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Labour

Livingston North - 4 seats^[3]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Conservative	Alison Adamson	25.45%	1,940
	Labour	Dom McGuire	13.03%	993	1,077	1,092	1,209	1,898
	SNP	Robert De Bold (incumbent)	16.31%	1,243	1,254	1,279	1,303	1,327	1,347	2,161
	SNP	Andrew Miller (incumbent)	15.35%	1,170	1,175	1,207	1,235	1,260	1,297	1,606
	SNP	Lorna Menzies Craig	14.53%	1,107	1,115	1,141	1,163	1,181	1,210
	Labour	Anne McMillan (incumbent)	9.52%	726	764	782	853
	Liberal Democrats	Caron Lindsay	3.28%	250	360	417
	Scottish Green	Mark Wilkinson	2.53%	193	213
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 7,622   Spoilt: 123   Quota: 1,525   Turnout: 43.5%

Livingston South

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 2 x SNP
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Labour, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Labour

Livingston South - 4 seats^[4]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Lawrence Fitzpatrick (incumbent)	27.12%	2,228
	SNP	Peter Johnston (incumbent) †	20.69%	1,700
	Conservative	Peter Heggie	19.40%	1,594	1,673
	SNP	Moira Shemilt	13.02%	1,070	1,109	1,151	1,151	1,169	1,268	1,827
	Labour	Danny Logue (incumbent)	8.41%	691	1,080	1,083	1,091	1,137	1,216	1,241
	SNP	Annmargaret Watson	7.17%	589	593	598	599	602	620
	Scottish Green	Jayne Glass	2.44%	200	221	223	225	275
	Liberal Democrats	Jill Pattle	1.75%	144	154	155	160
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 8,216   Spoilt: 140   Quota: 1,644   Turnout: 46.3%

East Livingston and East Calder

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 2 x SNP
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Labour, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Labour

East Livingston and East Calder - 4 seats^[5]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Dave King (incumbent)††	23.75%	1,749
	Conservative	Damian Timson	22.00%	1,620
	SNP	Frank Anderson (incumbent)	20.09%	1,479
	SNP	Carl John (incumbent)	13.20%	972	994	998	1,002	1,014	1,105	1,648
	Labour	Scott Rogers	7.13%	525	724	765	766	829	918	941
	SNP	Veronica Smith	7.54%	555	561	564	565	578	652
	Scottish Green	Neal Drummond	3.60%	265	274	284	285	366
	Liberal Democrats	Charles Corser	2.69%	198	208	239	239
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 7,363   Spoilt: 141   Quota: 1,473   Turnout: 45.9%

Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 1 x SNP
• 2017: 2 x Labour, 1 x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Fauldhouse and the Breich Valley - 3 seats^[6]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	David Dodds (incumbent)	29.81%	1,623
	SNP	Pauline Clark	18.53%	1,012	1,022	1,035	1,079	1,781
	Labour	Cathy Muldoon (incumbent)	17.68%	966	1,070	1,206	1,233	1,293	1,417
	Conservative	Marion Kerr	15.23%	832	842	867	892	896	920
	SNP	Greg McCarra (incumbent)	14.33%	783	787	794	817
	Scottish Green	Pamela Barnes	2.25%	123	128	162
	Liberal Democrats	Kenneth Brown	2.27%	124	127
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,463   Spoilt: 159   Quota: 1,366   Turnout: 46.6%

Whitburn and Blackburn

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 2 x SNP
• 2017: 2 x Labour, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from SNP

Whitburn and Blackburn - 4 seats^[7]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	George Paul (incumbent)	28.08%	1,822
	SNP	Jim Dickson (incumbent)	24.44%	1,586
	Conservative	Bruce Fairbairn	21.99%	1,427
	Labour	Kirsteen Sullivan	8.59%	557	1,015	1,020	1,054	1,149	1,209	1,486
	SNP	Mary Dickson (incumbent)	7.75%	503	519	742	744	766	1,129
	SNP	John Leslie	6.47%	420	426	468	470	481
	Liberal Democrats	Bob Howden	2.68%	174	182	186	224
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 6,489   Spoilt: 175   Quota: 1,298   Turnout: 42.6%

Bathgate

• 2012: 2 x Labour, 2 x SNP
• 2017: 2xLabour; 1xSNP; 1xConservative
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservative gain one seat from SNP

Bathgate - 4 seats^[8]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	William Hannah Boyle (incumbent)	20.20%	1,554
	Labour	Harry Cartmill (incumbent)	21.40%	1,646
	Labour	John McGinty (incumbent)	14.98%	1,152	1,227	1,228	1,257	1,278	1,291	1,597
	Conservative	Charles Kennedy	17.93%	1,379	1,388	1,389	1,400	1,409	1,413	1,574
	SNP	Barry Burrows	8.49%	653	658	668	675	709	1,031	1,176
	Independent	James Walker	9.68%	745	752	752	765	795	806
	SNP	Lisa McArthur	4.50%	346	347	350	355	380
	Scottish Green	Dale McDowell	1.56%	120	122	123	143
	Liberal Democrats	Fiona Ann Stevens	1.26%	97	98	98
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 7,692   Spoilt: 174   Quota: 1,539   Turnout: 45.1%

Armadale and Blackridge

• 2012: 1 x Independent, 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP
• 2017: 1 x Independent, 1 x Labour, 1 x SNP
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Armadale and Blackridge - 3 seats^[9]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Independent	Stuart Borrowman (incumbent)	45.02%	2,343
	SNP	Sarah King (incumbent)	25.41%	1,322
	Labour	Andrew McGuire	13.59%	707	1,012	1,016	1,056	1,131	1,589
	Conservative	Ian Burgess	13.89%	723	1,016	1,017	1,035	1,057
	Scottish Green	Paula Stokes	1.19%	62	149	157	189
	Liberal Democrats	Chris Smillie	0.90%	47	117	118
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,204   Spoilt: 56   Quota: 1,302   Turnout: 42.20%

Aftermath

On 26 October 2021 Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh Labour Cllr Angela Doran-Timson left the Labour Party and joined the Conservatives.^[10]

Livingston South by-election

On 29 March 2020 Livingston South SNP Councillor Peter Johnston resigned his seat due to illness.^[11] The By-Election was postponed due to the ongoing Coronavirus Pandemic.^[12] The By Election was held on Thursday 11 March 2021. The seat was won by the SNP candidate, Maria MacAulay.

Livingston South by-election (11 March 2021) - 1 seat^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Maria MacAulay	43.9%	2,465	2,467	2,496	2,603	2,703	2,763	3,370
	Labour	Gordon Connolly	24.6%	1,382	1,384	1,419	1,481	1,579	2,098
	Conservative	Douglas Smith	17.6%	989	996	1,025	1,037	1,124
	Independent	Eddie Millar	5.9%	332	338	365	413
	Scottish Green	Cameron Glasgow	4.2%	234	234	273
	Liberal Democrats	Caron Lindsay	3.3%	185	186
	UKIP	John Mumford	0.5%	29
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,616   Spoilt: TBC   Quota: 2,809   Turnout: 30.2%

East Livingston and East Calder by-election

On 11 May 2021 East Livingston and East Calder Labour Cllr Dave King died. A by-election was held on 5 August 2021 and was gained by the SNP's Thomas Ullathorne.

East Livingston and East Calder by-election (5 August 2021) - 1 seat^[14]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Thomas Ullathorne	42.5	1,890	1,906	1,918	2,122	2,368
	Conservative	David Philip	24.4	1,085	1,088	1,103	1,131	1,425
	Labour	Danny Logue	21.8	969	972	1,012	1,094
	Scottish Green	Neal Drummond	7.6	336	343	377
	Liberal Democrats	Hans Edginton	2.7	118	122
	ISP	John Hannah	1.1	47
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,445   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 2,223   Turnout: 4,493 (25.1%)

References

1. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Stage 1 – Linlithgow" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
2. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 2 – Broxburn Uphall and Winchburgh" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
3. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 3 – Livingston North" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
4. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 4 – Livingston South" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
5. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 5 – East Livingston and East Calder" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
6. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 6 – Fauldhouse and the Breich [sic] Valley" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
7. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 7 – Whitburn and Blackburn" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
8. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 8 – Bathgate" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
9. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report – Ward 9 – Armadale and Blackridge" (PDF). West Lothian Council. 5 May 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021.
10. "West Lothian Labour councillor defects to Tories after marrying Tory group leader". www.edinburghnews.scotsman.com. Retrieved 27 October 2021.
11. Sommerville, Stuart (14 April 2020). "Livingston councillor steps down after serving Livingston fro [sic] 35 years". Daily Record. Archived from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
12. "Livingston South By-Election". West Lothian Council. Archived from the original on 1 October 2020. Retrieved 19 May 2020.
13. "Local By Elections 11th March 2021 Notice of Poll" (PDF). Retrieved 27 February 2021.
14. "Local By Elections 5 August 2021 Notice of Poll" (PDF). 2 July 2021. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 October 2021. Retrieved 4 August 2021.