2012 Scottish Borders Council election

2012 Scottish Borders Council election

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All 34 seats to Scottish Borders Council 18 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jim Fullarton John Mitchell David Parker Party Conservative SNP Independent Leader's seat East Berwickshire Galashiels and District Leaderdale and Melrose Last election 11 seats, 32.4% 6 seats, 17.6% 5 seats, 14.7% Seats before 12 6 4 Seats won 10 9 7 Seat change 1 3 2 Popular vote 8,644 7,723 8,454 Percentage 23.2% 20.8% 22.7% Swing 3.6% 2.0% 1.6%   Fourth party Fifth party   Leader Graham Garvie Sandy Aitchison Party Liberal Democrats Borders Leader's seat Tweeddale East Galashiels and District Last election 10 seats, 29.4% 2 seats, 5.9% Seats before 10 2 Seats won 6 2 Seat change 4 0 Popular vote 6,138 3,755 Percentage 16.5% 10.1% Swing 8.1% 4.8%
The 11 multi-member wards
Council Leader before election David Parker Independent Council Leader after election David Parker Independent

2012 Elections to Scottish Borders Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 11 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, a form of proportional representation, with 34 Councillors elected.^[1]

The election saw the Scottish Conservative Party remain the largest party on the Council though they lost 1 seat. The Scottish National Party replaced the Scottish Liberal Democrats as the second largest party by gaining 3 seats at the expense of the latter. The Lib Dems were reduced to 6 seats. Independents increased their numbers to 7 seats while the Borders Party retained their 2 seats.

Following the election the Scottish National Party formed a coalition with the support of the Independents and the Liberal Democrats. The Borders Party are also supporting this administration. This replaced the previous Conservative-Lib Dem-Independent coalition which existed from 2007-2012.