2012 South Ayrshire Council election

2012 South Ayrshire Council election

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All 30 seats to South Ayrshire Council 16 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Con Leader Bill McIntosh Allan Dorans Party Conservative SNP Leader's seat Troon Ayr West Last election 12 seats, 37.2% 8 seats, 25.3% Seats before 12 8 Seats won 10 9 Seat change 2 1 Popular vote 12,050 11,203 Percentage 31.5% 29.3% Swing 5.7% 4.0%   Third party Fourth party   Lab Ind Leader John McDowall Brian Connolly Party Labour Independent Leader's seat Girvan and South Carrick Maybole, North Carrick & Coylton Last election 9 seats, 28.4% 1 seat, 8.3% Seats before 9 1 Seats won 9 2 Seat change 1 Popular vote 9,563 5,166 Percentage 25.0% 13.5% Swing 3.4% 5.2%
The 8 multi-member wards
Council Leader before election Bill McIntosh (Conservative) No overall control Council Leader after election Bill McIntosh (Conservative) No overall control

The 2012 South Ayrshire Council election took place on 3 May 2012 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.

The election saw the Conservatives remain as the largest party on the council despite losing two seats. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained one seat and were second on the popular vote as they tied with Labour as the second largest party. Labour retained their nine seats despite their vote share decreasing by 3.4% and after suffering three defections during the last term. The number of independent candidates elected doubled to two seats.

Following the election, the Conservatives formed a minority administration working in a partnership agreement with Labour and both independents. This replaced the previous Conservative minority administration.