2017 South Lanarkshire Council election

2017 South Lanarkshire Council election
← 2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022 →

All 64 seats to South Lanarkshire Council
33 seats needed for a majority
Registered249,536
Turnout46.7%
  First party Second party
 
SNP
Lab
Leader John Ross Gerry Convery
Party SNP Labour
Leader's seat Hamilton South East Kilbride Central South
Last election 28 seats, 36.4% 33 seats, 43.2%
Seats won 27 22
Seat change Decrease 1 Decrease 11
Popular vote 40,786 33,154
Percentage 35.7% 29.0%
Swing Decrease 0.7% Decrease 14.2%

  Third party Fourth party
 
Con
Leader Alex Allison Robert Brown
Party Conservative Liberal Democrats
Leader's seat Clydesdale East Rutherglen South
Last election 3 seats, 10.8% 1 seat, 2.8%
Seats won 14 1
Seat change Increase 11 Steady
Popular vote 27,377 5,873
Percentage 23.9% 5.1%
Swing Increase 13.1% Increase 2.3%

Council Leader before election

Edward McAvoy
Labour

Council Leader after election

John Ross
(SNP)
No overall control

Elections to South Lanarkshire Council took place on 4 May 2017 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.

For the first time in a South Lanarkshire election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned with the most seats at 27 despite losing one seat from the previous election. Labour lost significant ground as they lost one-third of their seats and fell from the largest party – one seat away from an overall majority – to second with 22 councillors. The Conservatives recorded their best-ever result in a South Lanarkshire election as they won 14 seats – up from just three in 2017. The remaining seat was won by the Liberal Democrats.

Following the election, the SNP attempted to form a coalition with Labour and the Liberal Democrats but were unsuccessful. The SNP then formed a minority administration.[1]

  1. ^ Dickie, Douglas (10 May 2017). "SNP set to run minority administration at South Lanarkshire Council". Daily Record.