Local Elections 2022

What’s an election without a good map? Here at Ballot Box Scotland, we’ve got more maps than you can shake a stick at, and here’s a few more to finally wrap up Local Election 2022 coverage.

Whereas First Past the Post allows commentators to treat voters as neat, predictable blocs shuffling between obvious parties, May’s STV results show that voters love to be messy and self-contradictory.

The transferrable nature of STV is touted as one of its great advantages, but just how much use are voters getting out of that power? Perhaps less than you’d think.

A long-standing BBS bugbear is that STV isn’t quite the proportional dream many claim it to be, even if it’s far better than FPTP. This piece looks at how different things could be with a more proportional system.

The Shape of Scotland in 2022 Composition of Administrations Today marks four weeks on from the … LE22: The Precarious Position of Local GovernmentRead more

In the (just over a) week since the local elections, I’ve been plugging away at data … LE22: Diving into the DetailRead more

The second part of a wider analysis of results across the country takes a look at the spread of votes,

The first half of a detailed look at each party’s performance across the country measures the presence of the five Holyrood parties in terms of wards and councils with representation.

This year’s local elections delivered a lukewarm result for the SNP, whilst Labour reclaimed second place from a beleaguered Conservative party. The Lib Dems also made solid gains, and the Greens delivered an expectation-busting record result.