Contents

Overall 2022 Result

Council-Wide Results

Despite losing almost 11% of their vote compared to 2017, the Conservatives held up well in seat terms, losing only one and finishing with 14. To a large degree they were saved by STV’s relative lack of proportionality. The sum of Independents also fell by one to 7, whilst the SNP were static on both fronts. They weren’t helped in seat terms by failing to stand a second in Galashiels, and in vote terms by missing two wards from their spread for the first time. 

A modest recovery for the Lib Dems compared to other historic heartlands, they nonetheless gained a seat and have 3 councillors. Benefitting from the SNP’s under-nomination, the Greens also picked up their first councillor here. Even allowing for the odd nomination situation, the Greens had an excellent result overall here, with a huge gain in votes, especially in Tweeddale. Alongside Labour, who also gained a fair few votes but no seats, this is where STV failed to achieve true proportionality.

Administration

After the election, the Conservatives reached an agreement to form an administration with the support of three Independent councillors, Caroline Cochrane, Stuart Marshall and Watson McAteer.

Interactive Map

Overview

The Scottish Borders, it may come as a shock to hear, account for most of Scotland’s border with England. This modern area brings together the four historic borders counties of Berwickshire, Roxburgh, Selkirkshire and Tweeddale (or, archaically, Peeblesshire) as well as a portion of ancient Midlothian. Although there are plenty of mid-sized towns across the Borders, there aren’t any large towns, meaning this is a largely rural part of the country. Under the old regions and districts model this had been a region with districts split largely on historic lines, with the main departure being an Ettrick and Lauderdale district covering Selkirkshire and much of the north-central borders.

Despite that rurality, the Conservatives weren’t unchallenged here. Berwickshire’s tie with a large chunk of East Lothian meant it was typically represented by Labour with the odd Conservative intermission, whilst the then-Liberals gained the main Borders constituency in a crucial 1965 by-election, and by 1983 would end up holding both seats covering the area. The Scottish Parliament started similarly Liberal, but the Conservatives have held one Borders seat since 2007 and the SNP the other since 2011. Part of the Borders have been in a Conservative Westminster seat since 2005, and though the main seat went from Lib Dem to the SNP in 2015, the Conservatives have since secured that one too.

Locally, the region tended towards Independents, electing a majority except in 1978 and 1994. The districts largely followed suit, though Berwickshire was always Conservative majority, and Roxburgh had a Liberal majority in 1980. The first unitary election in 1995 saw a renewed Independent majority, followed by an Independent-Lib Dem tie in 1999 and Independent plurality in 2003.

Previous STV Elections

2007
2012
2017

Individual Ward Results

Tweeddale West (Ward 1)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Viv Thomson
🟠Lib Dem: Drummond Begg
🔵Conservative: Eric Small
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 57.4%
Electorate: 8517
Valid: 4829 (98.8%)
Spoiled: 58 (1.2%)
Quota: 1208

Candidates

🟢Green: Dominic Ashmole
🟠Lib Dem: Drummond Begg
🔴Labour: Julia Reid
🔵Conservative: Eric Small
🔵Conservative: John Smith
🟡SNP: Viv Thomson

Tweeddale West: First Preferences
Tweeddale West: Transfers
Tweeddale West: Results by Polling District
Tweeddale West: Second Preferences
Tweeddale West: Two-Candidate Preferred

Tweeddale East (Ward 2)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Marshall Douglas
Independent: Robin Tatler
🔵Conservative: Julie Pirone
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 54.0%
Electorate: 9117
Valid: 4895 (99.5%)
Spoiled: 24 (0.5%)
Quota: 1224

Candidates

🔴Labour: Robert Bon
🟢Green: Ellie Clarke
🟡SNP: Marshall Douglas
🟤Vanguard: Calum MacEwan Watt
🔵Conservative: Julie Pirone
🟠Lib Dem: David Pye
Independent: Robin Tatler

Tweeddale East: First Preferences
Tweeddale East: Transfers
Tweeddale East: Results by Polling District
Tweeddale East: Second Preferences
Tweeddale East: Two-Candidate Preferred
Tweeddale East: Two-Party Preferred

Galashiels and District (Ward 3)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Fay Sinclair
🔵Conservative: Euan Jardine
🟠Lib Dem: Hannah Steel
🟢Green: Neil MacKinnon
Change vs 2017: +1 Lib Dem, +1 Green, -2 Independent (Sandy Aitchison retired, Harry Scott defeated)
Turnout: 39.5%
Electorate: 11639
Valid: 4557 (99.1%)
Spoiled: 43 (0.9%)
Quota: 912

Candidates

🟤Vanguard: Michael Banks
🟤Scottish Eco-Federalist: James Clark
Independent: Duck Frater
🔵Conservative: Euan Jardine
🟢Green: Neil MacKinnon
Independent: Harry Scott
🟡SNP: Fay Sinclair
🟠Lib Dem: Hannah Steel
Independent: Bill White

Galashiels and District: First Preferences
Galashiels and District: Transfers
Galashiels and District: Results by Polling District
Galashiels and District: Second Preferences
Galashiels and District: Two-Candidate Preferred

Selkirkshire (Ward 4)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: Caroline Cochrane
🔵Conservative: Leagh Douglas
🟡SNP: Elaine Thornton-Nicol
Change vs 2017: No partisan change (Caroline Cochrane, elected at a 2019 by-election, defeats Gordon Edgar)
Electorate: 8018
Turnout: 50.4%
Valid: 4007 (99.2%)
Spoiled: 34 (0.8%)
Quota: 1002

Candidates

Independent: Caroline Cochrane
🔵Conservative: Leagh Douglas
Independent: Gordon Edgar
🟢Green: Barbra Harvie
🔴Labour: Scott Redpath
🟡SNP: Elaine Thornton-Nicol

Selkirkshire: First Preferences
Selkirkshire: Transfers
Selkirkshire: Results by Polling District
Selkirkshire: Second Preferences
Selkirkshire: Two-Candidate Preferred
Selkirkshire: Two-Party Preferred

Leaderdale and Melrose (Ward 5)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: David Parker
🔵Conservative: Jenny Linehan
🟡SNP: John Paton Day
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 51.5%
Electorate: 9107
Valid: 4650 (99.1%)
Spoiled: 40 (0.9%)
Quota: 1163

Candidates

🟠Lib Dem: Simon Johnson
🔵Conservative: Jenny Linehan
🟢Green: Michael Needham
Independent: David Parker
🟡SNP: John Paton Day
🔴Labour: Michael Scott
🟤Vanguard: Chris Stefanek

Leaderdale and Melrose: First Preferences
Leaderdale and Melrose: Transfers
Leaderdale and Melrose: Results by Polling District
Leaderdale and Melrose: Second Preferences
Leaderdale and Melrose: Two-Candidate Preferred
Leaderdale and Melrose: Two-Party Preferred

Mid Berwickshire (Ward 6)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🔵Conservative: John Greenwell
🟡SNP: Donald Moffat
🔵Conservative: Mark Rowley
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 48.3%
Electorate: 8817
Valid: 4178 (98.1%)
Spoiled: 81 (1.9%)
Quota: 1045

Candidates

🟣Family: Hamish Goldie-Scot
🔵Conservative: John Greenwell
🟠Lib Dem: Yvonne Huggins-Haig
🟢Green: Gail Jackson
🟡SNP: Donald Moffat
🔵Conservative: Mark Rowley
🔴Labour: David Smith

Mid Berwickshire: First Preferences
Mid Berwickshire: Transfers
Mid Berwickshire: Results by Polling District
Mid Berwickshire: Second Preferences
Mid Berwickshire: Two-Candidate Preferred

Berwickshire East (Ward 7)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🔵Conservative: Carol Hamilton
🟡SNP: Aileen Orr
Independent: James Anderson
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 Conservative
Turnout: 47.5%
Electorate: 9029
Valid: 4238 (98.9%)
Spoiled: 49 (1.1%)
Quota: 1060

Candidates

Independent: James Anderson
🟢Green: Peter Guthrie
🔵Conservative: Carol Hamilton
🔵Conservative: Lynda Jones
Independent: Raquel Lloyd-Jones
🟡SNP: Aileen Orr
🟣Family: Edward Prentice
🔴Labour: Paul Stirton

Berwickshire East: First Preferences
Berwickshire East: Transfers
Berwickshire East: Results by Polling District
Berwickshire East: Second Preferences
Berwickshire East: Two-Candidate Preferred

Kelso and District (Ward 8)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟠Lib Dem: Euan Robson
🔵Conservative: Tom Weatherston
🔵Conservative: Simon Mountford
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 46.9%
Electorate: 8499
Valid: 3920 (98.2%)
Spoiled: 70 (1.8%)
Quota: 981

Candidates

🔴Labour: Wilson George
🟢Green: Shelagh King
🔴Labour: Kenryck Lloyd-Jones
🔵Conservative: Simon Mountford
🟠Lib Dem: Euan Robson
🟤Vanguard: Sunny Smith
🔵Conservative: Tom Weatherston

Kelso and District: First Preferences
Kelso and District: Transfers
Kelso and District: Results by Polling District
Kelso and District: Second Preferences
Kelso and District: Two-Candidate Preferred

Jedburgh and District (Ward 9)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🔵Conservative: Scott Hamilton
🟡SNP: Pam Brown
🔵Conservative: Sandy Scott
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 49.4%
Electorate: 7212
Valid: 3507 (98.5%)
Spoiled: 53 (1.5%)
Quota: 877

Candidates

Independent: John Bathgate
🟡SNP: Pam Brown
🔵Conservative: Scott Hamilton
Independent: Jesse Rae
Alba: Yvonne Ridley
🔵Conservative: Sandy Scott
🟢Green: Charles Strang

Jedburgh and District: First Preferences
Jedburgh and District: Transfers
Jedburgh and District: Results by Polling District
Jedburgh and District: Second Preferences
Jedburgh and District: Two-Candidate Preferred

Hawick and Denholm (Ward 10)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: Stuart Marshall
Independent: Clair Ramage
🔵Conservative: Neil Richards
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 SNP (Clair Ramage elected as SNP in 2017)
Turnout: 46.0%
Electorate: 7173
Valid: 3271 (99.1%)
Spoiled: 30 (0.9%)
Quota: 818

Candidates

Independent: Trevor Adams
🟢Green: Catriona Hamilton
🔴Labour: Kay Hughes
Independent: Stuart Marshall
Independent: Clair Ramage
🔵Conservative: Neil Richards

Hawick and Denholm: First Preferences
Hawick and Denholm: Transfers
Hawick and Denholm: Results by Polling District
Hawick and Denholm: Second Preferences
Hawick and Denholm: Two-Candidate Preferred
Hawick and Denholm: Two-Party Preferred

Note that due to the absence of the SNP from this ward, and the overwhelming dominance of the leading Independent councillor, this measure is less useful than normal.

Hawick and Hermitage (Ward 11)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: Watson McAteer
🔵Conservative: Jane Cox
🟡SNP: Annette Smart
Change vs 2017: +1 SNP, -1 Independent (Davie Paterson retired)
Electorate: 7070
Turnout: 43.5%
Valid: 3045 (99.0%)
Spoiled: 32 (1.0%)
Quota: 762

Candidates

🔵Conservative: Jane Cox
🟢Green: Kevin Ferguson
Independent: Cameron Knox
🔴Labour: Robert Leach
Independent: Watson McAteer
🟡SNP: Annette Smart
🟠Lib Dem: Rosemary Webster

Hawick and Hermitage: First Preferences
Hawick and Hermitage: Transfers
Hawick and Hermitage: Results by Polling District
Hawick and Hermitage: Second Preferences
Hawick and Hermitage: Two-Candidate Preferred
Hawick and Hermitage: Two-Party Preferred

Data Notes

By-Elections

Jedburgh and District (Ward 9) - 22nd of February 2024

Councillors and Key Stats

1 Councillor Elected:
🔵Conservative: John Bathgate
Change vs 2022 (notional): Conservative Hold
Change vs vacating: Conservative Gain from SNP
Turnout: 32.8% (-16.5)
Electorate: 7232
Valid: 2354 (99.2%)
Spoiled: 20 (0.8%)
Quota: 1178
2 Continuing Councillors:
🔵Conservative: Scott Hamilton
🔵Conservative: Sandy Scott

Candidates

🔵Conservative: John Bathgate
🟤Scottish Eco-Federalist: James Clark
🟡SNP: Phil Dixon
🟠Lib Dem: Ray Georgeson
🔴Labour: Kaymarie Hughes
🟢Green: Charles Strang

Jedburgh and District By-Election: Context

SNP  councillor Pam brown resigned in November 2023, having first been elected in 2022. More information is available on the Scottish Borders Council website.
Read the BBS pre-election preview here.
Read the BBS results analysis here.

Jedburgh and District By-Election: First Preferences
Jedburgh and District By-Election: Transfers

As the winning candidate was elected on first preferences alone, no transfer rounds were necessary.

Jedburgh and District By-Election: Results by Polling District
Jedburgh and District By-Election: Second Preferences
Jedburgh and District By-Election: Two-Candidate Preferred