Contents

Overall 2022 Result

Council-Wide Results

Much of a muchness for both the SNP and Labour in Falkirk, where slight shifts in their respective votes had no net effect on seats, still coming out at 12 and 9 respectively. Losses then were for the Conservatives, who slipped back into third place in vote terms, and lost two of their seats.

Those went directly to two Independents – one who’d missed re-election in 2017, and another who had been an SNP councillor through the previous term. Comparatively modest growth for the Greens here, and an unsurprisingly muted performance for the Lib Dems on their first appearance at a full local election here since 2007.

Administration

After the election, an SNP minority administration was formed.

Interactive Map

Overview

Falkirk was historically the south-eastern portion of the county of Stirling, serving as a major and early industrial centre. With the town of Falkirk itself positioned on relatively flat land near to where the River Forth widened into the Firth, it became home to one terminus of the Forth and Clyde Canal, which helped drive that early industry. Major industry survives to the modern day, particularly with the oil refinery at Grangemouth. By the 1973 Local Government Act, the area was spun off from the wider Stirling County into its own District in the Central Region, absorbing the Bo’ness area from West Lothian at that point. It kept that shape after the 1994 reform created a single tier of local governance.

The industrialised character of Falkirk naturally inclined it towards Labour for much of the 20th Century, though like neighbouring Clackmannanshire it was an early area of SNP growth. The disjointed Clackmannan and East Stirlingshire constituency won by the SNP in both 1974 elections included the area to the north (Larbert and Stenhousemuir) and South (Polmont and Braes) of Falkirk town. They also won majority control of the District Council in 1977, which otherwise saw Labour majorities and leads through its existence and into the current era.

Labour famously mis-stepped here ahead of the first Holyrood election in 1999 by refusing to nominate Falkirk West MP Dennis Canavan as their MSP candidate. He stood and very easily won election as an Independent at both that election and in 2003. When he retired in 2007 the seat then went to the SNP and has remained with them since since, joined by its East counterpart in 2011 and the Westminster seat in 2015.

Previous STV Elections

2007
2012
2017

Individual Ward Results

Bo'ness and Blackness (Ward 1)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: Ann Ritchie
🟡SNP: Stacey Devine
🔴Labour: David Aitchison
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 Conservative
Electorate: 12389
Turnout: 45.6%
Valid: 5574 (98.8%)
Spoiled: 70 (1.2%)
Quota: 1394

Candidates

🔴Labour: David Aitchison
🟡SNP: Stacey Devine
🔵Conservative: Lynn Munro
🟢Green: Debra Pickering
🟠Lib Dem: Nicholas Pitts
Independent: Ann Ritchie

Bo'ness and Blackness: First Preferences
Bo'ness and Blackness: Transfers
Bo'ness and Blackness: Results by Polling District
Bo'ness and Blackness: Second Preferences
Bo'ness and Blackness: Two-Candidate Preferred
Bo'ness and Blackness: Two-Party Preferred

Grangemouth (Ward 2)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: David Balfour
🔴Labour: Alan Nimmo
Independent: Robert Spears
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 40.5%
Electorate: 12741
Valid: 5043 (97.7%)
Spoiled: 118 (2.3%)
Quota: 1261

Candidates

🟡SNP: David Balfour
Independent: Marc Bozza
🔵Conservative: Mandy Bryson
🟡SNP: John Haston
🟤UKIP: Stuart Martin
🔴Labour: Alan Nimmo
Independent: Robert Spears
🟢Green: Rhys Stenhouse

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

Denny and Banknock (Ward 3)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Paul Garner
🟡SNP: Fiona Collie
🔴Labour: Alf Kelly
Independent: Brian McCabe
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 Conservative
Turnout: 41.7%
Electorate: 15534
Valid: 6350 (98.0%)
Spoiled: 128 (2.0%)
Quota: 1271

Candidates

🟡SNP: Fiona Collie
🟡SNP: Paul Garner
🔵Conservative: Nigel Harris
🟢Green: Rachel Hart
🔴Labour: Alf Kelly
🔴Labour: James Marshall
Independent: Brian McCabe

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

Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst (Ward 4)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Gary Bouse
🔴Labour: Margaret Anslow
🟡SNP: Laura Murtagh
🔵Conservative: James Flynn
Change vs 2017: No change
Electorate: 17252
Turnout: 42.5%
Valid: 7178 (97.9%)
Spoiled: 156 (2.1%)
Quota: 1436

Candidates

🔴Labour: Margaret Anslow
🟡SNP: Gary Bouse
🔵Conservative: James Flynn
🔵Conservative: Robert Kemp
🟠Lib Dem: Sean McCay
🟢Green: Tom McLaughlin
🟡SNP: Laura Murtagh

 

Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst: First Preferences
Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst: Transfers
Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst: Results by Polling District
Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst: Second Preferences
Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst: Two-Candidate Preferred

Bonnybridge and Larbert (Ward 5)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
Independent: Billy Buchanan
🟡SNP: Bryan Deakin
🔴Labour: Jack Redmond
Change vs 2017: +1 Labour, -1 Conservative
Turnout: 43.8%
Electorate: 13094
Valid: 5643 (98.5%)
Spoiled: 87 (1.5%)
Quota: 1411

Candidates

Independent: Billy Buchanan
🟡SNP: Bryan Deakin
🔵Conservative: David Grant
🟡SNP: Jim Muir
🔴Labour: Jack Redmond
🟢Green: David Robertson

Bonnybridge and Larbert: First Preferences
Bonnybridge and Larbert: Transfers
Bonnybridge and Larbert: Results by Polling District
Bonnybridge and Larbert: Second Preferences
Bonnybridge and Larbert: Two-Candidate Preferred
Bonnybridge and Larbert: Two-Party Preferred

Falkirk North (Ward 6)

Councillors and Key Stats

4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Cecil Meiklejohn
🔴Labour: Robert Bissett
🟡SNP: Iain Sinclair
🔵Conservative: James Bundy
Change vs 2017: +1 Conservative, -1 Labour
Turnout: 39.6%
Electorate: 16749
Valid: 6456 (97.4%)
Spoiled: 174 (2.6%)
Quota: 1292

Candidates

Alba: Zohaib Arshad
🔴Labour: Robert Bissett
🔵Conservative: James Bundy
🔴Labour: Robbie Burgess
🟢Green: Judith McLaughlin
🟡SNP: Cecil Meiklejohn
🟡SNP: Iain Sinclair

Falkirk North: First Preferences
Falkirk North: Transfers
Falkirk North: Results by Polling District
Falkirk North: Second Preferences
Falkirk North: Two-Candidate Preferred

Falkirk South (Ward 7)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Lorna Binnie
🔵Conservative: Sarah Patrick
🔴Labour: Euan Stainbank
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 46.3%
Electorate: 13395
Valid: 9106 (98.4%)
Spoiled: 102 (1.6%)
Quota: 1527

Candidates

🟡SNP: Lorna Binnie
🔵Conservative: Sarah Patrick
🟡SNP: Emma Russell
🔴Labour: Euan Stainbank
🟢Green: Hunter Thomson
Independent: Richard Wilson

Falkirk South: First Preferences
Falkirk South: Transfers
Falkirk South: Results by Polling District
Falkirk South: Second Preferences
Falkirk South: Two-Candidate Preferred

Lower Braes (Ward 8)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🔴Labour: Anne Hannah
🔵Conservative: James Kerr
🟡SNP: Gordon Forrest
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 43.6%
Electorate: 12003
Valid: 5159 (98.5%)
Spoiled: 79 (1.5%)
Quota: 1290

Candidates

Alba: Scott Fallon
🟡SNP: Gordon Forrest
🔴Labour: Anne Hannah
🔵Conservative: James Kerr
🟡SNP: Adanna McCue
🟢Green: Doug Sheehan
🟠Lib Dem: Ashley Ward

Lower Braes: First Preferences
Lower Braes: Transfers
Lower Braes: Results by Polling District
Lower Braes: Second Preferences
Lower Braes: Two-Candidate Preferred

Upper Braes (Ward 9)

Councillors and Key Stats

3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Jim Robertson
🔴Labour: Siobhan Paterson
🔵Conservative: Claire Brown
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 43.8%
Electorate: 12734
Valid: 5499(98.7%)
Spoiled: 74 (1.3%)
Quota: 1375

Candidates

🔵Conservative: Claire Brown
Independent: Ian Kennedy
🟢Green: Rachel Kidd
Independent: John McLuckie
🔴Labour: Siobhan Paterson
🟠Lib Dem: Austin Reid
🟡SNP: Jim Robertson
Alba: Colin Todd
Independent: Mark Tunnicliff

Upper Braes: First Preferences
Upper Braes: Transfers
Upper Braes: Results by Polling District
Upper Braes: Second Preferences
Upper Braes: Two-Candidate Preferred

Data Notes

Changes in Affiliation

Laura Murtagh (Carse, Kinnaird and Tryst) from 🟡SNP to ⚪Independent; left party in August 2023 for reasons publicly unspecified.