1978 Shetland Islands Council election
1978 Scottish local government election
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Elections to the Shetland Islands Council were held on 2 May 1978 as part of Scottish regional elections, with 11 seats uncontested. The election saw 14 new councillors enter the Shetland Islands Council, an unusually large number, in part attributable to the charged political context surrounding the devolution debate of the late 1970s.[1] Several of these incomers consisted of members of the pro-autonomy Shetland Group, later to become the Shetland Movement, and local Scottish National Party branch, registered as independents.[2]
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May 2, 1978
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All 25 seats to Shetland Islands Council 13 seats needed for a majority | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Aggregate results
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | 21 | 3 | 0 |  3 |
88.0 | 81.1 | 4,039 |  8.7 | |
| Labour | 4 | 0 | 0 |  0 |
12.0 | 18.9 | 941 | 8.7 | |
Ward results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | A.I. Tulloch (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | James Irvine (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Arthur Williamson | 174 | 51.8% | |
| Independent | William Cumming (Incumbent) | 162 | 48.2% | |
| Majority | 12 | 3.6% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Fraser Peterson (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Albert Hunter | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | William Tait | 166 | 64.1% | |
| Independent | Prophet Smith (Incumbent) | 93 | 35.9% | |
| Majority | 73 | 28.2% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Raymond Bentley | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Joan McLeod (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Butler (Incumbent) | 194 | 53.4% | |
| Independent | Harry Gray | 169 | 46.6% | |
| Majority | 25 | 7.8% | ||
| Labour hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Bill Smith (Incumbent) | 273 | 78.9% | |
| Independent | James Wiseman | 73 | 21.1% | |
| Majority | 200 | 57.8% | ||
| Labour gain from Independent | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Ian Byrne (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Edward Thomason (Incumbent) | 241 | 81.4% | |
| Independent | William Christie | 55 | 18.6% | |
| Majority | 186 | 62.8% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Lindsay Smith | 141 | 38.0% | |
| Independent | Robert Brandie | 98 | 26.4% | |
| Independent | James Gair | 61 | 16.4% | |
| Independent | Donald Briers | 38 | 10.2% | |
| Independent | Donald Sutherland | 33 | 8.9% | |
| Majority | 43 | 11.6% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Sandy Cluness | 289 | 64.8% | |
| Labour | James Paton (Incumbent) | 157 | 35.2% | |
| Majority | 132 | 29.6% | ||
| Independent gain from Labour | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Peter Hunter | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Chris Dowle | 317 | 80.3% | |
| Independent | John Jamieson (Incumbent) | 78 | 19.7% | |
| Majority | 239 | 50.7% | ||
| Labour gain from Independent | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Gordon Walterson | 228 | 57.4% | |
| Independent | Williamina Tait (Incumbent) | 169 | 42.6% | |
| Majority | 59 | 14.8% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Peter Watts | 163 | 56.6% | |
| Independent | T.M.Y. Manson | 125 | 43.4% | |
| Majority | 59 | 13.2% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Jemima Walterson | 263 | 63.4% | |
| Independent | Andrew Irvine (Incumbent) | 123 | 29.6% | |
| Independent | James Watt | 29 | 7.0% | |
| Majority | 140 | 33.8% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | William Playfair | 181 | 50.7% | |
| Independent | Alan Fraser (Incumbent) | 176 | 49.3% | |
| Majority | 5 | 1.4% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Henry Stewart | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Florence Grains | 169 | 40.2% | |
| Independent | Alexander Arthur | 154 | 36.7% | |
| Independent | John Rae | 97 | 23.1% | |
| Majority | 15 | 3.5% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | David Johnson (Incumbent) | unopposed | unopposed | |
| Majority | unopposed | unopposed | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Stewart Gray (Incumbent) | 146 | 50.2% | |
| Independent | Frank Odie | 145 | 49.8% | |
| Majority | 1 | 0.4% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||
By-elections since 1978
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ratepayers | Robert Tulloch | 261 | 71.9% | |
| Independent | John Groat | 75 | 20.7% | |
| Independent | James Wiseman | 27 | 7.4% | |
| Majority | 186 | 51.2% | ||
| Ratepayers gain from Independent | ||||
The 1981 Burra and Trondra by-election was triggered by the resignation of Arthur Williamson. It was won by former councillor William Cumming, a member of the pro-autonomy Shetland Movement, as an independent candidate.[3]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | William Cumming | 306 | 68.3% | |
| Ratepayers | Tom Stove | 133 | 29.7% | |
| Independent | James Wiseman | 9 | 2.0% | |
| Majority | 178 | 38.6% | ||
| Independent hold | ||||