2022 North Lanarkshire Council election

Registered264,519

Turnout41.3%

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5 May 2022 (2022-05-05)

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All 77 seats to North Lanarkshire Council
39 seats needed for a majority

Registered

264,519

Turnout

41.3%

	First party	Second party	Third party
	SNP	Lab	Con
Leader	Jordan Linden	Jim Logue	Sandy Watson
Party	SNP	Labour	Conservative
Leader's seat	Bellshill	Airdrie Central	Airdrie South
Last election	33 seats, 38.4%	32 seats, 32.9%	10 seats, 15.8%
Seats before	26	31	8
Seats won	36	32	5
Seat change	3		5
Popular vote	46,255	37,336	12,571
Percentage	43.6%	35.2%	11.8%
Swing	5.2%	2.3%	4.0%

	Fourth party	Fifth party	Sixth party
	Ind	Grn	BUP
Leader		Claire Louise Williams	John Jo Leckie
Party	Independent	Green	BUP
Leader's seat		Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead	Fortissat
Last election	2 seats, 7.4%	0 seats, 1.3%	0 seats, 0.5%
Seats before	9	0	0
Seats won	2	1	1
Seat change		1	1
Popular vote	4,282	2,304	859
Percentage	4.0%	2.2%	0.5%
Swing	3.4%	0.9%	0.3%

Leader before election

Jim Logue
(Labour)
No overall control

Leader after election

Jordan Linden
(SNP)
No overall control

Elections to North Lanarkshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 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 second consecutive election, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party with 36 seats – three shy of an overall majority. Despite a slight increase in vote share, Labour made a net gain of zero seats to remain as the second-largest party on 32 seats. The Conservatives lost half of their seats while both the Greens and the British Unionist Party (BUP) won their first seats in a North Lanarkshire election. The remaining two seats were won by independents.

For the first time in the council's history, Labour lost control as their ruling minority administration supported by the Conservatives was replaced by an SNP minority administration. However, following allegations of sexual harassment against council leader Jordan Linden, Labour regained control of the council three months later.

Previous election

At the previous election in 2017, the Scottish National Party (SNP) were returned as the largest party in an election in North Lanarkshire for the first time after winning 33 seats – an increase of three but still six shy of an overall majority. Labour, who had been in power in North Lanarkshire since the council's creation in 1995, failed to win a majority of seats for the first time as their vote share fell by more than one-third and they lost 12 seats to return 32 councillors. The Conservatives won their first seats in North Lanarkshire for a decade after returning 10 councillors and the remaining two seats were won by independent candidates.^[1]

2017 North Lanarkshire Council election result
Party	Seats	Vote share
SNP	33	38.4%
Labour	32	33.0%
Conservatives	10	15.9%
Independent	2	7.5%

Source: ^[1]

Electoral system

The election used the 21 wards created following the fifth statutory review of electoral arrangements conducted by Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 2016, with 77 councillors elected. Each ward elected either three or four councillors, using the single transferable vote (STV) electoral system – a form of proportional representation – where candidates are ranked in order of preference.^[2]^[3]

Composition

Since the previous election, several changes in the composition of the council occurred. Most were changes to the political affiliation of councillors including SNP councillors Paddy Hogg and Tommy Cochrane as well as Labour councillors Angela Feeney, Gillian Fannan, Willie Doolan and Tommy Morgan who resigned from their respective parties to become independents.^[4]^[5]^[6]^[7] SNP councillors Lynne Anderson, David Baird and Shahid Farooq defected to the Alba Party.^[8]^[9]^[10]

Conservative councillor Stephen Goldsack was expelled from the party for his previous connections to the British National Party,^[11] and SNP councillor Mark Kerr stood down from the party after being charged with sexual abuse in July 2020.^[12] Six by-elections were held and resulted in a Labour gain from the Conservatives,^[13] two Labour holds,^[14]^[15] two Labour gains from the SNP^[7]^[16] and an independent hold.^[17]

Composition of North Lanarkshire Council
	2017 result	Dissolution
SNP	33	26
Labour	32	31
Conservative	10	8
Independents	2	9
Alba	N/A	3

Retiring councillors

Retiring councillors
Ward	Party	Retiring councillor
Kilsyth	Independent	Mark Kerr
Cumbernauld North	Conservative	Calum Currie
Cumbernauld South	SNP	Junaid Ashraf
Cumbernauld South	Labour	Allan Graham
Cumbernauld East	Labour	Gillian Fannan
Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead	Alba	Lynne Anderson
Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead	Conservative	Steven Goldsack
Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn	Labour	Willie Doolan
Airdrie North	Conservative	David Cullen
Airdrie North	Labour	Tommy Morgan
Airdrie Central	SNP	Nancy Pettigrew
Airdrie Central	SNP	David Stocks
Coatbridge West	SNP	Caroline Stephen
Coatbridge South	Labour	Tom Castles
Thorniewood	Labour	Bob Burrows
Bellshill	Labour	Harry Curran
Motherwell West	Conservative	Meghan Gallacher
Motherwell West	SNP	Annette Valentine
Motherwell North	Labour	Olivia Carson
	Labour	Pat O'Rourke
	SNP	Ann Weir
Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig	SNP	Alan Valentine
Wishaw	Labour	Angela Feeney

Source: ^[1]^[18]

Candidates

The total number of candidates fell from 157 in 2017 to 142 despite an increase in the number of parties contesting the election. The SNP again fielded the largest number of candidates at 43 – one less than in 2017 – while Labour again fielded 42 candidates. The Conservatives were the only other party to contest every ward, naming 21 candidates as they had done in 2017. The Greens named the same number of candidates (seven) as they had at the previous election, contesting 7 of the 21 wards.^[1]^[18]

The number of independent candidates standing fell from twenty in 2017 to seven. The UK Independence Party (UKIP) (two) and the Scottish Socialist Party (one) again contested the election in North Lanarkshire but stood four and one fewer candidates respectively. The British Unionist Party (BUP) stood one candidate as they had in 2017. For the first time, the Alba Party (six), the Scottish Family Party (five), the Independence for Scotland Party (ISP) (one), the Social Democratic Party (SDP) (one) and the Freedom Alliance (one) fielded candidates in a North Lanarkshire election while the Liberal Democrats (three) contested an election in North Lanarkshire for the first time since 2012. Independent Alliance North Lanarkshire, RISE and Solidarity did not contest the election as they had in 2017.^[1]^[18]

Controversies

Scottish Family Party candidates in Lanarkshire were accused of "extremist right wing views" by advocacy group Hope not Hate for their policies on transgender rights and hate speech legislation. The party is considered anti-LGBT but claims to be pro-free speech.^[19]

Results

2022 North Lanarkshire Council election result
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	SNP	36	4	1	3	46.8	43.6	46,255	5.1
	Labour	32	2	2		41.6	35.2	37,336	2.2
	Conservative	5	0	5	5	6.5	11.8	12,571	4.1
	Independent	2	0	0		2.6	4.0	4,282	3.5
	Green	1	1	0	1	1.3	2.2	2,304	0.9
	BUP	1	1	0	1	1.3	0.8	859	0.3
	Alba	0	0	0		0.0	1.0	1,058	New
	Liberal Democrats	0	0	0		0.0	0.5	478	New
	Scottish Family	0	0	0		0.0	0.4	381	New
	SDP	0	0	0		0.0	0.2	172	New
	Scottish Socialist	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	154
	ISP	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	129	New
	UKIP	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	65	0.3
	Freedom Alliance	0	0	0		0.0	0.0	41	New
Total		77						106,085

Source: ^[20]

Note: Votes are the sum of first preference votes across all council wards. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 4 May 2017. This is because STV has an element of proportionality which is not present unless multiple seats are being elected. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at the dissolution of Scotland's councils.^[21]^[22]

Ward summary

2022 Results of the North Lanarkshire Council election by ward
Ward	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	%	Seats	Total
Ward	SNP		Labour		Conservatives		Green		Others		Total
Kilsyth	37.4	1	52.4	2	6.4	0			3.7	0	3
Cumbernauld North	50.3	2	27.7	1	14.2	1	4.1	0	3.7	0	4
Cumbernauld South	51.8	2	35.5	2	7.9	0			9.1	0	4
Cumbernauld East	58.5	3	23.2	1	8.8	0	4.2	0	5.3	0	4
Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead	36.4	1	34.7	1	15.0	0	10.8	1	3.2	0	3
Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn	46.8	2	39.2	1	9.4	0	4.5	0			3
Coatbridge North	46.3	2	33.9	2	9.7	0			10.1	0	4
Airdrie North	36.1	2	29.3	1	10.8	0			23.7	1	4
Airdrie Central	41.6	2	42.2	2	13.7	0			2.5	0	4
Coatbridge West	47.9	2	39.4	1	6.16	0			6.5	0	3
Coatbridge South	53.2	2	34.9	2	6.7	0	2.1	0	3.1	0	4
Airdrie South	47.6	2	35.3	1	17.1	1					4
Fortissat	30.8	1	36.5	2	11.2	0	2.6	0	18.8	1	4
Thorniewood	36.8	1	43.4	2	7.1	0			12.7	0	3
Bellshill	40.8	2	38.8	2	13.6	0			2.2	0	4
Mossend and Holytown	42.6	2	39.4	2	12.8	0			5.2	0	3
Motherwell West	41.1	2	31.9	1	18.9	1	8.1	0			3
Motherwell North	46.6	2	37.3	2	11.0	0			5.0	0	4
Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig	42.8	2	31.2	1	16.7	1	7.8	0			4
Murdostoun	29.7	1	28.7	2	9.1	0			32.5	1	4
Wishaw	45.4	2	36.1	1	18.5	1					4
Total	43.6	36	35.2	32	11.8	5	2.2	1	7.1	3	77

Source: ^[20]

Seats changing hands

Below is a list of seats which elected a different party or parties from 2017 in order to highlight the change in political composition of the council from the previous election. The list does not include defeated incumbents who resigned or defected from their party and subsequently failed re-election while the party held the seat.

Seats changing hands
Seat	2017			2022
Seat	Party		Member	Party		Member
Cumbernauld South		SNP	Junaid Ashraf		Labour	Peter McDade
Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead		Conservative	Steven Goldsack		Green	Claire Louise Williams
Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn		Labour	Willie Doolan		SNP	Joanne Katy Keltie
Airdrie North		Conservative	David Cullen		SNP	Richard Alan Sullivan
Airdrie Central		Conservative	Trevor Douglas		Labour	Chris Costello
Coatbridge West		Labour	Mary Gourlay		SNP	Gary Robinson
Fortissat		Conservative	Sandy Thornton^{[Note 1]}		BUP	John Jo Leckie
Bellshill		Conservative	Colin Cameron		SNP	Lisa Stubbs

Notes

^
Note 1: Although elected in 2017, Sandy Thornton never took office after refusing to sign the necessary paperwork.^[23]

Ward results

Kilsyth

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) held the seats they won at the last election.

Kilsyth – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1
	SNP	Denis Johnston	27.2	1,187
	Labour	Heather Brannan-McVey (incumbent)	26.9	1,176
	Labour	Jean Jones (incumbent)	25.5	1,113
	SNP	Lindsay Sievewright	10.2	447
	Conservative	James King	6.5	282
	Scottish Family	John Hendry	2.0	87
	Liberal Democrats	Melissa Laima Juliet Kane	1.7	73
Electorate: 9,937 Valid: 4,365 Spoilt: 142 Quota: 1,092 Turnout: 45.4%

Source:^[24]^[25]

Cumbernauld North

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) held the seats they won at the last election.

Cumbernauld North – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Alan Masterton (incumbent)	30.5	2,157
	Labour	Tom Fisher (incumbent)	20.2	1,428
	SNP	Danish Ashraf (incumbent)	19.7	1,399	1,996
	Conservative	Gordon Currie	14.2	1,003	1,011	1,020	1,021	1,035	1,084	1,117	1,425
	Labour	Donna Kiddie	7.5	534	556	635	646	664	719	936
	Green	Anne McCrossan	4.1	290	349	586	586	604	659
	Liberal Democrats	John Cole	2.5	180	189	218	219	225
	Scottish Family	John Patrick McGrory	1.2	84	90	101	101
Electorate: 15,417 Valid: 7,075 Spoilt: 164 Quota: 1,416 Turnout: 47.0%

Source:^[26]^[27]

Cumbernauld South

The SNP retained two of the three seats they had won at the previous election while Labour retained their only seat and gained one from the SNP.

Cumbernauld South – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	Labour	James McPhilemy	24.1	1,374
	SNP	Ann Ballinger	19.1	1,089	1,092	1,092	1,096	1,123	1,127	1,128	1,683
	SNP	William Goldie (incumbent)	16.8	959	963	964	966	995	1,005	1,006	1,361
	SNP	Catherine Johnston (incumbent)	15.9	910	914	916	921	944	956	957
	Labour	Peter McDade	11.5	656	857	862	882	923	1,154
	Conservative	Rebecca MacPhee	7.9	453	457	460	481	497
	Scottish Socialist	Willie Homer	2.7	154	156	165	177
	Scottish Family	Norma McLachlan Diffin	1.3	77	78	92
	Freedom Alliance (UK)	Simona Panaitescu	0.7	41	42
Electorate: 12,788 Valid: 5,713 Spoilt: 163 Quota: 1,143 Turnout: 45.9%

Source:^[28]^[29]

Cumbernauld East

The SNP (3) and Labour (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Cumbernauld East – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Claire Barclay (incumbent)	31.8	1,704
	Labour	Barry McCulloch	19.1	1,022	1,036	1,045	1,217
	SNP	Tom Johnston (incumbent)	18.1	970	1,388
	Conservative	David MacPhee	8.8	469	471	473	479	503	522	592
	SNP	Adam Smith	8.6	460	572	839	846	860	1,000	1,090
	Independent	Paddy Hogg (incumbent)	5.3	283	300	304	313	340	384
	Green	Kyle Davidson	4.2	225	266	278	290	307
	Labour	Susan Taylor	4.1	222	228	232
Electorate: 13,027 Valid: 5,355 Spoilt: 209 Quota: 1,072 Turnout: 42.7%

Source:^[30]^[31]

Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead

The SNP and Labour retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives lost their seat to the Greens.

Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Josh Cairns	26.8	1,299
	Labour	John McLaren (incumbent)	23.9	1,159	1,162	1,204	1,272
	Conservative	Crissy Sandhu	15.0	725	725	757	766	772	870
	Green	Claire Louise Williams	10.8	523	529	557	856	859	1,044	1,218
	Labour	Margaret-Anne Shaw	10.7	521	523	549	603	646
	SNP	Ian MacQuarrie	9.6	467	539	548
	Liberal Democrats	Neil K. Casey	3.2	154	155
Electorate: 10,567 Valid: 4,848 Spoilt: 111 Quota: 1,213 Turnout: 46.9%

Source:^[32]^[33]

Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn

Labour retained one of their two seats while the SNP held their seat and gained one seat from Labour.

Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Greg Lennon (incumbent)	30.5	1,365
	Labour	Michael McPake (incumbent)	20.8	929	940	973	1,111	1,881
	Labour	Joseph Beekman	18.4	826	832	860	967
	SNP	Joanne Katy Keltie	16.3	728	925	1,038	1,059	1,134
	Conservative	Norma Raeside	9.4	421	424	437
	Green	Patrick Pearse McAleer	4.5	203	219
Electorate: 10,698 Valid: 4,472 Spoilt: 80 Quota: 1,119 Turnout: 42.6%

Source:^[34]^[35]

Coatbridge North

The SNP (2) and Labour (2) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Coatbridge North – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Kirsten Larson (incumbent)	31.2	1,545
	Labour	Alexander McVey (incumbent)	20.5	1,017
	SNP	Allan Stubbs (incumbent)	15.1	749	1,197
	Labour	Bill Shields (incumbent)	13.4	663	691	726	747	762	785	832	992	1,188
	Conservative	Craig Whiteside	9.7	479	482	484	484	490	497	546	562
	SDP	Jeff McDonald	3.5	172	179	183	183	192	202
	ISP	Julie Patricia McNulty	2.6	129	147	180	181	208	271	286
	Alba	Mark Shields	2.5	123	136	163	163	169
	Scottish Family	Leo Francis Lanahan	1.6	79	85	90	91
Electorate: 12,021 Valid: 4,956 Spoilt: 148 Quota: 992 Turnout: 42.5%

Source:^[36]^[37]

Airdrie North

The SNP, Labour and independent candidate Alan Beveridge retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Airdrie North – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Sophia Coyle (incumbent)	31.3	1,741
	Independent	Alan Beveridge (incumbent)	22.0	1,223
	Labour	Henry Emerson Dunbar	21.0	1,170
	Conservative	Graeme McGinnigle	10.8	603	605	622	628	638	658	756
	Labour	Peter Gerard Kelly^{[note 1]}	8.3	463	491	517	557	561	586
	SNP	Richard Alan Sullivan	4.8	269	802	826	827	827	838	942	1,025
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Stewart McGeorge	1.3	71	77	85	86	94
	UKIP	Daryl Gardner	0.4	25	28	31	32
Electorate: 15,029 Valid: 5,565 Spoilt: 122 Quota: 1,114 Turnout: 37.8%

Source:^[38]^[39]

Airdrie Central

The SNP (2) and Labour (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election while Labour gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Airdrie Central – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2
	SNP	Lesley Jarvie	31.4	1,468
	Labour	Chris Costello	21.1	988
	Labour	Jim Logue (incumbent)	21.1	986
	Conservative	Trevor Douglas (incumbent)	13.7	642	646
	SNP	Janice Catherine Toner	10.2	478	951
	Alba	Julie Marshall	2.5	117	133
Electorate: 12,690 Valid: 4,679 Spoilt: 129 Quota: 936 Turnout: 37.9%

Source:^[40]^[41]

Coatbridge West

Labour retained one of the two seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP retained their seat and gained one seat from Labour.

Coatbridge West – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Lesley Mitchell	32.2	1,254
	Labour	Kevin Docherty (incumbent)	29.8	1,159
	SNP	Gary Robinson	15.7	613	869	876	885	1,038
	Labour	Mary Gourlay (incumbent)	9.6	374	380	530	649	709
	Alba	Robert Slavin	6.5	254	262	268	289
	Conservative	Laraine Shields	6.2	240	240	244
Electorate: 10,411 Valid: 3,894 Spoilt: 159 Quota: 974 Turnout: 38.9%

Source:^[42]^[43]

Coatbridge South

The SNP (2) and Labour (2) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Coatbridge South – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Tracy Carragher (incumbent)	28.5	1,384
	SNP	Fergus MacGregor (incumbent)	24.6	1,195
	Labour	Andrew Bustard	22.7	1,100
	Labour	Geraldine Woods (incumbent)	12.2	593	676	719	814	866	981
	Conservative	Peter Murray	6.7	327	333	335	344	374	398
	Independent	Tony Grimason	3.1	149	180	203	207
	Green	Graham James Kerr	2.1	101	228	292	297	351
Electorate: 13,164 Valid: 4,849 Spoilt: 209 Quota: 970 Turnout: 38.4%

Source:^[44]^[45]

Airdrie South

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Airdrie South – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Michael Joseph Coyle (incumbent)	30.7	1,847
	Labour	Michael McBride	23.0	1,386
	Conservative	Sandy Watson (incumbent)	17.1	1,028	1,038	1,055	1,061	1,592
	SNP	Paul Di Mascio (incumbent)	16.9	1,015	1,581
	Labour	Ian McNeil (incumbent)	12.3	739	756	891	1,054
Electorate: 15,018 Valid: 6,015 Spoilt: 193 Quota: 1,204 Turnout: 41.3%

Source:^[46]^[47]

Fortissat

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the BUP gained a seat from the Conservatives.

Fortissat – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Martin McCulloch (incumbent)	22.5	1,028
	SNP	Margaret Hughes	20.8	949
	BUP	John Jo Leckie	18.8	859	864	864	870	1,136
	Labour	Kenneth Stevenson (incumbent)	14.0	636	729	730	753	867	957
	Conservative	Ben Callaghan	11.2	512	514	515	523
	SNP	Sarah Quinn	10.0	457	463	494	547	561	571
	Green	Emma Rachel Cuthbertson	2.6	118	119	121
Electorate: 12,104 Valid: 4,559 Spoilt: 123 Quota: 912 Turnout: 38.7%

Source:^[48]^[49]

Thorniewood

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Thorniewood – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Barry McCluskey	36.8	1,642
	Labour	Helen Loughran (incumbent)	26.4	1,180
	Labour	Margaret Boyd	17.0	760	903	950	1,083	1,458
	Independent	Joseph Budd	12.7	568	768	773	854
	Conservative	Jeanie Burgess	7.1	318	327	330
Electorate: 10,896 Valid: 4,468 Spoilt: 81 Quota: 1,118 Turnout: 41.7%

Source:^[50]^[51]

Bellshill

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP also gained one seat from the Conservatives.

Bellshill – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Jordan Linden (incumbent)	28.1	1,300
	Labour	Angela Campbell (incumbent)	25.1	1,162
	Labour	Pat Patton	13.7	635	657	829	845	935
	Conservative	Colin Cameron (incumbent)	13.6	632	635	653	663	689
	SNP	Lisa Stubbs	12.7	589	888	893	919	978
	Independent	John Devlin	4.5	209	220	232	264
	Alba	David Baird^{[note 2]}	2.2	104	109	110
Electorate: 12,279 Valid: 4,631 Spoilt: 153 Quota: 927 Turnout: 39.0%

Source:^[52]^[53]

Mossend and Holytown

Labour (2) and the SNP (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Mossend and Holytown – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Frank McNally (incumbent)	29.8	1,132
	SNP	Beth Baudo	25.7	974
	SNP	Michael Clarkson	16.9	642	650	672	763	782
	Conservative	Sheila Cameron	12.8	486	496	497	512
	Labour	Jim Reddin (incumbent)	9.6	364	512	512	544	818	1,095
	Alba	John Marshall	5.2	198	199	200
Electorate: 10,343 Valid: 3,796 Spoilt: 152 Quota: 950 Turnout: 38.2%

Source:^[54]^[55]

Motherwell West

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Motherwell West – 3 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	David Crichton	27.4	1,261
	Labour	Paul Kelly (incumbent)	24.0	1,105	1,109	1,364
	Conservative	Lorraine Nolan	18.9	869	869	896	943	1,003	1,271
	SNP	Lindsay Evans	13.6	626	722	737	767	1,001
	Green	Gordon Thomas Miller	8.1	372	378	401	445
	Labour	Megan McCann	7.9	363	364
Electorate: 11,093 Valid: 4,596 Spoilt: 168 Quota: 1,150 Turnout: 42.9%

Source:^[56]^[57]

Motherwell North

The SNP (2) and Labour (2) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Motherwell North – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Gerry Brennan	31.6	1,646
	Labour	Andrew Duffy-Lawson	27.4	1,427
	SNP	Anne Thomas	15.0	780	1,282
	Conservative	Oyebola Ajala	11.0	574	576	600	606
	Labour	Ayeshah Khan	9.9	513	541	840	913	1,048
	Alba	Shahid Farooq (incumbent)	5.0	262	288	294
Electorate: 13,654 Valid: 5,202 Spoilt: 179 Quota: 1,041 Turnout: 39.4%

Source:^[58]^[59]

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8
	SNP	Agnes Magowan (incumbent)	32.0	1,941
	Labour	Kenneth Duffy (incumbent)	22.6	1,368
	Conservative	Nathan Wilson (incumbent)	16.7	1,010	1,025	1,032	1,033	1,039	1,048	1,090	1,316
	SNP	David Robb	10.8	653	1,263
	Labour	Michael Ross	8.7	525	543	657	665	672	688	874
	Green	Derek Watson	7.8	472	514	522	542	551	563
	Scottish Family	James Joseph Mitchell	0.9	54	62	66	67	70
	UKIP	Neil Wilson	0.7	40	40	40	40
Electorate: 15,549 Valid: 6,063 Spoilt: 190 Quota: 1,213 Turnout: 40.2%

Source:^[60]^[61]

Murdostoun

Labour (2), the SNP (1) and independent candidate Robert John McKendrick retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Murdostoun – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Independent	Robert John McKendrick (incumbent)	27.2	1,545
	SNP	Cameron McManus (incumbent)	19.4	1,106	1,167
	Labour	Louise Roarty (incumbent)	15.0	853	914	916	986	1,191
	Labour	Nicky Shevlin (incumbent)	13.7	778	834	836	892	1,007	1,049	1,317
	SNP	Julia Stachurska	10.3	584	606	629	691	705	708
	Conservative	Linsey McKay	9.1	518	545	545	624
	Independent	Robert Livingston Arthur	5.4	305	394	394
Electorate: 14,403 Valid: 5,689 Spoilt: 136 Quota: 1,138 Turnout: 40.4%

Source:^[62]^[63]

Wishaw

The SNP (2), Labour (1) and the Conservatives (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election.

Wishaw – 4 seats
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5
	SNP	Fiona Fotheringham (incumbent)	31.9	1,687
	Labour	Frank McKay	21.5	1,138
	Conservative	Bob Burgess (incumbent)	18.5	980	988	1,000	1,004	1,383
	Labour	Martine Nolan	14.6	771	794	881	946
	SNP	Jim Hume (incumbent)	13.6	719	1,286
Electorate: 13,431 Valid: 5,295 Spoilt: 186 Quota: 1,060 Turnout: 40.8%

Source:^[64]^[65]

Aftermath

Despite falling three seats shy of a majority, the SNP took control of North Lanarkshire for the first time from Labour who had been in power since the council's creation.^[66] The minority administration was headed by Bellshill councillor Jordan Linden who was elected as council leader at a "historic" meeting on 19 May 2022. Cllr Tracy Carragher was selected as depute leader while Cllr Agnes Magowan and Cllr Anne Thomas became Provost and depute Provost respectively.^[66]

The election saw the Greens pick up their first ever seat in North Lanarkshire after Claire Williams was elected in Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead.^[67] It also resulted in the BUP picking up their first elected representative as they gained a seat from the Conservatives in Fortissat – a result which was described by reporter Hamish Morrison in The National as a "devastating upset" for the Conservatives.^[68]

Two months after the election, council leader Jordan Linden faced allegations of sexual misconduct stemming from a party in Dundee in 2019.^[69] Following pressure from opposition groups, he apologised for the incident and resigned as council leader on 27 July 2022.^[70] He later resigned as a councillor in March 2023 following further allegations of sexual harassment which he denied.^[71]

On 1 August 2022, Cllr Tracy Carragher was voted to replace Cllr Linden as the leader of the SNP group with Cllr Alan Masterton as her depute.^[72] However, the SNP subsequently lost control of the council on 11 August when Cllr Carragher failed to be voted in as the new council leader.^[73] Instead, a Labour motion to restore former council leader Jim Logue and depute leader Paul Kelly to their former posts was passed by 38 votes to 37.^[74] The decisive vote came from long-time SNP councillor Michael Coyle, who left the party shortly before the meeting.^[75] Cllr Coyle's daughter Sophia, councillor for Airdrie North, also resigned from the SNP group citing "infighting and bullying" to sit as an independent.^[76] The new Labour administration also nominated a new Provost, Cllr Kenny Duffy, and depute Provost – Conservative councillor Bob Burgess. Both were narrowly elected to the posts resulting in the first time a Conservative had held the role.^[77]

Following accusations of a "beyond toxic" environment within the SNP group, Cllr Paul Di Mascio and Cllr David Crichton were expelled from the group on 2 May 2023 for "bringing the group and party into disrepute". The following day, five further SNP councillors – Beth Baudo, Gerry Brennan, Greg Lennon, Barry McCluskey and Cameron McManus – resigned from the SNP group in solidarity with the expelled councillors.^[78] Later in the month, Cllr Jim Hume also resigned from the SNP group and the eight councillors formed a new party called Progressive Change North Lanarkshire.^[79] In January 2024, Cllr Baudo defected to Labour.^[80]

In March 2024, Labour councillor for Bellshill Angela Campbell became an independent.^[81]

Bellshill by-election

On 14 March 2023, former council leader Jordan Linden resigned following allegations of sexual harassment.^[71] A by-election held on 15 June was won by Labour's Anne McCrory.^[82]

Bellshill (15 June 2023) – 1 seat
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1
	Labour	Anne McCrory	51.8	1,440
	SNP	Joseph Budd	27.1	753
	Conservative	Colin Cameron	8.5	236
	BUP	Billy Ross	4.3	120
	Alba	John Marshall	3.9	107
	Green	Rosemary McGowan	1.6	44
	Liberal Democrats	John Arthur Henry Cole	1.2	34
	Scottish Family	Leo Francis Lanahan	1.1	30
	Freedom Alliance (UK)	Simona Panaitescu	0.3	7
	UKIP	Neil Wilson	0.3	7
Electorate: 12,410 Valid: 2,778 Spoilt: 41 Quota: 1,390 Turnout: 22.7%

Source:^[83]

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig by-election

In August 2023, SNP councillor Agnes MacGowan resigned for personal reasons.^[84] A by-election, held on 16 November 2023, was won by Labour's Kaye Harmon.^[85]

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig (16 November 2023) – 1 seat
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Kaye Harmon	44.0	1,368	1,369	1,379	1,398	1,427	1,479	1,642
	SNP	Rosa Zambonini	30.1	934	936	964	974	976	1,087	1,103
	Conservative	Oyebola Ajala	9.5	296	299	300	305	345	357
	Green	Derek Watson	8.2	255	257	258	266	269
	BUP	Billy Acheson	3.1	96	101	102	107
	Liberal Democrats	Robert Stewart McGeorge	2.2	68	68	73
	Alba	Mark Shields	2.1	66	66
	UKIP	Neil Wilson	0.8	24
Electorate: 15,794 Valid: 3,107 Spoilt: 48 Quota: 1,554 Turnout: 20.0%

Source:^[86]^[87]

Fortissat & Mossend and Holytown by-elections

Following their successful campaigns during the 2024 United Kingdom general election, Fortissat councillor Kenneth Stevenson and Mossend and Holytown councillor Frank McNally - who were elected as MP for Airdrie and Shotts and Coatbridge and Bellshill respectively - announced that they had resigned their council seats in August 2024. Both by-elections took place on 10 October 2024^[88] and both seats were held by Labour as Clare Quigley and Helena Gray were elected in Fortissat and Mossend and Holytown respectively.^[89]

Fortissat (10 October 2024) – 1 seat
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Clare Quigley	36.6	807	818	834	892	1,007	1,292
	Progressive Change North Lanarkshire	Mary McIntosh	24.0	529	542	556	634	757
	SNP	Brendan McAleese	20.3	447	452	457	466
	BUP	Billy Acheson	10.9	241	245	297
	Conservative	Sheila Cameron	5.6	124	131
	Liberal Democrats	Leigh Butler	2.6	57
Electorate: 12,422 Valid: 2,205 Spoilt: 22 Quota: 1,103 Turnout: 17.9%

Source:^[90]^[91]

Mossend and Holytown (10 October 2024) – 1 seat
Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
Party		Candidate	FPv%	1	2	3	4	5	6
	Labour	Helena Gray	36.5	616	616	640	668	722	926
	SNP	Shahnawaz Khan	34.8	586	586	593	600	633
	Reform UK	Duncan McMillan	15.5	263	268	276	321
	Conservative	Aimee Alexander	7.5	127	127	141
	Liberal Democrats	John Cole	5.0	83	84
	UKIP	Neil Wilson	0.6	11
Electorate: 10,813 Valid: 1,686 Spoilt: 27 Quota: 844 Turnout: 15.8%

Source:^[92]^[93]

v t e Council elections in North Lanarkshire
North Lanarkshire Council	1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022
Strathclyde Regional Council	1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 Abolished
Cumbernauld and Kilsyth District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Motherwell District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Monklands District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Lanarkshire County Council	1889 1892 1895 1898 1901 1904 1907 1910 1913 1919 1922 1925 1928 1931 1934 1937 1946 1949 1952 1955 1958 1961 1964 1967 1970 Abolished

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2022 North Lanarkshire Council election

Previous election

Electoral system

Composition

Retiring councillors

Candidates

Controversies

Results

Ward summary

Seats changing hands

Ward results

Kilsyth

Cumbernauld North

Cumbernauld South

Cumbernauld East

Stepps, Chryston and Muirhead

Gartcosh, Glenboig and Moodiesburn

Coatbridge North

Airdrie North

Airdrie Central

Coatbridge West

Coatbridge South

Airdrie South

Fortissat

Thorniewood

Bellshill

Mossend and Holytown

Motherwell West

Motherwell North

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig

Murdostoun

Wishaw

Aftermath

Bellshill by-election

Motherwell South East and Ravenscraig by-election

Fortissat & Mossend and Holytown by-elections

Notes

References

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