Argyll and Bute Council - Wards and Councillors

Scottish council · Scotland · 36 seats in 11 wards · All seats elected every five years · Next election 6 May 2027

Argyll and Bute Council is run by an SNP / Liberal Democrats / Independent / Labour / Green coalition. The council has 36 councillors in 11 wards. Seats by party: SNP 13, Other 9, Conservative 6, Lib Dem 4, Reform 2, Labour 2. The next election is on 6 May 2027.

Control

Seats by party

SNP / Liberal Democrats / Independent / Labour / Green Coalition

36 seats - 19 for a majority

Reform 2Labour 2Conservative 6Lib Dem 4SNP 13Other 9

Seat changes since the 5 May 2022 election Reform +2 Other +2 Labour +1 SNP +1 Lib Dem −1 Green −1 Conservative −4

Vote share at the 5 May 2022 election (36 seats, all wards)

ShareSeats won

SNP31.0%12

Other26.4%7

Conservative22.7%10

Lib Dem9.6%5

Labour6.4%1

Green3.9%1

Next election

6 May 2027

all 36 seats up, then every five years

Largest party

SNP 13

6 short of the 19 needed for a majority

Latest by-election

Mid Argyll

SNP gain from Other, 29 October 2026 (4 since 2021)

Constituencies

1 overlap

2024Now

Voted Leave in 2016

39%

GB 52%

Wards

Who holds each ward

ConservativeSNPIndependent

Coloured by the party holding most of the ward's seats today; where seats are split evenly, by the party with the higher share at the last election.

All 11 wards

Councillors and last results

Select a ward for its full results, candidates and last by-election.

Ward and councillors	Last election
Cowal Yvonne McNeilly, William Sinclair, Gordon Blair	5 May 2022 SNP 41.9% lead 15.8 pts
Dunoon Daniel Hampsey, Ross Moreland, Audrey E Forrest	5 May 2022 SNP 40.9% lead 23.0 pts
Helensburgh Central Ian MacQuire, Graham Archibald Hardie, Gary Mulvaney, Fiona Howard	5 May 2022 Conservative 37.2% lead 15.8 pts
Helensburgh and Lomond South Math Campbell-Sturgess, Paul Donald Kennedy, Gemma Penfold	5 May 2022 Conservative 47.7% lead 21.7 pts
Isle of Bute Liz McCabe, Peter Wallace, Reeni Kennedy-Boyle	5 May 2022 SNP 25.4% lead 1.7 pts
Kintyre and the Islands Alastair Redman, Dougie McFadzean, Anne Horn	5 May 2022 SNP 29.9% lead 6.4 pts
Lomond North Maurice Corry, Mark Irvine, Shonny Iain Paterson	5 May 2022 Conservative 26.4% lead 2.1 pts
Mid Argyll Vacant, Jan Brown, Garret Corner	5 May 2022 Independent 35.9% lead 4.8 pts
Oban North and Lorn Julie McKenzie, Kieron Green, Andrew Vennard, Luna Martin	5 May 2022 SNP 30.6% lead 11.9 pts
Oban South and the Isles Amanda Hampsey, Jim Lynch, Willie Hume, Andrew Kain	5 May 2022 SNP 38.2% lead 25.8 pts
South Kintyre Jennifer Kean, Tommy MacPherson, John Armour	5 May 2022 Independent 36.0% lead 3.2 pts

Cowal

Gordon Blair SNPWilliam Sinclair Lib DemYvonne McNeilly Labour

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

SNP41.9%

Conservative26.1%

Lib Dem16.8%

Labour7.7%

Independent5.2%

Independence for Scotland Party2.4%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
William Gordon Blair Elected	SNP	1,090	33.3%
Yvonne McNeilly Elected	Conservative	855	26.1%
William Sinclair Elected	Lib Dem	551	16.8%
Lachie Macquarie	SNP	282	8.6%
Mark Feinmann	Labour	251	7.7%
Kenneth Whyte	Independent	170	5.2%
Fiona Nelson	Independence for Scotland Party	78	2.4%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Dunoon

Audrey E Forrest SNPDaniel Hampsey ReformRoss Moreland Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

SNP40.9%

Conservative17.9%

Lib Dem16.9%

Independent10.1%

Labour6.5%

Independent6.1%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Audrey E Forrest Elected	SNP	1,126	40.9%
Daniel Hampsey Elected	Conservative	493	17.9%
Ross Moreland Elected	Lib Dem	464	16.9%
Gordon McKinven	Independent	279	10.1%
Kaitlin Wallace	Labour	180	6.5%
George Darroch	Independent	168	6.1%
Susan Watling	Scottish Family Party	43	1.6%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Helensburgh Central

Fiona Howard LabourGary Mulvaney ConservativeGraham Archibald Hardie Lib DemIan MacQuire Independent

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative37.2%

SNP21.4%

Labour21.3%

Lib Dem11.1%

Scottish Green6.8%

Independent2.2%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Gary Mulvaney Elected	Conservative	1,205	30.5%
Ian James MacQuire Elected	SNP	843	21.4%
Fiona Howard Elected	Labour	841	21.3%
Graham Archibald Hardie Elected	Lib Dem	440	11.1%
Sarah Davies	Scottish Green	268	6.8%
Alison Willmot	Conservative	262	6.6%
James Alexander-Robb	Independent	88	2.2%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Helensburgh and Lomond South

Gemma Penfold ConservativeMath Campbell-Sturgess SNPPaul Donald Kennedy Lib Dem

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative47.7%

SNP26.0%

Lib Dem17.8%

Scottish Green8.6%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Gemma Penfold Elected	Conservative	854	29.6%
Math Campbell-Sturgess Elected	SNP	749	26.0%
David Kinniburgh	Conservative	522	18.1%
Paul Donald Kennedy Elected	Lib Dem	512	17.8%
Howard Green	Scottish Green	247	8.6%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Isle of Bute

Liz McCabe IndependentPeter Wallace ConservativeReeni Kennedy-Boyle SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

SNP25.4%

Independent23.7%

Conservative17.8%

Independent13.7%

Independent8.7%

Labour4.3%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Reeni Kennedy-Boyle Elected	SNP	591	25.4%
Liz McCabe Elected	Independent	553	23.7%
Peter Wallace Elected	Conservative	414	17.8%
Jean Murray Moffat	Independent	320	13.7%
Fraser Gillies	Independent	202	8.7%
Dawn Malcom	Labour	101	4.3%
Ewan Stuart	Scottish Green	70	3.0%
Robert McGowan	Alba	55	2.4%
Derek John McFarlane	Lib Dem	25	1.1%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Kintyre and the Islands

Alastair Redman IndependentAnne Horn SNPDougie McFadzean SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

SNP29.9%

Independent23.5%

Independent16.4%

Lib Dem16.4%

Conservative9.6%

Labour4.2%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Dougie McFadzean Elected	SNP	863	29.9%
John McAlpine Elected	Independent	680	23.5%
Alastair Redman	Independent	474	16.4%
Robin Currie Elected	Lib Dem	474	16.4%
Alec McNeilly	Conservative	276	9.6%
Jane Kelly	Labour	122	4.2%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Last by-election, 18 July 2024

SNP43.4%

Independent19.2%

Conservative19.2%

Lib Dem16.7%

Freedom Alliance1.5%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Anne Horn Elected	SNP	728	43.4%
Donald Kelly	Independent	322	19.2%
Elizabeth Redman	Conservative	322	19.2%
Douglas MacDonald	Lib Dem	281	16.7%
Alan McManus	Freedom Alliance	25	1.5%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Lomond North

Mark Irvine IndependentMaurice Corry ConservativeShonny Iain Paterson SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative26.4%

SNP24.3%

Independent14.9%

Independent14.6%

Labour12.4%

Independent4.7%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Maurice Corry Elected	Conservative	843	26.4%
Iain Shonny Paterson Elected	SNP	777	24.3%
Mark Irvine Elected	Independent	475	14.9%
George Freeman	Independent	466	14.6%
Watson Robinson	Labour	397	12.4%
Robert MacIntyre	Independent	149	4.7%
Nigel Ford Millar	Lib Dem	91	2.8%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Mid Argyll

Garret Corner IndependentJan Brown SNPVacant Vacant

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Independent35.9%

SNP31.1%

Conservative11.6%

Labour4.9%

Independent4.7%

Independent4.4%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Douglas Trevor Philand Elected	Independent	1,148	35.9%
Jan Brown Elected	SNP	993	31.1%
Garret Corner Elected	Conservative	371	11.6%
Lesley Burt	Labour	157	4.9%
Donnie MacMillan	Independent	149	4.7%
Andy Cameron	Independent	140	4.4%
David Barton	Lib Dem	107	3.3%
Ross Alistair Weir	Independence for Scotland Party	78	2.4%
Abisola Adepetun	Independent	54	1.7%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Oban North and Lorn

Andrew Vennard ConservativeJulie McKenzie IndependentKieron Green IndependentLuna Martin SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

SNP30.6%

Conservative18.7%

Independent15.4%

Independent11.4%

Scottish Green9.7%

Lib Dem6.5%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Julie McKenzie Elected	SNP	1,254	30.6%
Andrew Vennard Elected	Conservative	767	18.7%
Kieron Green Elected	Independent	632	15.4%
Linda Battison	Independent	466	11.4%
Luna Erin Laventhia Martin Elected	Scottish Green	396	9.7%
Veronica Davis	Lib Dem	267	6.5%
Kyle Campbell-Renton	Independent	198	4.8%
Angus Files	Alba	117	2.9%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Oban South and the Isles

Amanda Hampsey ReformAndrew Kain IndependentJim Lynch SNPWillie Hume SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

SNP38.2%

Conservative12.4%

Scottish Green9.7%

Independent8.1%

Independent7.0%

Independent6.5%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Jim Lynch Elected	SNP	773	21.3%
Willie Hume Elected	SNP	615	16.9%
Amanda Hampsey Elected	Conservative	452	12.4%
Phyl Meyer	Scottish Green	353	9.7%
Andrew Kain Elected	Independent	295	8.1%
Colin Kennedy	Independent	256	7.0%
Donnie Campbell	Independent	235	6.5%
Henry Boswell	Lib Dem	188	5.2%
Jamie McGrigor	Independent	179	4.9%
Gopi Ageer	Labour	169	4.7%
John Watson	Independent	118	3.2%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

South Kintyre

Jennifer Kean IndependentJohn Armour SNPTommy MacPherson Independent

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Independent36.0%

SNP32.8%

Conservative22.5%

Lib Dem8.7%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Donald Kelly Elected	Independent	848	36.0%
John Armour Elected	SNP	773	32.8%
Tommy Macpherson Elected	Conservative	531	22.5%
Rory Colville	Lib Dem	206	8.7%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Last by-election, 2 November 2023

Independent57.7%

SNP17.1%

Conservative13.1%

Lib Dem11.6%

For Future's Sake - Freedom Alliance0.4%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Jennifer Mary Kelly Elected	Independent	913	57.7%
John Richardson	SNP	271	17.1%
Joe Cunningham	Conservative	208	13.1%
Kenny MacKenzie	Lib Dem	183	11.6%
Alan McManus	For Future's Sake - Freedom Alliance	7	0.4%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Councillors

Changed party since the election

8 councillors now sit for a different party from the one they were elected for.

Ward	Councillor	Elected as	Now
Cowal	Yvonne McNeilly	Conservative 2022	Labour
Dunoon	Daniel Hampsey	Conservative 2022	Reform
Helensburgh Central	Ian MacQuire	SNP 2022	Independent
Mid Argyll	Garret Corner	Conservative 2022	Independent
Oban North and Lorn	Julie McKenzie	SNP 2022	Independent
Oban North and Lorn	Luna Martin	Scottish Green 2022	SNP
Oban South and the Isles	Amanda Hampsey	Conservative 2022	Reform
South Kintyre	Tommy MacPherson	Conservative 2022	Independent

By-elections

Every council by-election since 2021

4 by-elections since July 2021, 2 of them gains.

Date	Ward	Result	Winner's share
29 October 2026	Mid Argyll	SNP gain from Other	46.1%
18 July 2024	Kintyre and the Islands	SNP gain from Lib Dem
6 November 2023	South Kintyre	Independent hold
20 October 2022	Kintyre and the Islands	Independent hold

Parliament

Parliamentary constituencies

Constituency	Share of council	2024 winner	Projected now
Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber		SNP	SNP 37%

Scottish councils: seats are listed without shares. The projection is PollCheck's demographic model at current polling, not a forecast.

People

Who lives in Argyll and Bute

91,095 residents in 44,350 households

Voted Leave in 2016

39% 13 below GB

Degree or higher

46% 12 above GB

No qualifications

15% 3 below GB

Own their home

67% 6 above GB

Rent from a council or housing association

19% 2 above GB

Rent privately

12% 8 below GB

Aged 15 to 34

21% 10 below GB

Aged 65 and over

31% 9 above GB

GB figure. 2021 Census (Scotland: 2022): age as a share of residents aged 15 and over, qualifications of residents aged 16 and over, housing as a share of households. Leave: 2016 EU referendum, Electoral Commission results by counting area.

Similar

Councils most like this one

AngusConservative / Independent / Labour Coalition Perth and KinrossSNP (Minority)Orkney IslandsIndependent Shetland IslandsIndependent Scottish BordersConservative / Independent Coalition

Closest on the measures above: the 2016 Leave vote, age, qualifications and housing. Maps show which party holds each ward.

Sources

Sources and method

Seat totals and control: PollCheck council control tracker. Councillors: Open Council Data (CC BY-SA 4.0). Election results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), with some vote counts from DCLEAPIL, Leman (2025) (CC BY-SA 4.0), and corrections checked against councils' official declarations. Ward boundaries: Source: Office for National Statistics licensed under the Open Government Licence v.3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Census: Office for National Statistics and National Records of Scotland.

Councillor lists and DCLEAPIL-derived vote counts on this page are available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Scottish councils use STV: party shares are of first-preference votes. The lead is the gap between the top two parties' shares.