Dumfries and Galloway Council - Wards and Councillors

Scottish council · Scotland · 43 seats in 12 wards · All seats elected every five years · Next election 6 May 2027

Dumfries and Galloway Council is run by an SNP / Labour / Independent / Liberal Democrats coalition. The council has 43 councillors in 12 wards. Seats by party: Other 13, SNP 11, Conservative 10, Labour 7, Lib Dem 1. The next election is on 6 May 2027.

Control

Seats by party

SNP / Labour / Independent / Liberal Democrats Coalition

43 seats - 22 for a majority

Labour 7Conservative 10Lib Dem 1SNP 11Other 13Vacant 1

Seat changes since the 5 May 2022 election Other +7 Labour −2 Conservative −6 1 vacant

Vote share at the 5 May 2022 election (43 seats, all wards)

ShareSeats won

Conservative38.8%16

SNP28.2%11

Labour16.6%9

Other8.7%6

Green4.5%0

Lib Dem3.3%1

Next election

6 May 2027

all 43 seats up, then every five years

Largest group

Independents and others 13

9 short of the 22 needed for a majority

Latest by-election

Stranraer & The Rhins

Conservative gain from Independent, 20 November 2025 (2 since 2021)

Constituencies

1 overlap

2024Now

Voted Leave in 2016

47%

GB 52%

Wards

Who holds each ward

LabourConservativeSNPIndependent

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 12 wards

Councillors and last results

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

Ward and councillors	Last election
Abbey Davie Stitt, Kim Lowe, Ian Blake	5 May 2022 Conservative 36.7% lead 5.6 pts
Annandale East and Eskdale Denis Male, Vacant, Karen Carruthers	5 May 2022 Conservative 42.7% lead 21.3 pts
Annandale North Gail Macgregor, Stephen Thompson, Lynne Davis, Carolyne Wilson	5 May 2022 Conservative 50.3% lead 20.3 pts
Annandale South George Jamieson, Richard Brodie, Ian Carruthers, Sean Marshall	5 May 2022 Conservative 38.3% lead 16.7 pts
Castle Douglas and Crocketford Pauline Drysdale, John Young, Iain Howie	5 May 2022 Conservative 35.6% lead 10.5 pts
Dee and Glenkens John Denerley, Dougie Campbell, Andy McFarlane	5 May 2022 Conservative 38.0% lead 12.6 pts
Lochar Linda Dorward, Maureen Johnstone, Tracey Little, Ivor Hyslop	5 May 2022 Conservative 39.8% lead 6.2 pts
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Katie Hagmann, Jackie McCamon, David Inglis, Richard Marsh	5 May 2022 Conservative 50.2% lead 19.9 pts
Mid and Upper Nithsdale Jim Dempster, Andrew Wood, Tony Berretti	5 May 2022 Conservative 30.7% lead 1.5 pts
Nith Keith Walters, Malcolm Johnstone, David Slater, John Campbell	5 May 2022 SNP 33.4% lead 5.1 pts
North West Dumfries Andy Ferguson, Graham Bell, Paula Stevenson, Emma Jordan	5 May 2022 SNP 39.5% lead 11.1 pts
Stranraer and the Rhins Chrissie Hill, Andrew Giusti, Julie Currie, Ben Dashper	5 May 2022 Conservative 40.2% lead 16.9 pts

Abbey

Davie Stitt LabourIan Blake ConservativeKim Lowe SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative36.7%

SNP31.1%

Labour25.9%

Lib Dem6.3%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Kim Lowe Elected	SNP	1,267	31.1%
Davie Stitt Elected	Labour	1,053	25.9%
Ian Blake Elected	Conservative	1,005	24.7%
Robin Wishart	Conservative	489	12.0%
Matthew Pumphrey	Lib Dem	256	6.3%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Annandale East and Eskdale

Denis Male IndependentKaren Carruthers IndependentVacant Vacant

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative42.7%

Labour21.4%

Independent15.4%

SNP14.5%

Lib Dem3.3%

Scottish Green2.6%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Karen Carruthers Elected	Conservative	1,140	27.8%
Archie Dryburgh Elected	Labour	880	21.4%
Denis Male Elected	Independent	633	15.4%
Ron Tait	Conservative	614	14.9%
Sylvia Willmot	SNP	597	14.5%
Kirsten Herbst-Gray	Lib Dem	137	3.3%
Stephen Paul Mattock	Scottish Green	107	2.6%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Annandale North

Carolyne Wilson LabourGail Macgregor ConservativeLynne Davis ConservativeStephen Thompson SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative50.3%

SNP30.0%

Labour13.9%

Scottish Green4.6%

Alba1.2%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Stephen Thompson Elected	SNP	1,725	30.0%
Gail Macgregor Elected	Conservative	1,153	20.1%
Lynne Davis Elected	Conservative	1,114	19.4%
Carolyne Wilson Elected	Labour	797	13.9%
Doug Fairbairn	Conservative	621	10.8%
Jennifer Vivien Norris	Scottish Green	263	4.6%
Marion Collins	Alba	68	1.2%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Annandale South

George Jamieson SNPIan Carruthers IndependentRichard Brodie Lib DemSean Marshall Labour

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative38.3%

SNP21.6%

Labour19.1%

Lib Dem17.7%

Scottish Green3.3%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Ian Carruthers Elected	Conservative	1,118	21.9%
George Jamieson Elected	SNP	1,104	21.6%
Sean Marshall Elected	Labour	975	19.1%
Richard John Brodie Elected	Lib Dem	902	17.7%
Allan Weild	Conservative	839	16.4%
Cameron Garrett	Scottish Green	166	3.3%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Castle Douglas and Crocketford

Iain Howie IndependentJohn Young SNPPauline Drysdale Conservative

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative35.6%

SNP25.1%

Independent10.0%

Independent9.6%

Lib Dem7.8%

Scottish Green6.0%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Pauline Drysdale Elected	Conservative	1,220	30.3%
John Lachlan Young Elected	SNP	1,012	25.1%
Iain Howie Elected	Independent	403	10.0%
Gill Dykes	Independent	386	9.6%
Iain William McDonald	Lib Dem	313	7.8%
Liz Ashburn	Scottish Green	243	6.0%
Keith Heron	Labour	241	6.0%
Iain Kennedy-Moffat	Conservative	215	5.3%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Dee and Glenkens

Andy McFarlane SNPDougie Campbell IndependentJohn Denerley Independent

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative38.0%

SNP25.4%

Independent14.6%

Scottish Green11.3%

Labour6.1%

Lib Dem4.5%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Andy Mcfarlane Elected	SNP	1,139	25.4%
John Denerley Elected	Conservative	912	20.4%
Susan Murdoch	Conservative	791	17.7%
Dougie Campbell Elected	Independent	655	14.6%
Laura Moodie	Scottish Green	508	11.3%
Graham Trickey	Labour	271	6.1%
Anthony Bird	Lib Dem	202	4.5%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Lochar

Ivor Hyslop ConservativeLinda Dorward LabourMaureen Johnstone ConservativeTracey Little SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative39.8%

SNP33.6%

Labour21.9%

Scottish Green4.8%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Tracey Little Elected	SNP	1,787	33.6%
Ivor Hyslop Elected	Conservative	1,348	25.3%
Linda Jane Dorward Elected	Labour	1,166	21.9%
Maureen Johnstone Elected	Conservative	772	14.5%
Sandy Rogerson	Scottish Green	253	4.8%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West

David Inglis IndependentJackie McCamon ConservativeKatie Hagmann SNPRichard Marsh Independent

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative50.2%

SNP30.3%

Labour11.3%

Scottish Green8.2%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
David Inglis Elected	Conservative	1,529	30.8%
Katie Hagmann Elected	SNP	1,505	30.3%
Jackie McCamon Elected	Conservative	964	19.4%
Sandy Whitelaw Elected	Labour	559	11.3%
Kenny Campbell	Scottish Green	405	8.2%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Last by-election, 8 December 2022

Conservative53.3%

SNP26.2%

Labour9.7%

Lib Dem5.7%

Scottish Green5.1%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Richard Marsh Elected	Conservative	1,787	53.3%
Ian Gibson	SNP	879	26.2%
John Peter McCutcheon	Labour	326	9.7%
Iain William McDonald	Lib Dem	190	5.7%
Daniel Hooper-Jones	Scottish Green	172	5.1%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Mid and Upper Nithsdale

Andrew Wood IndependentJim Dempster IndependentTony Berretti SNP

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)

Conservative30.7%

SNP29.2%

Independent27.4%

Labour12.7%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Tony Berretti Elected	SNP	1,161	29.2%
Jim Dempster Elected	Independent	1,087	27.4%
Andrew Wood Elected	Conservative	629	15.8%
Kyle Thornton	Conservative	591	14.9%
Callum Jamieson	Labour	504	12.7%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Nith

David Slater IndependentJohn Campbell SNPKeith Walters LabourMalcolm Johnstone Conservative

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

SNP33.4%

Conservative28.3%

Labour23.8%

Independent9.7%

Scottish Green4.8%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
John Campbell Elected	SNP	1,670	33.4%
Malcolm Johnstone Elected	Conservative	904	18.1%
Keith Walters Elected	Labour	835	16.7%
Alastair Muir	Conservative	515	10.3%
David Robert Slater Elected	Independent	488	9.7%
Angie Whitelaw	Labour	355	7.1%
Anne McLauchlan	Scottish Green	240	4.8%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

North West Dumfries

Andy Ferguson SNPEmma Jordan LabourGraham Bell ConservativePaula Stevenson Labour

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

SNP39.5%

Conservative28.4%

Labour27.2%

Scottish Green4.8%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Andy Ferguson Elected	SNP	1,561	39.5%
Graham Bell Elected	Conservative	1,123	28.4%
Emma Jordan Elected	Labour	728	18.4%
Paula Stevenson Elected	Labour	347	8.8%
Michelle Anne Johnston	Scottish Green	191	4.8%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Stranraer and the Rhins

Andrew Giusti IndependentBen Dashper SNPChrissie Hill IndependentJulie Currie Conservative

Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)

Conservative40.2%

SNP23.3%

Independent22.8%

Labour9.9%

Scottish Green2.6%

Independent1.3%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
Andrew Giusti Elected	Conservative	1,518	32.9%
Ben Dashper Elected	SNP	1,074	23.3%
Willie Scobie Elected	Independent	1,051	22.8%
John Peter McCutcheon	Labour	458	9.9%
Chrissie Hill Elected	Conservative	338	7.3%
Peter Barlow	Scottish Green	120	2.6%
Tommy Sloan	Independent	59	1.3%

Party shares are of first-preference votes.

Last by-election, 20 November 2025

Reform35.2%

Conservative33.1%

SNP13.7%

Labour6.1%

Independent5.3%

Scottish Green3.6%

Candidate	Party	First prefs	Share
John Roberts	Reform	1,386	35.2%
Julie Currie Elected	Conservative	1,302	33.1%
Simon Allen Hugh Jones	SNP	541	13.7%
John Peter McCutcheon	Labour	239	6.1%
Shaun Smith	Independent	207	5.3%
Michael Havard	Scottish Green	141	3.6%
Tracey Warman	Lib Dem	96	2.4%
Gisele Skinner	Heritage Party	27	0.7%

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
Annandale East and Eskdale	Karen Carruthers	Conservative 2022	Independent
Annandale South	Ian Carruthers	Conservative 2022	Independent
Dee and Glenkens	John Denerley	Conservative 2022	Independent
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West	David Inglis	Conservative 2022	Independent
Mid Galloway and Wigtown West	Richard Marsh	Conservative 2022	Independent
Mid and Upper Nithsdale	Andrew Wood	Conservative 2022	Independent
Stranraer and the Rhins	Andrew Giusti	Conservative 2022	Independent
Stranraer and the Rhins	Chrissie Hill	Conservative 2022	Independent

By-elections

Every council by-election since 2021

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

Date	Ward	Result	Winner's share
20 November 2025	Stranraer & The Rhins	Conservative gain from Independent
8 December 2022	Mid Galloway and Wigtown West	Conservative gain from Labour	53.3%

Parliament

Parliamentary constituencies

Constituency	Share of council	2024 winner	Projected now
Dumfries and Galloway		Conservative	Conservative 31%

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

People

Who lives in Dumfries and Galloway

95,939 residents in 46,823 households

Voted Leave in 2016

47% 5 below GB

Degree or higher

38% 4 above GB

No qualifications

21% 3 above GB

Own their home

65% 4 above GB

Rent from a council or housing association

19% 2 above GB

Rent privately

14% 6 below GB

Aged 15 to 34

22% 9 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

Scottish BordersConservative / Independent Coalition South AyrshireConservative (Minority)Isle of AngleseyPlaid Cymru North AyrshireSNP (Minority)AngusConservative / Independent / Labour 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.