Orkney Islands
Scottish council · Scotland · 21 seats in 6 wards · All seats elected every five years · Next election 6 May 2027
Independents and others hold 20 of 21 seats; no single party has a majority. The council has 21 councillors in 6 wards. Seats by party: Other 20, Green 1. The next election is on 6 May 2027.
Seats by party
Who holds each ward
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.
Councillors and last results
Select a ward for its full results, candidates and last by-election.
| Ward and councillors | Last election |
|---|---|
| East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray Gillian Skuse, Raymie Peace, James Moar | 5 May 2022 Independent 47.8% lead 27.1 pts |
| Kirkwall East David Dawson, Gwenda Shearer, Steven Heddle, John Ross Scott | 5 May 2022 Scottish Green 28.1% lead 2.8 pts |
| Kirkwall West and Orphir Leslie Manson, Ivan Taylor, Sandy Cowie, Kristopher Leask | 5 May 2022 Independent 20.7% lead 4.4 pts |
| North Isles Mellissa Thomson, Stephen Clackson, Heather Woodbridge | 5 May 2022 Independent 43.1% lead 18.2 pts |
| Stromness and South Isles Janette Park, Graham Bevan, Lindsay Hall | 5 May 2022 Independent 30.7% lead 6.3 pts |
| West Mainland Rachael King, Duncan Tullock, Jean Stevenson, Owen Tierney | 5 May 2022 Independent 30.2% lead 4.2 pts |
East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Raymie Peace Elected | Independent | 642 | 47.8% |
| Gillian Skuse Elected | Independent | 278 | 20.7% |
| Eric Page | Scottish Green | 195 | 14.5% |
| Julie Rickards | Independent | 118 | 8.8% |
| James Moar Elected | Independent | 111 | 8.3% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
Kirkwall East
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| John Ross Scott Elected | Scottish Green | 476 | 28.1% |
| Steven Heddle Elected | Independent | 428 | 25.3% |
| Gwenda Shearer Elected | Independent | 413 | 24.4% |
| David Dawson Elected | Independent | 285 | 16.8% |
| Graham Macdonald | Independent | 92 | 5.4% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
Kirkwall West and Orphir
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leslie Manson Elected | Independent | 320 | 20.7% |
| Ivan Taylor Elected | Independent | 252 | 16.3% |
| Sandy Cowie Elected | Independent | 250 | 16.2% |
| Kristopher Leask Elected | Scottish Green | 211 | 13.7% |
| Leslie Sinclair | Independent | 175 | 11.3% |
| Beverly Clubley | Independent | 159 | 10.3% |
| Barbara Foulkes | Independent | 155 | 10.0% |
| Cameron Whittle | Independent | 21 | 1.4% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
North Isles
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Heather Woodbridge Elected | Independent | 443 | 43.1% |
| Stephen Clackson Elected | Independent | 256 | 24.9% |
| Mellissa Thomson Elected | Independent | 204 | 19.8% |
| Paul Rendall | Independent | 76 | 7.4% |
| Sebastian Hadfield-Hyde | Independent | 50 | 4.9% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
Stromness and South Isles
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (3 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| James Stockan Elected | Independent | 353 | 30.7% |
| Graham Bevan Elected | Independent | 281 | 24.4% |
| Lindsay Hall Elected | Independent | 175 | 15.2% |
| Maia Brodie | Scottish Green | 157 | 13.7% |
| Rob Crichton | Independent | 115 | 10.0% |
| Magnus Olaf Thomson | Independent | 69 | 6.0% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
Last by-election, 28 March 2024
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Janette Anne Park Elected | Independent | 757 | 85.8% |
| Magnus Olaf Thomson | Independent | 125 | 14.2% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
West Mainland
Last scheduled election, 5 May 2022 (4 seats)
| Candidate | Party | First prefs | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owen Tierney Elected | Independent | 554 | 30.2% |
| Rachael King Elected | Independent | 477 | 26.0% |
| Jean Stevenson Elected | Independent | 284 | 15.5% |
| Duncan Tullock Elected | Independent | 237 | 12.9% |
| Helen Woodsford-Dean | Scottish Green | 217 | 11.8% |
| Sean Lewis | Independent | 64 | 3.5% |
Party shares are of first-preference votes.
Changed party since the election
1 councillor now sit for a different party from the one they were elected for.
| Ward | Councillor | Elected as | Now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kirkwall East | John Ross Scott | Scottish Green 2022 | Independent |
Every council by-election since 2021
1 by-election since July 2021, 0 of them gains.
| Date | Ward | Result | Winner's share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28 March 2024 | Stromness and South Isles | Independent hold |
Parliamentary constituencies
| Constituency | Share of council | 2024 winner | Projected now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orkney and Shetland | Lib Dem | Lib Dem 39% |
Scottish councils: seats are listed without shares. The projection is PollCheck's demographic model at current polling, not a forecast.
Who lives in Orkney Islands
44,939 residents in 21,200 households
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.
Councils most like this one
Closest on the measures above: the 2016 Leave vote, age, qualifications and housing. Maps show which party holds each ward.
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.