2017 Aberdeenshire Council election

Elections to Aberdeenshire Council were held on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 19 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 70 councillors being elected, an increase of two members compared to 2012.

2017 Aberdeenshire Council election

← 2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022 →
All 70 seats to Aberdeenshire Council 36 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jim Gifford Richard Thomson Peter Argyle Party Conservative SNP Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Mid Formartine Ellon and District Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside Last election 14 seats, 21.2% 28 seats, 38.9% 12 seats, 15.4% Seats won 23 21 14 Seat change 9 7 2 Popular vote 37,291 26,180 13,355 Percentage 40.1% 28.2% 14.4% Swing 18.9% 10.7% 1.0%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Norman Smith Alison Evison Martin Ford Party Independent Labour Scottish Green Last election 11 seats, 14.7% 2 seats, 6.8% 1 seat, 2.4% Seats after 10 1 1 Seat change 1 1 0 Popular vote 10,168 4,094 1,781 Percentage 10.9% 4.4% 1.9% Swing 3.8% 2.4% 0.5%
2017 Aberdeenshire Council Election Results Map
Council Leader before election Hamish Vernal SNP Council Leader after election Jim Gifford Conservative

The Conservatives returned the most councillors, the first time it has been the largest party in the region since 1982, when the area was under the Grampian Regional Council, although they fell short of an overall majority. The number of Scottish National Party (SNP) councillors fell by seven but remained the second largest group. The Liberal Democrats picked up two seats while the other parties achieved roughly the same results as the previous election in 2012.

After negotiations, on 18 May 2017, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Aligned Independents formed an administration, with Conservative councillor Jim Gifford being elected as council leader and Liberal Democrat councillor Bill Howatson being elected Provost.^[1]

Background

Previous election

Further information: 2012 Aberdeenshire Council election

At the previous election in 2012 the SNP won 28 seats, becoming the largest party on the council for the first time since 1995, replacing the Liberal Democrats. However, the SNP was still short of 7 seats for an overall majority. The Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Independent groups all fell well short of an overall majority. It must also be noted that in 2012 there were only 68 seats on the council.

2012 Aberdeenshire Council election result

Party	Seats	Vote share
SNP	28	38.9%
Conservative	14	21.2%
Liberal Democrats	12	15.4%
Independent	11	14.7%
Labour	2	6.8%
Scottish Greens	1	2.4%

Source:^[2]

Composition

There were several defections during the 2012-17 term, and 4 by-elections. One by-election resulted in an SNP gain from Conservative. Two by-elections resulted in Conservative gains from the Liberal Democrats, and the other resulted in a Conservative gain from the SNP.

Composition of Aberdeenshire Council

Party	2012 election	Dissolution
SNP	28	25
Conservative	14	17
Liberal Democrats	12	9
Independent	11	14
Labour	2	2
Scottish Greens	1	1

Results

2017 Aberdeenshire Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Conservative	23	9	0	9	32.9	40.1	37,291	18.9
	SNP	21	0	7	7	30.0	28.2	26,180	10.7
	Liberal Democrats	14	2	0	2	20.0	14.4	13,355	1.0
	Independent	10	2	3	1	14.3	10.9	10,168	3.8
	Labour	1	0	1	1	1.4	4.4	4,094	2.4
	Scottish Green	1	0	0		1.4	1.9	1,781	0.5
	Scottish Libertarian	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	79	New
	SDP	0	0	0		0.0	0.1	48	New
Total		68						92,996

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

Source:^[3][4]

Ward results

Banff and District

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017: 1 x Independent gain from SNP

Banff and District - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Conservative	Mike Roy (incumbent)	36.18%	1,509
	Independent	John B. Cox (incumbent)	26.18%	1,092
	SNP	Glen Reynolds	25.15%	1,049
	Liberal Democrats	Alison Simpson	12.49%	521
Electorate: 9,187   Valid: 4,171   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 1,043   Turnout: 46.0%

Troup

• 2012: 1 x SNP, 1 x Independent, 1 x Conservative
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Independent, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: No Change

Troup - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Conservative	Mark Findlater (incumbent)	44.79%	1,535
	Independent	Hamish Partridge (incumbent)	14.97%	513	721	759	912
	SNP	Ross Cassie (incumbent)	20.63%	707	740	759	795	804	1,165
	SNP	Ricky Taylor	11.47%	393	406	420	438	443
	Liberal Democrats	Sandy Leslie	4.17%	143	278	355
	Labour	Ray Stephen	3.97%	136	201
Electorate: 7,902   Valid: 3,427   Spoilt: 68   Quota: 857   Turnout: 44.20%

Fraserburgh and District

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 2 x Independent
• 2017: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from Independent

Fraserburgh and District - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	Conservative	Andy Kille	24.10%	1,229
	Independent	Doreen Mair	14.57%	743	781	790	873	950	1,061
	SNP	Charles Cummin Buchan (incumbent)	12.04%	614	617	758	783	811	855	859	910	999
	SNP	Brian Topping (incumbent)	12.78%	652	653	709	731	763	776	780	827	968
	Independent	Ian Tait (incumbent)	9.73%	496	529	532	564	590	637	644	743
	Independent	Michael Watt (incumbent)	6.45%	329	352	359	397	429	470	478
	Liberal Democrats	Ann Bell	5.14%	262	292	299	313	362
	Labour	Kenneth Watt	5.23%	267	282	287	311
	Independent	Charlie Reid	4.94%	252	258	267
	SNP	David Donn	5.02%	256	257
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,100   Spoilt: 93   Quota: 1,021   Turnout: 42.9%

Central Buchan

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017: Change: 1 x Liberal Democrat gain from SNP

Central Buchan - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Conservative	Marion Buchan	37.28%	1,808
	SNP	Jim Ingram (incumbent)	24.50%	1,188
	Independent	Norman Smith (incumbent)	17.79%	863	1,133
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Simpson	10.41%	505	760	777	854	1,169
	SNP	Lenny Pirie (incumbent)	10.02%	486	518	700	728
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,850   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 971   Turnout: 44.3%

Peterhead North and Rattray

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 2 x Independent
• 2017: 2 x Independent, 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative gain from SNP

Peterhead North and Rattray - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Conservative	Dianne Beagrie	41.33%	1,899
	SNP	Anne Allan (incumbent)	22.02%	1,012
	Independent	Alan S. Buchan (incumbent)	12.77%	587	855	861	925
	Independent	Iain Sutherland	9.64%	443	658	661	728	731	972
	SNP	Fiona McRae (incumbent)	11.95%	549	593	667	689	690
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Massey	2.29%	105	228	230
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,595   Spoilt: 95   Quota: 920   Turnout: 39.0%

Peterhead South and Cruden

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from SNP

Peterhead South and Cruden - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Conservative	Alan Fakley	37.00%	1,364
	SNP	Stephen William Smith (incumbent)	21.35%	787	801	828	857	1,384
	SNP	Stuart Wallace Pratt (incumbent)	15.16%	559	567	583	616
	Independent	Stephen Calder	14.02%	517	618	719	909	932
	Independent	Sam Coull	7.40%	273	351	416
	Liberal Democrats	Colin Simpson	5.07%	187	289
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 3,687   Spoilt: 82   Quota: 922   Turnout: 40.8%

Turriff and District

• 2012: 1 x SNP, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Conservative win due to one additional seat compared to 2012

Turriff and District - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Conservative	Iain Taylor*	37.36%	1,854
	SNP	Alastair Forsyth	25.39%	1,260
	Liberal Democrats	Anne Robertson (incumbent)	19.77%	981	1,324
	Independent	Sandy Duncan (incumbent)	10.96%	544	682	802	918	1,262
	Independent	Mike Rawlins	6.53%	324	429	514	559
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,963   Spoilt: 52   Quota: 993   Turnout: 46.8%

• = Sitting Councillor for Banff and District Ward.

Mid-Formartine

• 2012: 2 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Independent
• 2017: 1 x SNP, 1 x Conservative, 1 x Liberal Democrat, 1 x Independent
• 2012-2017 Change: 1 x Liberal Democrat gain from SNP

Mid-Formartine - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Conservative	Jim Gifford (incumbent)	34.61%	1,797
	Independent	Paul Johnston (incumbent)	20.61%	1,070
	SNP	Karen Adam	19.99%	1,038	1,057
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Hassan	9.46%	491	724	731	731	860	930	1,227
	Independent	Jeff Goodhall	4.79%	249	456	467	468	534	627
	SNP	Cryle Shand (incumbent)	5.82%	302	310	314	329	358
	Labour	Kirsten Muat	4.72%	245	301	303	303
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,192   Spoilt: 43   Quota: 1,039   Turnout: 46.1%

Ellon and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: no change

Ellon and District - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	Gillian Louise Owen (incumbent)	40.94	2,258
	Liberal Democrats	Isobel Davidson (incumbent)	19.71	1,087	1,703.86
	SNP	Richard Thomson (incumbent)	17.9	987	1,034.02	1,093.74	1,264.34
	SNP	Anouk Kahanov-Kloppert	13.93	768	793.55	843.88	1,024.70
	Labour	John Morgan	7.52	415	548.39	835.99
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,515   Spoilt: 64   Quota: 1,104   Turnout: 5,579 (47.2%)

West Garioch

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2012-2017 Change: No change

West Garioch - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Conservative	Sebastian Leslie	42.49	1,809
	SNP	Victoria Harper	19.73	840	858.10	874.33	879.02	979.03	1,487.26
	Liberal Democrats	Hazel Smith	15.64	666	1,011.06	1,155.76
	SNP	Elaine Mitchell	10.31	439	450.52	460.75	465.65	577.54
	Scottish Green	Richard Paul Openshaw	7.19	306	353.71	401.52	436.47
	Labour	Peter Young	4.63	197	266.5
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,257   Spoilt: 53   Quota: 1,065   Turnout: 4,310 (47.6%)

Inverurie and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLibDem; 1xIndependent
• 2012-2017 Change: Independent gain one seat from SNP

Inverurie and District - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	Colin Clark (incumbent)	35.95	1,732
	SNP	Neil Baillie	22.52	1,085
	Independent	Judy Margaret Whyte	20.38	982
	Liberal Democrats	Marion Ewenson	11.79	568	951.1	958.69	965.63
	SNP	Bryan Hunter Stuart (incumbent)	5.09	245	261.41	360.1	362.9
	Labour	Sarah Flavell	4.28	206	265.42	269.77	271.69
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,818   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 964   Turnout: 4,866 (43.3%)

East Garioch

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xGRN; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xGRN; 1xLib Dem; 1xCon
• 2012-2017 Change: One additional seat in the Ward, gained by Conservatives

East Garioch - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Conservative	Dominic Lonchay	31.34	1,429
	Scottish Green	Martin Anthony Ford (incumbent)	18.64	850	921.27
	Liberal Democrats	Fergie Hood (incumbent)	18.47	842	1,077.53
	SNP	Glen Reid	15.09	688	695.96	706.30	707.68	752.38	1,360.51
	SNP	Conor McKay	12.52	571	577.87	590.28	591.88	658.89
	Labour	Ann Thorpe	3.93	179	228.57	294.78	297.37
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,559   Spoilt: 37   Quota: 912   Turnout: 4,596 (45.17%)

Westhill and District

• 2012: 2xSNP; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from SNP

Westhill and District - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Conservative	Ron McKail (incumbent)	33.67	2,019
	Liberal Democrats	Iris Margaret Walker (incumbent)	22.85	1,370
	SNP	David Robert Aitchison (incumbent)	14.63	877	884.71	893.94	912.92	921.93	987.15	1,603.65
	Conservative	Alistair McKelvie	13.81	828	1,564
	SNP	Heather Coull	9.29	557	561.06	567.94	584.07	593.09	689.29
	Labour	Lindsey Kirkhill	4.44	266	279.39	331.55	377.96	422.04
	Scottish Libertarian	Derek Scott	1.31	79	83.46	114.63	126.79
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,996   Spoilt: 65   Quota: 1,200   Turnout: 6,061 (50.4%)

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Independent

Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	Conservative	Moira Ingleby (incumbent)	30.69	1,741
	Conservative	Robbie Withey	20.43	1,159
	Liberal Democrats	John Latham (incumbent)	17.54	995	1,212.54
	SNP	Gwyneth Petrie (incumbent)	15.78	895	924.24	930.54	931.06	994.03	1,639.02
	SNP	Kate Monahan	10.38	589	594.92	601.66	602.01	701.6
	Labour	Bryan Begg	5.18	294	363.27	390.63	396.05
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,673   Spoilt: 112   Quota: 1,135   Turnout: 5,785 (47.8%)

Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: No change

Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2
	Conservative	Paul Gibb	43.97	2,093
	SNP	Geva Blackett (incumbent)	29.66	1,364
	Liberal Democrats	Peter Argyle (incumbent)	18.91	900	1,307.70
	Independent	Anne Reid	4.74	226	338.17
	Labour	Claire Miller	3.7	176	238.99
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,759   Spoilt: 32   Quota: 1,190   Turnout: 4,791 (53.2%)

Banchory and Mid-Deeside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: No change

Banchory and Mid-Deeside - 3 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	Ann Ross	52.8	2,525
	SNP	Eileen Durno	21.89	1,046	1,088.11	1,162.35	1,417.64
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Bruce	20.25	968	1,689.6
	Labour	Iain Gillies	5.04	241	352.58	596.12
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 4,780   Spoilt: 33   Quota: 1,196   Turnout: 4,813 (54.6%)

North Kincardine

• 2012: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xCon; 1xLib Dem
• 2012-2017 Change: No change

North Kincardine - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3
	Conservative	Colin Pike	30.46	1,685
	Liberal Democrats	Ian Mollison (incumbent)	22.08	1,221
	SNP	Alastair Bews (incumbent)	20.55	1,138
	Labour	Alison Evison (incumbent)	16.27	901	1,074.91	1,124.67
	SNP	Kes Smith	6.47	358	375.49	387.16
	Scottish Green	William Ball	3.25	180	224.25	237.88
	SDP	David Lansdell	0.87	48	95.34	100.66
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,531   Spoilt: 48   Quota: 1,107   Turnout: 5,579

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLab; 1xLib Dem
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Labour

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Conservative	Wendy Agnew (incumbent)	30.83	1,703
	SNP	Dennis Robertson	23.54	1,300
	Liberal Democrats	Sarah Dickinson	17.09	944	1,030.38	1,057.08	1,084.63	1,155.68
	Conservative	Sandy Wallace	14.85	820	1,196.42
	Labour	Raymond Christie (incumbent)	6.36	351	381.9	403.05	410.4	457.09
	Scottish Green	Rachel Shanks	3.84	212	223.24	312.79	316.27	365.31
	Independent	Philip Bishop	3.49	193	217.23	229.83	243.06
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,523   Spoilt: 87   Quota: 1,105   Turnout: 5,610 (49.7%)

Mearns

• 2012: 1xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLib Dem; 1xIndependent
• 2017: 2xCon; 1xSNP; 1xLibDem
• 2012-2017 Change: Conservatives gain one seat from Independent

Mearns - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Conservative	George Carr (incumbent)	36.19	2,034
	SNP	Leigh Wilson	16.03	901	914.41	935.75	936.02	997.27	1,045.19	1,735.42
	SNP	Carole Wise	12.46	700	705.36	715.36	715.57	751.47	815.73
	Liberal Democrats	Bill Howatson (incumbent)	10.66	599	701.79	767.94	772.58	863.53	1,100.31	1,145.13
	Independent	Dave Stewart (incumbent)	8.4	472	517.14	546.48	549.66	596.82
	Conservative	Jeff Hutchison	8.2	461	1,116.16	1,141.52
	Scottish Green	Karen Allan	4.15	233	248.19	284.09	284.94
	Labour	Patrick Coffield	3.91	220	237.43
Electorate: TBC   Valid: 5,620   Spoilt: 70   Quota: 1,125   Turnout: 5,690 (48.3%)

Aftermath

As no single party group on the council won enough seats to form an administration with an overall majority, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Aligned Independents groups formed an administration on 18 May 2017, after negotiations. As part of the deal, Conservative councillor for Mid-Formartine Cllr Jim Gifford was elected as council leader and Liberal Democrat councillor for Mearns, Cllr Bill Howatson was elected as Provost.^[1]

West Garioch Conservative Cllr Sebastian Leslie was suspended from the party on 18 September 2018 and became an Independent having refused to pay his Council Tax.^{[citation needed]}

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside Conservative Cllr Sandy Wallace resigned from the party and became an Independent on 12 December 2018 citing he had no faith in either the Prime Minister or the Conservative controlled Coalition in Aberdeenshire.^[5] On 10 November 2020, the Scottish Libertarian Party announced that Wallace had joined the party.^[6]

North Kincardine Conservative Cllr Colin Pike resigned from the party and became an Independent on 6 March 2020.^[7]

Mearns SNP Cllr Leigh Wilson resigned from the party and became an Independent on 15 May 2020 citing professional circumstances.^[8]

North Kincardine SNP Cllr Alistair Bews resigned from the party and became an Independent on 17 May 2020 citing personal and professional reasons.^[9]

On 1 June 2020 Mid-Formantine Conservative Cllr Jim Gifford was replaced as Leader of the council and became an Independent. He was followed by Lesley Berry (Inverurie) and Jeff Hutchinson (Mearns).^[10]

On 7 June 2020 Banff Conservative Cllr Mike Roy resigned from the party and became an Independent.^[11]

By-elections

Inverurie & District by-election

On 12 October 2017 a by-elected was held after Inverurie & District Conservative Cllr Colin Clark was elected as an MP for Gordon on 8 June 2017. He resigned his council seat on 28 June 2017.^[12] The Conservative candidate Lesley Berry held the seat for her party.

Inverurie & District By-election (12 October 2017) - 1 Seat^[13]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	Lesley Berry	48.53%	1,672	1,679	1,715	1,871
	SNP	Elaine Mitchell	33.27%	1,146	1,161	1,234	1,300
	Liberal Democrats	Scott Bremner	8.56%	295	309	412
	Labour	Sarah Flavell	8.01%	276	290
	Scottish Green	Craig Stewart	1.62%	56
Electorate: NA   Valid: 3,445   Spoilt: 26   Quota: 1,723   Turnout: 30.9%

Ellon & District by-election

On 15 October a by-election was held after Ellon & District SNP Cllr Richard Thomson was elected an MP for Gordon in the 2019 UK general election. He resigned his Council seat in April 2020.^[14] The SNP candidate Louise Mcallister held the seat for her party.

Ellon & District By-election (15 October 2020) - 1 Seat ^[15]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	SNP	Louise Mcallister	42.4	1,683	1,725	1,757	1,916
	Conservative	John Crawley	41.7	1,658	1,663	1,679	1,840
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Mason	10.2	405	443	485
	Labour	John Bennett	2.9	114	126
	Scottish Green	Peter Kennedy	2.8	112
Electorate: 11,893   Valid: 3,972   Spoilt: 34   Quota: 1,987   Turnout: 4,006 (33.7%)

East Garioch by-election

On 17 June 2021 a by-election was held after East Garioch Lib Dem Councillor Fergus Hood died in March 2021 following a prolonged illness.^[16] The Conservative candidate David Keating won the seat from the Liberal Democrats.

East Garioch By-election (17 June 2021) - 1 Seat ^[17]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4
	Conservative	David Keating	45.5	1,240	1,261	1,268	1,394
	SNP	Dan Ritchie	35.3	963	982	1,058	1,146
	Liberal Democrats	Trevor Mason	10.3	281	319	365
	Scottish Green	Jamie Ogilvie	4.8	130	143
	Labour	Andy Brown	4.1	111
Electorate: 10,445   Valid: 2,725   Spoilt: 15   Quota: 1,363   Turnout: 26.2%

Mid-Formartine by-election

On 19 August a by-election was held after Mid-Formartine SNP Cllr Karen Adam resigned her seat upon being elected a MSP to the Scottish Parliament for Banffshire and Buchan Coast on 3 June 2021. The Conservative candidate Sheila Powell won the seat from the SNP.

Mid-Formartine By-election (19 August 2021) - 1 Seat^[18]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Conservative	Sheila Powell	45.7	1,480
	SNP	Jenny Nicol	37.2	1,205
	Liberal Democrats	Jeff Goodhall	12.7	412
	Scottish Green	Peter Kennedy	4.4	144