1977 Sutherland District Council election

1977 Sutherland District Council election
All 14 seats to Sutherland District Council; 8 seats needed for a majority
Registered	10,352
Turnout	64.0%
Council Control before election; ; Independent	Council Control after election ; ; Independent

Elections to Sutherland District Council were held on 3 May 1977, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the second election to the district council following the local government reforms in 1974.

The election used the original 12 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974 and two wards added to the district council due to boundary alterations between Sutherland and Caithness District Councils. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.^[1]

As with other elections in the Highland region, no candidates were affiliated with any political parties and the 14 councillors elected were all independents. In total, nine of the 14 wards were uncontested.

Background

Prior to the election, alterations were made to the area controlled by Sutherland and Caithness District Councils. An area in the west of Caithness including Tongue, Farr and Strathy was transferred to Sutherland. Before reorganisation in 1974, the area had been part of Sutherland County. As a result, the Tongue and Farr ward was transferred from Caithness and a new Strathy ward was created.^[1]^[2]

Results

1977 Sutherland District Council election result
Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	14	8	7	1^{[note 1]}	100.0	100.0	2,989

Source:^[3]^[4]

Ward results

Dornoch Burgh

Dornoch Burgh
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	D. S. Frier	Unopposed
Registered electors			668
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Dornoch East and West

Dornoch East and West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	I. G. Munro	330	66.7
	Independent	D. A. MacRae	97	19.6
	Independent	R. K. Smith	68	13.7
Majority			233	47.1
Turnout			495	63.2
Registered electors			787
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Creich East and West

Creich East and West
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	A. M. Gilmour	Unopposed
Registered electors			849
	Independent hold

Source:^[3]^[4]

Kincardine

Kincardine
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	E. M. A. Munro	Unopposed
Registered electors			537
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Rogart and Golspie Rural

Rogart and Golspie Rural
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D. Gordon	211	54.0
	Independent	C. C. D. Kinghorn	180	46.0
Majority			31	8.0
Turnout			391	63.6
Registered electors			616
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Golspie Village

Golspie Village
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	D. I. MacRae	391	60.9	4.4
	Independent	K. F. MacLean	251	39.1	New
Majority			140	21.8	25.3
Turnout			642	66.5	10.3
Registered electors			965
	Independent hold		Swing	4.4

Source:^[3]^[4]

Lairg

Lairg
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	W. G. Johnston	266	62.9	2.6
	Independent	N. G. MacDonald	157	37.1	2.6
Majority			109	25.8	5.2
Turnout			423	59.5	12.0
Registered electors			714
	Independent hold		Swing	2.6

Source:^[3]^[4]

Assynt and Stoer

Assynt and Stoer
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	F. H. W. Matheson	Unopposed
Registered electors			661
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Eddrachillis and Durness

Eddrachillis and Durness
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	L. MacKenzie	Unopposed
Registered electors			820
	Independent hold

Source:^[3]^[4]

Clyne

Clyne
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R. MacLeod	424	70.9	*New*
	Independent	W. Sutherland	174	29.1	37.8
Majority			250	41.8	N/A
Turnout			598	62.9	7.4
Registered electors			953
	Independent gain from Independent		Swing	54.3

Source:^[3]^[4]

Loth and Kildonan South

Loth and Kildonan South
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent	R. R. MacDonald	228	51.8	5.5
	Independent	I. MacKay	212	48.2	New
Majority			16	3.6	11.0
Turnout			440	68.4	2.2
Registered electors			646
	Independent hold		Swing	5.5

Source:^[3]^[4]

Kildonan North

Kildonan North
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	J. O. F. MacKay	Unopposed
Registered electors			712
	Independent hold

Source:^[3]^[4]

Tongue and Farr

Tongue and Farr
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	K. S. B. Henderson	Unopposed
Registered electors			867
	Independent gain from Independent

Source:^[3]^[4]

Strathy

Strathy
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Independent	E. B. M. Jardine	Unopposed
Registered electors			557
	Independent win (new seat)

Source:^[3]

Notes

^ ^a ^b Amendments to the boundary with Caithness District Council resulted in one ward transferring from Caithness to Sutherland and new ward being created. As a result, there were two more seats on Sutherland District Council than the previous election. These seats resulted in an independent win and an independent gain from independent.

References

^ ^a ^b "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ "Amendment at Tongue and Farr, Caithness District, Sutherland District, LGBCS report no 11, 1977" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1977). The Scottish District Elections 1977: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 28 January 2024.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

[Caithness-1] Amendments to the boundary with Caithness District Council resulted in one ward transferring from Caithness to Sutherland and new ward being created. As a result, there were two more seats on Sutherland District Council than the previous election. These seats resulted in an independent win and an independent gain from independent.

[Formation-2] "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[3] "Amendment at Tongue and Farr, Caithness District, Sutherland District, LGBCS report no 11, 1977" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 27 January 2024.

[SCE1977-4] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1977). The Scottish District Elections 1977: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

[SRE1974-5] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 28 January 2024.

[note 1]

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

v t e Council elections in the Highlands
The Highland Council	1974 1978 1982 1986 1990 1994 1995 1999 2003 2007 2012 2017 2022
Badenoch and Strathspey District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Caithness District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Inverness District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Lochaber District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Nairn District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Ross and Cromarty District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Skye and Lochalsh District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished
Sutherland District Council	1974 1977 1980 1984 1988 1992 Abolished

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