Moray local election results in full: Conservatives gain three seats while SNP lose one
THE Conservatives gained three seats in Moray while the SNP lost one in today's local council election.
The Tories are now the largest party in Moray Council with 11 councillors, while the SNP have eight.
The Tory gain in Moray is one of the few positives for the party after they lost 52 seats nationwide today.
Moray's Conservative MP Douglas Ross said: "We've elected more Scottish Conservative councillors than ever before in Moray.
"We have gone forward and the SNP have gone backwards – losing a seat.
"There's no doubt the SNP minority administration has lost the right to run Moray Council."
Graham Leadbitter (SNP), former council leader, said: "We have massively closed the gap on the Conservatives.
"The Conservatives were 1000 votes ahead of us in the last election in Moray and they're now about 100 ahead. So that's a big increase in our vote.
"We will be having tough conversations with other parties and trying to form an administration. Our aim is to form a stable administration to take the council forward."
Moray MSP Richard Lochhead (SNP) said: "Locally, the SNP has a team of eight talented councillors ready to serve Moray including some new faces that were elected with very impressive levels of support but I am sorry we lost Dave Bremner a valued colleague."
He added: "It's now down to the negotiations between the parties to decide who runs the next Moray Council and I wish to congratulate all the new councillors elected and everyone who voted in this election."
Elsewhere in Moray, Labour had three councillors (up two from 2017) elected, while the Greens and Lib Dems, having had no councillors previously, got one each.
The Green councillor (Draeyk Van der Horn, Forres) is the first ever from the party to be elected in Moray.
While Labour councillor Ben Williams (Fochabers-Lhanbryde) is believed to be the youngest ever at 19.
Two independent councillors were also elected.
The results for all eight wards in Moray are as follows, with first preference votes shown beside the winning candidates.
Click ward name for a full breakdown.
Speyside Glenlivet
Juli Harris (SNP) - 1227
David Gordon (Conservatives) - 1129
Derek Ross (Independent) - 672
Keith and Cullen
Theresa Coull (SNP) - 1493
Donald Gatt (Conservatives) - 849
Tracy Coyler (Conservatives) - 650
Buckie (uncontested)
Sonya Warren (SNP)
Neil McLennan (Conservatives)
Christopher Thomas Price (Lib Dems)
Fochabers Lhanbryde
Marc Macrae (Conservatives) - 1590
Shona Morrison (SNP) - 940
Ben Williams (Labour) - 404
Heldon and Laich
Neil Cameron (SNP) 1455
James Allan (Conservatives) - 1331
John Cowe (Independent) - 914
Bridget Mustard (Conservatives) - 629
Elgin City North
Jérémie Fernandes (SNP) - 1199
Sandy Keith (Labour) - 1048
Amber Dunbar (Conservatives) - 952
Elgin City South
Graham Leadbitter (SNP) - 1444
John Divers (Labour) - 1142
Peter Bloomfield (Conservatives) - 1090
Forres
Scott Lawrence (SNP) - 2077
Kathleen Robertson (Conservatives) - 1516
Paul McBain (Conservatives) - 962
Draeyk Van Der Horn (Greens) - 550
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