 | 'Nigel Don was chosen to represent the Dundee ward of Lochee in May, at the same time he won his seat in the Scottish Parliament. He told SNP colleagues he had decided to quit Dundee City Council after he was appointed liason officer for the cabinet secretary for justice.' BBC News, 23 rd August 2007 |  |
There was a by-election in the Lochee ward of Dundee City Council on the 22 nd November 2007 following the resignation of Scottish National Party Cllr Nigel Don MSP upon his appointment as liason officer for the cabinet secretary for justice.
Lochee is in the Dundee West Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's James McGovern MP) and in the Dundee West Scottish parliamentary seat (held by the Scottish National Party's Joe Fitzpatrick MSP). Lochee Ward includes Lochee, Charleston, Dryburgh, Menzieshill and Gowrie Park. In May 2007, four Cllrs were elected: Nigel Don and Bob Duncan for the Scottish National Party and John Letford and Tom Ferguson for Labour.
Scottish National Party hold.
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Cllr Allan Ross Scottish National Party Newly elected Cllr |
Cllr Bob Duncan Scottish National Party |
Cllr John Letford Labour |
Cllr Tom Ferguson Labour |
| Seats | Candidates | Counts | Electorate | Quota | Rejected votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 29.24 % Turnout | 2,051 | 40 |
| Candidate | Logo | Party | 1 st Pref | Share | Quota | Count | Status | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alan Ross |  |
Scottish National Party | 2,005 | 48.89 % | 0.98 | 4 | Made Quota | 1 |
| George Irvine |  |
Labour | 1,385 | 34.02 % | 0.68 | 4 | Not elected | |
| Christopher Hall |  |
Liberal Democrat | 435 | 10.61 % | 0.21 | 4 | Not elected | |
| Martyn R. N. Geddes |  |
Conservative & Unionist | 154 | 3.76 % | 0.08 | 4 | Eliminated | |
| Neil Bell |  |
Solidarity | 57 | 1.39 % | 0.03 | 3 | Eliminated | |
| Alan Albert Graham |  |
Scottish Socialist Party | 55 | 1.34 % | 0.03 | 2 | Eliminated |
| Adjustments | Exclusion of Graham | Exclusion of Bell | Exclusion of Geddes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | Count 4 |
| Alan Ross | |
Scottish National Party | 2,005 | + 15 2,020 |
+ 8 2,028 |
+ 27 2,055 Elected |
| George McIrvine | |
Labour | 1,395 | + 17 1,412 |
+ 20 1,432 |
+ 16 1,448 Not Elected |
| Chris Hall | |
Liberal Democrat | 435 | + 2 437 |
+ 9 446 |
+ 54 500 Not Elected |
| Martyn R. N. Geddes | |
Conservative & Unionist | 154 | +2 156 |
+ 5 161 |
- 161 0 Eliminated |
| Neil Bell | |
Solidarity | 57 | + 8 65 |
-65 0 Eliminated |
|
| Alan Albert Graham | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 55 | - 55 0 Eliminated |
||
| Non-transferable votes | 0 | + 11 11 |
+ 23 34 |
+ 64 98 |
||
| Seats | Candidates | Counts | Electorate | Quota | Rejected votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | 9 | 9 | 52.36 % Turnout | 1,426 | 205 |
| Candidate | Logo | Party | 1 st Pref | Share | Quota | Count | Status | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Nigel Don | |
Scottish National Party | 2,216 | 31.08 % | 1.55 | 1 | Made Quota | 1 |
| Cllr John Letford | |
Labour | 1,385 | 19.42 % | 0.97 | 3 | Made Quota | 3 |
| Bob Duncan | |
Scottish National Party | 1,142 | 16.02 % | 0.80 | 2 | Made Quota | 2 |
| Tom Ferguson | |
Labour | 940 | 13.19 % | 0.66 | 9 | Made Quota | 4 |
| Chris Hall | |
Liberal Democrat | 479 | 6.72 % | 0.33 | 9 | Eliminated | |
| Philip Varghese | |
Conservative & Unionist | 369 | 5.18 % | 0.26 | 8 | Eliminated | |
| Chris Hind | |
Labour | 297 | 4.17 % | 0.21 | 7 | Eliminated | |
| Neil Bell | |
Solidarity | 218 | 3.06 % | 0.15 | 6 | Eliminated | |
| Alan Albert Graham | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 83 | 1.16 % | 0.06 | 5 | Eliminated |
| Adjustments | Transfer of surplus from Don | Transfer of surplus from Duncan | Transfer of surplus from Letford | Exclusion of Graham | Exclusion of Bell | Exclusion of Hind | Exclusion of Varghese | Exclusion of Hall | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Count 1 | Count 2 | Count 3 | Count 4 | Count 5 | Count 6 | Count 7 | Count 8 | Count 9 |
| Cllr Nigel Don | |
Scottish National Party | 2,216 Elected |
- 790 1,426 |
|||||||
| Bob Duncan | |
Scottish National Party | 1,142 | + 650.59 1,792.59 Elected |
- 366.59 1426 |
||||||
| Cllr John Letford | |
Labour | 1,385 | + 16.04 1,401.04 |
+ 27.33 1,428.37 Elected |
- 2.37 1,426 |
|||||
| Tom Ferguson | |
Labour | 940 | + 17.47 957.47 |
+ 29.50 986.97 |
+ 0.77 987.74 |
+ 13.68 1,001.42 |
+ 64.30 1,065.72 |
+ 210.88 1,276.60 |
+ 30.39 1,307.00 |
+ 201.27 1,508.26 Elected |
| Chris Hall | |
Liberal Democrat | 479 | + 15.69 494.69 |
+ 37.7 531.95 |
+ 0.07 532.03 |
+ 10.14 542.17 |
+ 44.79 586.96 |
+ 27.43 614.39 |
+ 162.03 776.42 |
- 776.42 0 Eliminated |
| Philip Varghese | |
Conservative & Unionist | 369 | + 6.42 375.42 |
+ 17.50 392.92 |
+ 0.02 392.93 |
+ 5.70 398.63 |
+ 10.01 408.65 |
+ 3.71 412.36 |
- 412.36 0 Eliminated |
|
| Chris Hind | |
Labour | 297 | + 4.99 301.99 |
+ 12.37 314.36 |
+ 1.02 315.38 |
+ 7.02 322.40 |
+ 23.72 346.11 |
- 346.11 0 Eliminated |
||
| Neil Bell | |
Solidarity | 218 | + 14.26 232.26 |
+ 35.84 268.10 |
+ 0.05 268.14 |
+ 37.63 305.78 |
- 305.78 0 Eliminated |
|||
| Alan Albert Graham | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 83 | + 7.13 90.13 |
+ 21.65 111.75 |
+ 0.03 111.78 |
- 111.78 0 Eliminated |
||||
| Non-transferable votes | 0 | + 57.41 57.41 |
+ 185.17 242.59 |
+ 0.41 243.00 |
+ 37.60 280.60 |
+ 162.96 443.56 |
+ 104.09 547.65 |
+ 219.93 767.59 |
+ 575.15 1,342.74 |
||
 |
Neil Rennie Bell | |
| Solidarity | ||
| Alan Grahan contested this ward for the SSP in 2007, coming eight in first preference votes.
Recent electoral experience. 2007 Dundee City Council election, Lochee, 218 votes (3.06 %) | ||
 |
Martyn Richard Nicholas Geddes | |
| Conservative & Unionist | ||
| Martyn Geddes is a third year applied computing student at Dundee University. He lists his hobbies as "Into music (indie and rock but i listen to stuff cross the spectrum), seriously i have over 160 cds lol, guitars, tv, movies, drinking etc if u want to know anythin else get in touch." He contested Strathmartine ward at the 2007 council elections, coming seveth in first preference votes.
Recent electoral experience. 2007 Dundee City Council election, Strathmartine, 186 votes (2.69 %) | ||
|
Alan Albert Graham | |
| Scottish Socialist Party - Scrap Council Tax | ||
| Alan Grahan contested this ward for the SSP in 2007, coming ninth in first preference votes.
Recent electoral experience. 2007 Dundee City Council election, Lochee, 83 votes (1.16 %) | ||
 |
Chris Hall | |
| Liberal Democrat | ||
| Hailing originally from Clackmannanshire, Chris originally came to Dundee to study for a BSc in Civil Engineering at Abertay University. He has recently worked for Angus Council and lists hill-walking as one of his leisure interests. Recent electoral experience 2007 Dundee City election, Lochee, 479 votes (6.72 %) | ||
|
Alan Ross | |
| Scottish National Party | ||
| Alan Ross was brought up in the Lochee area and attended Ancrum Primary and Menzieshill Secondary. He is a trained chef by trade and is presently an HNC Legal Services student at Dundee College. He also works part-time in the Lochee area as a Youth Worker for Dundee City Council. If elected, he will resign from his part-time job to concentrate on representing the constituents of Lochee on Dundee City Council. Recent electoral experience | ||
 |
George Raymond McIrvine | |
| Labour | ||
| George McIrvine is an Intelligence Analyst with Tayside Police. He stood in East End ward in 2007, coming third in terms of first preference votes, but failed to gain enough alternative votes to be elected. Recent electoral experience 2007 Dundee City election, East End, 913 votes (15.80 %) | ||
A Nationalist MSP has announced that he is to step down as a councillor, just months after being re-elected.
Nigel Don was chosen to represent the Dundee ward of Lochee in May, at the same time he won his seat in the Scottish Parliament.
He told SNP colleagues he had decided to quit Dundee City Council after he was appointed liason officer for the cabinet secretary for justice.
Mr Don has represented the city's Menzieshill ward for four years.
'Reluctantly agreed'
The leader of Dundee council's SNP group said Mr Don's additional workload had prompted his decision to stand down from the council.
Councillor Ken Guild told the BBC Scotland news website: "He's been given extra duties which will entail a fair amount of dashing about.
"He feels he couldn't spend the time in his ward that we would demand because we do insist councillors are available at all times.
"He suggested he stand down at a group meeting last night and we reluctantly agreed.
"He is very conscious of his duties as an MSP and councillor and I would like to pay tribute to Nigel for the terrific work he's done."
Mr Don's decision will trigger a by-election in Lochee.
AN SNP MSP who also serves as a councillor announced last night that he was to quit the local authority.
Nigel Don's decision to leave Dundee City Council comes days after Stefan Tymkewycz, another Nationalist MSP, said he was quitting Holyrood to concentrate on his role as an Edinburgh councillor.
Labour seized on the announcement and said the three remaining SNP MSPs who were also elected councillors in May must choose between Holyrood or their local authority.
A spokesman said: "Stefan Tymkewycz and Nigel Don have both realised that you cannot be a councillor and an MSP at the same time. It has taken them long enough but they have done the decent thing and resigned. What about the others?"
A vacancy has occurred in Ward 2 Lochee and an election will be held on Thursday 22 November. The election will be held under Single Transferable Vote (STV) rules.
A timetable (56KB MS Word doc) has been produced and polling places (6KB PDF) selected.
Information on candidates will appear here after close of nominations on 31 October.
If you have recently moved in to the Lochee ward and are not already on the register you can make an application to be included. This must be done by 7 November. If you are on the register and want to vote by post you must apply by 7 November.
All enquiries regarding the election should be made by telephone to the elections helpline 01382 434444 or by email to stuart.galloway@dundeecity.gov.uk.
CASUAL VACANCY - LOCHEE TIMETABLE - 22ND NOVEMBER 2007
Delivery of Note of Resignation Thursday, 23rd August 2007
Effective Date of Resignation Friday, 24th August 2007
Publication of Notice of Election Friday, 19th October 2007
*Last Date for Delivery of Nomination Papers Wednesday, 31st October 2007 (4 pm)
*Last Date of Withdrawal of Nominations Wednesday, 31st October 2007 (4 pm)
*Last Day for Nomination of Election Agents Wednesday, 31st October 2007 (4 pm)
*Deadline for Applications to be Included on Register of Electors to be Used at this Election Wednesday, 7th November 2007 (5 pm)
*Last Day for Changes to Existing Postal or Proxy Arrangements Wednesday, 7th November 2007 (5 pm)
Postal Vote issue Friday, 9th November 2007 (9.00 a.m.)
Notice of Poll Tuesday, 13th November 2007
*Last Day for New Applications to Vote by Proxy (Not Postal Proxy) Wednesday, 14th November 2007 (5 pm)
Last Day for Delivery of Appointments of Polling and Counting Agents Thursday, 15th November 2007
First Postal Vote Opening Tuesday, 20th November 2007 (9 a.m.)
Polling Day (7 am to 10 pm) Thursday, 22nd November 2007
Counting of Votes Cast Friday, 23rd November 2007
Marryat Hall City Square - 9.30 am
*Last date for submission of Returns of Election Expenses and Declarations by Election Agents Thursday, 3rd January, 2008
NOTE:
An election must be held within three months of the effective date of the resignation.
* Denotes Statutory Date
Dundee Liberal Democrats today (Sunday 9th September) announced the selection of their candidate for the forthcoming Dundee City Council by-election in Lochee Ward, following the resignation of SNP councillor Nigel Don.
The Liberal Democrats have selected Chris Hall, who was the party's standard-bearer in Lochee Ward at May's Council Elections, when he outpolled both the Conservative candidate and one of the Labour Party candidates.
Hailing originally from Clackmannanshire, Mr Hall originally came to Dundee to study for a BSc in Civil Engineering at Abertay University. He has recently worked for Angus Council and lists hill-walking as one of his leisure interests.
Chris Hall said, "I am delighted to have again been selected as Liberal Democrat candidate for the Lochee Ward. It is disappointing that an SNP councillor has resigned after less than four months of his four year term, resulting in an expensive and unnecessary by-election.
"I want to ensure that Lochee has councillors who will last the full term, working on behalf of local people."
ALAN ROSS has been announced by the Scottish National Party as their candidate for the Lochee By-Election.
Alan presently an HNC Legal Services student at Dundee College also works part-time in the Lochee area as a Youth Worker for Dundee City Council.
If elected, he will resign from his part-time job to concentrate on representing the constituents of Lochee on Dundee City Council.
A trained chef by trade, Alan Ross was born and brought up in Lochee and was educated at Ancrum Road Primary and Menzieshill High School.
The Scottish National Party is the largest group on the Council which is presently run by a Labour-Lib Dem-Conservative coalition.
The date of the by-election announced last week by Chief Executive Alex Stephen is Thursday 22 November.
It was with much amusement that I saw the latest leaflet by the Liberal Democrats in Dundee.
Their candidate for the Lochee by-election has done their usual - finding potholes and broken fences, etc. and been very critical of the planning and transportation department.
The convener of that department is the group leader of the Š Liberal Democrats! Do they speak to each other?
Political Connoisseur.
Alan with Cllr Bob Duncan, Joe FitzPatrick MSP and Kenny McAskill, Cabinet Secretary for Justice - at Charleston Community Centre.
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth met up with the SNP Candidate for the Lochee By-Election Alan Ross to discuss the campaign.
Joe FitzPatrick said: 'The key issue of the By-Election is undoubtedly the SNP Government's plan to abolish the Council Tax and replace it with a Local Income Tax based on the ability to pay.
The Cabinet Secretary is determined to work with Councils to freeze the Council Tax for two years before the system is replaced by Local Income Tax.
Joe FitzPatrick said: 'The Parliament has supported this flagship SNP policy to abolish the Council Tax. We will work with councils and opposition MSPs to deliver this key pledge which will make such a difference to so many people who presently struggle to afford the Council Tax. The local income tax will be a much fairer system but it is important that we keep up the public pressure to achieve its introduction.'
'Every vote for the SNP in Lochee By Election on 22 November will help to bring an end to the Council Tax.'
Alan Ross said: 'If elected on 22 November for Lochee Ward, I will, as part of the SNP Group in Dundee, work hard to deliver this key policy and as the first step we will deliver a Council Tax freeze this year and next year in the transition period before the Council Tax disappears. I hope that the electors will see the benefits of this fairer and progressive way of paying for local services.
'I don't think many will mourn the Council Tax, most will say 'Good Riddance!'.
ENDS.
This Press Release issued by Andrew Scott, Senior Press Oficer,
Dundee SNP Parliamentary Offices, 8 Old Glamis Road, Dundee. DD3 8HP
Tel: (01382) 903202; Mobile: 077899 46492; Email: media@dundeesnp.org
Email: andrew.scott@scottish.parliament.uk
The votes were counted today (23 November) in the Lochee By-Election which was held on Thursday 22 November, 2007.
The Scottish National Party Candidate, Alan Ross was elected at stage 4 under the single transferable vote system of proportional representation.
There were 4,141 votes cast out of an electorate of 14,164 which is equivalent to a 29.24% turnout.
Details of the votes at each stage can be viewed here.
The by-election was held following the resignation of Nigel Don who was elected to the Scottish Parliament in May as a list MSP for North East Scotland.
This information is provided by the Support Services Department
The SNP has retained one of its places on Dundee City Council with victory in the Lochee ward.
The vacancy on the council, which is controlled by a Labour-Lib Dem coalition, arose through Nigel Don's election in May as an SNP MSP.
He is succeeded as a councillor by Alan Ross, who won the seat with 49% of first preferences.
Joe Fitzpatrick, SNP MSP for Dundee West, said it was a "fantastic result for the SNP".
Mr Ross said: "I'd like to thank all the voters and people in Lochee who have given me their trust.
"I look forward to getting to work in the council to ensure the interests of the people of Lochee are properly represented."
Cllr Alan Ross is the SNP's newest elected representative following his decisive victory in the Lochee By-election yesterday. Cllr Ross was declared as the new Councillor for the Lochee ward following this morning's count. He succeeds MSP Nigel Don, and won the seat with 49% of first preferences.
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said
"This is a fantastic result for the SNP and shows the support of the people of Dundee for the SNP in Government and on Dundee City Council.
"People in Dundee have responded enthusiastically to the actions of the SNP Government, the removal of tolls on the Tay Bridge and the historic council tax freeze.
"The tactics employed by Labour and the Lib Dems, criticising the Government and attacking the historic deal with local authorities are getting them no where, in fact the SNP share of the vote has increased.
"Alan Ross will be an excellent addition to Dundee City Council working for the people of Lochee and helping to deliver a safer, smarter and wealthier Dundee.
Cllr Alan Ross said
"I'd like to thank all the voters and people in Lochee who have given me their trust and I look forward to getting to work in the Council to ensure the interests of the people of Lochee are properly represented.
"The SNP with 13 councillors have been the largest group on Dundee City Council since 2003 but have been kept out of power by a failing coalition of 10 Labour, 3 Tories and 2 Lib Dems."
ENDS
The SNP won 48.9% of first preferences, an increase on the 47% won in the May 3rd election. Labour's first preference votes fell by 3%.
The result was:
| Party | Votes | % |
| SNP | 2005 | 49% |
| Labour | 1395 | 34% |
| LibDem | 435 | 11% |
| Tory | 154 | 4% |
| Other | 112 | 3% |
Fantastic news that the SNP won the Dundee council by-election yesterday.
The honeymoon period doesn't seem to be over yet and I think people are beginning to realise that the SNP has put an end to traditional political honeymoons. They generally last a couple of months and the feeling amongst the public is that sooner or later every party will be a letdown. But that's not happening with the SNP. Of course you can't please everyone all the time but I think people are realising that the SNP brings a different kind of politics to the country. And that translates into votes. Thus the by-election victory last night.
I am particularly delighted because I've a huge soft spot for everyone in Dundee SNP. I worked there for some time as Parliamentary Researcher to Shona Robison MSP (now the Minister for Public Health) and to Stewart Hosie MP. The activists there do an incredible job, are very well organised and seem to win election after election. So, congratulations to them - and congratulations to the people of Dundee for voting in their new Councillor Alan Ross.
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