 | 'I am committed to being a strong voice for local people and am delighted to have been chosen to represent the Lochside ward. I will not let my community down.' Cllr Ronnie Nicholson. |  |
| 'I am committed to being a strong voice for local people and am delighted to have been chosen to represent the Lochside ward. I will not let my community down.' Cllr Ronnie Nicholson. | |
There was a by-election for the Lochside ward of Dumfries & Galloway Council on the 13 th of October 2005 following the resignation of Independent Cllr William Nimmo. William Nimmo was Labour councillor Newton (ward 52) from 1995 until 1999, then Independent Labour Councillor for Lochside from 1999 until 2003 and Independent Councillor for Lochside from 2003 until 2005.
Lochside is in the Dumfries & Galloway Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Russell Brown MP) and in the Dumfries Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Dr Elaine Murray MSP).
Labour gain from Independent (previously Independent Labour, previously Labour). Swing 35.3 % from Independent (previously Independent Labour, previously Labour) to Labour.
| 13 th October 2005 By-election Turnout 42.2 % ( %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ronnie Nicholson |  |
Labour | 676 | 75.5 % | + 36.8 % |
| Kenneth C. Cameron |  |
Independent | 89 | 9.9 % | (+ 9.9 %) |
| Robert L Brack |  |
Scotish Socialist Party | 56 | 6.3 % | (+ 6.3 %) |
| Andrew S. Wood |  |
Scottish National Party | 41 | 4.6 % | - 8.2 % |
| Michael J. Thomson | |
Independent | 27 | 3.0 % | (+ 3.0 %) |
| Adrienne Regan |  |
Conservative | 6 | 0.7 % | - 2.1 % |
| Labour gain from Independent | |
Labour majority | 587 | 65.6 % | |
| 1 st May 2003 Turnout % ( %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Nimmo | |
Independent | 486 | 45.7 % | - 4.7 % |
| Gilbert Fergusson | |
Labour | 412 | 38.7 % | + 3.6 % |
| Elizabeth Shannon | |
Scottish National Party | 136 | 12.8 % | - 1.7 % |
| Adrienne Regan | |
Conservative | 30 | 2.8 % | (+ 2.8 %) |
| Independent gain from Independent Labour | |
Independent majority | 74 | 8.3 % | - 7.0 % |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 61.3 % (+ 61.3 %) | |||||
| William Nimmo | |
Independent Labour | 788 | 50.4 % | - 4.7 % |
| Patrick Deegan | |
Labour | 548 | 35.1 % | % |
| Elizabeth Shannon | |
Scottish National Party | 227 | 14.5 % | % |
| Independent Labour gain from Labour | |
Independent Labour majority | 240 | 15.3 % | |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 0 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| William Nimmo | |
Labour | Elected unopposed | ||
Case no: LA/DG/73
Date case started: 23/Aug/04
Report to Commission: 11/Mar/05
Allegation against: Councillor William Nimmo
Nature of allegation: Breach of the provisions in the Councillors' Code of Conduct set out in paragraph 3.17 on the Use of Council Facilities.
Outcome: Reported to the Commission that the Chief Investigating Officer had concluded that Councillor William Nimmo had contravened the Councillors' Code of Conduct but that, in the circumstances, had recommended no further action be taken against Councillor Nimmo.
The Commission agreed to take no further action on this case.
1. Complaint number LA/DG/73 alleged a contravention of the Councillors' Code of Conduct ("the Code") by Councillor William Nimmo ("the respondent").
2. It was alleged that the respondent had contravened the Code, in particular, the provisions relating to the use of Council facilities set out in paragraph 3.17.
3. The person complaining ("the complainant"), alleged the respondent used telephone facilities provided by the Council to contact her in relation to domestic issues unrelated to Council business following the ending of a relationship between them. Councillor Nimmo accepted that he made the telephone calls and that he had not sought authorisation for the calls. At the time of the Report, the respondent had reached an agreement with the Council to re-imburse the cost of the calls.
4. While the underlying issues surrounding this complaint were domestic in nature and thus fell outwith the role of the respondent as a councillor, the use of the Council's telephone facilities for private purposes did go beyond the proper use of such facilities. As such the provisions regarding the abuse of Council facilities contained within the Code did apply.
5. Having considered the information that arose from my investigation, I concluded that Councillor William Nimmo had contravened the Councillors' Code of Conduct. However, due to health and stress issues in this case I recommended that no further action would be appropriate or would require to be taken.
D Stuart Allan,
Chief Investigating Officer.
Forsyth House
Innova Campus
Rosyth Europarc
Rosyth
Fife
KY11 2UU
Labour has tonight won the by election in the 'Lochside' council ward in Dumfries and Galloway. The seat, previously held by an Independent, was won with a massive 30% swing to Labour.
Newly elected Labour Councillor Ronnie Nicholson said:
"This is a tremendous result for the Labour party and I pay full credit to my campaign team who worked tirelessly.
"Throughout this campaign I have been speaking to local people and listening to them, as well as putting across a positive message about Labour.
"I am committed to being a strong voice for local people and am delighted to have been chosen to represent the Lochside ward. I will not let my community down."
Local MP Russell Brown added:
"Ronnie will be a tremendous asset to the local Council and will be a strong advocate for the people of Lochside.
"With record numbers of people in employment, record investment in schools and hospitals Labour has a powerful message.
"This result is a clear endorsement of Ronnie Nicholson and a clear endorsement of the Labour Government at Westminster and the Labour led Scottish Executive."
Results as follows:
Labour 676 (75.5% share of the vote)
Independent 89 (9.9% share of the vote)
SSP 56 (6.3% share of the vote)
SNP 41 (4.6% share of the vote)
Independent 27 (3% share of the vote)
Conservative 6 (0.7% share of the vote)
Labour majority 587
Turnout 895 (42%)
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