1974 Sutherland District Council election

Elections to Sutherland District Council were held on 7 May 1974, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the first election to the district council following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

1974 Sutherland District Council election

7 May 1974 (1974-05-07) 1977 →

All 12 seats to Sutherland District Council
7 seats needed for a majority
Registered8,697
Turnout74.6%
  First party
 
Ind
Party Independent
Seats won 12
Popular vote 4,008
Percentage 100.0%

Council Control after election


Independent

The election used 12 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. 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 12 councillors elected were all independents. In total, five of the 12 wards were uncontested.

Background

edit

Prior to 1974, Sutherland was one of 33 counties in Scotland. The area had been made a county following local government reforms in 1890 as a result of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1889. Within Sutherland was the Royal Burgh of Dornoch which had existed in its own right since 1628 and had its own elected council which was separate from Sutherland County Council. Dornoch, as a small burgh, had powers over local taxation and building control as well as housing, lighting and drainage within the burgh. The county council had powers and responsibilities over roads, education, police, public health, social services and electoral registration as well as the registration of births, marriages and deaths for the whole county.[2]

Following the recommendations in the Wheatly Report, the old system of counties and burghs – which had resulted in a mishmash of local government areas in which some small burghs had larger populations but far fewer responsibilities than some large burghs and even counties[2] – was to be replaced by a new system of regional and district councils. Sutherland became a district council within the Highland region while Dornoch Burgh Council was abolished.[3]

Results

edit
1974 Sutherland District Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Independent 12 N/A 100.0 100.0 4,008 N/A

Source:[4]

Ward results

edit

Dornoch Burgh

edit
Dornoch Burgh
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent H. Clunie 344 75.6
Independent E. L. MacKay 111 24.4
Majority 233 51.2
Turnout 455 70.4
Registered electors 652
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Dornoch East and West

edit
Dornoch East and West
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent G. Fraser Unopposed
Registered electors 776
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Creich East and West

edit
Creich East and West
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent A. M. Gilmour Unopposed
Registered electors 827
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Kincardine

edit
Kincardine
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent G. S. Richardson Unopposed
Registered electors 512
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Rogart and Golspie Rural

edit
Rogart and Golspie Rural
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent C. C. D. Kinghorn Unopposed
Registered electors 611
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Golspie Village

edit
Golspie Village
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent D. I. MacRae 438 65.3
Independent G. Beaton 122 18.2
Independent J. W. Mowatt 111 16.5
Majority 316 47.1
Turnout 671 76.8
Registered electors 884
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Lairg

edit
Lairg
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent W. G. Johnston 292 60.3
Independent N. G. MacDonald 192 39.7
Majority 100 20.6
Turnout 484 71.5
Registered electors 685
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Assynt and Stoer

edit
Assynt and Stoer
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent D. M. McBain 324 58.1
Independent D. MacDonald 234 41.9
Majority 90 16.2
Turnout 558 88.2
Registered electors 650
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Eddrachillis and Durness

edit
Eddrachillis and Durness
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent L. MacKenzie 310 45.5
Independent C. M. Campbell 174 25.6
Independent J. C. Morrison 129 18.9
Independent T. S. Sinclair 68 10.0
Majority 136 19.9
Turnout 681 82.2
Registered electors 837
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Clyne

edit
Clyne
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent W. Sutherland 454 66.9
Independent H. Coghill 225 33.1
Majority 229 33.8
Turnout 679 70.3
Registered electors 979
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Loth and Kildonan South

edit
Loth and Kildonan South
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent R. R. MacDonald 275 57.3
Independent J. M. MacGregor 205 42.7
Majority 70 14.6
Turnout 480 70.6
Registered electors 687
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

Kildonan North

edit
Kildonan North
Party Candidate Votes %
Independent J. O. F. MacKay Unopposed
Registered electors 597
Independent win (new seat)

Source:[4]

References

edit
  1. ^ "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 26 January 2024.
  3. ^ Turnock, David (1970). "The Wheatley Report: Local Government in Scotland". Area. 2 (2). Blackwell Publishing on behalf of The Royal Geographical Society with the Institute of British Geographers: 10–12. JSTOR 20000437.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 26 January 2024.