1974 Moray District Council election

Elections to the newly created Moray District Council were held on 7 May 1974, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections.

1974 Moray District Council election

7 May 1974 (1974-05-07)
All 18 seats to Moray District Council 10 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party   Party Independent SNP Seats won 17 1 Popular vote 14,292 1,360 Percentage 86.7% 8.3%

A new system of regional and district governance had been created by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, with Moray District Council encompassing the bulk of the territory covered by the prior Moray County Council. The election saw Independent candidates winning near total dominance of the council, with only 1 seat being taken by a party affiliated candidate.

Results

1974 Moray District Council election result

Party		Seats	Gains	Losses	Net gain/loss	Seats %	Votes %	Votes	+/−
	Independent	17	-	-		94.4	86.7	14,292	New
	SNP	1	-	-		5.6	8.3	1,360	New
	Labour	0	-	-		0.0	5.0	832	New

Source:

Ward results

Bishopmill

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	SNP	A Anderson	703	61.3
	Labour	W MacKenzie	443	38.7
Majority			260	22.6
Turnout			1,146	36.3
	SNP win (new seat)

Cathedral

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J Russell	612	53.5
	SNP	E Hendry	531	46.5
Majority			81	7.0
Turnout			1,143	36.8
	Independent win (new seat)

New Elgin

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	R Hossack	385	50.4
	Independent	W Adam	199	26.0
	SNP	A Stuart	126	16.5
	Labour	R McLeod	54	7.1
Majority			186	24.4
Turnout			764	40.3
	Independent win (new seat)

Central West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	T McMillan	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Forres

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	A Forbes	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Findhorn Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J Carr	689	55.4
	Independent	J Bichan	554	44.6
Majority			135	10.8
Turnout			1,243	39.4
	Independent win (new seat)

Laich

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	D Thompson	536	49.3
	Independent	R Keith	287	26.4
	Independent	N McGillivray	264	24.3
Majority			249	22.9
Turnout			1,087	39.9
	Independent win (new seat)

Lossiemouth

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J Taylor	1,535	71.4
	Independent	D Herd	614	28.6
Majority			921	42.8
Turnout			2,149	55.6
	Independent win (new seat)

Heldon

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	J Anderson	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Innes

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	G Baxter	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)

Buckie West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	E Brown	818	69.4
	Independent	P Jappy	360	30.6
Majority			458	38.8
Turnout			1,178	38.8
	Independent win (new seat)

Buckie East

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	E Douglas	612	49.4
	Labour	J Reid	335	27.0
	Independent	A Gowrie	292	23.6
Majority			277	22.4
Turnout			1,239	43.3
	Independent win (new seat)

Rathford

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	W Mair	650	51.3
	Independent	P Flett	371	29.3
	Independent	J Mair	247	19.5
Majority			279	32.0
Turnout			1,268	33.8
	Independent win (new seat)

Lennox

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	A Shirran	589	63.5
	Independent	G Cowie	338	36.5
Majority			251	27.0
Turnout			927	39.8
	Independent win (new seat)

Keith

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	L Mann	936	56.6
	Independent	E Ettles	718	43.4
Majority			218	13.2
Turnout			1,654	54.1
	Independent win (new seat)

Strathisla

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	G Hendry	644	66.7
	Independent	W Stephen	321	33.3
Majority			323	33.4
Turnout			965	43.6
	Independent win (new seat)

Speyside

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	E Aldridge	758	44.0
	Independent	D Mackay	456	26.5
	Independent	D MacPherson	262	15.2
	Independent	J Garden	212	12.3
	Independent	J Allan	33	1.9
Majority			302	17.5
Turnout			1,721	56.3
	Independent win (new seat)

Glenlivet

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Independent	W McKenzie	Unopposed
	Independent win (new seat)