The Aberdeenshire Council election of 2017 was held on 4 May 2017, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election used the 19 wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, with each ward electing three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 70 councillors being elected, an increase of one member compared to 2012.

Quick Facts All 70 seats to Aberdeenshire Council 36 seats needed for a majority, First party ...

2017 Aberdeenshire Council election

← 2012 4 May 2017 (2017-05-04) 2022 →
All 70 seats to Aberdeenshire Council 36 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Jim Gifford Richard Thomson Peter Argyle Party Conservative SNP Liberal Democrats Leader's seat Mid Formartine Ellon and District Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside Last election 14 seats, 21.2% 28 seats, 38.9% 12 seats, 15.4% Seats won 23 21 14 Seat change 9 7 2 First preferences 37,301 26,180 12,606 First preferences (%) 40.4% 28.4% 13.7% Swing (pp) 19.2% 10.5% 1.7%   Fourth party Fifth party Sixth party   Leader Norman Smith Alison Evison Martin Ford Party Independent Labour Scottish Green Last election 11 seats, 14.7% 2 seats, 6.8% 1 seat, 2.4% Seats after 10 1 1 Seat change 1 1 0 First preferences 10,168 4,094 1,781 First preferences (%) 11.0% 4.4% 1.9% Swing (pp) 3.7% 2.4% 0.5%
2017 Aberdeenshire Council Election Results Map
Council Leader before election Hamish Vernal SNP Council Leader after election Jim Gifford Conservative

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The Scottish Conservatives returned the most councillors, the first time it has been the largest party in the region since the 1982 election, when the area was under the Grampian Regional Council, although they were stopped short of an overall majority. The number of Scottish National Party councillors fell by a quarter but remained the second largest group. The Scottish Liberal Democrats picked up a couple of seats while the other parties gained roughly the same results as the previous election.

On 18 May, the Conservatives, Liberal Democrats and Aligned Independents formed an administration, with Jim Gifford (Conservative) elected as council leader and Bill Howatson (Liberal Democrat) was made Provost.^[1]

Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

• † Inverurie & District Conservative Cllr Colin Clark was elected as an MP for Gordon on 8 June 2017. He resigned his Council seat on 28 June 2017.^[3] A by-election was held on 12 October 2017 and Lesley Berry of the Conservatives won. She became an Independent on 1 June 2020.
• †† West Garioch Conservative Cllr Sebastian Leslie was suspended from the party on 18 September 2018 and became an Independent having refused to pay his Council Tax.^{[citation needed]}
• ††† Stonehaven and Lower Deeside Conservative Cllr Sandy Wallace resigned from the party and became an Independent on 12 December 2018 citing he had no faith in either the Prime Minister or the Conservative controlled Coalition in Aberdeenshire.^[4] On 10 November 2020, the Scottish Libertarian Party announced that Wallace had joined the party.^[5]
• †††† Ellon & District SNP Cllr Richard Thomson was elected an MP for Gordon in the 2019 UK general election. He resigned his Council seat in April 2020.^[6] A by-election was held on 15 October and was won by the SNP's Louise Mcallister.
• ††††† North Kincardine Conservative Cllr Colin Pike resigned from the party and became an Independent on 6 March 2020.^[7]
• †††††† Mearns SNP Cllr Leigh Wilson resigned from the party and became an Independent on 15 May 2020 citing professional circumstances.^[8]
• ††††††† North Kincardine SNP Cllr Alistair Bews resigned from the party and became an Independent on 17 May 2020 citing personal and professional reasons.^[9]
• †††††††† On 1 June 2020 Mid-Formantine Conservative Cllr Jim Gifford was replaced as Leader of the council and became an Independent. He was followed by Lesley Berry (Inverurie) and Jeff Hutchinson (Mearns).^[10]
• ††††††††† On 7 June 2020 Banff Conservative Cllr Mike Roy resigned from the party and became an Independent.^[11]
• †††††††††† East Garioch Lib Dem Councillor, Fergus Hood, died in March 2021 following a prolonged illness.^[12] A by-election was held on 17 June 2021.^[13] It was gained by the Conservatives David Keating from the Liberal Democrats.
• †††††††††† On 3 June 2021, Mid-Formantine SNP Cllr Karen Adam resigned her seat upon being elected a MSP to the Scottish Parliament for Banffshire and Buchan Coast. The SNP were defeated and the seat was gained by the Scottish Conservatives Sheila Powell.