David Wilson of Scottish Labour has won Dunblane and Bridge of Allan’s by-election, becoming Stirling Council’s newest member.
After all preferences were counted, the Labour candidate was elected at stage six with 44.6%, on a turnout of 34.1%
Scottish Conservatives candidate Stuart McLuckie came second, with 33.2%. A total of 907 votes (22.2%) did not transfer.
In terms of first preference votes, Mr McLuckie received a total of 1,143, and Mr Wilson 952. However, because the by-election was a single transferable vote, voters’ other preferences saw Labour achieve the transfers required to be elected.
SNP candidate John Watson received 770 first preference votes, and the Greens’ Andrew Adam was close behind with 659 – a result Scottish Greens present at the vote count said they were pleasantly surprised by.
They were followed by Dick Moerman of the Liberal Democrats with 345, and independent candidate Alastair Majury, who garnered 225 first preference votes.
Labour ‘wasn’t expecting’ a win
Speaking moments after the election results were announced, an emotional David Wilson said he was “in total shock”.
“We weren’t expecting it,” he commented, “We’ve really done a lot of hard work over the last six weeks. We’ve been out every day.
“And we do have a lot of work for myself because we’ve been talking to the people of Bridge of Allan and Dunblane and I will honour what I’ve said to the electorate there.”
The new councillor said he wasn’t sure what his first priority will be once he gets started, but that he has “a list that’s quite extensive” after speaking to constituents while campaigning.
“There are things I want to investigate to see if we can help people,” Mr Wilson added.
“Obviously, we’ve got issues with education and we’ve got a lot of people that are having real problems getting access to the help they need. And I want to see what I can do for them.”
‘I believe in public service’
Speaking before the election took place, Mr Wilson, who is an IT expert, told The Courier: “I believe in public service.
“My qualifications and 20 years’ experience of working in local government mean I know and understand how I can make it work for you.
“I can protect our local services, especially for the most vulnerable, the environment, and key services such as education and employability.”
According to Stirling Labour’s website, away from politics, Mr Wilson is a keen road cyclist and hill walker with a passion for the environment.
Why was a by-election required?
The by-election was held to replace former councillor Ewan Dillon.
In July, Dillon was sentenced to perform unpaid work after being caught with child abuse material. The 21-year-old resigned on the day he admitted to downloading indecent images of children.
He was initially elected as a Labour councillor and became an independent in October 2022 – one month after being caught by police.
In January, Thomas Heald of the Conservative Party was elected to represent Dunblane and Bridge of Allan in place of former Provost Councillor Douglas Dodds.
The ward, which also includes Kinbuck and Ashfield, is also represented by Alasdair Tollemache (Green) and Robin Kleinman (Conservative).
Conversation