Photo: Rob Farrow · CC BY-SA 2.0Orkney Islands returned one of Holyrood’s widest margins in 2026
Kirkwall is run by Orkney Islands Council, its only council: Scotland has one tier of local government, 32 councils. Independent councillors won 19 of its 21 seats in May 2022, a majority. At Holyrood its MSP is Liam Scott McArthur (Liberal Democrat) for Orkney Islands, and seven more represent the Highlands and Islands region. Its MP is Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat), member for Orkney and Shetland.
May 2027
Every council seat in Scotland. Holyrood’s next election is due in May 2031.
Who can I vote for? ↗How Kirkwall is run, in three numbers
Independents hold most seats
Independents won 19 of Orkney Islands Council’s 21 seats in May 2022, more than the 11 a majority needs. 30 independents stood and 19 were elected. Across Scotland five of the 32 councils returned a single party or independent majority; the proportional vote usually leaves councils to be run by a coalition or a minority. The council ↓
Two wards, eight councillors
60% of Kirkwall’s residents live in Kirkwall East ward. Kirkwall East elected 3 Independent and 1 Green from 5 candidates, the 337th-most contested of Scotland’s 355 wards by candidates per seat. No seat in the town’s wards has gone to a by-election since. Councillors ↓
A wide Holyrood margin
Liam Scott McArthur (Liberal Democrat) won Orkney Islands on 7 May 2026 with 7,221 votes, 70.2%, ahead of Robert Fraser Leslie (SNP) by 54.1 points: the 1st-widest margin of Scotland’s 73 constituencies. Scottish Parliament ↓
Written from the data on this page: Democracy Club results, the UK Parliament Members API and Scottish Government council tax.
Independents won a majority on Orkney Islands Council
Seats on Orkney Islands Council as elected in May 2022, and how Scotland’s other 31 councils compare.
- Independent1930 stood
- Green25 stood
As elected on 5 May 2022, with each party’s candidates.
A majority needs 11 of the 21 seats. Independent councillors won 19; they stand as individuals, not as a party. Who leads Orkney Islands Council now isn’t in this data: the council’s website names its leader and administration. Seats here are as elected in 2022; by-elections since may have changed them, and Democracy Club doesn’t record whose seat each one filled.
Scotland’s 32 councils
Seats by party as elected in May 2022, largest group named. Five of the 32 returned a majority: Na h-Eileanan Siar (Independent), Orkney Islands (Independent), Shetland Islands (Independent), West Dunbartonshire (Labour) and Dundee City (SNP).
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who was elected in each ward on 5 May 2022 (and two delayed polls on 30 June 2022).
One council, then Holyrood and Westminster
Kirkwall has no county, district or town council: since 1996 Scotland has had 32 councils, each the only council for its area.
Every local service: schools (it is the education authority), social care (with the NHS board, through a health and social care partnership), local roads, bins and recycling, planning, council housing, libraries and leisure. It sets and collects council tax.
www.orkney.gov.uk ↗Holyrood makes Scotland’s laws on health, education, justice, transport and housing, sets Scottish income tax rates, and funds councils. Its national bodies run the NHS boards, Police Scotland, the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service, Scottish Water and trunk roads.
gov.scot ↗Westminster keeps defence, foreign affairs, immigration, the state pension and most benefits, and most taxes other than income tax rates.
gov.uk ↗Who to ask
Green: the council. Gold: the Scottish Government or one of its national bodies. Gray: the UK Government. Community councils, where they exist, pass on local views to the council but run no services and raise no money.
From the council to Westminster
Every elected tier that speaks for Kirkwall, from the most recent elections: council 2022, Holyrood 2026, Westminster 2024.
- 1Orkney Islands Council2 wards · 8 councillors, 2022Independent 6 · Green 2 · all 8
- 2Scottish ParliamentOrkney Islands + Highlands and Islands region · 2026Liam Scott McArthurList MSPs: Green 2 · Reform UK 2 · Conservative 1 · Liberal Democrat 1 · SNP 1 · all 7
- 3House of CommonsOrkney and Shetland
Party colours are neutral on purpose: they tell parties apart and aren’t the parties’ own.
8 councillors for Kirkwall’s two wards
- David Dawson
- Gwenda Shearer
- John Ross Scott
- Steven Heddle
Also stood in 2022: Graham Macdonald (Independent).
337th of Scotland’s 355 wards by candidates per seat (1.3).
- Ivan Taylor
- Kristopher Leask
- Leslie Manson
- Sandy Cowie
Also stood in 2022: Barbara Foulkes (Independent), Beverly Clubley (Independent), Cameron Whittle (Independent), Leslie Sinclair (Independent).
166th of Scotland’s 355 wards by candidates per seat (2.0).
Each ward elects three or four councillors by single transferable vote: voters number the candidates in order, and a candidate who reaches the quota is elected, with spare votes passed on to the next preference. The names are those elected in 2022; a seat that falls vacant goes to a by-election, and as Democracy Club doesn’t record whose seat that was, each ward lists its by-elections beside the 2022 councillors. First-preference votes and turnout for 2022 aren’t in the open data used here.
Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0), who stood and who was elected on 5 May 2022 and at by-elections since; candidates per seat ranked over Scotland’s 355 wards. Democracy Club.
Who stood, and who was elected
Every candidate for Orkney Islands Council on 5 May 2022, by party: the light bar is candidates, the solid bar those elected. Vote counts for Scotland’s 2022 council elections aren’t in the open data used here, so this shows seats.
Share of candidates elected, Scotland
Parties with 20 or more candidates across all 32 councils.
35 candidates stood for 21 seats across Orkney Islands Council in May 2022, 1.7 for each seat (Scotland: 2.1). Independents elected 19 of 30 candidates; the Greens 2 of 5. Under single transferable vote a party that runs two candidates in a ward can split its vote, so the share elected says something about strategy as well as support.
The 2022 council election: same source as Councillors, above. Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): candidates and who was elected, 5 May 2022 (two wards on 30 June 2022), all 355 wards.
Liam Scott McArthur is Kirkwall’s constituency MSP
Each voter has two votes: one for a constituency MSP (73, first past the post) and one for a party list in their region (8 regions, 7 MSPs each). Results of 7 May 2026, on the new boundaries.
10,283 votes for candidates
Constituency vote by party
The tick is each party’s share of the constituency vote across all 73 constituencies.
Liam Scott McArthur won Orkney Islands with 70.2% of 10,283 votes, 54.1 points ahead of Robert Fraser Leslie (SNP): the 1st-widest margin of Scotland’s 73 constituencies.
- Ariane Burgess Kristopher Leask
- Vic Currie Max Bannerman
- Tim Eagle
- Morven May MacCallum
- Maree Todd
The region’s 8 constituencies elected 4 SNP, 3 Liberal Democrat and 1 Labour; the list seats went to 2 Green, 2 Reform UK, 1 Conservative, 1 Liberal Democrat and 1 SNP. List seats top up parties whose constituency wins fall short of their share of the regional list vote. Democracy Club records who was elected from each list but not the list votes, so they aren’t shown.
- SNP5857 + 1 list
- Labour173 + 14 list
- Reform UK170 + 17 list
- Green152 + 13 list
- Conservative124 + 8 list
- Liberal Democrat107 + 3 list
Constituency seats + list seats. A majority needs 65.
Across Scotland the SNP won 58 of the 129 seats, 57 of them constituencies, short of the 65 a majority needs. The additional member system is built to keep the Parliament roughly proportional: Labour 14 of 17, Reform UK 17 of 17 and the Greens 13 of 15 seats came from the regional lists.
Scottish Parliament: same source as Councillors, above. Results: Democracy Club (CC BY 4.0): constituency votes and who was elected, regional list members, 7 May 2026; constituencies and regions: ONS (2026 boundaries, OGL), matched to the town by NRS Census 2022 output areas.
Kirkwall is in Orkney and Shetland constituency
The constituency’s MP and the 4 July 2024 general election, the whole constituency’s result. Scotland elects 57 of the Commons’ 650 MPs.
20,688 votes for candidates · majority 7,807
Liberal Democrat, MP since 7 June 2001.
turnout in July 2024: 20,688 votes from 34,236 registered voters. Scotland: 59%.
Majority 7,807 of 20,688 votes (37.7%): wider than in 98% of Scotland’s 57 constituencies.
MPs and results: UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0); constituencies from ONS (2024 boundaries). Percentages are of valid votes; turnout is votes cast over the electorate.
Band D is £1,669 in Orkney Islands for 2026–27
£16 above Scotland’s average, the 13th-lowest of 32 councils.
A Band D bill, 2026–27
A Band D home in Orkney Islands pays £2,321 on its council tax bill for 2026–27: £1,669 council tax and £652 for water and sewerage, which the council collects for Scottish Water. The council tax is the council’s alone: Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service are paid for nationally, and there are no county, parish or police precepts. Scotland’s average Band D is £1,653; Orkney Islands’s is the 13th-lowest of the 32 councils.
Band D by council, 2026–27
Council tax only, cheapest first; the tick is Scotland’s average, £1,653.
Orkney Islands council tax by band, 2026–27
Council tax a year, before discounts; water and sewerage charges come on top.
Your band comes from what the home would have sold for on 1 April 1991, from up to £27,000 (A) to over £212,000 (H); the Scottish Assessors publish every home’s band. Bands E to H have paid a larger share of Band D since April 2017. Living alone takes 25% off the council tax and the water charges, and Council Tax Reduction helps on a low income.
Scottish Government, Council Tax by band 2026–27, and Scottish Water charges 2026–27 (Open Government Licence v3.0). Earlier years’ Band D and what each council spends by service aren’t loaded here.
Having a say in how Kirkwall is run
In Scotland you can vote in council and Holyrood elections from 16, and foreign nationals with leave to remain can too. No photo ID is needed at those polls; it is for UK general elections.
gov.uk ↗Type a postcode to write to each of its councillors, its constituency and regional MSPs and its MP.
WriteToThem ↗Volunteers elected for a neighbourhood: they are consulted on planning and licensing and pass on local views, but run no services. Most have vacancies.
communitycouncils.scot ↗Search applications near you and comment while they are open; most councils use ePlanning Scotland.
eplanning.scot ↗Anyone can lodge a petition; the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee considers each one.
petitions.parliament.scot ↗Council and committee meetings are open to the public, most webcast, with agendas and minutes online.
orkney.gov.uk ↗The next council elections are due in May 2027 and the next Holyrood election in May 2031; the Electoral Commission has the rules and nomination papers.
Electoral Commission ↗Questions about how Kirkwall is run
Which council runs Kirkwall?
Kirkwall is run by Orkney Islands Council, one of Scotland’s 32 councils. There is no county, district or town council; community councils speak for neighbourhoods but have no powers to run services or raise money.
Who controls Orkney Islands Council?
Independent councillors won a majority in May 2022: Independent 19 · Green 2 of 21 seats as elected. By-elections may have changed that since, and the council’s website names its current leader and administration.
Who are Kirkwall’s councillors?
Kirkwall is in 2 wards. Kirkwall East elected David Dawson (Independent), Gwenda Shearer (Independent), John Ross Scott (Green), Steven Heddle (Independent); Kirkwall West and Orphir elected Ivan Taylor (Independent), Kristopher Leask (Green), Leslie Manson (Independent), Sandy Cowie (Independent), all in 2022.
Who is the MSP for Kirkwall?
Liam Scott McArthur (Liberal Democrat) was elected for Orkney Islands on 7 May 2026. Seven list MSPs also represent the Highlands and Islands region: Ariane Burgess (Green), Kristopher Leask (Green), Vic Currie (Reform UK), Max Bannerman (Reform UK), Tim Eagle (Conservative), Morven May MacCallum (Liberal Democrat), Maree Todd (SNP).
Who is the MP for Kirkwall?
Mr Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat) is the MP for Orkney and Shetland, which covers Kirkwall.
How much is council tax in Kirkwall?
Band D council tax in Orkney Islands is £1,669 for 2026–27 (Scotland’s average: £1,653). Water and sewerage charges of £652 at Band D come on the same bill. Bands run from A (240/360 of Band D) to H (882/360).
Do I pay a separate water bill in Kirkwall?
No. Scottish Water’s water and sewerage charges are billed and collected by the council with council tax, and they rise with the council tax band.
When are the next elections in Kirkwall?
The next council elections are due in May 2027 and the next Scottish Parliament election in May 2031. The next UK general election must be held by August 2029.
Sources: National Records of Scotland Census 2022 output areas and localities, and ONS ward, constituency and Scottish Parliament boundaries (Open Government Licence v3.0) · GOV.UK local council finder · Democracy Club candidates and results (CC BY 4.0) · UK Parliament Members API (Open Parliament Licence v3.0) · Scottish Government Council Tax by band 2026–27 and Scottish Water charges (OGL v3.0). Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.