The election took place yesterday (Thursday, March 11) using the Single Transferable Vote system. Under STV rules, voters are asked to rank the candidates in order of preference. After ballots were counted in Galashiels today, Conservative representative Jenny Linehan was announced as the winner. She received 1,380 first-preference votes. How many first-preference votes did each candidate receive?
Jenny Linehan (Scottish Conservative and Unionist) – 1,380
John PatonDay (Scottish National Party (SNP)) – 1,042
Jonny Adamson (Scottish Liberal Democrats) – 538
Mary Douglas (independent) – 159
Scott Redpath (Scottish Labour Party) – 115
Karen Wilks (independent) – 69 Ms Linehan, a lawyer by trade, said she was overwhelmed by the support she received. She added: “First of all, I would like to pay tribute to the work and public service of Kevin Drum, who represented Leaderdale and Melrose since 2017.
In this article, we have published a pitch from each of the contenders. They are: Jonny Adamson (Scottish Liberal Democrats); Mary Douglas (independent); Jenny Linehan (Scottish Conservatives); Michael Needham (Scottish Green Party); John Paton Day (SNP); Scott Redpath (Scottish Labour); and Karen Wilks (independent). On polling day, voters will be asked to rank the candidates from 1 to 7 in order of preference. Anyone who lives in the ward - and is registered to vote - can cast a vote. Melrose, Tweedbank, Earlston and Lauder are among the places within the ward. The pitches below originally appeared in the print edition of the