Robert Thomson wins race for last North Isles seat

Robert Thomson has been elected as the third and final North Isles councillor.

Mr Thomson received a total of 680 first preference votes, meaning a second round of voting was not needed.

He said of the result: “I have a strong mandate, and I knew I was getting good feedback on the doorstep but I wasn’t expecting support like that.”

The threshold to elect a candidate was 496 votes.

He joins Ryan Thomson and Duncan Anderson in representing the North Isles on the council.

Gary Cleaver and Sonia Robertson were the only other candidates who reached the 100 vote mark, with 100 and 106 respectively.

Mr Thomson said he had spoken to the other candidates about the issues that affect the North Isles.

He has suggested the candidates could get together at a later date to organise a public meeting to tackle issues like fixed links, ferries and tunnels.

Returning officer Jan Riise confirmed that a total of 997 votes were counted with a turn out of 46.2 per cent.

Six ballots were rejected for no clear indication of first preference.