See main article: 2012 Scottish local elections.
| Election Name: | 2012 Midlothian Council election |
| Country: | Scotland |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 2007 Midlothian Council election |
| Previous Year: | 2007 |
| Next Election: | Midlothian Council election, 2017 |
| Next Year: | 2017 |
| Seats For Election: | All 18 seats to Midlothian Council |
| Majority Seats: | 10 |
| 3Blank: | Swing (pp)--> |
| Party1: | Scottish Labour Party |
| Leaders Seat1: | Bonnyrigg |
| Seats Before1: | 10 |
| Seats Needed1: | 1 |
| Seats1: | 8 |
| Seat Change1: | 1 |
| Leader2: | Bob Constable |
| Party2: | Scottish National Party |
| Leaders Seat2: | Midlothian East |
| Seats Before2: | 6 |
| Seats Needed2: | 4 |
| Seats2: | 8 |
| Seat Change2: | 2 |
| Leader3: | Ian Baxter |
| Party3: | Scottish Green Party |
| Leaders Seat3: | Bonnyrigg |
| Seats Before3: | 0 |
| Seats Needed3: | 10 |
| Seats3: | 1 |
| Seat Change3: | 1 |
| Leader4: | Peter de Vink |
| Party4: | Independent (politician) |
| Leaders Seat4: | Midlothian East |
| Seats Before4: | 0 |
| Seats Needed4: | 10 |
| Seats4: | 1 |
| Seat Change4: | 1 |
| Leader5: | Les Thacker |
| Party5: | Scottish Liberal Democrats |
| Leaders Seat5: | Midlothian West defeated |
| Seats Before5: | 2 |
| Seats Needed5: | 7 |
| Seats5: | 0 |
| Seat Change5: | 3 |
| Council Leader | |
| Before Election: | Derek Milligan |
| Before Party: | Scottish Labour Party |
| Posttitle: | Council Leader after election |
| After Election: | Bob Constable |
| After Party: | Scottish National Party |
The 2012 Midlothian Council election took place on 3 May 2012 to elect members of Midlothian Council. The election used the six 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 18 Councillors being elected.[1]
The election saw Labour retain their traditional position as the largest party on the council though they lost compared to the 2007 election. The Scottish National Party significantly increased their representation with 2 net gains and a significant rise in vote share to have the same seat numbers as the Labour Party. The Scottish Green Party gained a seat on the council for the first time and so too did Independent, former Conservative member, Peter de Vink. The Scottish Liberal Democrats were wiped out from this authority as well, losing all 3 of their seats (2 in the election, 1 by the defection of a member after 2007).
Following the election the SNP formed a minority administration with the support of the Green Party and the Independent. This is the first time that Labour had not had a role in the running of Midlothian in 84 years.
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 2007. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.