| Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas | |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Council: | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Region: | Scotland |
| Map1: | Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas.jpg |
| Map Entity: | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Map Year: | 2007–2022 |
| Abolished: | 2022 |
| Next: | Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla |
| Previous: | Barra and Vatersay Daliburgh and Eriskay Eochar Loch Eynort |
| Electorate: | 2,506 (2017) |
| Elects Howmany: | 4 |
| Towns: | Castlebay Lochboisdale |
| Scot Parl: | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| Scot Region: | Highlands and Islands |
| Westminster: | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
gd|'''Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas'''|Barra, Vatersay, Eriskay and South Uist|italics=no was one of the nine wards of gd|[[Comhairle nan Eilean Siar]]|Council of the Western Isles. Created in 2007, the ward elected four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.
Independents have dominated elections in the Western Isles and half of the councillors elected in the area had no party affiliation. However, the Scottish National Party (SNP) also held half the seats at the 2007 and 2017 elections.
The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Barraigh, Bhatarsaigh, Eirisgeigh agus Uibhist a Deas was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Barra and Vatersay, Daliburgh and Eriskay and Loch Eynort wards as well as the southern half of the former Eochar ward. The ward centred around the islands in the south of the Outer Hebrides and included Barra, Vatersay, South Uist and Eriskay as well as a number of uninhabited surrounding islands.[1] Proposals in the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections would have seen the ward's boundaries unchanged but reduced from a four-member ward to a three-member ward.[2] However, these were not adopted by Scottish ministers as plans for the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 would bring forward an interim review following the 2017 elections.[3]
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 allowed for the creation of single- and dual-member wards to allow for better representation of island areas. As a result, the ward was abolished and replaced by the smaller Barraigh agus Bhatarsaigh and Uibhist a Deas, Èirisgeigh agus Beinn na Faoghla wards.[4]
| Election | Councillors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | David Blaney (Independent) | Peter Carlin (Independent) | Donald Manford (SNP) | Gerry MacLeod (SNP) | ||||
| 2012 | Donnie Steele (Independent) | Ronald Joseph MacKinnon (Labour) | ||||||
| 2017 | Paul Steele (Independent) | Iain MacNeil (Independent) | Calum MacMillan (SNP/ Alba) | |||||
| 2021 | ||||||||
See main article: 2017 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election.