| Steòrnabhagh a Deas | |
| Year: | 2007 |
| Council: | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Region: | Scotland |
| Map1: | Steornabhagh_a_Deas.jpg |
| Map Entity: | Na h-Eileanan Siar |
| Map Year: | 2007–2022 |
| Previous: | Bayhead Braighe Castle Goathill Newton Plasterfield |
| Electorate: | 3,105 (2022) |
| Population: | 4,013 (2021)[1] |
| Elects Howmany: | 4 |
| Councillor1: | George Murray |
| Party1: | Independent (politician) |
| Councillor2: | Rae MacKenzie |
| Party2: | Scottish National Party |
| Councillor3: | Angus McCormack |
| Party3: | Independent (politician) |
| Councillor4: | Frances Murray |
| Party4: | Scottish National Party |
| Towns: | Stornoway (part of) |
| Scot Parl: | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
| Scot Region: | Highlands and Islands |
| Westminster: | Na h-Eileanan an Iar |
gd|'''Steòrnabhagh a Deas'''|Stornoway South|italics=no is one of the 11 wards of gd|[[Comhairle nan Eilean Siar]]|Council of the Western Isles. Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 4,013 people.
Independents have dominated elections in the Western Isles and the majority of councillors elected in the area have had no party affiliation. However, since 2012, the Scottish National Party (SNP) have held at least one of the seats.
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 Steòrnabhagh a Deas was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Bayhead and Newton wards, the majority of the former Goathill, Plasterfield wards as well as part of the former Braighe and Castle wards. The ward centres around the southern and western parts of Stornoway on the Isle of Lewis and includes the village of Sandwick.[2] Proposals in the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections would have reduced the ward's size in area and population resulting in the ward becoming a three-member ward.[3] 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.[4]
The Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 allowed for the creation of single- and dual-member wards to allow for better representation of island areas. The ward's eastern boundary was extended east to the causeway which joins the Eye Peninsula to the Isle of Lewis so that an area including Stornoway Airport and the village of Melbost were added. It remained a four-member ward.[5]
| Election | Councillors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Charlie Nicolson (Independent) | Angus McCormack (Independent) | Keith Dodson (Independent) | Angus Campbell (Independent) | ||||
| 2012 | Rae McKenzie (SNP) | |||||||
| 2017 | Keith Dodson (Independent) | |||||||
| 2022 | George Murray (Independent) | Frances Murray (SNP) | ||||||
See main article: 2022 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election.
See main article: 2017 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar election.