Council by-election · Thursday, 1 October 2026
Highland: Wick and East Caithness ward
5 candidates. Same page for each, in ballot-paper order.
about these dates
- Calculated from the statutory election timetable (working days before polling day).
- Confirm against the council's official notice.
Describe a household. Yours, a friend's, a neighbour's. Then each candidate's page shows what applies.
Which topics do you want to see first? Optional.Choose
This is a council seat. A councillor's win changes what the council decides: council tax, housing repairs and allocations, planning, social care, schools admissions, parking, bins, libraries. It does not change national tax, benefits or NHS policy, so this page shows only positions published for this council election, and no national party pledges are implied.
No sourced positions have been published for this ballot yet, so every candidate shows the same empty slots. Every claim that appears carries its source, date and exact quotation; see the public ledger.
Compare candidates side by side
How this vote is counted: single transferable vote. You rank candidates 1, 2, 3… as far as you like.Worked example
Each ballot starts with its first choice. To win, a candidate needs a quota: votes ÷ (seats + 1), plus one. If nobody reaches the quota, the candidate with fewest votes is excluded and their ballots move to each voter's next choice. If someone passes the quota, their surplus moves on in the same way. It continues until the seats are filled.
Example: 1,000 votes, one seat, quota 501. Round one: A 400, B 350, C 250. Nobody has 501, so C is excluded; C's ballots go to their second choices, say 150 to B and 100 to A. B now has 500, A 500, and the count continues on remaining preferences. A second choice is never wasted and never harms your first.
Dave Buchanan
Independent
ShowHideMoney —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total
Dave Buchanan
Independent
In their own words
-Strong local vocal candidate -Passionate about Caithness -Accountable, transparent and accessible -Truly independent, no party to pander to, no political alliances -Doing what is right, for locals in Wick & East Caithness
Where this information comes from
Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Submit a statement.
Published positions on the nine topics
Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.
- Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
- Look yourself: the council's election notices · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).
Julie Calder
Scottish Liberal Democrats
ShowHideMoney —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total
Julie Calder
Scottish Liberal Democrats
In their own words
No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.
Where this information comes from
Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Submit a statement.
Published positions on the nine topics
Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.
- Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
- Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).
Charlotte Gibson
Scottish Conservative and Unionist
ShowHideMoney —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total
Charlotte Gibson
Scottish Conservative and Unionist
In their own words
No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.
Where this information comes from
Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Submit a statement.
Published positions on the nine topics
Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.
- Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
- Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).
John Glen
Scottish National Party (SNP)
ShowHideMoney —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total
John Glen
Scottish National Party (SNP)
In their own words
No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.
Where this information comes from
Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Submit a statement.
Published positions on the nine topics
Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.
- Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
- Look yourself: the council's election notices · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).
Iain Richmond
Reform UK
ShowHideMoney —Housing —Health —Education —Environment —Immigration —Crime —Defence & EU —Equality —0 in total
Iain Richmond
Reform UK
In their own words
No statement to voters supplied to Democracy Club.
Where this information comes from
Positions are quoted from the candidate's or party's own published material and official records, each with its source. Candidates and their agents can also submit sourced statements, published as written once we confirm they appear at the cited address. Submit a statement.
Published positions on the nine topics
Nothing published that we could source, yet. A councillor sits on the council that sets council tax and decides planning, housing repairs and allocations, social care, bins, parking, libraries and, in most areas, school admissions. It cannot change national tax, benefits or NHS policy.
- Are you this candidate, or their agent? Send us a sourced statement; it is published as written.
- Look yourself: the council's election notices · the party's site · leaflets archived for this area (electionleaflets.org, a Democracy Club project).
Highland: Wick and East Caithness ward in numbers
Recorded crime nearby, July 2026
0 street-level crimes recorded within about a mile of the area's centre.
Go deeper: independent sources
Cross-cutting: polling, fact-checking, parliamentary research
- Commons Library: constituency data dashboards
- electionleaflets.org: archive of election leaflets, searchable by area
- Electoral Commission: political finance register (donations, loans, spending)
- Full Fact
- House of Commons Library research briefings
- Institute for Government
- Ipsos Issues Index: what the public says matters most
- LG Inform: council performance and finance data
- Local Elections Archive Project: every council result since 2002
- mySociety Local Intelligence Hub: data by constituency
- UK Parliament: Commons votes (every division, how each MP voted)
- UK Parliament: petitions, with signatures by constituency