Friday October 30th 2026
Scottish Borders Councillor John PatonDay
Written by Local Democracy Reporter, Paul Kelly
A by-election to be held early next year following the recent death of a Scottish Borders councillor will cost the local authority £55,000, it has been announced.
Councillor John PatonDay, who represented the Leaderdale and Melrose ward for the SNP, died while on holiday on Wednesday, October 21.
The council’s Returning Officer David Robertson has fixed the date of poll for the by-election in the ward as Thursday, January 21, with the count taking place the following day.
Early indications are that the cost for the by-election is likely to be in the region of £55k, which may need to be met from the council’s reserves fund.
Because of next May’s Local Elections in Scotland the successful candidate will only be in the role for just over three months before facing a re-election battle.
A report to a meeting of Scottish Borders Council next week states: “The council was saddened to learn of Councillor PatonDay’s death and recognises his service to the council and the communities he represented.
“Following the sad death of Councillor PatonDay, a vacancy has arisen in the Leaderdale and Melrose ward.
“The next ordinary elections to Scottish local authorities are scheduled to take place on Thursday, May 6, 2027.
“As the vacancy occurred on 21 October 2026, it falls outwith the six-month period preceding the ordinary election.
“Accordingly, the statutory provisions require an election to be held to fill the vacancy.
“Early indications are that the cost for the by-election is likely in the region of £55k.
“These costs include staffing; printing of poll cards, ballot papers and postal packs; venue hire and transport of equipment; setting up of polling stations, electronic equipment hire for postal vote verification and the count; and other ancillary expenses.
“These additional costs will be considered as part of the budget monitoring process during the remainder of the financial year to determine whether the costs can be accommodated within the current year budget, if this is not possible the cost of the byelection will be funded from council reserves.”
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