Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Cunninghame South
County constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Cunninghame South shown within the West Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland (2011 boundaries)
Electorate59,525 (2022)[1]
Current constituency
Created1999
PartyScottish National Party
MSPRuth Maguire
Council areaNorth Ayrshire, East Ayrshire

Cunninghame South (Gaelic: Coineagan a Deas) is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council areas of North Ayrshire and East Ayrshire.[2] Under the additional-member electoral system used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, it elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.[3]

The seat has been held by Ruth Maguire of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

See also: West Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other nine constituencies of the West Scotland region are: Clydebank and Milngavie, Cunninghame North, Dumbarton, Eastwood, Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and Cardonald, Renfrewshire West and Levern Valley, and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.[3] The region covers the whole of the council areas of East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and West Dunbartonshire; and parts of the council areas of Argyll and Bute, East Ayrshire, and Glasgow.[4]

Prior to the first periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries in 2011, Cunninghame South was placed within the South of Scotland region. The other eight constituencies in this region during this period were: Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfries, East Lothian, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, and Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale.

Constituency boundaries and council area

Cunninghame South was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, using the name and boundaries of an existing UK Parliament constituency. In 2005 Scottish constituencies for the UK House of Commons were mostly replaced with new constituencies,[5] causing UK and Scottish parliamentary constituencies to no longer correspond. Following their First Periodic review into constituencies to the Scottish Parliament in time for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the Boundary Commission for Scotland altered the boundaries of the constituency.[6] It was further altered by the Second Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries in 2025 ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election, with the villages of Dunlop and Stewarton being added from the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency in order to address differences in electorate size between the two seats.[7]

The constituency is one of two in North Ayrshire, with the rest of the council area being covered by the Cunninghame North constituency. Following the 2025 review, it also includes parts of East Ayrshire; the remainder of East Ayrshire is covered by the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley and Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituencies.[8]

The electoral wards of East Ayrshire Council and North Ayrshire Council used in the current creation of Cunninghame South are:[2]

Constituency profile and voting patterns

Constituency profile

The Cunninghame South constituency occupies the southern portion of the North Ayrshire Council area, covering the towns of Kilwinning, Stevenston and Irvine. The part of the constituency lying in East Ayrshire is mostly made up of farmlands, with the historic town of Stewarton lying directly north of Kilmarnock along the Annick Water.

Voting patterns

The area has traditionally been represented by the Labour Party, with Labour continuously representing the Central Ayrshire and Cunninghame South constituencies at the British Parliament from 1959 until 2015 - when the constituency of Central Ayrshire was won by the Scottish National Party on a 27.7% swing from Labour to SNP. In the Scottish Parliament Cunninghame South was represented by the Labour Party from the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 until 2011, when the seat was gained by the SNP on a 9.9% swing.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election Member Party
1999 Irene Oldfather Labour
2011 Margaret Burgess SNP
2016 Ruth Maguire

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South[9][10]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Ruth Maguire[a] 15,208 50.5 1.7 13,895 46.0 3.8
Labour Louise McPhater 7,256 24.1 6.0 6,352 21.0 3.4
Conservative David Rocks 6,621 22.0 6.7 6,620 21.9 6.0
Green 1,244 4.1 0.8
Liberal Democrats Tom Armstrong 715 2.4 0.0 579 1.9 0.3
Alba 417 1.4 New
All for Unity 367 1.2 New
Independent Maurice Campbell 318 1.1 New 69 0.2 New
Scottish Family 160 0.5 New
Independent Green Voice 150 0.5 New
Abolish the Scottish Parliament 98 0.3 New
Freedom Alliance (UK) 60 0.2 New
Reform 53 0.2 New
UKIP 50 0.2 2.2
TUSC 46 0.2 New
Scottish Libertarian 38 0.1 0.0
Independent James Morrison 13 0.0 New
Renew 11 0.0 New
Scotia Future 6 0.0 New
Majority 7,952 26.4 4.3
Valid Votes 30,118 30,228
Invalid Votes 96 54
Turnout 30,214 58.0 6.6 30,282 58.2 6.7
SNP hold Swing

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South[11][12]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Ruth Maguire 13,416 52.2 2.4 12,858 49.8 0.3
Labour Joe Cullinane 7,723 30.1 9.1 6,308 24.4 11.0
Conservative Billy McClure 3,940 15.3 6.8 4,105 15.9 8.0
Green 855 3.3 1.4
UKIP 628 2.4 1.7
Liberal Democrats Ruby Kirkwood 616 2.4 0.1 417 1.6 0.1
Solidarity 254 1.0 0.8
Scottish Christian 177 0.7 0.1
RISE 168 0.7 New
Scottish Libertarian 30 0.1 New
Majority 5,693 22.1 11.5
Valid Votes 25,695 25,800
Invalid Votes 103 39
Turnout 25,798 51.4 7.9 25,839 51.5 8.0
SNP hold Swing
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South[13][14]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Margaret Burgess 10,993 49.8 N/A 10,763 49.5 N/A
Labour Irene Oldfather[a] 8,645 39.2 N/A 7,197 33.1 N/A
Conservative Alistair Haw 1,871 8.5 N/A 1,755 7.9 N/A
All-Scotland Pensioners Party 453 2.0 N/A
Green 424 1.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Ruby Kirkwood 547 2.5 N/A 374 1.7 N/A
Socialist Labour 257 1.2 N/A
BNP 238 1.1 N/A
Scottish Christian 173 0.8 N/A
UKIP 161 0.7 N/A
Scottish Socialist 115 0.5 N/A
Ban Bankers Bonuses 85 0.4 N/A
Pirate 62 0.3 N/A
Solidarity 34 0.2 N/A
Independent Richard Vassie 17 0.1 N/A
Majority 2,384 10.6 N/A
Valid Votes 22,056 22,108
Invalid Votes 80 67
Turnout 50,926 43.5 N/A 50,926 43.5 N/A
SNP win (new boundaries)
Notes
  1. ^ a b Incumbent member for this constituency

2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Irene Oldfather 10,270 43.8 −5.2
SNP Duncan Ross 8,102 34.6 +12.2
Conservative Pat McPhee 3,073 13.1 +2.8
Liberal Democrats Iain Dale 1,977 8.4 +1.8
Majority 2,168 9.2 −17.6
Turnout 23,422 46.9 +1.2
Labour hold Swing
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Irene Oldfather 11,165 49.0 −3.8
SNP Mike Russell 5,089 22.4 −7.3
Scottish Socialist Rosemary Byrne 2,677 11.8 New
Conservative Andrew Brocklehurst 2,336 10.3 −1.1
Liberal Democrats Iain Dale 1,505 6.6 +0.5
Majority 6,076 26.6 +3.5
Turnout 22,772 45.7 −10.4
Labour hold Swing

1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Irene Oldfather 14,936 52.8 N/A
SNP Mike Russell 8,395 29.7 N/A
Conservative Murray Tosh 3,229 11.4 N/A
Liberal Democrats Stuart Ritchie 1,717 6.1 N/A
Majority 6,541 23.1 N/A
Turnout 28,277 56.1 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

References

Citations

  1. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 25.
  2. ^ a b Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 140.
  3. ^ a b Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 29.
  4. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 143.
  5. ^ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ^ "First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Final Report" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2010. p. 187. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  7. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 83-87.
  8. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 140-143.
  9. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Elections - Cunninghame South - West Scotland Region" (pdf). North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  10. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Election - Cunninghame South" (pdf). North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  11. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Election - Cunninghame South/West Scotland Region". North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  12. ^ "2016 Scottish Parliamentary Elections Results". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  13. ^ "Declaration of regional result Cunninghame South constituency" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  14. ^ "2011 Scottish Parliamentary Elections Results". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

Bibliography

See also

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