Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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Not to be confused with Cunninghame South (UK Parliament constituency).

Cunninghame South
county constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency).svg
West Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region).svg
Cunninghame South shown within the West Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population66,047 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created1999
PartyScottish National Party
MSPRuth Maguire
Council areaNorth Ayrshire

Cunninghame South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

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, Greenock and Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and West, Renfrewshire South and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.

The region covers part of the Argyll and Bute council area, the East Dunbartonshire council area, the East Renfrewshire council area, the Inverclyde council area, North Ayrshire council area, the Renfrewshire council area and the West Dunbartonshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council area[]

The Cunninghame South constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[2]

The rest of the North Ayrshire area is covered by the Cunninghame North constituency.

From the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the electoral wards used to form this constituency are:

  • In full:

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.

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[3][4]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Ruth Maguire[a] 15,208 50.5 Decrease1.7 13,895 46.0 Decrease3.9
Labour Louise McPhater 7,256 24.1 Decrease6.0 6,352 21.0 Decrease3.4
Conservative David Rocks 6,621 22.0 Increase6.7 6,620 21.9 Increase6.0
Green 1,244 4.1 Increase0.8
Liberal Democrats Tom Armstrong 715 2.4 Steady0.0 579 1.9 Increase0.3
Alba 417 1.4 New
All for Unity 367 1.2 New
Independent Maurice Campbell 318 1.1 Increase1.1 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 60 0.2 New
Reform UK 53 0.2 New
UKIP 50 0.2 Decrease2.3
TUSC 46 0.2 New
Libertarian 38 0.1 Steady
Independent James Morrison 13 0.0 New
Renew 11 0.0 New
Scotia Future 6 0.0 New
Majority 7,952 26.4 Increase4.2
Valid Votes 30,118 30,228
Invalid Votes 96 54
Turnout 30,214 58.0 Increase6.7 30,282 58.2 Increase6.7
SNP hold Swing

2010s[]

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South[5][6]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Ruth Maguire 13,416 52.2 Increase2.4 12,858 49.8 Increase1.2
Labour Joe Cullinane 7,723 30.1 Decrease9.1 6,308 24.4 Decrease8.1
Conservative Billy McClure 3,940 15.3 Increase6.9 4,105 15.9 Increase8.0
Green 855 3.3 Increase1.4
UKIP 628 2.4 Increase1.7
Liberal Democrats Ruby Kirkwood 616 2.4 Decrease0.1 417 1.6 Decrease0.1
Solidarity 254 1.0 Increase0.6
Scottish Christian 177 0.7 Decrease0.1
RISE 168 0.7 New
Libertarian 30 0.1 New
Majority 5,693 22.1 Increase11.5
Valid Votes 25,695 25,800
Invalid Votes 103 39
Turnout 25,798 51.4 Increase7.9 25,839 51.5 Increase7.9
SNP hold Swing
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Cunninghame South[7][8]
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

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)

Footnotes[]

  1. ^ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
  2. ^ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Elections - Cunninghame South - West Scotland Region" (pdf). North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  4. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Election - Cunninghame South" (pdf). North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Scottish Parliamentary Election - Cunninghame South/West Scotland Region". North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2016. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  6. ^ "2016 Scottish Parliamentary Elections Results". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  7. ^ "Declaration of regional result Cunninghame South constituency" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  8. ^ "2011 Scottish Parliamentary Elections Results". North Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 8 June 2021.

External links[]

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