Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Cunninghame South (UK 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)
Electorate	59,525 (2022) [1]
Current constituency
Created	1999
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Ruth Maguire
Council area	North 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

Map of boundaries (2011-2025)

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]

• North Ayrshire:
  • Irvine West
  • Irvine East
  • Kilwinning
  • Irvine South
  • Saltcoats and Stevenston (shared with Cunninghame North)
• East Ayrshire:
  • Annick (shared with Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley)

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 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. Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 140.
3. 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

• "Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. April 2025. Retrieved 27 November 2025.

External links

• "Cunninghame South constituency map (2025 review)" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
• "Cunninghame South constituency map (2011 review)" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 7 July 2021.