Irvine West (ward)

Irvine West
North Ayrshire
Boundary of Irvine West in North Ayrshire from 2017–2022.
Population	14,972 (2021) [1]
Electorate	12,090 (2022)
Major settlements	Irvine (part of)
Scottish Parliament constituency	Cunninghame South
Scottish Parliament region	West Scotland
UK Parliament constituency	Central Ayrshire
Current ward
Created	1980 (1980)
Number of councillors	1 (1980–2007) 4 (2007–present)
Councillor	Shaun MacAulay (SNP)
Councillor	Scott Gallacher (Conservative)
Councillor	Chloe Robertson (SNP)
Councillor	Louise McPhater (Labour)

Irvine West is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the North Ayrshire Council. Created in 1980, Irvine West was originally a single-member first-past-the-post ward before it was expanded in 2007 to become a multi-member ward which elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 14,972 people.

Boundaries

Irvine West was created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1979 as one of the 30 wards of Cunninghame District Council. The original boundaries took in the western part of Irvine on the Firth of Clyde coast up to the River Garnock and included the abandoned Snodgrass Village and Bogside Racecourse. ^[2] There were minor changes to the boundaries following the Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1994 which saw the ward's southern boundary extended south to the council's border with Kyle and Carrick District Council to include the Dundonald Links golf course. ^[3] After the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, the boundaries proposed by the second review became the Formation Electoral Arrangements for the newly created North Ayrshire Council – a unitary authority for the area previously under Cunninghame District Council. Further minor alterations saw the ward's northeastern boundary moved east following the Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1998 to run along Kilwinning Road. ^[4]

As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, council elections would be run under the single transferable vote and new multi-member wards would be introduced. As a result, Irvine West was combined with other wards covering Irvine. The former Irvine North, Irvine Townhead and Irvine Vineburgh and Woodlands South were completely subsumed and a small area from both of the former Irvine Landward and Woodlands North and Girdle Toll wards were added. The new boundaries would cover everything west of the A78 plus the south-eastern industrial area around Drybridge and Shewalton. ^[5] The Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements saw the ward's area reduced as a new Irvine South ward was created. As a result, territory west of the River Irvine including the abandoned Bogside Racecourse, the Fullarton area of Irvine, and everything south of the A71 was transferred to Irvine South. Despite the changes, which saw the ward's area halved, Irvine West retained four councillors. ^[6] The ward's boundaries were unchanged following the 2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements. ^{[7] [8]}

Councillors

Election	Councillors
2007		Matt Brown (SNP)		Ian Clarkson (Labour)		David O'Neill (Labour)		Pat McPhee (Conservative)
2012			Ruth Maguire (SNP)
2016 by-election			Louise McPhater (Labour)
2017	Shaun MacAulay (SNP)				Scott Gallacher (Conservative)
2022				Chloe Robertson (SNP)

Election results

2022 election

Main article: 2022 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	SNP	Shaun MacAulay (incumbent)	27.3	1,274
	Conservative	Scott Gallacher (incumbent)	19.9	932	934
	Labour	Louise McPhater (incumbent)	15.6	729	738	738	746	748	757	792	814	816	1,472
	Labour	Sylvia Mallinson	14.1	660	674	674	676	678	697	758	788	790
	SNP	Chloe Robertson	13.3	623	894	894	905	906	909	922	948
	Socialist Labour	Bobby Cochrane	3.2	150	155	155	168	172	181
	Independent	Kevin T. Blades	2.8	133	136	136	139	165	184	212
	Liberal Democrats	Lewis Dominic Hutton	1.5	72	75	75	76	81
	Independent	Tristan Lindsay	1.0	47	49	49	53
	Scottish Socialist	Colin Turbett	0.9	46	47	47
Electorate: 12,090  Valid: 4,666  Spoilt: 142  Quota: 934  Turnout: 39.8%

Source: ^{[9] [10]}

2017 election

Main article: 2017 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Ian Clarkson (incumbent)	27.7	1,249
	Conservative	Scott Gallacher	22.7	1,025
	SNP	Shaun MacAulay	20.3	914
	SNP	Maria Limonci	15.7	707	722	725	736	769	790
	Labour	Louise McPhater (incumbent)	9.7	438	669	706	707	738	804	1,062
	Scottish Green	Andrew Craig	2.1	96	106	117	117
	Socialist Labour	Bobby Cochrane	1.7	76	113	120	121	139
Electorate: 11,984  Valid: 4,505  Spoilt: 121  Quota: 902  Turnout: 38.6%

Source: ^{[11] [12]}

2016 by-election

Irvine West by-election (11 August 2016) - 1 Seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6
	SNP	Robin Sturgeon	37.5	1,164	1,168	1,207	1,226	1,277
	Labour	Louise McPhater	33.1	1,029	1,046	1,060	1,118	1,301	1,697
	Conservative	Angela Stephen	20.6	639	650	655	658
	Socialist Labour	Bobby Cochrane	4.2	131	133	146
	Scottish Green	Josh McCormick	3.0	94	100
	Liberal Democrats	Nick Smith	1.5	48
Electorate: 14,849  Valid: 3,105  Spoilt: 46  Quota: 1,553  Turnout: 20.9%

Source: ^[13]

2012 election

Main article: 2012 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
	SNP	Matthew Brown (incumbent)	31.6	1,624
	Labour	Ian Clarkson (incumbent)	26.8	1,374
	Labour	David O'Neill (incumbent)	13.5	691	720	950	958	995	1,039
	Conservative	Pat McPhee (incumbent)	12.0	614	634	652	653	657	682	683	773
	SNP	Ruth Maguire [note 1]	5.2	265	695	704	713	730	769	770	840	945
	Liberal Democrats	Gordon Bain	4.8	246	272	283	289	300	330	331
	Independent	Derek Owen	3.6	187	197	202	216	231
	Socialist Labour	Bobby Cochrane	1.6	81	92	112	123
	TUSC	Ian Kerr	1.0	51	61	65
Electorate: 14,793  Valid: 5,133  Spoilt: 157  Quota: 1,027  Turnout: 34.7%

Source: ^[15]

2007 election

Main article: 2007 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	Matt Brown	31.6	2,247
	Labour	Ian Clarkson	24.0	1,710
	Conservative	Pat McPhee	11.2	799	875	883	888	1,059	1,159	1,225
	Labour	David O'Neill	10.9	776	829	881	899	979	1,077	1,726
	Solidarity	Jim Byrne	7.3	517	695	708	738	830
	Labour	John McKay	7.1	508	573	711	748	844	999
	Liberal Democrats	Iain Rubie Dale	6.4	453	613	633	655
	Socialist Labour	Bobby Cochrane	1.5	103	141	152
Electorate: 14,993  Valid: 7,113  Spoilt: 156  Quota: 1,423  Turnout: 48.5%

Source: ^[16]

2003 election

Main article: 2003 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David O'Neill	761	43.9	1.1
	SNP	C. McKenzie	485	28.0	7.7
	Conservative	D. Belding	227	13.1	0.5
	Scottish Socialist	J. Gray	191	11.0	6.1
	Socialist Labour	R. Cochrane	70	4.0
Majority			276	15.9	8.8
Turnout			1,562	44.9	12.1
Registered electors			3,860
	Labour hold		Swing	2.7

Source: ^{[17] [18]}

1999 election

Main article: 1999 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David O'Neill	949	42.8	17.7
	SNP	Catherine McKenzie	790	35.7	3.8
	Conservative	David Belding	279	12.6	New
	Scottish Socialist	Gwen Edwin	108	4.9	New
	Socialist Labour	Robert Cochrane	89	4.0	New
Majority			159	7.1	13.9
Turnout			2,215	57.0	14.5
Registered electors			3,907
	Labour hold		Swing	10.7

Source: ^{[18] [19]}

1995 election

Main article: 1995 North Ayrshire Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	David O'Neill	768	60.5	12.3
	SNP	Catherine McKenzie	501	39.5	5.6
Majority			267	21.0	6.6
Turnout			1,269	42.5	6.7
Registered electors			2,988
	Labour hold		Swing	12.3

Source: ^{[19] [20]}

1992 election

Main article: 1992 Cunninghame District Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. O'Neill	495	48.2	11.3
	SNP	L. Brown	348	33.9	7.1
	Independent	E. Holmes	177	17.2	New
Majority			147	14.3	18.4
Turnout			1,020	35.8	11.7
Registered electors			2,872
	Labour hold		Swing	9.2

Source: ^{[20] [21]}

1988 election

Main article: 1988 Cunninghame District Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. O'Neill	852	59.5	2.4
	SNP	L. Brown	383	26.8	0.3
	Independent Labour	C. McDowall	95	6.6	New
	SSLD	J. McDill	91	6.4	New
Majority			469	32.7	12.1
Turnout			1,421	47.5	6.2
Registered electors			3,011
	Labour hold		Swing	2.4

Source: ^{[21] [22]}

1984 election

Main article: 1984 Cunninghame District Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	D. O'Neill	916	57.1	3.5
	SNP	M. Brown	424	26.5	New
	Independent	J. Smith	263	16.4	New
Majority			338	20.6	0.7
Turnout			1,603	53.7	0.9
Registered electors			2,986
	Labour hold		Swing	1.7

Source: ^{[22] [23]}

1980 election

Main article: 1980 Cunninghame District Council election

Irvine West

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Labour	D. O'Neill	961	60.6
	Independent	J. Caldwell	623	39.3
Majority			338	21.3
Turnout			1,584	54.6
Registered electors			2,903
	Labour win (new seat)

Source: ^[23]

Notes

1. Irvine West SNP councillor Ruth Maguire was elected as a MSP for Cunninghame South at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. She resigned her council seat on 25 May 2016 and a by-election was held on 11 August 2016 which was won by Labour's Louise McPhater. ^[14]

References

1. "Irvine West". Scottish Government. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
2. "Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
3. "Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
4. "Third Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. September 1998. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
5. "Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2006. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
6. "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 22 January 2024.
7. "Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. June 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
8. Andy Hamilton (5 March 2022). "North Ayrshire: Changes on the way as voters get set to go to polls". Irvine Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
9. "Declaration of Results Report Irvine West". North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
10. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Irvine West". North Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.
11. "Declaration of Results Report Irvine West" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
12. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Irvine West" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2024.
13. "Election Results Ward 1 Irvine West" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
14. Ruth Maguire resigns as North Ayrshire councillor to focus on MSP role - triggering by-election for Irvine West seat, Irvine Times, 26 May 2016
15. "Declaration of Results Ward 01 - Irvine West" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
16. "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Irvine West Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
17. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (2003). Local Elections Handbook 2003 (PDF). Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth. ISBN   0-948858-35-4 . Retrieved 17 March 2025.
18. Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1999). Local Elections Handbook 1999 (PDF). Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth. ISBN   0-948858-25-7 . Retrieved 17 March 2025.
19. Botchel, H. M.; Denver, D. T. (1995). The Scottish Council Elections 1995: Results and Statistics (PDF). Newport on Tay: Election Studies. ISBN   1-869820-35-5 . Retrieved 15 March 2025.
20. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1992). The Scottish Council Elections 1992: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. ISBN   1-869820-04-5 . Retrieved 9 March 2025.
21. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1989). The Scottish District Elections 1988: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. ISBN   1-869820-02-9 . Retrieved 9 March 2025.
22. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1984). The Scottish District Elections 1984: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
23. Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1980). The Scottish District Elections 1980: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 9 March 2025.