Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley
County constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley shown within the 2011 version of the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Electorate	57,515 (2022) [1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Willie Coffey
Council area	East Ayrshire
Created from	Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council area of 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 South 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 was created for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, following the redrawing and renaming of the old Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency which had been in the Central Scotland region. It has been held continuously by Willie Coffey of the Scottish National Party, who was previously the member for Kilmarnock and Loudoun.

Electoral region

See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

Following the second periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries in 2025, the other nine constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr; Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley; Clydesdale; Dumfriesshire; East Kilbride; Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire; Galloway and West Dumfries; Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse; and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. ^[3] The region covers the whole of the council areas of Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, and South Ayrshire council areas; and parts of the council areas of East Ayrshire, Midlothian, and South Lanarkshire. ^[4] By population it is now the largest of Scotland's eight electoral regions. ^[3]

Prior to the 2025 review, there were nine constituencies in the South Scotland region. Besides Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley, the other eight constituencies were: Ayr; Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley; Clydesdale; Dumfriesshire; East Lothian; Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire; Galloway and West Dumfries; and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale. The region covered the Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire council areas in full and parts of the East Lothian, Midlothian and South Lanarkshire council areas.

Constituency boundaries and council area

Wards of the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Scottish Parliament constituency as of 2011.

East Ayrshire is represented in the Scottish Parliament by three constituencies: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley; Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley; and Cunninghame South, the latter also covering part of North Ayshire and lying within the West Scotland electoral region. ^[5]

The seat was created in 2011 by the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries. At the Second Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries undertaken by Boundaries Scotland ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament election changes were made, with the villages of Dunlop and Stewarton being transferred to the Cunninghame South constituency in order to address differences in electorate size between the two seats. ^[6] The electoral wards of East Ayrshire Council used in the current creation of Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley are: ^[2]

• Annick (shared with Cunninghame South)
• Kilmarnock North (entire ward)
• Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse (entire ward)
• Kilmarnock East and Hurlford (entire ward)
• Kilmarnock South (entire ward)
• Irvine Valley (entire ward)
• Ballochmyle (shared with Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley)

Constituency profile

The Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency is a part-urban part-rural constituency located along the northern half of the East Ayrshire council area. Towards the south-west of the constituency is the town of Kilmarnock and its adjoining towns and villages. Kilmarnock is a former industrial town which is mostly made up of social housing, with some suburban housing towards the western end of the town. To the east of the town, along the valley of the River Irvine, is a string of industrial towns and villages such as Galston and Newmilns located within the parish of Loudoun. The region was once dependent upon the manufacture of textiles before the industry's collapse throughout the mid-20th Century.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	Willie Coffey	Scottish National Party

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley ^{[7] [8] [9] [10]}

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Willie Coffey [a]	21,418	52.7	2.7	18,649	45.8	3.4
	Labour	Kevin McGregor	9,737	24.0	1.2	8,199	20.1	0.8
	Conservative	Brian Whittle [b]	8,295	20.4	1.2	8,781	21.6	1.9
	Green					2,017	5.0	0.6
	Liberal Democrats	Stephen McQuistin	919	2.3	0.3	868	2.1	0.0
	All for Unity					706	1.7	New
	Alba					636	1.6	New
	Independent Green Voice					223	0.5	New
	Scottish Family					177	0.4	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					137	0.3	New
	Scottish Libertarian	Stef Johnstone	253	0.6	New	89	0.2	New
	Reform					86	0.2	New
	UKIP					57	0.1	1.9
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					61	0.1	New
	Scotia Future					23	0.1	New
	Vanguard Party (UK)					11	0.0	New
Majority			11,681	28.7	3.9
Valid Votes			40,622			40,720
Invalid Votes			90			55
Turnout			40,712	61.5	6.4	40,775	61.6	6.5
	SNP hold		Swing
Notes Incumbent member for this constituency Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley ^{[8] [11] [12]}

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Willie Coffey [a]	19,047	55.4	2.2	16,952	49.2	0.8
	Labour	Dave Meechan	7,853	22.8	11.6	7,209	20.9	10.9
	Conservative	Brian Whittle [b]	6,597	19.2	8.8	6,799	19.7	9.4
	Green					1,522	4.4	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Rebecca Plenderleith	888	2.6	0.7	710	2.1	0.5
	UKIP					706	2.0	1.4
	Solidarity					251	0.7	0.5
	RISE					193	0.6	New
	Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent					121	0.4	New
Majority			11,194	32.6	13.8
Valid Votes			34,385			34,463
Invalid Votes			116			49
Turnout			34,501	55.1	4.5	34,512	55.1	4.5
	SNP hold		Swing		6.8
Notes Incumbent member for this constituency Elected on the party list

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley ^{[8] [13] [14] [15]}

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Willie Coffey [a]	16,964	53.2	N/A	15,438	48.4	N/A
	Labour	Matt McLaughlin	10,971	34.4	N/A	10,154	31.8	N/A
	Conservative	Grant Fergusson	3,309	10.4	N/A	3,271	10.3	N/A
	Green					756	2.4	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					574	1.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Robbie Simpson	614	1.9	N/A	498	1.6	N/A
	Socialist Labour					402	1.3	N/A
	BNP					268	0.8	N/A
	UKIP					207	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Christian					181	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					103	0.3	N/A
	Solidarity					54	0.2	N/A
Majority			5,993	18.8	N/A
Valid Votes			31,858			31,906
Invalid Votes			126			93
Turnout			31,984	50.6	N/A	31,999	50.6	N/A
	SNP win (new seat)
Notes Incumbent member for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency

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 141.
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. Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 140-143.
6. Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 83-87.
7. "Constituencies A-Z: Kilmarnock & Irvine Valley". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
8. "Scottish Parliament Elections". East Ayrshire Council. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
9. "Results for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Notice of Result" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
10. "Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Regional Notice of Result" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
11. "Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Regional Result Notice" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
12. "Results for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Constituency" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
13. "Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Regional Result Notice" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
14. "Results for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Constituency" (PDF). East Ayrshire Council. 6 May 2011. Retrieved 6 August 2021.
15. "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

Bibliography

• "Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. April 2025. Retrieved 24 November 2025.

External links

• "Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency map (2025 review)" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland . Retrieved 24 November 2025.
• "Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency map (2011 review)" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 6 August 2021.