Lillian Jones | |
---|---|
Member of Parliament for Kilmarnock and Loudoun | |
Assumed office 4 July 2024 | |
Preceded by | Alan Brown |
Majority | 5,119 (12.1%) |
Councillor for Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse | |
In office 3 May 2012 –2 September 2024 | |
Preceded by | Robert Keohone |
Succeeded by | TBD |
Personal details | |
Nationality | Scottish |
Political party | Scottish Labour Party |
Profession | NHS worker at NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde |
Website | Lillian Jones |
Lillian Jones is a Scottish Labour Party politician who has served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun since 2024. [1] [2] Prior to being elected as an MP in July 2024,Jones served as a councillor for the Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse ward within East Ayrshire Council from 3 May 2012 until her resignation on 2 September 2024, [3] as well as working within NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. [4]
Jones was elected as a councillor for the Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse ward at the 2012 East Ayrshire Council election,receiving 1,025 votes. [5] [6] She was subsequently re–elected to the ward in the 2017 East Ayrshire Council election and 2022 East Ayrshire Council election. [7] [8] During her tenure as a councillor on East Ayrshire Council,Jones served as a member on the Governance and Scrutiny Committee,Grants Committee,Local Government Licensing Panel and the Police and Fire and Rescue Committee. [9]
Following her election to the House of Commons in the 2024 United Kingdom general election,there had been speculation that a by-election could be held in East Ayrshire Council to replace Jones. Whilst MPs are not prevented from serving as a local councillor and MP at the same time,it is,however,often expected that MPs who serve as councillors at the time they are elected as an MP stand down from their council position. [10] In a video posted to her Facebook account on 2 September 2024,Jones confirmed she had tendered her resignation "with immediate effect" following writing to the Chief Executive of East Ayrshire Council,and confirmed a by-election would be held in the ward to select her successor. [11] The 2024 Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse by–election to elect her successor to the Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse ward is scheduled to take place on 14 November 2024. [12]
Jones has represented the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency at the House of Commons of the United Kingdom since 4 July 2024,following her election during the 2024 United Kingdom general election. [13]
Jones was selected as the Scottish Labour Party candidate for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun parliamentary constituency at the United Kingdom parliament,the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The 2024 United Kingdom general election was scheduled for 4 July,with Jones and Scottish Labour activists beginning campaigning across the constituency shortly after the announcement was made by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak. [14]
The Kilmarnock and Loudoun seat had previously been considered a Scottish Labour stronghold, having been represented by a Scottish Labour MP since 1983 until the election of Scottish National Party candidate Alan Brown in the 2015 United Kingdom general election. [15] [16] Brown would hold the seat through the subsequent elections, and contested the seat in the 2024 election alongside Jones for Scottish Labour.
Jones was the first Scottish Labour candidate to be declared victorious during election results through 4–5 July, defeating incumbent MP, Alan Brown of the SNP, with a majority of 5,119. [17] Speaking about being elected MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun, Jones described it as a "poignant moment". Jones said that she felt the result of the election in Kilmarnock and Loudoun "was going to be really close, that’s what was coming through in the polls". [18]
Speaking following her victory in the election contesting the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency, Jones voted to "deliver what I said I would deliver", and claimed that will be a "a constituency based MP". [19]
Following the election, Jones thanked Alan Brown, the Scottish National Party MP who won the Kilmarnock and Loudoun seat at the 2015 United Kingdom general election for his "time in office". [20]
Outside politics, Jones continued to work for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde during her tenure as a councillor on East Ayrshire Council. [21] Following her victory in the 2024 general election, it remains unclear whether Jones will retain this post within NHS Scotland whilst serving as MP for Kilmarnock and Loudoun.
East Ayrshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Road, Kilmarnock. With South Ayrshire and the mainland areas of North Ayrshire, it formed the former county of Ayrshire.
Kilmarnock is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main commercial and industrial centre.
Hurlford is a village in East Ayrshire, Scotland, situated on the outskirts of Kilmarnock, the largest and administrative centre of East Ayrshire and East Ayrshire Council. It has a population of 4,968. Hurlford's former names include Whirlford and Hurdleford. The village was named Whirlford as a result of a ford crossing the River Irvine east of Hurlford Cross, near Shawhill. It shares its name in Gaelic, Baile Àtha Cliath with the Irish capital Dublin. The census locality is called Hurlford and Crookedholm.
Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from parts of the old Ayr and Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituencies. It has been represented since 2024 by Elaine Stewart of Scottish Labour.
Central Ayrshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire council areas. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.
Kilmarnock and Loudoun is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP), using the first-past-the-post voting system.
Ayr is a burgh constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the town of Ayr in the council area of South Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) via the plurality electoral system. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region which elects seven additional members to the Scottish Parliament via a proportional electoral system known as the Additional Members System which allows for greater accuracy in representation for the region as a whole.
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, covering parts of the council areas of South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. Also, it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. Half of the constituency was incorporated into the new Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock constituency, with the remainder incorporated into the new Central Ayrshire constituency and the expanded Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.
Clarice Marion Shaw was a Labour Party politician and Member of Parliament in the United Kingdom.
William Lynch Coffey is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley since 2011, and previously Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2007 to 2011, before boundary changes.
Bonnyton is a former village in East Ayrshire which is currently an area in the western part of the town of Kilmarnock in southwest Scotland. It is home to a mix of residential and commercial properties, centred around estates such as Bonnyton Road, Munro Avenue and Gibson Street.
George Andrew Leslie was a Scottish politician and veterinary surgeon. He was the Scottish National Party (SNP)'s Senior Vice-Chairman from 1969 to 1971.
Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of East Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Elections to East Ayrshire Council were held on 3 May 2012, the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election is the second using 9 new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward elected three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation. The new wards replaced 32 single-member wards which used the plurality system of election.
Alan Brown is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Kilmarnock and Loudoun from 2015 until 2024. Brown previously served as the SNP spokesperson on Energy Security and Net Zero (2022–2023), Energy and Climate Change (2020–2022), Transport (2017–2020) and Infrastructure and Energy (2017–2018) in the House of Commons.
Elections to East Ayrshire Council took place on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Elections to East Ayrshire Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse is one of the nine electoral wards of East Ayrshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 17,739 people.
Irvine Valley is one of the nine electoral wards of East Ayrshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. Originally a four-member ward, Irvine Valley was reduced in size following a boundary review and has elected three councillors since the 2017 East Ayrshire Council election.