Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament
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 (first past the post) 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.
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
The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: 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 covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area , part of the East Ayrshire council area , part of the East Lothian council area , part of the Midlothian council area , the Scottish Borders council area , the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area .
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 two constituencies: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley and Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.
The electoral wards in the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency are listed below. All of these wards are part of East Ayrshire:[ 2]
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. The north of the constituency is mostly made up of farmlands, with the historic town of Stewarton lying directly north of Kilmarnock along the Annick Water .
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Election results
2020s
2021 Scottish Parliament election : Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley[ 3] [ 4] [ 5] [ 6]
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
Scottish 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 UK
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
2010s
2016 Scottish Parliament election : Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley[ 4] [ 7] [ 8]
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
Scottish 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
2011 Scottish Parliament election : Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley[ 4] [ 9] [ 10] [ 11]
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
Scottish 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)
References
External links