Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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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
Electorate57,515 (2022)[1]
Current constituency
Created2011
PartyScottish National Party
MSPWillie Coffey
Council areaEast Ayrshire
Created fromKilmarnock 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

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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

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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 Ayrshire 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]

Constituency profile

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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

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Election Member Party
2011 Willie Coffey Scottish National Party

Election results

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2020s

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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 Decrease2.7 18,649 45.8 Decrease3.4
Labour Kevin McGregor 9,737 24.0 Increase1.2 8,199 20.1 Decrease0.8
Conservative Brian Whittle[b] 8,295 20.4 Increase1.2 8,781 21.6 Increase1.9
Green 2,017 5.0 Increase0.6
Liberal Democrats Stephen McQuistin 919 2.3 Decrease0.3 868 2.1 Steady0.0
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 Decrease1.9
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 Decrease3.9
Valid Votes 40,622 40,720
Invalid Votes 90 55
Turnout 40,712 61.5 Increase6.4 40,775 61.6 Increase6.5
SNP hold Swing
Notes
  1. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2010s

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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 Increase2.2 16,952 49.2 Increase0.8
Labour Dave Meechan 7,853 22.8 Decrease11.6 7,209 20.9 Decrease10.9
Conservative Brian Whittle[b] 6,597 19.2 Increase8.8 6,799 19.7 Increase9.4
Green 1,522 4.4 Increase2.0
Liberal Democrats Rebecca Plenderleith 888 2.6 Increase0.7 710 2.1 Increase0.5
UKIP 706 2.0 Increase1.4
Solidarity 251 0.7 Increase0.5
RISE 193 0.6 New
Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent 121 0.4 New
Majority 11,194 32.6 Increase13.8
Valid Votes 34,385 34,463
Invalid Votes 116 49
Turnout 34,501 55.1 Increase4.5 34,512 55.1 Increase4.5
SNP hold Swing Increase6.8
Notes
  1. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. ^ 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
  1. ^ Incumbent member for the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 25.
  2. ^ a b Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 141.
  3. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c "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

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