Kirkcaldy (UK Parliament constituency)

Kirkcaldy was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Fife, returning one Member of Parliament (MP). It existed from the February 1974 election until its abolition in 2005.

Not to be confused with Kirkcaldy (Scottish Parliament constituency).

Kirkcaldy
Former County constituency for the House of Commons
Boundary of Kirkcaldy in Scotland for the 2001 general election
Major settlements	Kirkcaldy
February 1974–2005
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Glenrothes
Created from	Kirkcaldy Burghs

History

This was a safe Labour seat throughout its existence.

Boundaries

1974–1983: The burghs of Buckhaven and Methil, Burntisland, Kingshorn, and Kirkcaldy, and parts of the districts of Kirkcaldy and Wemyss.

1983–1997: The Kirkcaldy District electoral divisions of Auchtertool/Linktown/Invertiel, Bennochy/Chapel/Cluny, Bennochy/Dunearn, Buckhaven/East Wemyss, Burntisland/Kinghorn, Dunnikier, Gallatown/Dysart/Coaltown of Wemyss/Thornton, Hayfield/Kirkcaldy Central, and Smeaton/Sinclairtown.

1997–2005: The Kirkcaldy District electoral divisions of Buckhaven, Thornton and Wemyss; Burntisland and Auchtertool; Dunearn and Torbain; Dunnikier and Fair Isle; Dysart and Gallatown; Hayfield and Bennochy; Kinghorn and Linktown; Pathhead, Sinclairtown and Smeaton; and Raith and Valley.

The constituency was centred on the town of Kirkcaldy. It was created at the February 1974 election, mostly replacing Kirkcaldy Burghs. In 2005 the seat was abolished, being mostly replaced by Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath with a small portion becoming part of Glenrothes.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party	Notes
	Feb 1974	Harry Gourlay	Labour	Previously MP for Kirkcaldy Burghs from 1959. Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means 1968–1970. Died April 1987
	1987	Lewis Moonie	Labour
	2005	constituency abolished: see Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath & Glenrothes

Elections

Elections in the 1970s

General election February 1974: Kirkcaldy[1]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	22,469	47.0	N/A
	Conservative	Arthur John Armstrong Bell	13,087	27.3	N/A
	SNP	Roger Thompson Knox	12,311	25.7	N/A
Majority			9,382	19.6	N/A
Turnout			47,867	79.4	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

General election October 1974: Kirkcaldy[2]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	20,688	45.4	−1.6
	SNP	Roger Thompson Knox	14,587	32.0	+6.3
	Conservative	Robert Jones	7,539	16.5	−10.8
	Liberal	Fergus Gray Young	2,788	6.1	N/A
Majority			6,101	13.4	-6.2
Turnout			45,602	75.0	−4.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1979: Kirkcaldy

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	25,449	53.9	+8.5
	Conservative	Jean Hazel Stewart	12,386	26.2	+9.7
	SNP	Andrew Currie	9,416	19.9	−12.1
Majority			13,063	27.7	+14.3
Turnout			47,251	77.4	+2.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Kirkcaldy[3]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	15,380	40.3	−10.4
	Conservative	Iain Walker	10,049	26.3	−2.8
	SDP	Malcolm Black	9,274	24.3	N/A
	SNP	David Wood	3,452	9.1	−11.0
Majority			5,331	14.0	-13.7
Turnout			53,078	71.9	−5.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1987: Kirkcaldy[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	20,281	49.6	+9.3
	Conservative	Iain Mitchell	8,711	21.3	−5.0
	SDP	David Stewart	7,118	17.4	−6.9
	SNP	Roger Mullin	4,794	11.7	+2.6
Majority			11,570	28.3	+14.3
Turnout			53,439	76.5	+4.6
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Kirkcaldy[5][6]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	17,887	46.0	−9.6
	SNP	Stewart Hosie	8,761	22.5	+10.8
	Conservative	Stephen Wosley	8,476	21.8	+0.5
	Liberal Democrats	Sue Leslie	3,729	9.6	−7.8
Majority			9,126	23.5	−4.8
Turnout			38,853	74.8	−1.7
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.2

General election 1997: Kirkcaldy[7][8][9][10]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	18,730	53.6	+8.0
	SNP	Stewart Hosie	8,020	22.9	+0.3
	Conservative	Charlotte Black	4,779	13.7	−8.4
	Liberal Democrats	John Mainland	3,031	8.7	−1.0
	Referendum	Victor Baxter	413	1.2	N/A
Majority			10,710	30.7	+7.6
Turnout			34,973	66.5	−8.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Kirkcaldy[11]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	15,227	54.1	+0.5
	SNP	Shirley-Anne Somerville	6,264	22.2	−0.7
	Conservative	Scott Campbell	3,013	10.7	−3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Weston	2,849	10.1	+1.6
	Scottish Socialist	Douglas Kinnear	804	2.9	N/A
Majority			8,963	31.9	+1.3
Turnout			28,157	54.6	−11.9
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.6

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)

1. Whitaker's Almanack, 1975
2. Whitaker's Almanack, 1977
3. "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
4. "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
5. "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
6. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Archived from the original on 24 July 2011. Retrieved 6 December 2010.
7. "Election Data 1997". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
8. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Archived from the original on 14 June 2012. Retrieved 7 January 2011.
9. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.106 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
10. The 1997 election result is calculated relative to the notional, not the actual, 1992 result.
11. "Election Data 2001". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.