South Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency)
South Ayrshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1868 until 1983, when it was abolished. It returned one Member of Parliament (MP), elected by the first past the post voting system.
South Ayrshire | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Subdivisions of Scotland | Ayrshire |
1868–1983 | |
Number of members | One |
Replaced by | Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley[1] |
Created from | Ayrshire |
Boundaries
The Representation of the People (Scotland) Act 1868 provided that the new South Ayrshire constituency was to consist of the District of Kyle and Carrick, consisting of the parishes of Auchinleck, Ayr, Ballantrae, Barr, Colmonell, Coylton, Craigie, Dailly, Dalmellington, Dalrymple, Dundonald, Galston, Girvan, Kirkmichael, Kirkoswald, Mauchline, Maybole, Monkton and Prestwick, Muirkirk, New Cumnock, Newton-on-Ayr, Ochiltree, Old Cumnock, Riccarton, St Quivox, Sorn, Stair, Straiton, Symington and Tarbolton, minus the burghs of Ayr, Prestwick and Troon, which formed a part of the Ayr Burghs constituency.
From 1918 the constituency consisted of "The county districts of Ayr and Carrick, inclusive of all burghs situated therein except insofar as included in the Ayr District of Burghs."
Members of Parliament
Year | Member[2] | Whip | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
1868 | constituency created, see Ayrshire | |||
1868 | Sir David Wedderburn | Liberal | ||
1874 | Claud Alexander | Conservative | ||
1885 | Eugene Wason | Liberal | ||
1886 | Greville Vernon | Liberal Unionist | ||
1892 | Eugene Wason | Liberal | ||
1895 | Sir William Arrol | Liberal Unionist | ||
1906 | Sir William Beale | Liberal | ||
1918 | James Brown | Labour | ||
1931 | James MacAndrew | Unionist | ||
1935 | James Brown | Labour | ||
1939 | Alexander Sloan | Labour | ||
1946 | Emrys Hughes | Labour | ||
1970 | Jim Sillars | Labour | ||
1976 | Scottish Labour | |||
1979 | George Foulkes | Labour | ||
1983 | constituency abolished, see Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley |
Election results
![](../I/m/South_Ayrshire_electoral_history.png)
Election in the 1860s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | David Wedderburn | 1,416 | 50.4 | N/A | |
Conservative | Claud Alexander | 1,391 | 49.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 25 | 0.9 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 2,807 | 83.3 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 3,370 | ||||
Liberal win (new seat) |
Elections in the 1870s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Claud Alexander | Unopposed | |||
Registered electors | 3,547 | ||||
Conservative gain from Liberal |
Elections in the 1880s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Conservative | Claud Alexander | 1,830 | 53.6 | N/A | |
Liberal | North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton | 1,583 | 46.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 247 | 7.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 3,413 | 88.3 | N/A | ||
Registered electors | 3,865 | ||||
Conservative hold | Swing | N/A |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Eugene Wason | 7,357 | 55.3 | +8.9 | |
Conservative | Claud Alexander | 5,447 | 44.7 | −8.9 | |
Majority | 1,411 | 10.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 13,303 | 88.0 | −0.3 | ||
Registered electors | 15,109 | ||||
Liberal gain from Conservative | Swing | +8.9 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | Greville Vernon | 6,123 | 50.0 | +5.3 | |
Liberal | Eugene Wason | 6,118 | 50.0 | -5.3 | |
Majority | 5 | 0.0 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 12,241 | 81.0 | −7.0 | ||
Registered electors | 15,109 | ||||
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +5.3 | |||
Elections in the 1890s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | Eugene Wason | 6,535 | 50.8 | +0.8 | |
Liberal Unionist | William Arrol | 6,338 | 49.2 | -0.8 | |
Majority | 197 | 1.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 12,873 | 86.3 | +5.3 | ||
Registered electors | 14,912 | ||||
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | +0.8 | |||
![](../I/m/William_Arrol%2C_Page_70.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | William Arrol | 6,875 | 52.1 | +2.9 | |
Liberal | Eugene Wason | 6,325 | 47.9 | -2.9 | |
Majority | 550 | 4.2 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 13,200 | 85.4 | −0.9 | ||
Registered electors | 15,463 | ||||
Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal | Swing | +2.9 | |||
Elections in the 1900s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Unionist | William Arrol | 6,615 | 53.5 | +1.4 | |
Liberal | Edward Alexander James Johnson-Ferguson | 5,753 | 46.5 | −1.4 | |
Majority | 862 | 7.0 | +2.8 | ||
Turnout | 12,368 | 77.6 | −7.8 | ||
Registered electors | 15,941 | ||||
Liberal Unionist hold | Swing | +1.4 |
![](../I/m/William_Phipson_Beale.jpg)
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Beale | 7,853 | 54.3 | +7.8 | |
Conservative | James J. Bell | 6,611 | 45.7 | −7.8 | |
Majority | 1,242 | 8.6 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 14,464 | 82.7 | +5.1 | ||
Registered electors | 17,497 | ||||
Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist | Swing | +7.8 | |||
Elections in the 1910s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Beale | 8,833 | 56.5 | +2.2 | |
Conservative | Thomas Walker McIntyre | 6,793 | 43.5 | −2.2 | |
Majority | 2,040 | 13.0 | +4.4 | ||
Turnout | 15,626 | 85.5 | +2.8 | ||
Registered electors | 18,272 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | +2.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal | William Beale | 8,715 | 56.0 | -0.5 | |
Conservative | Thomas Walker McIntyre | 6,835 | 44.0 | +0.5 | |
Majority | 1,880 | 12.0 | -1.0 | ||
Turnout | 15,550 | 83.0 | −2.5 | ||
Registered electors | 18,733 | ||||
Liberal hold | Swing | -0.5 |
General Election 1914/15:
Another General Election was required to take place before the end of 1915. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;
- Liberal: William Robertson[12]
- Unionist:
- Labour: James Brown
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 6,358 | 37.3 | N/A | |
C | Unionist | John Buchanan Pollok-McCall | 5,495 | 32.2 | -11.8 |
Liberal | William Robertson | 4,555 | 26.7 | -29.3 | |
Independent Unionist | Hugh Robert Wallace | 627 | 3.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 863 | 5.1 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 17,035 | ||||
Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | N/A | |||
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. |
Elections in the 1920s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 11,511 | 55.63 | ||
National Liberal | William Reid | 9,180 | 44.37 | ||
Majority | 2,331 | 11.27 | |||
Turnout | 20,691 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 11,169 | 55.91 | +0.28 | |
Unionist | Charles Fergusson | 8,807 | 44.09 | -0.28 | |
Majority | 2,362 | 11.82 | +0.55 | ||
Turnout | 19,976 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 11,313 | 50.39 | -5.52 | |
Unionist | C.I.A. Dubs | 11,136 | 49.61 | +5.52 | |
Majority | 177 | 0.79 | -11.03 | ||
Turnout | 22,449 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 16,981 | 58.1 | ||
Unionist | C.I.A. Dubs | 12,240 | 41.9 | ||
Majority | 4,741 | 16.2 | |||
Turnout | 29,221 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1930s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Unionist | James MacAndrew | 16,657 | 54.84 | ||
Labour | James Brown | 13,733 | 45.16 | ||
Majority | 2,942 | 9.68 | |||
Turnout | 30,408 | 79.27 | |||
Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | James Brown | 18,190 | 57.61 | ||
Unionist | James MacAndrew | 13,396 | 42.39 | ||
Majority | 4,804 | 15.21 | |||
Turnout | 31,576 | 78.03 | |||
Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alexander Sloan | 17,908 | 57.97 | +0.36 | |
Unionist | Catherine Gavin | 12,986 | 42.03 | -0.36 | |
Majority | 4,922 | 15.93 | |||
Turnout | 30,894 |
Elections in the 1940s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Alexander Sloan | 21,235 | 61.34 | ||
Unionist | Robert Mathew | 13,382 | 38.66 | ||
Majority | 7,853 | 22.69 | |||
Turnout | 34,617 | 75.17 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 20,434 | 60.43 | -0.91 | |
Unionist | Robert Mathew | 13,382 | 39.57 | +0.91 | |
Majority | 7,052 | 20.86 | -1.83 | ||
Turnout | 33,816 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Elections in the 1950s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 22,284 | 60.23 | -1.10 | |
Unionist | JC George | 14,717 | 39.77 | +1.10 | |
Majority | 7,567 | 20.45 | -2.24 | ||
Turnout | 37,001 | 85.35 | +10.20 | ||
Registered electors | 43,350 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | -1.1 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 22,576 | 60.50 | +0.27 | |
Unionist | Derek MH Smith | 14,740 | 39.50 | -0.27 | |
Majority | 7,836 | 21.00 | +0.55 | ||
Turnout | 37,316 | 82.93 | -2.42 | ||
Registered electors | 44,999 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.27 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 21,778 | 61.61 | +1.11 | |
Unionist | Derek MH Smith | 13,569 | 38.39 | -1.11 | |
Majority | 8,209 | 23.22 | +2.22 | ||
Turnout | 35,347 | 76.83 | -6.10 | ||
Registered electors | 46,007 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +1.11 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 24,774 | 63.72 | +2.11 | |
Unionist | William Hill Hunter | 14,105 | 36.28 | -2.11 | |
Majority | 10,669 | 27.44 | +4.22 | ||
Turnout | 38,879 | 80.89 | +4.06 | ||
Registered electors | 48,063 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing | +2.11 |
Elections in the 1960s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 24,795 | 66.68 | +2.96 | |
Unionist | William Hill Hunter | 12,403 | 33.32 | -2.96 | |
Majority | 12,403 | 33.35 | +5.91 | ||
Turnout | 37,187 | 77.58 | |||
Labour hold | Swing | +3.0 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Emrys Hughes | 23,495 | 67.25 | +0.57 | |
Conservative | Christopher Graves | 11,442 | 32.75 | -0.57 | |
Majority | 12,053 | 34.50 | +1.15 | ||
Turnout | 34,937 | 75.13 | |||
Labour hold | Swing | +0.5 |
Elections in the 1970s
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Sillars | 20,664 | 52.7 | −14.6 | |
Conservative | Christopher Graves | 9,778 | 24.9 | −7.8 | |
SNP | Samuel H. Purdie | 7,785 | 19.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 10,886 | 27.7 | −6.8 | ||
Turnout | 39,227 | ||||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Sillars | 23,910 | 61.8 | −5.5 | |
Conservative | Norman Simpson | 11,675 | 30.2 | −2.6 | |
SNP | Samuel H. Purdie | 3,102 | 8.0 | N/A | |
Majority | 12,235 | 31.6 | −2.9 | ||
Turnout | 38,687 | 76.7 | |||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Sillars | 23,093 | 57.2 | −4.6 | |
Conservative | Robert Colquhoun | 10,643 | 26.4 | −3.8 | |
SNP | Roger Mullin | 6,612 | 16.4 | +8.4 | |
Majority | 12,450 | 30.9 | −0.8 | ||
Turnout | 40,438 | 79.5 | +2.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −0.4 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jim Sillars | 22,329 | 56.2 | −1.0 | |
SNP | Roger Mullin | 7,851 | 19.8 | +3.4 | |
Conservative | J Armstrong | 7,402 | 18.6 | −7.8 | |
Liberal | Richard Mabon | 2,130 | 5.4 | N/A | |
Majority | 14,478 | 36.5 | +5.6 | ||
Turnout | 39,712 | 77.4 | −2.1 | ||
Labour hold | Swing | −2.2 |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour Co-op | George Foulkes | 14,271 | 35.2 | −21.0 | |
SLP | Jim Sillars | 12,750 | 31.5 | N/A | |
Conservative | G. Young | 10,287 | 25.4 | +6.7 | |
SNP | Colin Cameron | 3,233 | 8.0 | −11.8 | |
Majority | 1,521 | 3.7 | −32.8 | ||
Turnout | 40,541 | 79.9 | +2.6 | ||
Labour Co-op hold | Swing | −26.2 |
References
- "'Ayrshire South', Feb 1974 – May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
- Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
- Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
- Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
- The Times, 29 April 1880
- Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
- Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
- Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
- Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
- Daily Record 14 Sep 1914
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
- Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1922
- The Times, 17 November 1922
- The Times, 8 December 1923
- Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
- The Times, 1 June 1929
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
- Whitaker's Almanack, 1944
- Scottish Conservative and Unionist Central Office, The Yearbook for Scotland (1967), p.86
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
- Whitaker's Almanack 1963
- The Times House of Commons, 1964
- The Times House of Commons, 1966
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- Whitaker's Almanack 1977
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
- Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.