Cunninghame South (UK Parliament constituency)

Cunninghame South was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster) from 1983 until 2005. It was represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post system of election.

Cunninghame South
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Cunninghame South in Scotland for the 2001 general election
Subdivisions of ScotlandNorth Ayrshire
19832005
SeatsOne
Created fromAyrshire Central
Bute and Northern Ayrshire[1]
Replaced byNorth Ayrshire & Arran
Central Ayrshire

In 2005 a northern area of the constituency was merged with Cunninghame North to form North Ayrshire and Arran. The rest of the Cunninghame South constituency was merged with a northern area from Ayr and a small area from Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley to form Central Ayrshire.

The Cunninghame South constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which was created in 1999 with the same boundaries as the Westminster constituency, continues in existence unaltered.

Boundaries

The Cunninghame District electoral divisions of Irvine Central, Irvine South, and Kilwinning and Stevenston.

The constituency was created to cover part of the Cunninghame district of the Strathclyde region, and it included the town of Irvine. The rest of the district was covered by Cunninghame North.

In 1996 the Cunninghame district was reconstituted as the North Ayrshire council area, but the constituency boundaries remained unchanged until the seat disappeared in 2005.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[2]PartyNotes
1983Constituency created, see Bute and Northern Ayrshire and Central Ayrshire
1983David LambieLabourPrevious MP for Central Ayrshire
1992Brian DonohoeLabourSubsequent MP for Central Ayrshire
2005Constituency abolished, see Central Ayrshire and North Ayrshire and Arran

Election results

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Cunninghame South[3]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourDavid Lambie 19,344 54.1 -0.2
ConservativePhil Gallie7,57621.2-5.5
LiberalJohn Alan Boss6,37017.8+9.2
SNPKay Ullrich2,4516.9-3.5
Majority11,76832.9
Turnout35,74173.6
Labour win (new seat)
General election 1987: Cunninghame South[4]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourDavid Lambie 22,728 60.8 +6.7
ConservativeEric Gibson6,09516.3−4.9
LiberalJohn Boss4,42611.9−5.9
SNPKay Ullrich4,11511.0+4.1
Majority16,63346.6+13.7
Turnout37,36475.0+1.4
Labour holdSwing+6.8

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Cunninghame South[5]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourBrian Donohoe 19,687 52.9 −7.9
SNPRicky Bell9,00724.2+13.2
ConservativeSebastian Leslie6,07016.30.0
Liberal DemocratsBrian Ashley2,2996.2−5.7
Natural LawWilliam Jackson1280.4New
Majority10,68028.7-17.9
Turnout37,19175.9+0.9
Labour holdSwing
General election 1997: Cunninghame South[6]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourBrian Donohoe 22,233 62.7 +9.8
SNPMargaret Burgess7,36420.8−3.4
ConservativePamela M. Paterson3,57110.1−6.2
Liberal DemocratsErlend Watson1,6044.5−1.7
Socialist LabourKrishna Edwin4941.4New
ReferendumAllan Martlew1780.5New
Majority14,86941.9+13.2
Turnout35,44471.5-4.4
Labour holdSwing

Elections in the 2000s

General election 2001: Cunninghame South[7]
PartyCandidateVotes%±%
LabourBrian Donohoe 16,424 58.4 −4.3
SNPBill Kidd5,19418.5−2.3
ConservativePamela Paterson2,7829.9−0.2
Liberal DemocratsJohn Boyd2,0947.4+2.9
Scottish SocialistRosemary Byrne1,2334.4New
Socialist LabourBobby Cochrane3821.40.0
Majority11,23039.9-2.0
Turnout28,10956.2−15.3
Labour holdSwing

References