Ardrossan and Arran (ward)

Ardrossan and Arran was one of the 10 wards used to elect members of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2007 following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements, the ward elected three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. Originally a four-member ward, Ardrossan and Arran was reduced in size following a boundary review ahead of the 2017 election. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.

Ardrossan and Arran
North Ayrshire
Outline map
Boundary of Ardrossan and Arran in North Ayrshire from 2017–2022.
Electorate9,622 (2017)
Major settlementsArdrossan
Brodick
Scottish Parliament constituencyCunninghame North
Scottish Parliament regionWest Scotland
UK Parliament constituencyNorth Ayrshire and Arran
2007 (2007)–2022 (2022)
Number of councillors3
Replaced byArdrossan
Arran
Created fromArdrossan North
Ardrossan South
Arran
Saltcoats North
South Beach

The ward was a Scottish National Party (SNP) stronghold with the party holding at least half the seats between 2012 and 2021.

Boundaries

The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Ardrossan was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained part of the former Ardrossan North, Saltcoats North and South Beach wards as well as all of the former Ardrossan South and Arran wards. The ward centred around the town of Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran and included a number of smaller islands in the Firth of Clyde including the Holy Isle and the uninhabited Pladda and Horse Isle.[1] Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward was reduced in size from a four-member ward to a three-member ward as an area in the northeast of Ardrossan was transferred to the newly created Saltcoats ward.[2]

In 2018, the Scottish Parliament passed the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which included provisions to improve the representation of island communities on councils. As a result, an intermediate review of the boundaries in North Ayrshire was carried out. This proposed that Ardrossan and Arran be split in two with a single-member Arran ward re-established and a slightly enlarged three-member Ardrossan ward created. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.[3][4]

Councillors
Election Councillors
2007 Tony Gurney
(SNP)		 Peter McNamara
(Labour)		 Margie Currie
(Ind.)		 John Hunter
(Ind.)
2012 John Bruce
(SNP)
2017 Timothy Billings
(Conservative)		 Ellen McMaster
(SNP/
Alba)		 3 seats
2021

Election results

2017 election
Main article: 2017 North Ayrshire Council election
Ardrossan and Arran - 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
123456
Conservative Timothy Billings 27.6 1,309          
SNP Ellen McMaster 19.7 932 937 1,000 1,002 1,034 1,159
SNP Tony Gurney (incumbent) 19.6 930 932 946 955 1,092 1,245
Labour Clare McGuire 13.9 659 677 723 792 979  
Independent John Hunter (incumbent) 10.6 503 517 534 627    
No Referendum Maintain Union Pro-Brexit Gordon Allison 5.0 238 280 285      
Scottish Socialist Colin Turbett 3.5 165 170        
Electorate: 9,622   Valid: 4,736   Spoilt: 123   Quota: 1,185   Turnout: 50.5%  

    Source: [5][6]

    2012 election
    Main article: 2012 North Ayrshire Council election
    Ardrossan and Arran - 4 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    12345678
    SNP Tony Gurney (incumbent) 17.57 982 986 998 1,033 1,048 1,081 1,095.1 1,149.9
    SNP John Bruce 14.97 837 841 868 889 918 1,109 1,113.2 1,157.4
    Independent John Hunter (incumbent) 14.17 792 796 833 895 1,025 1,191    
    Labour Peter McNamara (incumbent) 12.90 721 730 738 770 812 871 881.8 1,414.6
    Labour Loretta Gardner 11.79 659 667 692 720 750 793 798.7  
    Independent Marc A. Head 10.52 588 595 609 620 714      
    Conservative David Tate 8.78 491 507 551 561        
    Scottish Socialist Campbell Martin 4.20 235 237 250          
    UKIP Gordon Niven Allison 3.95 221 227            
    Liberal Democrats Nick Smith 1.14 64              
    Electorate: 13,674   Valid: 5,590   Spoilt: 106   Quota: 1,119   Turnout: 5,696 (40.88%)  

      2007 election
      Main article: 2007 North Ayrshire Council election
      North Ayrshire council election, 2007: Ardrossan and Arran
      Party Candidate 1st Pref  % Seat Count
      Independent Margie Currie 1,439 19.3 2 4
      SNP Tony Gurney 1,414 19.0 1 4
      Labour Peter McNamara 1,007 13.5 3 7
      Independent John Hunter 952 12.8 4 9
      Conservative Gordon Allison 857 11.5
      Labour Margaret Munn 829 11.1
      SNP William McLaren 573 7.7
      Independent Kenneth MacDougall 228 3.1
      Scottish Socialist Nigel Hunter 144 1.9

      References
      1. "Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2006. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
      2. "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
      3. "Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. June 2021. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
      4. Hamilton, Andy (5 March 2022). "North Ayrshire: Changes on the way as voters get set to go to polls". Irvine Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
      5. "Declaration of Results Report Ardrossan and Arran" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
      6. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ardrossan and Arran" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 18 May 2023.
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