Cunninghame South (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Cunninghame South is a constituency
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....

 of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

. It elects one MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...

 by the first past the post method of election once every four years. Currently, the constituency comprises of the towns of Irvine
Irvine
-Places:Canada*Irvine, Alberta*Irvine Inlet, NunavutUnited Kingdom*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotland*Irvine Valley, Ayrshire, Scotland, an alternative name for Loudoun*River Irvine, ScotlandUnited States*Irvine, California**Irvine...

, Kilwinning
Kilwinning
Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...

 and Stevenston
Stevenston
Stevenston is a town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is one of the 'Three Towns' along with Ardrossan and Saltcoats.-History:The town is named after Stephan Loccard or Lockhart, whose father obtained a grant of land from Richard de Morville, Lord Cunninghame and Constable of Scotland, around 1170....

, located within the North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

 council area in Scotland's south-west. Although it is traditionally a safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...

 for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

, it fell to the SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....

 in 2011.

The seat is one of nine constituencies in the South of Scotland electoral region
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....

, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation
Proportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 for the region as a whole.

Electoral region

See also South of Scotland Scottish Parliament region


The other eight constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Ayr
Ayr (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Ayr is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Scotland. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

, Clydesdale
Clydesdale (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Clydesdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

, Dumfries
Dumfries (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Dumfries was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

, East Lothian
East Lothian (Scottish Parliament constituency)
East Lothian is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....

, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Roxburgh and Berwickshire was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament until 2011. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

 and Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area
Dumfries and Galloway
Dumfries and Galloway is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It was one of the nine administrative 'regions' of mainland Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government etc. Act 1973...

, the Scottish Borders council area
Scottish Borders
The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

, the South Ayrshire council area
South Ayrshire
South Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of Ayrshire. It borders onto East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway....

, part of the East Ayrshire council area
East Ayrshire
East Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders on to North Ayrshire, East Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire, South Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway...

, part of the East Lothian council area
East Lothian
East Lothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy Area. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Scottish Borders and Midlothian. Its administrative centre is Haddington, although its largest town is Musselburgh....

, part of the Midlothian council area
Midlothian
Midlothian is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, and a lieutenancy area. It borders the Scottish Borders, East Lothian and the City of Edinburgh council areas....

, part of the North Ayrshire council area
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

 and part of the South Lanarkshire council area
South Lanarkshire
South Lanarkshire is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland, covering the southern part of the former county of Lanarkshire. It borders the south-east of the city of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs, commuter towns and smaller villages....

.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The Cunninghame South constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999
Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...

, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency
Cunninghame South (UK Parliament constituency)
Cunninghame South was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It was represented by one Member of Parliament elected by the first-past-the-post system of election....

. In 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.

The Holyrood constituency is covers a south-eastern portion of the North Ayrshire council area
North Ayrshire
North Ayrshire is one of 32 council areas in Scotland with a population of roughly 136,000 people. It is located in the south-west region of Scotland, and borders the areas of Inverclyde to the north, Renfrewshire to the north-east and East Ayrshire and South Ayrshire to the East and South...

. The rest of the council area is covered by the Cunninghame North
Cunninghame North (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Cunninghame North is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one MSP by the first past the post method of election once every four years...

 constituency, which is in the West of Scotland electoral region.

From the 2011 Scottish Parliament elections, the newly reformed Cunninghame South will be formed from the following electoral wards:
  • In full; Irvine West, Irvine East, Kilwinning
    Kilwinning
    Kilwinning is a historic town in North Ayrshire, Scotland. It is known as The Crossroads of Ayrshire. The 2001 Census recorded it as having a population of 15,908.-History:...

  • In part; Saltcoats and Stevenston

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election Member Party
1999
Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...

Irene Oldfather
Irene Oldfather
Irene Oldfather is a Scottish Labour politician, and was the Member of the Scottish Parliament for Cunninghame South constituency from 1999 until 2011.-References:...

Labour
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....

2003
Scottish Parliament election, 2003
The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive...

2007
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...

2011
Scottish Parliament election, 2011
The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...

Margaret Burgess
Margaret Burgess
Margaret Burgess is a Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament, representing the Cunninghame South constituency.- References :...

SNP
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....


Election results






















Footnotes



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