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
Seats	One
Created from	Ayrshire
Replaced by	Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley[1]

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

South Ayrshire electoral history

Election in the 1860s

General election 1868: South Ayrshire^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	David Wedderburn	1,416	50.4
	Conservative	Claud Alexander	1,391	49.6
Majority			25	0.8
Turnout			2,807	83.3
Registered electors			3,370
	Liberal win (new seat)

Elections in the 1870s

General election 1874: South Ayrshire^[4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claud Alexander	Unopposed
Registered electors			3,547
	Conservative gain from Liberal

Elections in the 1880s

General election 1880: South Ayrshire^[5][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Claud Alexander	1,830	53.6	N/A
	Liberal	North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton	1,583	46.4	New
Majority			247	7.2	N/A
Turnout			3,413	88.3	N/A
Registered electors			3,865
	Conservative hold		Swing	N/A

General election 1885: South Ayrshire^[6][7]

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

General election 1886: South Ayrshire^[6][7]

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

General election 1892: South Ayrshire^[8][7]

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

Arrol

General election 1895: South Ayrshire^[9][7]

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

General election 1900: South Ayrshire^[9][7]

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

Beale

General election 1906: South Ayrshire^[10][7]

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

General election January 1910: South Ayrshire ^[11]

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

General election December 1910: South Ayrshire ^[11]

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 July 1914, the following candidates had been selected;

• Liberal: William Robertson^[12]
• Unionist:
• Labour: James Brown

General election 1918: South Ayrshire^[13][14]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Brown	6,358	37.3	New
C	Unionist	John Buchanan Pollok-McCall	5,495	32.2	−11.8
	Liberal	William Robertson	4,555	26.7	−29.3
	Ind. Unionist	Hugh Robert Wallace	627	3.6	New
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

General election 1922: South Ayrshire^[15]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Brown	11,511	55.63
	National Liberal	William Reid (Scottish politician)	9,180	44.37
Majority			2,331	11.26
Turnout			20,691
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1923: South Ayrshire^[16]

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	+0.56
Turnout			19,976
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1924: South Ayrshire^[17]

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	0.78	−11.04
Turnout			22,449
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1929: South Ayrshire^[18]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Brown	16,981	58.1	+7.7
	Unionist	C.I.A. Dubs	12,240	41.9	−7.7
Majority			4,741	16.2	+15.4
Turnout			29,221
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: South Ayrshire^[19]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	James MacAndrew	16,675	54.84
	Labour	James Brown	13,733	45.16
Majority			2,942	9.68	N/A
Turnout			30,408	79.27
	Unionist gain from Labour		Swing

General election 1935: South Ayrshire^[20]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	James Brown	18,190	57.61
	Unionist	James MacAndrew	13,386	42.39
Majority			4,804	15.22	N/A
Turnout			31,576	78.03
	Labour gain from Unionist		Swing

By-election 1939: South Ayrshire^[21]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander Sloan	17,908	57.97	+0.36
	Unionist	Catherine Gavin	12,986	42.03	−0.36
Majority			4,922	15.94	+0.72
Turnout			30,894
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: South Ayrshire

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alexander Sloan	21,235	61.34
	Unionist	Robert Mathew	13,382	38.66
Majority			7,853	22.68
Turnout			34,617	75.17
	Labour hold		Swing

1946 South Ayrshire by-election^[22]

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	−1.84
Turnout			33,816
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: South Ayrshire^[23]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Emrys Hughes	22,284	60.23	−1.11
	Unionist	JC George	14,717	39.77	+1.11
Majority			7,567	20.46	−2.22
Turnout			37,001	85.35	+10.18
Registered electors			43,350
	Labour hold		Swing	-1.1

General election 1951: South Ayrshire^[24]

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	+0.54
Turnout			37,316	82.93	−2.42
Registered electors			44,999
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.27

General election 1955: South Ayrshire^[25]

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

General election 1959: South Ayrshire^[26]

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

General election 1964: South Ayrshire ^[27]

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	33.36	+5.92
Turnout			37,187	77.58	−3.31
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.0

General election 1966: South Ayrshire ^[28]

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	+1.14
Turnout			34,937	75.13	−2.45
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.5

Elections in the 1970s

1970 South Ayrshire by-election

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	19.8	New
Majority			10,886	27.8	−6.7
Turnout			38,227
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1970: South Ayrshire^[29]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Jim Sillars	23,910	61.8	−5.4
	Conservative	Norman Simpson	11,675	30.2	−2.5
	SNP	Samuel H. Purdie	3,102	8.0	N/A
Majority			12,235	31.6	−2.9
Turnout			38,687	76.7	+1.6
	Labour hold		Swing

General election February 1974: South Ayrshire^[30]

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	30.8	−0.8
Turnout			40,438	79.5	+2.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−0.4

General election October 1974: South Ayrshire ^[31][32]

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	New
Majority			14,478	36.4	+5.6
Turnout			39,712	77.4	−2.1
	Labour hold		Swing	−2.2

General election 1979: South Ayrshire ^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Co-op	George Foulkes	14,271	35.2	−21.0
	SLP	Jim Sillars	12,750	31.5	−24.7
	Conservative	G. Young	10,287	25.4	+6.8
	SNP	Colin Cameron	3,233	8.0	−11.8
Majority			1,521	3.7	−32.7
Turnout			40,541	79.9	+2.5
	Labour Co-op hold		Swing	−26.2

See also

• List of former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies

References

1. "'Ayrshire South', Feb 1974 – May 1983". ElectionWeb Project. Cognitive Computing Limited. Retrieved 15 March 2016.
2. Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "A" (part 3)
3. Debrett's House of Commons, 1870
4. Craig, F. W. S., ed. (1977). British Parliamentary Election Results 1832–1885 (1st ed.). London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 978-1-349-02349-3.
5. The Times, 29 April 1880
6. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
7. Craig, FWS, ed. (1974). British Parliamentary Election Results: 1885–1918. London: Macmillan Press. ISBN 9781349022984.
8. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
9. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
10. Whitaker's Almanack, 1907
11. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1916
12. Daily Record 14 Sep 1914
13. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
14. Debrett's House of Commons & Judicial Bench, 1922
15. The Times, 17 November 1922
16. The Times, 8 December 1923
17. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
18. The Times, 1 June 1929
19. Whitaker's Almanack, 1934
20. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
21. Whitaker's Almanack, 1944
22. Scottish Conservative and Unionist Central Office, The Yearbook for Scotland (1967), p.86
23. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1950". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
24. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1951". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
25. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1955". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 8 January 2017.
26. Whitaker's Almanack 1963
27. The Times House of Commons, 1964
28. The Times House of Commons, 1966
29. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1970". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
30. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results February 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
31. Whitaker's Almanack 1977
32. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results October 1974". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.
33. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1979". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 1 April 2016.