Kilsyth (ward)

Kilsyth is one of the twenty-one wards used to elect members of the North Lanarkshire Council.^[2] It elects three councillors and covers the town of Kilsyth (plus neighbouring Croy) with a population of 13,772 in 2019.^[3] Created in 2007, its boundaries remained unchanged in a 2017 review.

Location of the ward ^[1]

Councillors

Election	Councillors
2007		David Key (SNP)		Francis Griffin (Labour)		Jean Jones (Labour)
2008 by-	Mark Griffin (Labour)
2012	Alan Stevenson (SNP)	Heather McVey (Labour)
2017	Mark Kerr (SNP)
2022	Denis Johnston (SNP)

Election Results

2017 Election

Main article: 2017 North Lanarkshire Council election

Kilsyth - 3 seats^[4]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	Jean Jones (incumbent)	33.7	1,496
	SNP	Alan Stevenson (incumbent)	17.57	780	740	756	783	785	811
	SNP	Mark Kerr	17.19	763	781	806	847	848	892	1,593
	Labour	Heather McVey (incumbent)	16.47	731	1,097	1,104	1,126
	Conservative	Paul Anderson	11.33	503	515	516	524	527
	Scottish Green	Rob Kay	2.18	97	102	118
	Solidarity	Kevin Kane	1.55	69	74
Electorate: 9,657   Valid: 4,439   Spoilt: 119   Quota: 1,110   Turnout: 4,558 (47.2%)

• In July 2020 SNP councillor Mark Kerr was charged with five counts of historic sexual abuse by Police Scotland. This generated significant coverage in various national news outlets and Mr Kerr subsequently stepped down from the SNP, identifying as an Independent councillor from then on. He made no plea at his initial court hearing.^[5]

On Friday 2 December 2022, Ex Cllr Mark John Kerr, was jailed for 6 years and place on the sex offenders register for life, after being found guilty of multiple charges including attempted rape. ^[6]

2012 Election

Main article: 2012 North Lanarkshire Council election

Kilsyth - 3 seats^[7]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5
	Labour	Jean Jones (incumbent)	43.0%	1,544
	SNP	Alan Stevenson	21.5%	771	789.8	842.4	876.9	928.3
	Labour	Heather McVey	20.2%	724	1,290
	SNP	Scott Campbell	9.0%	324	338.2	363.2	371.2	403.7
	Conservative	David Paterson	3.7%	132	135.3	152.9
	Scottish Socialist	Wullie O'Neill	2.7%	98	108.9	172.7	185.4
Electorate: 9,302   Valid: 3,593   Spoilt: 98   Quota: 899   Turnout: 3,691 (39.68%)

2007 Election

Main article: 2007 North Lanarkshire Council election

North Lanarkshire council election, 2007: Kilsyth

Party		Candidate	FPv%	%	Seat	Count
	Labour	Francis Griffin	2,037	38.3	1	1
	SNP	David Key	1,480	27.8	1	1
	Labour	Jean Jones	1,386	26.0	1	1
	Conservative	Archie Giggie	260	4.9
	Scottish Socialist	Willie O'Neill	162	3.0

2008 by-election

Labour's Francis Griffin died on 10 November 2007. Mark Griffin held the seat for the party in the resulting by-election on 31 January 2008.

Kilsyth By-Election (31 January 2008)- 1 seat^[8]

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Labour	Mark Griffin	63.4	1,855
	SNP	Claire Fyvie	30.4	891
	Scottish Green	Rob Kay	2.3	66
	Conservative	Robert Burgess	1.7	50
	Scottish Socialist	Willie O'Neill	1.6	48
	Liberal Democrats	Stuart Douglas	0.6	17
Turnout			2,947	32.1
	Labour hold		Swing

References

1. "5th Reviews - ward maps | Scottish Boundary Commission". www.lgbc-scotland.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 20 March 2020. Retrieved 13 March 2022.
2. "United Kingdom: Scotland | Council Areas and Electoral Wards". City Population. 30 June 2019. Archived from the original on 4 March 2021. Retrieved 28 March 2021.
3. Electoral Ward: Kilsyth Archived 7 April 2022 at the Wayback Machine, Scottish Government Statistics
4. "Scottish council elections, Thursday 4 May 2017". North Lanarkshire Council. Archived from the original on 22 October 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
5. "North Lanarkshire councillor charged in connection with historic sexual abuse". 17 July 2020. Archived from the original on 3 February 2021. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
6. "Former councillor jailed for sexual offences involving teenage boys in Lanarkshire - Police Scotland".
7. "North Lanarkshire Council elections - results:3 May 2012". North Lanarkshire Council. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 25 March 2020.
8. "Alba Money – Financial news and budgeting advice". Archived from the original on 7 September 2008. Retrieved 7 April 2021.