2007 North Ayrshire Council election

2007 North Ayrshire Council election
← 2003 3 May 2007 (2007-05-03) 2012 →
All 30 seats to North Ayrshire Council
16 seats needed for a majority
  First party Second party
 
Lab
SNP
Party Labour SNP
Last election 21 seats, 44.0% 3 seats, 28.1%
Seats won 12 8
Seat change Decrease 9 Increase 5
Popular vote 17,666 16,081
Percentage 32.4% 29.5%
Swing Decrease 11.6 Increase 1.4
Council Leader before election

David O'Neill
Labour

Council Leader after election

David O'Neill
(Labour)
No overall control

Elections to North Ayrshire Council were held on 3 May 2007, the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament elections. The election was the first one using eight new wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward will elect three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation. The new wards replaced the 30 single-member wards which used the plurality (first past the post) system of election.

Labour lost overall control of the council but remained the largest party after winning 12 seats - down nine from the previous election. The Scottish National Party (SNP) became the second-largest party, overtaking the Conservatives, after gaining five seats to hold eight. The Conservatives lost two seats to hold three while the Liberal Democrats won seats in a North Ayrshire election for the only time after they returned two councillors. Five independent councillors were also elected.

Election results

2007 North Ayrshire Council election result
Party Seats Gains Losses Net gain/loss Seats % Votes % Votes +/−
  Labour 12 N/A N/A Decrease 8 40.0 32.4 17,666 Decrease 11.6
  SNP 8 N/A N/A Increase 5 26.7 29.5 16,081 Increase 1.4
  Independent 5 N/A N/A Increase 3 16.7 16.9 9,193 Increase 10.9
  Conservative 3 N/A N/A Decrease 2 10.0 13.5 7,330 Decrease 5.6
  Liberal Democrats 2 N/A N/A Increase 2 6.7 4.7 2,564 Increase 4.3
  Solidarity 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 2.1 1,127 New
  Socialist Labour 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 0.5 265 New
  Scottish Socialist 0 N/A N/A 0 0.0 0.5 261 Decrease 1.9
Total 33 54,487

Source: [1]

Ward results

Irvine West

Irvine West - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Matt Brown 31.6 2,247            
Labour Ian Clarkson 24.0 1,710            
Conservative Pat McPhee 11.2 799 875 883 888 1,059 1,159 1,225
Labour David O'Neill 10.9 776 829 881 899 979 1,077 1,726
Solidarity Jim Byrne 7.3 517 695 708 738 830    
Labour John McKay 7.1 508 573 711 748 844 999  
Liberal Democrats Iain Rubie Dale 6.4 453 613 633 655      
Socialist Labour Bobby Cochrane 1.5 103 141 152        
Electorate: 14,993   Valid: 7,113   Spoilt: 156   Quota: 1,423   Turnout: 48.5%  

Source: [2]

Irvine East

Irvine East - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP Joan Sturgeon 32.4 2,293            
Labour Tom Barr 18.4 1,302 1,367 1,377 1,436      
Labour Jane Gorman 12.0 851 909 916 977 990 1,076  
Labour John Moffat 12.0 850 930 949 1,027 1,031 1,082 1,701
Conservative Jane Belding 10.7 759 820 828 861 862    
Liberal Democrats Ruby Kirkwood 7.7 543 690 718 864 865 1,197 1,314
Solidarity Danny McGregor 5.0 355 489 578        
Scottish Socialist Denise Morton 1.7 117 200          
Electorate: 14,852   Valid: 7,070   Spoilt: 150   Quota: 1,415   Turnout: 48.6%  

Source: [3]

Kilwinning

Kilwinning - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP John Ferguson 27.0 1,749            
Labour Margaret McDougall 16.0 1,033 1,076 1,124 1,303      
Labour Ryan Oldfather 13.5 872 901 921 1,136 1,142 1,226 1,306
Conservative Gail Niven Allison 13.4 869 914 932 953 953 1,037  
Liberal Democrats Andrew Scott Chamberlain 11.0 713 795 860 914 915 1,167 1,674
Labour Donald J. Reid 7.9 513 525 553        
Independent Leanne Dorans 7.2 468 536 608 642      
Solidarity Sandy Clarke 3.9 255 322          
Electorate: 13,186   Valid: 6,472   Spoilt: 128   Quota: 1,295   Turnout: 50.0%  

Source: [4]

Saltcoats and Stevenston

Saltcoats and Stevenston - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
SNP William Gibson 22.4 1,629            
Independent Ronnie McNicol 18.8 1,362 1,380 1,577        
Labour David Munn 13.0 943 951 968 978 1,045 1,344 1,531
Labour Alan Munro 12.4 902 907 953 961 1,000 1,254 1,482
SNP Nan Wallace 9.5 691 800 890 919 1,051 1,094  
Labour Sam Taylor 9.4 683 685 709 714 743    
Conservative Stewart Ferguson 7.6 554 557 594 619      
Independent Margaret Walsh 6.8 496 501          
Electorate: 15,039   Valid: 7,260   Spoilt: 189   Quota: 1,453   Turnout: 49.5%  

Source: [5]

Ardrossan and Arran

Ardrossan and Arran - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Independent Margie Currie 19.3 1,439 1,456 1,478 1,582          
SNP Tony Gurney 19.0 1,414 1,439 1,462 1,779          
Labour Peter McNamara 13.5 1,007 1,019 1,033 1,051 1,085 1,094 1,763    
Independent John Hunter 12.8 952 970 1,087 1,106 1,176 1,189 1,234 1,287 1,658
Conservative Gordon Allison 11.5 857 866 872 886 914 930 963 989  
Labour Margaret Munn 11.1 829 837 848 864 884 888      
SNP William McLaren 7.7 573 589 597            
Independent Kenneth MacDougall 3.1 228 237              
Scottish Socialist Nigel Hunter 1.9 144                
Electorate: 13,448   Valid: 7,443   Spoilt: 146   Quota: 1,489   Turnout: 56.4%  

Source: [6]

Dalry and West Kilbride

Dalry and West Kilbride - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Independent Elizabeth McLardy 29.0 1,637            
Labour John Reid 20.7 1,176 1,196 1,245 1,292 1,305 1,375 1,682
SNP Catherine McMillan 19.1 1,084 1,117 1,157 1,198 1,209 1,261  
Conservative Robert Barr[note 1] 17.0 962 994 1,003 1,036 1,220 1,301 1,568
Conservative Ian Richardson 4.3 242 252 256 266      
Independent David Park 3.8 213 247 264 288 301    
Liberal Democrats Susan Clark 3.1 174 190 198        
Socialist Labour Louise McDaid 2.9 162 182          
Electorate: 9,796   Valid: 5,650   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 1,413   Turnout: 58.3%  

Source: [7]

Kilbirnie and Beith

Kilbirnie and Beith - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
SNP Craig Taylor 23.4 1,329 1,349 1,366 1,397 1,450        
Labour John Bell 23.1 1,313 1,324 1,337 1,373 1,382 1,386 1,467    
Independent Jean Highgate 16.7 947 958 993 1,024 1,151 1,157 1,371 1,374 1,810
Labour Donald Reid 15.0 849 854 856 878 930 933 986 1,019  
Conservative John Smith 9.9 562 569 570 595 607 610      
Independent John Johnstone 4.7 265 281 296 309          
Liberal Democrats Jenny Hutton 3.3 188 191 197            
Independent William Fyfe 2.0 116 123              
Independent Iain Walker 1.9 106                
Electorate: 11,058   Valid: 5,675   Spoilt: 132   Quota: 1,419   Turnout: 52.5%  

Source: [8]

North Coast and Cumbraes

North Coast and Cumbraes - 4 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Alan Hill 30.2 2,357              
Labour Alex Gallagher 19.8 1,549 1,608            
Conservative Elisabethe Marshall 12.9 1,007 1,037 1,040 1,084 1,179 1,779    
Conservative Tom Marshall 9.2 719 732 734 751 785      
SNP Bobby Rae 9.2 715 1,194 1,201 1,259 1,389 1,429 1,457 1,832
Independent Ian Murdoch 7.5 587 622 626 793 936 980 1,038  
Liberal Democrats Lewis Hutton 6.3 493 548 559 617        
Independent Gerard Langan 4.8 377 411 414          
Electorate: 13,519   Valid: 7,804   Spoilt: 174   Quota: 1,561   Turnout: 59.0%  

Source: [9]

By-elections

2008 Kilbirnie and Beith by-election

A by-election arose in the Kilbirnie and Beith ward following the death of the Scottish National Party's Craig Taylor, and Anthea Dickson held the seat for the SNP on 11 December 2008.

Kilbirnie and Beith by-election (11 December 2008) - 1 seat
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3
SNP Anthea Dickson 48.9 1,363 1,380 1,415
Labour Gordon McKay 33.7 939 956 972
Conservative Ted Nevill 11.6 322 324 342
Liberal Democrats Lewis Hutton 3.4 94 104  
Socialist Labour James McDaid 2.4 68    
Electorate: 11,232   Valid: 2,786   Spoilt: 20   Quota: 1,394   Turnout: 25.0%  

Source: [10]

2011 Saltcoats and Stevenston by-election

A by-election arose in the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward following the resignation of the Labour Party's David Munn, and Jim Montgomorie held the seat for Labour on 25 August 2011.

Saltcoats and Stevenston by-election (25 August 2011) - 1 seat
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5
Labour Jim Montgomerie 48.7 1,914 1,927 1,936 1,963 2,039
SNP Nan Wallace 33.2 1,306 1,311 1,326 1,363 1,425
Conservative Chris Barr 7.2 284 286 297 308 331
Scottish Senior Citizens Jimmy Miller 5.4 211 217 222 240  
Independent Gerard Pollock 2.9 114 117 123    
Liberal Democrats Gordon Bain 1.4 56 57      
Socialist Labour Louise McDaid 1.1 43        
Electorate: 11,039   Valid: 2,764   Spoilt: 42   Quota: 1,965   Turnout: 25.4%  

Source: [11]

Notes

  1. ^ Cllr Robert Barr quit the Conservatives on 24 June 2010 and became an independent.

References

  1. ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2007 - North Ayrshire". Retrieved 19 January 2024.
  2. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Irvine West Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  3. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Irvine East Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  4. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Kilwinning Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  5. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Saltcoats and Stevenston Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  6. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Ardrossan and Arran Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  7. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Dalry and West Kilbride Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  8. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: Kilbrine and Beith Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  9. ^ "Local Government Elections 2007: Declaration of result North Ayrshire Council: North Coast and Cumbraes Electoral Ward" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 4 May 2007. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  10. ^ "Local Government By Election – Thursday 11 December 2008 North Ayrshire Council- Electoral Ward 7 – Kilbirnie and Beith" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 21 January 2024.
  11. ^ "By-election Ward 4" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 26 August 2011. Retrieved 21 January 2024.