Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, Scotland. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
county constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Current constituency
Created1999
PartyScottish National Party
MSPJeane Freeman
Council areaEast Ayrshire
South Ayrshire

Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are Ayr; Clydesdale; Dumfriesshire; East Lothian; Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire; Galloway and West Dumfries; Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council areas

Wards of the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Scottish Parliament constituency as of 2011.

The Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[1]

The rest of East Ayrshire is covered by the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. While the rest of the South Ayrshire is covered by Ayr constituency.

Following their First Periodic review into constituencies to the Scottish Parliament in time for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended redrawing the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency.

The electoral wards used in the creation of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley are:

Constituency profile and voting patterns

Constituency profile

The rural constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a diverse and sparsely populated area made up of former mining communities, outlying suburban villages, fertile farmlands and coastal resorts. Carrick stretches along the rugged and idyllic Ayrshire coast between Ayr and Galloway, taking in Culzean Castle and the resorts of Turnberry, home to the renowned Turnberry hotel and golf course, and Maidens. The main population centres within Carrick are Girvan, which serves as the area's main harbour and the main town of the Carrick area, and Maybole, the historic capital of the kingdom of Carrick. To the north west of the constituency, are the former mining villages of Tarbolton, Annbank and Mossblown. The more affluent suburban villages of Dundoald, Loans, Coylton and Symington serve as commuter villages to Ayr, Prestwick and Troon. Cumnock, Doon Valley and Ballochmyle in the East Ayrshire section of the constituency housed the central headquarters of coal mining operations in the Ayrshire area prior to the industry's collapse in the 1980s. The area is predominantly composed of dispersed and deprived former mining communities such as Cumnock, New Cunmock, Dalmellington, Bellsbank and Patna. The Trade Union movement was particularly strong in the area during the 1980s and 1990s. Keir Hardie, who is regarded as one of the primary founders of the Labour party, was active in organising a local trade union for miners in the area during the late 1800s,

Voting patterns

At Westminster, the equivalent South Ayrshire and later Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, The constituencies consistently returned Labour MP's since the 1930s. The area was among the most reliable and most safest Labour areas in Scotland and the UK as a whole, with Labour continually gaining the majority of the vote in almost all electoral wards in the constituency. At a local level, almost all parts of the former Westminster constituency have consistently supported Labour with the exception of northern Girvan: this area is comparably more affluent compared to the rest of the constituency, it is made up of urban housing and as such has been a much stronger vote for The Conservatives, The Conservatives have performed stronger in some of the more affluent villages around Ayr, Prestwick and Troon - topping the poll in Coylton, Dundoald, Loans and Symington at the 2003 local election for South Ayrshire. At the 1979 UK general election the Scottish Labour Party - a pro-independence breakaway group from the UK Labour Party - polled second place in the constituency at just 1,521 votes behind Labour's George Foulkes.

Although the SNP have traditionally performed poorly in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley they were able to secure the Scottish Parliamentary constituency in 2011 with a majority of 2,581 votes. In 2016 Labour's support in the constituency slumped, with the Conservatives increasing their vote share by 9.7% to take 24.2% of the vote, narrowly behind Labour's 27.4%, allowing Jeane Freeman of the SNP to increase Adam Ingram's initial majority of 2,581 in 2011 to 6,006 in 2016 despite seeing little change in the SNP's vote share in the constituency however the SNP have performed very well in recent elections

At the 2017 council elections, the Conservatives formed the largest party across the South Ayrshire section of the constituency through Kyle and Carrick, with the Labour Party remaining the largest party in Cumnock and Doon Valley in East Ayrshire. Conservative Bill Grant went on to gain the overlapping UK Parliament constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock with a 6% majority at the 2017 UK general election.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
1999 Cathy Jamieson Labour
2011 Adam Ingram Scottish National Party
2016 Jeane Freeman

Election results

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley[2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Jeane Freeman 14,690 46.4 +0.2
Labour Carol Mochan 8,684 27.4 -9.8
Conservative Lee Lyons 7,666 24.2 +9.7
Liberal Democrats Dawud Islam 640 2.0 -0.2
Majority 6,006 19.0 +10.0
Turnout 31,680
SNP hold Swing

[3]

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Adam Ingram 13,250 46.2 N/A
Labour Richard Leonard 10,669 37.2 N/A
Conservative Peter Kennerley 4,160 14.5 N/A
Liberal Democrats Andrew Chamberlain 624 2.2 N/A
Majority 2,581 9.0 N/A
Turnout 28,703 47.9 N/A
SNP win (new boundaries)

2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Cathy Jamieson 14,350 42.5 -5.5
SNP Adam Ingram 10,364 30.7 +13.8
Conservative Tony Lewis 6,729 19.9 -6.4
Liberal Democrats Paul McGreal 1,409 4.2 +0.4
Independent Hugh Hill 809 2.4 N/A
Equal Parenting Alliance Ray Barry 124 0.4 N/A
Majority 3,986 11.8 -9.9
Turnout 33,785 51.8 -1.0
Labour hold Swing
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Cathy Jamieson 16,484 48.0 +0.1
Conservative Phil Gallie 9,030 26.3 +6.5
SNP Adam Ingram 5,822 16.9 -9.5
Scottish Socialist Murray Steele 1,715 5.0 N/A
Liberal Democrats Caron Howden 1,315 3.8 -2.1
Majority 7,454 21.7 +0.2
Turnout 34,366 52.8 -9.0
Labour hold Swing

1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Cathy Jamieson 19,667 47.9 N/A
SNP Adam Ingram 10,864 26.4 N/A
Conservative John Scott 8,123 19.8 N/A
Liberal Democrats David Hannay 2,441 5.9 N/A
Majority 8,803 21.5 N/A
Turnout 41,095 61.8 N/A
Labour win (new seat)

Footnotes

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