Saltcoats was one of the 10 electoral wards of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2017 following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements, the ward elected three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.

Saltcoats
North Ayrshire
Outline map
Boundary of Saltcoats in North Ayrshire from 2017–2022.
Electorate10,007 (2017)
Major settlementsSaltcoats
Scottish Parliament constituencyCunninghame North
Scottish Parliament regionWest Scotland
UK Parliament constituencyNorth Ayrshire and Arran
2017 (2017)–2022 (2022)
Number of councillors3
Replaced byArdrossan
Saltcoats and Stevenston
Created fromArdrossan and Arran
Saltcoats and Stevenston

The area was politically split after each election returned one councillor for both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Labour as well as one independent councillor.

Boundaries

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The ward was created following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections. This was the first review after the introduction of the single transferable vote electoral system in 2007. Saltcoats was one of three new wards created in North Ayrshire as the total number of councillors was increased to more evenly balance electoral parity in the region. The ward centered around the town of Saltcoats in the southwest of the council area and included part of Ardrossan. It was formed from the western half of the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward – abolished as part of the review – and the northeastern part of the Ardrossan and Arran ward which was retained but reduced in size.[1]

In 2018, the Scottish Parliament passed the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which included provisions to improve the representation of island communities on councils. As a result, an intermediate review of the boundaries in North Ayrshire was carried out. The review coincided with the introduction of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 which allowed for the creation of five-member wards. This proposed the abolition of the Saltcoats ward with the area it represented split between a re-established five-member Saltcoats and Stevenston ward and a newly created Ardrossan ward. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.[2][3]

Councillors

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Election Councillors
2017 Jim Montgomerie
(Labour)
Jean McClung
(SNP)
Ronnie McNicol
(Ind.)

Election results

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2017 election

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Saltcoats - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Labour Jim Montgomerie[note 1] 30.7 1,279            
SNP Jean McClung 21.6 900 914 914 935 1,508    
Conservative Brandon Clydesdale 15.8 655 666 682 720 729 749  
SNP Roberta Bianchini 14.8 619 625 627 637      
Independent Ronnie McNicol[note 1] 13.7 570 599 612 677 696 860 1,175
Labour Valerie Reid 2.4 100 240 249        
UKIP Caroline Santos 1.1 46 48          
Electorate: 10,007   Valid: 4,169   Spoilt: 134   Quota: 1,043   Turnout: 43.0%  

Source: [4][5]

Notes

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  1. ^ a b Sitting councillor for Saltcoats and Stevenston ward.

References

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  1. ^ "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  2. ^ "Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. June 2021. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  3. ^ Hamilton, Andy (5 March 2022). "North Ayrshire: Changes on the way as voters get set to go to polls". Irvine Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
  4. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Saltcoats" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  5. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Saltcoats" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2023.