Stevenston 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.

Stevenston
North Ayrshire
Outline map
Boundary of Stevenston in North Ayrshire from 2017–2022.
Electorate9,565 (2017)
Major settlementsStevenston
Scottish Parliament constituencyCunninghame South
Scottish Parliament regionWest Scotland
UK Parliament constituencyNorth Ayrshire and Arran
2017 (2017)–2022 (2022)
Number of councillors3
Replaced bySaltcoats and Stevenston
Created fromSaltcoats and Stevenston

The area was a Labour stronghold after the only election in 2017 returned two Labour and one Scottish National Party (SNP) councillors.

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. Stevenston 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 Stevenston in the southwest of the council area. It was formed from the eastern half of the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward which was abolished as part of the review.[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 Stevenston ward with the area it represented placed into a re-established five-member Saltcoats and Stevenston 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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Year Councillors
2017 Davina McTiernan
(SNP)
John Sweeney
(Labour)
Jimmy Miller
(Labour/
Ind.)
2022

Election results

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2017 election

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Stevenston - 3 seats
Party Candidate FPv% Count
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
SNP Davina McTiernan 21.5 782 790 808 826 1,373      
Labour John Sweeney 19.1 697 707 748 818 844 924    
SNP Chris Paton 16.5 601 605 620 630        
Labour Jimmy Miller[note 1] 15.9 579 592 604 636 654 736 744 961
Conservative Tom McCammont 15.7 573 587 603 631 639 657 658  
Independent Alan Munro[note 2] 4.7 172 192 230          
Independent Gerard Pollock 3.9 144 164            
Independent David Higgins 2.7 97              
Electorate: 9,565   Valid: 3,645   Spoilt: 133   Quota: 912   Turnout: 39.5%  

Source: [5][6]

Notes

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  1. ^ In 2022, Cllr Jimmy Miller resigned from Labour and became an independent.[4]
  2. ^ 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. ^ Grayston, Murray (15 February 2022). "North Ayrshire: Councillor Jimmy Miller runs solo after resignation from Labour". Irvine Times. Retrieved 31 March 2022.
  5. ^ "Declaration of Results Report Stevenston" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Stevenston" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 15 May 2023.