BBC Profile:
Boundary changes in 1983 detached Bute from the old Ayrshire North and Bute division, adding a swathe of the Garnock valley to form Cunninghame North. Ayrshire North and Bute had been regularly won by the Conservatives and, although the sitting MP John Corrie retained the new seat in 1983, in 1987 he was unseated by Labour's Brian Wilson. Wilson slightly increased his majority in 1992, and then quadrupled it in 1997.
After boundary changes in 2005, the new North Ayrshire and Arran seat contained the whole of Cunninghame North and five wards from Cunninghame South. At the 2005 general election the Conservatives benefited from a notional 2.7% swing against the incumbent party, but Brian Wilson's successor Katy Clark was nevertheless returned with a majority of 11,296 votes.
There are no boundary changes affecting this seat.
North Ayrshire and Arran stretches along a long strip of west coast mainland and includes, just across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran. Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride are wealthy commuting areas to the north that contrast with the southern industrial belt which runs from Ardrossan to Kilwinning.
The Garnock valley pits are all closed now and the seat contains the ex-mining and steel industry towns of Dalry, Beith and Kilbirnie. Textiles are also in decline and the main local industries now are agriculture and tourism, with the latter centred on the Isle of Arran and the seaside resort of Largs.
A 50m regeneration scheme at
[More...]BBC Profile:
Boundary changes in 1983 detached Bute from the old Ayrshire North and Bute division, adding a swathe of the Garnock valley to form Cunninghame North. Ayrshire North and Bute had been regularly won by the Conservatives and, although the sitting MP John Corrie retained the new seat in 1983, in 1987 he was unseated by Labour's Brian Wilson. Wilson slightly increased his majority in 1992, and then quadrupled it in 1997.
After boundary changes in 2005, the new North Ayrshire and Arran seat contained the whole of Cunninghame North and five wards from Cunninghame South. At the 2005 general election the Conservatives benefited from a notional 2.7% swing against the incumbent party, but Brian Wilson's successor Katy Clark was nevertheless returned with a majority of 11,296 votes.
There are no boundary changes affecting this seat.
North Ayrshire and Arran stretches along a long strip of west coast mainland and includes, just across the Firth of Clyde, the Isle of Arran. Largs, Fairlie and West Kilbride are wealthy commuting areas to the north that contrast with the southern industrial belt which runs from Ardrossan to Kilwinning.
The Garnock valley pits are all closed now and the seat contains the ex-mining and steel industry towns of Dalry, Beith and Kilbirnie. Textiles are also in decline and the main local industries now are agriculture and tourism, with the latter centred on the Isle of Arran and the seaside resort of Largs.
A 50m regeneration scheme at Ardrossan harbour, in partnership with Scottish Enterprise, has been completed. A new ferry terminal was completed in 2006, along with waterfront properties. VisitScotland aims to help promote Arran as an alternative to holidays outside Britain.
Rallings & Thrasher Notional:
No Boundary Changes
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