1999 North Ayrshire Council election
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All 30 seats to North Ayrshire Council 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 106,388 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 58.5% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to North Ayrshire Council were held on 6 May 1999, alongside elections to the Scottish Parliament. on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the second election to the council following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
The election used the 30 wards created by the Third Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements in 1998. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.
Labour retained control of the council by taking 25 of the 30 seats – down by one from the previous election in 1995. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservatives both won two seats – both up by one – and one independent candidate was elected.
Background
Following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, a unitary authority system of local government comprising 32 council areas was introduced the following year. The 1999 elections would be the second elections since their establishment.[1]
At the previous election, Labour took control of the council by winning 26 seats and more than half the popular vote. The Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Conservatives both won one seat and one independent candidate was elected. One seat, Stevenston North, was left vacant as the election was postponed following the death of a candidate.[2]
The Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in North Ayrshire was completed by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland in 1998. As a result, a number of boundary changes came into effect.[3]
The first elections to the re-convened Scottish Parliament were scheduled to take place on the same day.[4]
Results
| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 25 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 83.3 | 46.9 | 29,211 | 9.0 | |
| SNP | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.7 | 31.2 | 19,422 | 6.4 | |
| Conservative | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6.7 | 18.2 | 11,360 | 6.4 | |
| Independent | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3.3 | 1.9 | 1,203 | 1.5 | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 787 | New | ||
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.5 | 305 | New | ||
| Total | 30 | 62,288 | |||||||
Ward results
Irvine West
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | David O'Neill | 949 | 42.8 | 17.7 | |
| SNP | Catherine McKenzie | 790 | 35.7 | 3.8 | |
| Conservative | David Belding | 279 | 12.6 | New | |
| Scottish Socialist | Gwen Edwin | 108 | 4.9 | New | |
| Socialist Labour | Robert Cochrane | 89 | 4.0 | New | |
| Majority | 159 | 7.1 | 13.9 | ||
| Turnout | 2,215 | 57.0 | 14.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,907 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 10.7 | |||
West Kilbride
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | Elizabeth McLardy | 1,079 | 41.8 | 5.5 | |
| Conservative | Anne Wilkinson | 844 | 32.7 | New | |
| Labour | Andrew Naismith | 352 | 13.7 | New | |
| SNP | Peter Falconer | 301 | 11.6 | New | |
| Majority | 235 | 9.1 | 5.5 | ||
| Turnout | 2,576 | 69.3 | 11.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,726 | ||||
| Independent hold | Swing | 5.5 | |||
Arran
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John Sillars | 1,090 | 42.6 | 7.4 | |
| Conservative | Cameron Robertson | 747 | 29.2 | 3.0 | |
| SNP | James Lees | 719 | 28.1 | 7.8 | |
| Majority | 343 | 13.4 | 10.4 | ||
| Turnout | 2,556 | 66.3 | 11.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,884 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 5.2 | |||
Aftermath
The election saw a marked increase in turnout due to the Scottish Parliament elections being held on the same day.[6]
Despite a drop in vote share of nine percentage points, Labour retained control of the council with a net loss of just one seat. The party took 25 of the 30 seats and over 40 per cent of the popular vote. The SNP won just two seats – an increase of one from the previous election – despite taking almost a third of the popular vote. The Conservatives also saw an increase of one seat to hold two and one independent candidate was elected.[5][2]
References
- ^ McConnell, Alan (2004). Scottish Local Government. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2005-0.
- ^ a b c d e f Botchel, H. M.; Denver, D. T. (1995). The Scottish Council Elections 1995: Results and Statistics (PDF). Newport on Tay: Election Studies. ISBN 1-869820-35-5. Retrieved 15 March 2025.
- ^ "Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ Aiton, Andrew (6 May 2019). "It was 20 years ago today…". SPICe Spotlight. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Rallings, Colin; Thrasher, Michael (1999). Local Elections Handbook 1999 (PDF). Plymouth: Local Government Chronicle Elections Centre, University of Plymouth. ISBN 0-948858-25-7. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
- ^ Denver, David; Bochel, Hugh (Winter 2000). "The Forgotten Elections: The Scottish Council Elections of 1999" (PDF). Scottish Affairs. 30. Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 3 April 2025.