# Larkhall (South Lanarkshire ward)

Larkhall is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 18,524 people.
The ward is a Labour stronghold with the party winning half the seats at every election since the ward's creation. Between 2014 and 2017, the party held three of the four seats following a defection.

## Boundaries

The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Larkhall was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Dalserf, Larkhall East and Larkhall West wards as well as part of the former Cadzow ward and a small part of the former Hamilton Centre/Ferniegair and Stonehouse wards. As the name suggests, Larkhall centres on the town of Larkhall and the surrounding rural area including the villages of Ashgill, Netherburn and Quarter. The ward's eastern boundary is formed by the River Clyde which coincides with the council's border with North Lanarkshire Council. Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward's boundaries were unchanged.

## Councillors

| Year | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | Jackie Burns (Labour/Independent) | Andy Carmichael (Labour) | Peter Craig (SNP) | Lesley McDonald (SNP/Labour) |
| 2012 | Jackie Burns (Labour/Independent) | Andy Carmichael (Labour) | Peter Craig (SNP) | Lesley McDonald (SNP/Labour) |
| 2014 | Jackie Burns (Labour/Independent) | Andy Carmichael (Labour) | Peter Craig (SNP) | Lesley McDonald (SNP/Labour) |
| 2017 | Jackie Burns (Labour/Independent) | Andy Carmichael (Labour) | Peter Craig (SNP) | Richard Nelson (Conservative) |
| 2022 | Lesley McDonald (Labour) | Andy Carmichael (Labour) | Ross Clark (SNP) | Richard Nelson (Conservative) |

## Election results
### 2022 election

Larkhall - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 25.5 | 1,580 | | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Richard Nelson (incumbent) | 24.5 | 1,518 | | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Ross Clark | 22.4 | 1,389 | | | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Jackie Burns (incumbent) | 10.3 | 639 | 679 | 725 | 732 | 742 | 753 | 796 | 886 | |
| | Labour | Lesley McDonald | 7.5 | 463 | 678 | 745 | 752 | 759 | 769 | 831 | 975 | 1,379 |
| | SNP | George Sutherland | 6.4 | 399 | 408 | 410 | 532 | 532 | 533 | 549 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jake Stevenson | 2.4 | 148 | 157 | 199 | 202 | 211 | 223 | | | |
| | Scottish Libertarian | David Laird | 0.6 | 36 | 41 | 44 | 45 | | | | | |
| | UKIP | Donald Murdo Mackay | 0.3 | 21 | 25 | 56 | 56 | 63 | | | | |
| Electorate: 15,010 Valid: 6,193 Spoilt: 140 Quota: 1,239 Turnout: 42.2% |||||||||||||
Source:

### 2017 election

Larkhall - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Conservative | Richard Nelson | 26.34 | 1,645 | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 17.71 | 1,106 | 1,150 | 1,161 | 1,179 | 1,202 | 1,483 | | | |
| | SNP | Peter Craig (incumbent) | 16.83 | 1,051 | 1,056 | 1,060 | 1,067 | 1,120 | 1,153 | 1,175 | 1,176 | 1,880 |
| | Labour | Jackie Burns (incumbent) | 15.8 | 987 | 1,027 | 1,040 | 1,054 | 1,083 | 1,175 | 1,255 | | |
| | SNP | Donald MacLeod | 11.27 | 704 | 709 | 714 | 720 | 761 | 790 | 801 | 802 | |
| | Labour | Lesley McDonald (incumbent) | 6.56 | 410 | 447 | 457 | 488 | 512 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Bobby Bulloch | 2.58 | 161 | 177 | 192 | 232 | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lindsay Watt | 1.63 | 102 | 160 | 180 | | | | | | |
| | UKIP | Donald Murdo MacKay | 1.28 | 80 | 143 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,478 Valid: 6,246 Spoilt: 168 Quota: 1,250 Turnout: 44.3% |||||||||||||
Source:

### 2012 election

Larkhall - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Labour | Jackie Burns (incumbent) | 37.4 | 1,965 | | |
| | SNP | Peter Craig (incumbent) | 21.4 | 1,124 | | |
| | SNP | Lesley McDonald (incumbent) | 18.2 | 958 | 1,010 | 1,102 |
| | Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 14.3 | 752 | 1,507 | |
| | Conservative | David Murray | 6.11 | 321 | 334 | 363 |
| | UKIP | Donald Murdo MacKay | 2.5 | 131 | 141 | 177 |
| Electorate: 14,510 Valid: 5,251 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 1,051 Turnout: 36.2% |||||||
Source:

### 2007 election

Larkhall - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Labour | Jackie Burns | 38.0 | 2,699 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Peter Craig | 17.8 | 1,264 | 1,335 | 1,387 | 1,437 | | | |
| | SNP | Lesley McDonald | 12.5 | 890 | 931 | 981 | 1,059 | 1,071 | 1,212 | ??? |
| | Conservative | Gregor Cameron | 7.9 | 563 | 591 | 640 | 795 | 796 | | |
| | Labour | Robin Cunningham | 7.1 | 502 | 727 | 757 | 828 | 829 | 888 | |
| | Scottish Unionist | Mary Duckett | 6.6 | 466 | 507 | 545 | | | | |
| | Labour | Andy Carmichael | 5.2 | 366 | 1,025 | 1,066 | 1,109 | 1,110 | 1,189 | ??? |
| | Liberal Democrats | Callan Dick | 4.9 | 349 | 376 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,934 Valid: 7,099 Quota: 1,420 Turnout: 48.7% |||||||||||
Source: