# New Cumnock (ward)

New Cumnock was one of 32 electoral wards of East Ayrshire Council. Originally created in 1974, the ward was initially within Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council before the local government reforms in the 1990s. The ward elected one councillor using the first-past-the-post voting electoral system.
The ward was a Labour stronghold as the party successfully held the seat at every election from its creation in 1974 until it was abolished.
In 2007, the ward was abolished and replaced by the multi-member Cumnock and New Cumnock ward as council elections moved to a proportional voting system – the single transferable vote – following the implementation of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004.

## Boundaries

The New Cumnock ward was created in 1974 by the Formation Electoral Arrangements from the previous New Cumnock North and New Cumnock South electoral divisions of Ayr County Council. The ward centered around the town of New Cumnock and took in the southeastern part of Cumnock and Doon Valley next to its borders with Nithsdale District Council and Stewartry District Council. The boundaries remained largely unchanged following the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1981 and the Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1994. After the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, the boundaries proposed by the second review became the Formation Electoral Arrangements for the newly created East Ayrshire Council – an amalgamation of Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council and Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council. In 1998, the Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements made minor alterations to the ward's western boundary ahead of the 1999 election. In 2007, the ward was abolished as the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004 saw proportional representation and new multi-member wards introduced. The area covered by the New Cumnock ward was placed into the new Cumnock and New Cumnock ward.

## Councillors

| Election | Councillor |
| 1974 | J. Paterson |
| 1988 | G. Alexander |
| 1995 | J. Carmichael |

## Election results
### 2003 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | James Carmichael | 1,004 | 67.7 | 6.2 |
| | SNP | Michael Lopez | 314 | 21.2 | 4.3 |
| | Conservative | Walter Young | 165 | 11.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 690 | 46.5 | 25.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,483 | 52.3 | 8.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,836 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 0.9 | |
Source:

### 1999 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Carmichael | 1,102 | 61.5 | 23.7 |
| | SNP | J. Kelso | 456 | 25.4 | 14.4 |
| | Conservative | W. Young | 235 | 13.1 | 9.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 646 | 36.1 | 38.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,793 | 58.6 | 13.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,105 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 19.0 | |
Source:

### 1995 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Carmicheal | 1,282 | 85.2 | 8.2 |
| | SNP | W. Buntain | 165 | 11.0 | 6.9 |
| | Conservative | A. McAdam | 57 | 3.8 | 15.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,117 | 74.2 | 16.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,504 | 44.9 | 11.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,351 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 11.6 | |
Source:

### 1992 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G. Alexander | 884 | 77.0 | 12.6 |
| | Conservative | J. Boswell | 216 | 18.8 | New |
| | SNP | A. Montgomery | 47 | 4.1 | 6.2 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 668 | 59.2 | 20.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,147 | 33.6 | 13.0 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,420 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 3.2 | |
Source:

### 1988 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | G. Alexander | 1,517 | 89.6 |
| | SNP | I. Hamilton | 175 | 10.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,342 | 79.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,692 | 46.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,633 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1984 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Paterson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,829 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1980 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Paterson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,916 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1977 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Paterson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,970 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### 1974 election

New Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Paterson | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 4,088 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |
Source: