# Clydesdale East (ward)

Clydesdale East is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 13,165 people
The ward has been a Conservative stronghold with the party winning two of the three seats in 2007 and 2017.

## 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 Clydesdale East was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained the majority of the former Carstairs/Carnwath ward as well as all of the former Biggar/Symington and Black Mount and Duneaton/Carmicheal wards. Clydesdale East covers a large, rural and sparsely populated area in the southern- and eastern-most parts of South Lanarkshire next to its boundaries with Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Borders, West Lothian and East Ayrshire. The largest settlement in the ward is Biggar and it includes the villages of Abington, Carnwath, Carstairs, Carstairs Junction, Cleghorn, Crawford, Leadhills, Symington and Thankerton. Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward's boundaries were not changed.

## Councillors

| Election | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | Bev Gauld (SNP/Ind.) | | Beith Forrest (Conservative) | | Hamish Stewart (Conservative) |
| 2012 | Bev Gauld (SNP/Ind.) | Ralph Barker (Labour) | | | Hamish Stewart (Conservative) |
| 2014 | Bev Gauld (SNP/Ind.) | Ralph Barker (Labour) | | | Hamish Stewart (Conservative) |
| 2017 | Ian Donald McAllan (SNP) | | Eric Holford (Conservative) | Alex Allison (Conservative) |
| 2022 | Ian Donald McAllan (SNP) | Ralph Barker (Labour) | | Alex Allison (Conservative) |

## Election results
### 2022 election

Clydesdale East - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | SNP | Ian McAllan (incumbent) | 28.6 | 1,513 | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Alex Allison (incumbent) | 25.8 | 1,364 | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Ralph Barker | 16.4 | 869 | 876 | 879 | 882 | 952 | 1,034 | 1,218 | 1,517 |
| | Conservative | Eric Holford (incumbent) | 15.0 | 794 | 797 | 832 | 850 | 881 | 903 | 929 | |
| | Scottish Green | Claire Watson | 5.3 | 278 | 288 | 288 | 293 | 325 | | | |
| | SNP | John McLatchie | 4.9 | 260 | 419 | 420 | 422 | 431 | 571 | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nicholas Mark Tucker | 3.1 | 162 | 165 | 165 | 171 | | | | |
| | Scottish Family | Gareth Kirk | 0.9 | 49 | 49 | 49 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,578 Valid: 5,395 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 1,323 Turnout: 51.0% ||||||||||||
Source:

### 2017 election

Clydesdale East - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
| | Conservative | Alex Allison | 35.5 | 1,927 | | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Ian Donald McAllan | 25.7 | 1,393 | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | George Hannah | 10.9 | 592 | 609 | 613 | 634 | 678 | 802 | 984 | |
| | Conservative | Eric Holford | 9.7 | 526 | 959 | 960 | 967 | 992 | 1,021 | 1,136 | 1,386 |
| | Independent | Rev. Bev Gauld (incumbent) | 8.6 | 469 | 508 | 511 | 539 | 560 | 617 | | |
| | Scottish Green | Janet Moxley | 4.9 | 268 | 277 | 293 | 324 | 376 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mark Gordon | 2.7 | 144 | 160 | 162 | 170 | | | | |
| | Independent | Andrew McCallum | 2.1 | 112 | 121 | 123 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 10,165 Valid: 5,431 Spoilt: 109 Quota: 1,358 Turnout: 54.5% ||||||||||||
Source:

### 2012 election

Clydesdale East - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Bev Gauld (incumbent) | 22.3 | 936 | 981 | 1,013 | 1,070 | | |
| | Conservative | Hamish Stewart (incumbent) | 19.8 | 832 | 882 | 1,453 | | | |
| | SNP | Ian Donald McAllan | 17.7 | 745 | 783 | 810 | 850 | 864 | |
| | Labour | Ralph Barker | 17.3 | 727 | 794 | 824 | 876 | 877 | 1,120 |
| | Conservative | John McLatchie | 16.5 | 692 | 713 | | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Janet Moxley | 6.4 | 268 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,815 Valid: 4,200 Spoilt: 65 Quota: 1,051 Turnout: 42.8% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2007 election

Clydesdale East - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Beith Forrest | 22.5 | 1,204 | ??? | 1,252 | 1,325 | 1,364 | | |
| | Conservative | Hamish Stewart | 19.6 | 1,048 | ??? | 1,105 | 1,175 | 1,209 | ??? | ??? |
| | SNP | Bev Gauld | 19.5 | 1,042 | ??? | 1,093 | 1,630 | | | |
| | Labour | Ralph Barker | 15.5 | 832 | ??? | 937 | 989 | 1,056 | ??? | |
| | SNP | Tom Mitchell | 15.4 | 824 | ??? | 864 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ron Waddell | 5.7 | 305 | ??? | | | | | |
| | Independent | Tom Dalbindle | 1.9 | 101 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,907 Valid: 5,356 Quota: 1,340 Turnout: 54.8% |||||||||||
Source: