# Paisley and Renfrewshire South (UK Parliament constituency)

Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting and has been represented since 2024 by Johanna Baxter of Scottish Labour.

## Boundaries

2005–2024: Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies, this seat was created for the 2005 general election from the bulk of the former Paisley South seat, with minor additions from neighbouring constituencies. Covering the southern portion of the Renfrewshire council area, the constituency includes around half of Paisley, as well as the smaller town of Johnstone and the villages of Kilbarchan and Elderslie. The remainder of the seat is more rural, containing the villages of Lochwinnoch, Howwood, several hamlets and farmland. The constituency also contains the Gleniffer Braes Country Park to the south and Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park to the west, notable for Castle Semple Loch.
2024–present: Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the small town of Linwood and village of Brookfield was added to the constituency, alongside some minor changes in Paisley. The redrawn seat was contested for the first time at the 2024 general election.
The seat is defined as comprising the following wards or part wards of Renfrewshire Council:
* In full: Paisley East and Central; Paisley Southeast; Paisley Southwest; Johnstone South and Elderslie; Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch.
* In part: Paisley Northwest (southern areas comprising about 55% of the electorate); Houston, Crosslee and Linwood (southeastern areas including the communities of Linwood and Brookfield).

## Members of Parliament

The constituency's first MP was Douglas Alexander, who had held the seat since its creation in 2005 and its predecessor Paisley South since 1997. Alexander was the Shadow Foreign Secretary from 2011 until he was defeated at the 2015 general election, and had previously held Cabinet posts such as Transport Secretary and Scottish Secretary (2006–07; joint), and International Development Secretary (2007–10). He was subsequently elected as MP for Lothian East at the 2024 general election.
When SNP candidate Mhairi Black gained the seat in May 2015, she was 20 years and 237 days old, making her the youngest Member of Parliament (MP) elected to the House of Commons since at least the Reform Act 1832, replacing William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam; who was 20 years and 11 months old when elected in 1832. She subsequently held the seat at the 2017 and 2019 general elections. On 4 July 2023, Black announced that she would be standing down as an MP at the next general election.
| Election | Member | Party |
| 2005 | Douglas Alexander | Labour |
| 2015 | Mhairi Black | SNP |
| 2024 | Johanna Baxter | Labour |

## Elections
### Elections in the 2020s

General election 2024: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Johanna Baxter | 19,583 | 47.4 | +21.6 |
| | SNP | Jacqueline Cameron | 13,056 | 31.6 | −18.2 |
| | Reform UK | Jim McIlroy | 2,956 | 7.2 | New |
| | Conservative | Alec Leishman | 2,219 | 5.4 | −12.8 |
| | Scottish Green | Athol Bond | 1,724 | 4.2 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jack Clark | 1,315 | 3.2 | −3.0 |
| | Independent | Paul Mack | 317 | 0.8 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance | Mark Niven Turnbull | 113 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,527 | 15.8 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,283 | 57.7 | −8.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 71,574 | | |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Swing | +19.9 | |

### Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Mhairi Black | 21,637 | 50.2 | +9.5 |
| | Labour | Moira Ramage | 10,958 | 25.4 | −9.2 |
| | Conservative | Mark Dougan | 7,571 | 17.6 | −1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jack Clark | 2,918 | 6.8 | +3.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,679 | 24.8 | +18.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,084 | 66.9 | −1.1 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | +9.4 | |
General election 2017: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Mhairi Black | 16,964 | 40.7 | −10.2 |
| | Labour | Alison Dowling | 14,423 | 34.6 | −4.0 |
| | Conservative | Amy Thomson | 8,122 | 19.5 | +11.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eileen McCartin | 1,327 | 3.2 | +1.0 |
| | Independent | Paul Mack | 876 | 2.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,541 | 6.1 | −6.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,712 | 68.0 | −7.4 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | −3.1 | |
General election 2015: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Mhairi Black | 23,548 | 50.9 | +32.8 |
| | Labour | Douglas Alexander | 17,864 | 38.6 | −21.0 |
| | Conservative | Fraser Galloway | 3,526 | 7.6 | −2.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eileen McCartin | 1,010 | 2.2 | −7.3 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Sandra Webster | 278 | 0.6 | −0.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,684 | 12.3 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46,226 | 75.4 | +10.0 |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +26.9 | |
General election 2010: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Douglas Alexander | 23,842 | 59.6 | +7.0 |
| | SNP | Andrew Doig | 7,228 | 18.1 | +0.5 |
| | Conservative | Gordon McCaskill | 3,979 | 9.9 | +1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Ashay Ghai | 3,812 | 9.5 | −8.1 |
| | Independent | Paul Mack | 513 | 1.3 | New |
| | Scottish Socialist | Jimmy Kerr | 375 | 0.9 | −1.2 |
| | Independent | William Hendry | 249 | 0.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 16,614 | 41.5 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,998 | 65.4 | +2.5 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +3.3 | |

### Elections in the 2000s

General election 2005: Paisley and Renfrewshire South :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Douglas Alexander | 19,904 | 52.6 | −4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Eileen McCartin | 6,672 | 17.6 | +8.0 |
| | SNP | Andrew Doig | 6,653 | 17.6 | −3.3 |
| | Conservative | Thomas Begg | 3,188 | 8.4 | 0.0 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Iain Hogg | 789 | 2.1 | −0.7 |
| | Pride in Paisley Party | Gordon Matthew | 381 | 1.0 | New |
| | Independent | Robert Rodgers | 166 | 0.4 | New |
| | Socialist Labour | Howard Broadbent | 107 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,232 | 35.0 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,860 | 62.9 | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |