# 1988 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election

Elections to Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council were held on 5 May 1988, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the fifth election to the district council following the local government reforms in the 1970s.
The election used the 10 wards created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1981. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.
Labour maintained a large majority on the district council after winning eight of the 10 seats although four wards were uncontested after only Labour stood a candidate. Labour's vote share fell by 8.9% as they lost two seats from previous election in 1984. The newly formed Social Democratic Party (SDP) won a seat in Cumnock and Doon Valley for the first time – their only seat in Scotland at the 1988 elections – and the remaining seat was won by Independent Labour.

## Results

1988 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | Labour | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 80.0 | 61.3 | 7,655 | 8.9 |
| | Independent Labour | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 | 11.3 | 1,399 | 2.1 |
| | SDP | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 10.0 | 9.4 | 1,163 | New |
| | SNP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 10.6 | 1,319 | New |
| | Independent | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 4.1 | 506 | New |
| | Conservative | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 3.6 | 449 | 14.0 |
| Total | Total | 10 | | | | | | 12,491 | |
Source:

## Ward results
### Cumnock East

Cumnock East :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | E. Ross | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,756 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### Lugar, Logan and Muirkirk

Lugar, Logan and Muirkirk :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Independent Labour | J. Cannon | 880 | 48.5 | New |
| | Labour | N. Valentine | 763 | 42.1 | 26.2 |
| | SNP | S. Patterson | 167 | 9.2 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 117 | 6.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,810 | 58.3 | 2.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,905 | | |
| | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Independent Labour gain from Labour | Swing | 37.3 | |
Source:

### Cumnock South and Old Cumnock

Cumnock South and Old Cumnock :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | D. Sneller | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,489 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### Cumnock West and Auchinleck

Cumnock West and Auchinleck :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | J. Allan | Unopposed | Unopposed |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,804 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source:

### Catrine, Sorn and North Auchinleck

Catrine, Sorn and North Auchinleck :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. McIntyre | 948 | 67.9 | 4.8 |
| | SNP | J. Kellighan | 445 | 31.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 503 | 36.0 | 9.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,393 | 40.5 | 10.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,451 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 18.3 | |
Source:

### New Cumnock

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:

### Dalmellington

Dalmellington :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SDP | M. Ali | 1,163 | 56.5 | New |
| | Labour | H. Walker | 626 | 30.4 | 21.0 |
| | Independent | T. Gormanley | 171 | 8.3 | New |
| | SNP | D. Kerr | 96 | 4.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 537 | 26.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,056 | 65.0 | 16.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,166 | | |
| | SDP gain from Labour | SDP gain from Labour | Swing | 28.2 | |
At the 1984 election, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) won 48.4% of the vote in Dalmellington. They subsequently merged with the Liberal Party in March 1988 to form the Social and Liberal Democrats. Some members of the SDP opposed the merger and split to form a new Social Democratic Party.
Source:

### Patna and Dalrymple

Patna and Dalrymple :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Smith | 1,040 | 65.0 | 6.4 |
| | Independent | M. T. Frew | 273 | 17.1 | New |
| | SNP | J. Bradford | 219 | 13.7 | New |
| | Independent | W. Harvey | 62 | 3.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 767 | 47.9 | 30.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,594 | 51.2 | 3.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,126 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 23.8 | |
Source:

### Drongan, Ochiltree, Rankinston and Stair

Drongan, Ochiltree, Rankinston and Stair :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Hodge | 1,694 | 88.4 | 11.4 |
| | SNP | J. McMaster | 217 | 11.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,477 | 77.1 | 10.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,911 | 50.2 | 8.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,816 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 10.7 | |
Source:

### Mauchline

Mauchline :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | E. Rowe | 1,067 | 52.2 |
| | Independent Labour | D. Shankland | 519 | 25.4 |
| | Conservative | J. Borland | 449 | 22.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 548 | 26.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,035 | 58.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,518 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold | Labour hold |
Source: