# 2017 South Ayrshire Council election

The 2017 South Ayrshire Council election took place on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the 31 other Scottish local government elections. As with other Scottish council elections, it was held using single transferable vote (STV) – a form of proportional representation – in which multiple candidates are elected in each ward and voters rank candidates in order of preference.
The Conservatives retained their position as the largest party returning 12 councillors - two more than in the previous election. The Scottish National Party (SNP) maintained their total of nine councillors to remain as the second party while Labour lost four seats. The number of independents returned remained at two.
Following the election, a coalition administration was formed between the SNP, Labour and Independent councillors, even though the Conservatives remained the largest party on the council.

## Background

The total number of seats on South Ayrshire Council was reduced as part of a Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland from 30 to 28, with the total number of council wards remaining at 8. Both the Ayr East and Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton wards saw the number of seats reduced from four to three.

## Results

2017 South Ayrshire Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | Conservative | 12 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 42.9 | 43.4 | 19,851 | 11.9 |
| | SNP | 9 | 1 | 1 | | 32.1 | 30.2 | 13,808 | 0.9 |
| | Labour | 5 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 17.9 | 15.2 | 6,954 | 9.8 |
| | Independent | 2 | 0 | 0 | | 7.1 | 10.7 | 4,879 | 2.8 |
| | Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.6 | 290 | New |
| Total | Total | 28 | | | | | | 45,782 | |
Source:
Note: "Votes" are the first preference votes. The net gain/loss and percentage changes relate to the result of the previous Scottish local elections on 3 May 2012. This may differ from other published sources showing gain/loss relative to seats held at dissolution of Scotland's councils.

### Ward summary

Results of the 2017 South Ayrshire Council election by ward :
| Ward | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | % | Cllrs | Total Cllrs |
| Ward | Conservative | Conservative | SNP | SNP | Lab | Lab | Ind | Ind | Green | Green | | Total Cllrs |
| Troon | 51.5 | 2 | 30.61 | 1 | 13.71 | 1 | | | 4.2 | 0 | 4 |
| Prestwick | 46.2 | 2 | 31.3 | 1 | 13.3 | 1 | 9.1 | 0 | | | 4 |
| Ayr North | 25.6 | 1 | 43.7 | 2 | 24.7 | 1 | 6.1 | 0 | | | 4 |
| Ayr East | 40.5 | 1 | 36.5 | 1 | 17.3 | 1 | 5.6 | 0 | | | 3 |
| Ayr West | 59.2 | 3 | 23.4 | 1 | 11.1 | 0 | 6.2 | 0 | | | 4 |
| Kyle | 43.8 | 1 | 31.0 | 1 | 25.3 | 1 | | | | | 3 |
| Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton | 36.4 | 1 | 27.7 | 1 | 9.4 | 0 | 26.5 | 1 | | | 3 |
| Girvan and South Carrick | 26.7 | 1 | 19.3 | 1 | 9.4 | 0 | 44.5 | 1 | | | 3 |
| Total | 43.4 | 12 | 30.2 | 9 | 15.2 | 5 | 10.7 | 2 | 0.6 | 0 | 28 |

## Ward results
### Troon

The Conservatives (2), the SNP (1) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.
Troon - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | Peter Convery (incumbent) | 35.2 | 2,446 | | | | |
| | Conservative | Bob Pollock | 16.3 | 1,135 | 2,017 | | | |
| | SNP | Craig Mackay | 16.2 | 1,125 | 1,146 | 1,157 | 1,216 | 2,201 |
| | SNP | Annie McIndoe | 14.5 | 1,005 | 1,016 | 1,025 | 1,117 | |
| | Labour | Philip Saxton (incumbent) | 13.7 | 951 | 1,011 | 1,194 | 1,304 | 1,385 |
| | Scottish Green | Boyd Murdoch | 4.2 | 290 | 310 | 371 | | |
| Electorate: 12,132 Valid: 6,952 Spoilt: 128 Quota: 1,391 Turnout: 57.2% |||||||||
Source:

### Prestwick

The Conservatives (2), the SNP (1) and Labour (1) retained the seats they won at the previous election.
Prestwick - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Conservative | Hugh Hunter (incumbent) | 29.9 | 2,008 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Ian Cochrane (incumbent) | 22.3 | 1,498 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Margaret Toner (incumbent) | 16.3 | 1,098 | 1,641 | | | | |
| | Labour | Helen Moonie (incumbent) | 13.3 | 895 | 932 | 990 | 1,000 | 1,255 | 1,615 |
| | SNP | John Wallace | 9.1 | 612 | 618 | 625 | 749 | 897 | |
| | Independent | Alasdair John Malcolm | 9.1 | 611 | 649 | 719 | 726 | | |
| Electorate: 12,085 Valid: 6,722 Spoilt: 172 Quota: 1,345 Turnout: 55.1% ||||||||||
Source:

### Ayr North

Labour retained one of the two seats they had won at the previous election while the SNP and the Conservatives retained the seats they had won at the previous election and the SNP gained one seat from Labour.
Ayr North - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| | Conservative | Ian Davis | 25.6 | 1,258 | | |
| | SNP | Laura Brennan-Whitefield | 25.5 | 1,256 | | |
| | Labour | Ian Cavana (incumbent) | 19.5 | 958 | 1,015 | |
| | SNP | Douglas Campbell (incumbent) | 18.1 | 892 | 902 | 1,138 |
| | Independent | Jamie McGeechan | 6.1 | 300 | 363 | 375 |
| | Labour | Brenda Knox | 5.2 | 256 | 286 | 291 |
| Electorate: 13,106 Valid: 4,920 Spoilt: 158 Quota: 985 Turnout: 39.6% |||||||
Source:

### Ayr East

Due to boundary changes, Ayr East lost one seat. As a result, each of the parties that won seats at the previous election (the SNP, the Conservatives and Labour) all held one seat and the SNP lost their second seat.
Ayr East - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| | Conservative | Mary Kilpatrick (incumbent) | 40.5 | 2,110 | | | | |
| | SNP | Chris Cullen | 22.1 | 1,148 | 1,165 | 1,223 | 1,233 | 1,926 |
| | Labour | Brian McGinley (incumbent) | 17.3 | 900 | 1,141 | 1,356 | | |
| | SNP | Ian McPherson | 14.5 | 753 | 767 | 801 | 810 | |
| | Independent | Andrew Bryden | 5.6 | 293 | 500 | | | |
| Electorate: 10,029 Valid: 5,204 Spoilt: 49 Quota: 1,302 Turnout: 51.5% |||||||||
Source:

### Ayr West

The Conservatives (2) and the SNP (1) retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained one seat from Labour.
Ayr West - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 |
| | Conservative | Martin Dowey | 38.7 | 3,160 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Siobhian Brown | 15.5 | 1,267 | 1,276 | 1,276 | 1,376 | 2,006 | | |
| | Conservative | Lee Lyons | 12.3 | 1,006 | 1,847 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Liz Martin | 11.1 | 911 | 952 | 961 | 1,071 | 1,103 | 1,248 | |
| | Conservative | Derek McCabe | 8.3 | 675 | 1,211 | 1,400 | 1,530 | 1,547 | 1,560 | 1,865 |
| | SNP | Allan Dorans (incumbent) | 7.9 | 646 | 653 | 654 | 723 | | | |
| | Independent | Chic Brodie | 6.2 | 506 | 530 | 535 | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,822 Valid: 8,171 Spoilt: 138 Quota: 1,635 Turnout: 59.4% |||||||||||
Source:

### Kyle

The SNP, Labour and the Conservatives retained the seats they won at the previous election.
Kyle - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| | Conservative | Arthur Spurling | 43.8 | 2,160 | | | |
| | Labour | Andy Campbell (incumbent) | 25.3 | 1,247 | | | |
| | SNP | Julie Dettbarn | 16.4 | 807 | 876 | 879 | 1,612 |
| | SNP | Scott McFarlane | 14.6 | 721 | 811 | 813 | |
| Electorate: 10,215 Valid: 4,935 Spoilt: 74 Quota: 1,234 Turnout: 48.7% ||||||||
Source:

### Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton

Due to boundary changes, Ayr East lost one seat. As a result, the SNP, the Conservatives and independent candidate Brian Connolly retained the seats they won at the previous election and Labour lost their seat.
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 |
| | Conservative | Ian Campbell | 36.4 | 1,584 | |
| | SNP | William Grant (incumbent) | 27.7 | 1,202 | |
| | Independent | Brian Connolly (incumbent) | 20.8 | 904 | 1,089 |
| | Labour | Catriona Deliveli | 9.4 | 408 | 478 |
| | Independent | Gordon McFadzean | 5.7 | 249 | 318 |
| Electorate: 9,359 Valid: 4,347 Spoilt: 45 Quota: 1,087 Turnout: 48.1% ||||||
Source:

### Girvan and South Carrick

The SNP and independent councillor Alec Clark retained the seats they had won at the previous election while the Conservatives gained one seat from Labour.
Girvan and South Carrick - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Independent | Alec Clark (incumbent) | 33.1 | 1,502 | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Ian Fitzsimmons | 26.7 | 1,211 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Peter Henderson | 19.3 | 876 | 919 | 921 | 933 | 1,012 | 1,285 |
| | Independent | Karen Clark-McCartney | 9.5 | 429 | 569 | 586 | 636 | 803 | |
| | Labour | Owen Martin | 9.4 | 428 | 485 | 497 | 515 | | |
| | Independent | Gavin Scott | 1.9 | 85 | 125 | 134 | | | |
| Electorate: 8,742 Valid: 4,531 Spoilt: 76 Quota: 1,133 Turnout: 52.3% ||||||||||
Source: