# Ardrossan and Arran (ward)

Ardrossan and Arran was one of the 10 wards used to elect members of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2007 following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements, the ward elected three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. Originally a four-member ward, Ardrossan and Arran was reduced in size following a boundary review ahead of the 2017 election. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.
The ward was a Scottish National Party (SNP) stronghold with the party holding at least half the seats between 2012 and 2021.

## 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 Ardrossan was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained part of the former Ardrossan North, Saltcoats North and South Beach wards as well as all of the former Ardrossan South and Arran wards. The ward centred around the town of Ardrossan and the Isle of Arran and included a number of smaller islands in the Firth of Clyde including the Holy Isle and the uninhabited Pladda and Horse Isle. Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward was reduced in size from a four-member ward to a three-member ward as an area in the northeast of Ardrossan was transferred to the newly created Saltcoats ward.
In 2018, the Scottish Parliament passed the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which included provisions to improve the representation of island communities on councils. As a result, an intermediate review of the boundaries in North Ayrshire was carried out. This proposed that Ardrossan and Arran be split in two with a single-member Arran ward re-established and a slightly enlarged three-member Ardrossan ward created. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.

## Councillors

| Year | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | Tony Gurney (SNP) | | Peter McNamara (Labour) | Margie Currie (Ind.) | John Hunter (Ind.) |
| 2012 | Tony Gurney (SNP) | John Bruce (SNP) | Peter McNamara (Labour) | | John Hunter (Ind.) |
| 2017 | Tony Gurney (SNP) | Timothy Billings (Conservative) | Ellen McMaster (SNP/ Alba/ Ind.) |
| 2021 | Tony Gurney (SNP) | Timothy Billings (Conservative) | Ellen McMaster (SNP/ Alba/ Ind.) |
| 2022 | Tony Gurney (SNP) | Timothy Billings (Conservative) | Ellen McMaster (SNP/ Alba/ Ind.) |

## Election results
### 2017 election

Ardrossan and Arran - 3 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | Conservative | Timothy Billings | 27.6 | 1,309 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Ellen McMaster | 19.7 | 932 | 937 | 1,000 | 1,002 | 1,034 | 1,159 |
| | SNP | Tony Gurney (incumbent) | 19.6 | 930 | 932 | 946 | 955 | 1,092 | 1,245 |
| | Labour | Clare McGuire | 13.9 | 659 | 677 | 723 | 792 | 979 | |
| | Independent | John Hunter (incumbent) | 10.6 | 503 | 517 | 534 | 627 | | |
| | No Referendum Maintain Union Pro-Brexit | Gordon Allison | 5.0 | 238 | 280 | 285 | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Colin Turbett | 3.5 | 165 | 170 | | | | |
| Electorate: 9,622 Valid: 4,736 Spoilt: 123 Quota: 1,185 Turnout: 50.5% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2012 election

Ardrossan and Arran - 4 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 | Tony Gurney (incumbent) | 17.6 | 982 | 986 | 998 | 1,033 | 1,048 | 1,081 | 1,095 | 1,149 |
| | SNP | John Bruce | 15.0 | 837 | 841 | 868 | 889 | 918 | 1,109 | 1,113 | 1,157 |
| | Independent | John Hunter (incumbent) | 14.2 | 792 | 796 | 833 | 895 | 1,025 | 1,191 | | |
| | Labour | Peter McNamara (incumbent) | 12.9 | 721 | 730 | 738 | 770 | 812 | 871 | 881 | 1,414 |
| | Labour | Loretta Gardner | 11.8 | 659 | 667 | 692 | 720 | 750 | 793 | 798 | |
| | Independent | Marc A. Head | 10.5 | 588 | 595 | 609 | 620 | 714 | | | |
| | Conservative | David Tate | 8.8 | 491 | 507 | 551 | 561 | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Campbell Martin | 4.2 | 235 | 237 | 250 | | | | | |
| | UKIP | Gordon Niven Allison | 3.9 | 221 | 227 | | | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nick Smith | 1.1 | 64 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,674 Valid: 5,590 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 1,119 Turnout: 40.9% ||||||||||||
Source:

### 2007 election

Ardrossan and Arran - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
| | Independent | Margie Currie | 19.3 | 1,439 | 1,456 | 1,478 | 1,582 | | | | | |
| | SNP | Tony Gurney | 19.0 | 1,414 | 1,439 | 1,462 | 1,779 | | | | | |
| | Labour | Peter McNamara | 13.5 | 1,007 | 1,019 | 1,033 | 1,051 | 1,085 | 1,094 | 1,763 | | |
| | Independent | John Hunter | 12.8 | 952 | 970 | 1,087 | 1,106 | 1,176 | 1,189 | 1,234 | 1,287 | 1,658 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Allison | 11.5 | 857 | 866 | 872 | 886 | 914 | 930 | 963 | 989 | |
| | Labour | Margaret Munn | 11.1 | 829 | 837 | 848 | 864 | 884 | 888 | | | |
| | SNP | William McLaren | 7.7 | 573 | 589 | 597 | | | | | | |
| | Independent | Kenneth MacDougall | 3.1 | 228 | 237 | | | | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Nigel Hunter | 1.9 | 144 | | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 13,448 Valid: 7,443 Spoilt: 146 Quota: 1,489 Turnout: 56.4% |||||||||||||
Source: