# Irvine West (ward)

Irvine West is one of the nine wards used to elect members of the North Ayrshire Council. Created in 1980, Irvine West was originally a single-member first-past-the-post ward before it was expanded in 2007 to become a multi-member ward which elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 14,972 people.

## Boundaries

Irvine West was created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1979 as one of the 30 wards of Cunninghame District Council. The original boundaries took in the western part of Irvine on the Firth of Clyde coast up to the River Garnock and included the abandoned Snodgrass Village and Bogside Racecourse. There were minor changes to the boundaries following the Second Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1994 which saw the ward's southern boundary extended south to the council's border with Kyle and Carrick District Council to include the Dundonald Links golf course. After the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994, the boundaries proposed by the second review became the Formation Electoral Arrangements for the newly created North Ayrshire Council – a unitary authority for the area previously under Cunninghame District Council. Further minor alterations saw the ward's northeastern boundary moved east following the Third Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1998 to run along Kilwinning Road.
As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, council elections would be run under the single transferable vote and new multi-member wards would be introduced. As a result, Irvine West was combined with other wards covering Irvine. The former Irvine North, Irvine Townhead and Irvine Vineburgh and Woodlands South were completely subsumed and a small area from both of the former Irvine Landward and Woodlands North and Girdle Toll wards were added. The new boundaries would cover everything west of the A78 plus the south-eastern industrial area around Drybridge and Shewalton. The Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements saw the ward's area reduced as a new Irvine South ward was created. As a result, territory west of the River Irvine including the abandoned Bogside Racecourse, the Fullarton area of Irvine, and everything south of the A71 was transferred to Irvine South. Despite the changes, which saw the ward's area halved, Irvine West retained four councillors. The ward's boundaries were unchanged following the 2019 Reviews of Electoral Arrangements.

## Councillors

| Election | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors | Councillors |
| 2007 | | Matt Brown (SNP) | | Ian Clarkson (Labour) | | David O'Neill (Labour) | Pat McPhee (Conservative) |
| 2012 | | Matt Brown (SNP) | Ruth Maguire (SNP) | Ian Clarkson (Labour) | | David O'Neill (Labour) |
| 2016 by-election | | Matt Brown (SNP) | Louise McPhater (Labour) | Ian Clarkson (Labour) | | David O'Neill (Labour) |
| 2017 | Shaun MacAulay (SNP) | | Louise McPhater (Labour) | Ian Clarkson (Labour) | Scott Gallacher (Conservative) |
| 2022 | Shaun MacAulay (SNP) | | Louise McPhater (Labour) | Chloe Robertson (SNP) | Scott Gallacher (Conservative) |

## Election results
### 2022 election

Irvine West - 4 seats :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 |
| | SNP | Shaun MacAulay (incumbent) | 27.3 | 1,274 | | | | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Scott Gallacher (incumbent) | 19.9 | 932 | 934 | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Louise McPhater (incumbent) | 15.6 | 729 | 738 | 738 | 746 | 748 | 757 | 792 | 814 | 816 | 1,472 |
| | Labour | Sylvia Mallinson | 14.1 | 660 | 674 | 674 | 676 | 678 | 697 | 758 | 788 | 790 | |
| | SNP | Chloe Robertson | 13.3 | 623 | 894 | 894 | 905 | 906 | 909 | 922 | 948 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Bobby Cochrane | 3.2 | 150 | 155 | 155 | 168 | 172 | 181 | | | | |
| | Independent | Kevin T. Blades | 2.8 | 133 | 136 | 136 | 139 | 165 | 184 | 212 | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Lewis Dominic Hutton | 1.5 | 72 | 75 | 75 | 76 | 81 | | | | | |
| | Independent | Tristan Lindsay | 1.0 | 47 | 49 | 49 | 53 | | | | | | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Colin Turbett | 0.9 | 46 | 47 | 47 | | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 12,090 Valid: 4,666 Spoilt: 142 Quota: 934 Turnout: 39.8% ||||||||||||||
Source:

### 2017 election

Irvine 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 |
| | Labour | Ian Clarkson (incumbent) | 27.7 | 1,249 | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Scott Gallacher | 22.7 | 1,025 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Shaun MacAulay | 20.3 | 914 | | | | | | |
| | SNP | Maria Limonci | 15.7 | 707 | 722 | 725 | 736 | 769 | 790 | |
| | Labour | Louise McPhater (incumbent) | 9.7 | 438 | 669 | 706 | 707 | 738 | 804 | 1,062 |
| | Scottish Green | Andrew Craig | 2.1 | 96 | 106 | 117 | 117 | | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Bobby Cochrane | 1.7 | 76 | 113 | 120 | 121 | 139 | | |
| Electorate: 11,984 Valid: 4,505 Spoilt: 121 Quota: 902 Turnout: 38.6% |||||||||||
Source:

### 2016 by-election

Irvine West by-election (11 August 2016) - 1 Seat :
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count | Count |
| Party | Party | Candidate | FPv% | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
| | SNP | Robin Sturgeon | 37.5 | 1,164 | 1,168 | 1,207 | 1,226 | 1,277 | |
| | Labour | Louise McPhater | 33.1 | 1,029 | 1,046 | 1,060 | 1,118 | 1,301 | 1,697 |
| | Conservative | Angela Stephen | 20.6 | 639 | 650 | 655 | 658 | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Bobby Cochrane | 4.2 | 131 | 133 | 146 | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Josh McCormick | 3.0 | 94 | 100 | | | | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Nick Smith | 1.5 | 48 | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,849 Valid: 3,105 Spoilt: 46 Quota: 1,553 Turnout: 20.9% ||||||||||
Source:

### 2012 election

Irvine West - 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 |
| | SNP | Matthew Brown (incumbent) | 31.6 | 1,624 | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Ian Clarkson (incumbent) | 26.8 | 1,374 | | | | | | | | |
| | Labour | David O'Neill (incumbent) | 13.5 | 691 | 720 | 950 | 958 | 995 | 1,039 | | | |
| | Conservative | Pat McPhee (incumbent) | 12.0 | 614 | 634 | 652 | 653 | 657 | 682 | 683 | 773 | |
| | SNP | Ruth Maguire | 5.2 | 265 | 695 | 704 | 713 | 730 | 769 | 770 | 840 | 945 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Gordon Bain | 4.8 | 246 | 272 | 283 | 289 | 300 | 330 | 331 | | |
| | Independent | Derek Owen | 3.6 | 187 | 197 | 202 | 216 | 231 | | | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Bobby Cochrane | 1.6 | 81 | 92 | 112 | 123 | | | | | |
| | TUSC | Ian Kerr | 1.0 | 51 | 61 | 65 | | | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,793 Valid: 5,133 Spoilt: 157 Quota: 1,027 Turnout: 34.7% |||||||||||||
Source:

### 2007 election

Irvine 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 |
| | SNP | Matt Brown | 31.6 | 2,247 | | | | | | |
| | Labour | Ian Clarkson | 24.0 | 1,710 | | | | | | |
| | Conservative | Pat McPhee | 11.2 | 799 | 875 | 883 | 888 | 1,059 | 1,159 | 1,225 |
| | Labour | David O'Neill | 10.9 | 776 | 829 | 881 | 899 | 979 | 1,077 | 1,726 |
| | Solidarity | Jim Byrne | 7.3 | 517 | 695 | 708 | 738 | 830 | | |
| | Labour | John McKay | 7.1 | 508 | 573 | 711 | 748 | 844 | 999 | |
| | Liberal Democrats | Iain Rubie Dale | 6.4 | 453 | 613 | 633 | 655 | | | |
| | Socialist Labour | Bobby Cochrane | 1.5 | 103 | 141 | 152 | | | | |
| Electorate: 14,993 Valid: 7,113 Spoilt: 156 Quota: 1,423 Turnout: 48.5% |||||||||||
Source: