# Airdrie and Shotts (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Airdrie and Shotts (Gaelic: An t-Àrd-Ruigh agus Shotts) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council area of North Lanarkshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the Central Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The seat has been held by Neil Gray of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Central Scotland region are: Coatbridge and Chryston, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, East Kilbride, Falkirk East, Falkirk West, Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse, Motherwell and Wishaw and Uddingston and Bellshill.
The region covers all of the Falkirk council area, all of the North Lanarkshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The Holyrood constituency is one of four covering the North Lanarkshire council area, the others being Coatbridge and Chryston, Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, Motherwell and Wishaw and Uddingston and Bellshill, the last of which spans parts of both North and South Lanarkshire. All five are within the Central Scotland electoral region.
The electoral wards used in the creation of Airdrie and Shotts are:
* In full: Airdrie Central, Airdrie North, Airdrie South, Fortissat

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1999 | Karen Whitefield | Labour |
| 2011 | Alex Neil | SNP |
| 2021 | Neil Gray | SNP |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Neil Gray | 16,139 | 50.6 | 1.9 | 14,251 | 44.6 | 2.9 |
| | Labour | Richard Leonard | 10,671 | 33.4 | 4.2 | 7,964 | 24.9 | 1.5 |
| | Conservative | Ross Lambie | 4,422 | 13.9 | 1.8 | 6,528 | 20.4 | 4.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Cole | 562 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 495 | 1.5 | 0.1 |
| | No label | Jimmy Dowson | 132 | 0.4 | New | | | |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,362 | 4.3 | 1.0 |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 534 | 1.7 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 188 | 0.6 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 166 | 0.5 | New |
| | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | 148 | 0.5 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 76 | 0.2 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 60 | 0.2 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 53 | 0.2 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 51 | 0.2 | 2.5 |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 46 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Paddy Hogg | Paddy Hogg | Paddy Hogg | Paddy Hogg | 33 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,468 | 17.2 | 6.1 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 31,926 | | | 31,955 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 75 | | | 49 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,001 | 59.1 | 9.6 | 32,004 | 59.1 | 9.6 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | 3.1 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Alex Neil | 13,954 | 52.5 | 2.4 | 12,646 | 47.5 | 0.6 |
| | Labour | Richard Leonard | 7,762 | 29.2 | 12.6 | 7,029 | 26.4 | 10.9 |
| | Conservative | Eric Holford | 4,164 | 15.7 | 9.8 | 4,270 | 16.0 | 11.0 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 880 | 3.3 | 1.8 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 730 | 2.7 | 2.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Louise Young | 693 | 2.6 | 0.4 | 423 | 1.6 | 0.3 |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 279 | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 106 | 0.4 | New |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 248 | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| | Independent | Deryck Beaumont | Deryck Beaumont | Deryck Beaumont | Deryck Beaumont | 35 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,192 | 23.3 | 14.9 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 26,573 | | | 26,646 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 102 | | | 26 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,675 | 49.5 | 2.8 | 26,672 | 49.5 | 2.8 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | 7.5 | | | |
| Notes |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Alex Neil | 11,984 | 50.2 | N/A | 11,186 | 46.9 | N/A |
| | Labour | Karen Whitefield | 9,983 | 41.8 | N/A | 8,884 | 37.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Robert Crozier | 1,396 | 5.8 | N/A | 1,186 | 5.0 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 461 | 1.9 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 367 | 1.5 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 330 | 1.4 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 313 | 1.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Love | 531 | 2.2 | N/A | 301 | 1.3 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 278 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 110 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | Independent | Hugh O'Donnell | Hugh O'Donnell | Hugh O'Donnell | Hugh O'Donnell | 80 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 78 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 43 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Others | Others | Others | Others | Others | 222 | 0.9 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,001 | 8.4 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 23,894 | | | 23,839 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 87 | | | 119 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,981 | 46.7 | N/A | 23,958 | 46.7 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) |

### 2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Karen Whitefield | 11,907 | 43.8 | −12.8 |
| | SNP | Sophia Coyle | 10,461 | 38.5 | +17.6 |
| | Conservative | Iain McGill | 2,370 | 8.7 | −0.1 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Robert Gorrie | 1,452 | 5.4 | 0.0 |
| | Scottish Voice | Mev Brown | 970 | 3.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,446 | 5.3 | −34.8 |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 1,536 | 2.7 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,160 | 47.1 | +2.8 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -15.2 | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Karen Whitefield | 14,209 | 59.0 | +4.8 |
| | SNP | Gil Paterson | 5,232 | 20.9 | −7.3 |
| | Conservative | Alan Melville | 2,203 | 8.8 | −0.8 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Fraser Coates | 2,096 | 8.4 | New |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kevin Lang | 1,346 | 5.4 | −1.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,977 | 38.1 | +11.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,086 | 46.3 | −11.3 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

### 1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Airdrie and Shotts :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Labour | Karen Whitefield | 18,338 | 55.2 |
| | SNP | Gil Paterson | 9,353 | 28.2 |
| | Conservative | Patrick Ross-Taylor | 3,177 | 9.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | David Miller | 2,345 | 7.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,985 | 27.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,213 | 57.6 |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 2007-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "Central Scotland Region: Notice of Poll and Statement of Persons Nominated". North Lanarkshire Council. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
* ↑ "Airdrie and Shotts Constituency: Notice of Poll and Statement of Persons Nominated". North Lanarkshire Council. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 31 March 2021.
* ↑ Constituencies A-Z | Airdrie & Shotts, BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
* ↑ "Scottish Parliament Elections 6 May 2021". North Lanarkshire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
* ↑ "Central Scotland – 2016 Results and 2021 Candidates". Ballot Box Scotland. Retrieved 28 May 2021.
* ↑ "Results and turnout at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
* ↑ "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.