# 1988 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election

Elections to Kilmarnock and Loudoun 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 12 of the 18 seats however, it was two less than the previous election in 1984 and their vote share fell by 7.9% to below half. The Scottish National Party (SNP) became the joint second-largest party after gaining two seats to hold three while the Conservatives maintained their three seats on the council despite their vote share falling by 17.3%.

## Results

1988 Kilmarnock and Loudoun District Council election result :
| Party | Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− |
| | Labour | 12 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 77.8 | 48.3 | 15,701 | 7.9 |
| | SNP | 3 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 16.6 | 31.8 | 10,349 | 13.6 |
| | Conservative | 3 | 1 | 1 | | 16.6 | 18.8 | 6,098 | 17.3 |
| | SDP | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 1.1 | 351 | New |
| | Green | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0.0 | 0.2 | 53 | New |
| Total | Total | 18 | | | | | | 32,552 | |
Source:

### Notes

* ^ A-At the 1984 election, the SDP–Liberal Alliance won 2.6% of the vote with candidates from both the Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Liberal Party. These parties subsequently merged 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.

## Ward results
### Ward 1

Ward 1 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | W. Doyle | 823 | 53.2 | 18.3 |
| | SNP | J. Weir | 615 | 39.8 | 24.9 |
| | Conservative | A. MacDougall | 107 | 6.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 208 | 13.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,545 | 55.3 | 4.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,794 | | |
| | Labour gain from SNP | Labour gain from SNP | Swing | 21.6 | |
Source:

### Ward 2

Ward 2 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | C. Rutherford | 811 | 45.4 | 12.2 |
| | SNP | E. Graham | 678 | 38.0 | 12.1 |
| | Conservative | A. Park | 242 | 13.6 | 2.7 |
| | Green | S. Grist | 53 | 3.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 133 | 7.4 | 24.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,784 | 51.2 | 5.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,483 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 12.1 | |
Source:

### Ward 3

Ward 3 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Knapp | 1,123 | 58.2 | 7.9 |
| | SNP | J. Caddis | 755 | 39.2 | 2.5 |
| | Conservative | M. Park | 50 | 2.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 368 | 19.0 | 10.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,928 | 65.2 | 18.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 2,958 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 5.2 | |
Source:

### Ward 4

Ward 4 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | D. Coffey | 586 | 36.3 | 24.3 |
| | Conservative | A. Parker | 520 | 32.2 | 13.1 |
| | Labour | C. Mabon | 505 | 31.3 | 11.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 66 | 4.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,611 | 50.4 | 10.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,202 | | |
| | SNP gain from Conservative | SNP gain from Conservative | Swing | 18.7 | |
Source:

### Ward 5

Ward 5 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | W. Cree | 868 | 48.1 | 8.3 |
| | SNP | A. Wallace | 571 | 31.6 | 16.9 |
| | Conservative | B. Rubin | 364 | 20.2 | 8.5 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 297 | 16.5 | 11.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,803 | 48.6 | 4.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,718 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 12.6 | |
Source:

### Ward 6

Ward 6 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. McIntyre | 1,161 | 59.9 | 19.5 |
| | SNP | E. Boyle | 661 | 34.1 | 21.9 |
| | Conservative | A. McCluskey | 116 | 6.0 | 2.3 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 500 | 25.8 | 41.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,938 | 53.6 | 8.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,617 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 20.7 | |
Source:

### Ward 7

Ward 7 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Buchanan | 1,327 | 61.3 | 7.8 |
| | SNP | J. Todd | 442 | 20.4 | 13.5 |
| | Conservative | S. Donald | 393 | 18.2 | 21.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 885 | 40.9 | 26.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,162 | 57.7 | 7.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,749 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 14.4 | |
Source:

### Ward 8

Ward 8 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | M. Porter | 1,050 | 62.6 | 3.8 |
| | Labour | J. Steven | 254 | 15.1 | 2.7 |
| | SNP | J. Goldie | 251 | 15.0 | 9.0 |
| | SDP | J. Cameron | 118 | 7.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 796 | 47.5 | 4.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,673 | 45.8 | 0.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,661 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.2 | |
Source:

### Ward 9

Ward 9 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | N. Gee | 693 | 37.4 | 23.3 |
| | Labour | J. O'Neil | 659 | 35.5 | 12.6 |
| | Conservative | J. Porter | 426 | 23.0 | 14.8 |
| | SDP | P. Kerr | 75 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 34 | 1.9 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,853 | 56.6 | 8.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,276 | | |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | 17.9 | |
Source:

### Ward 10

Ward 10 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Blaney | 774 | 50.5 | 12.4 |
| | SNP | J. Robertson | 569 | 37.1 | 19.9 |
| | Conservative | J. Watret | 188 | 12.3 | 7.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 205 | 13.4 | 29.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,531 | 45.6 | 5.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,361 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 16.1 | |
Source:

### Ward 11

Ward 11 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | R. Stirling | 1,073 | 61.3 | 25.5 |
| | SNP | C. Calman | 578 | 33.0 | 20.3 |
| | Conservative | D. Scott | 99 | 5.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 495 | 28.3 | 45.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,750 | 57.5 | 14.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,046 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 22.9 | |
Source:

### Ward 12

Ward 12 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | I. George | 943 | 52.8 | 19.2 |
| | Labour | J. Greig | 724 | 40.5 | 26.3 |
| | Conservative | T. Donald | 73 | 4.1 | New |
| | SDP | A. Stevenson | 46 | 2.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 219 | 12.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,786 | 56.3 | 14.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,176 | | |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | 22.7 | |
Source:

### Ward 13

Ward 13 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | J. Thomson | 777 | 45.2 | 1.9 |
| | Labour | W. Aitken | 500 | 29.1 | 4.6 |
| | SNP | R. Mowatt | 330 | 19.2 | 10.9 |
| | SDP | M. Temple | 112 | 6.5 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 277 | 16.1 | 5.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,719 | 45.0 | 8.6 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,824 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 3.2 | |
Source:

### Ward 14

Ward 14 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | A. MacDougall | 803 | 37.1 | 10.8 |
| | Labour | J. O'Neill | 724 | 33.4 | 18.2 |
| | SNP | A. Lyall | 634 | 29.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 79 | 3.7 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 2,161 | 56.1 | 10.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,859 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | 7.4 | |
Source:

### Ward 15

Ward 15 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | A. Nisbet | 1,095 | 58.3 | 23.4 |
| | SNP | J. Graham | 641 | 34.2 | 16.7 |
| | Conservative | W. Watret | 138 | 7.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 454 | 24.1 | 40.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,874 | 51.9 | 15.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,617 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 20.0 | |
Source:

### Ward 16

Ward 16 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Mills | 1,091 | 59.6 | 19.9 |
| | SNP | K. Nicoll | 578 | 31.6 | 23.1 |
| | Conservative | D. Woodford | 161 | 8.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 513 | 28.0 | 39.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,830 | 50.8 | 13.3 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,607 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 21.5 | |
Source:

### Ward 17

Ward 17 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | G. Turnbull | 1,270 | 63.9 | 10.6 |
| | SNP | F. MacLean | 383 | 19.3 | 10.5 |
| | Conservative | A. Bates | 332 | 16.7 | 21.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 887 | 44.6 | 29.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,985 | 51.1 | 2.4 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,885 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 15.8 | |
Source:

### Ward 18

Ward 18 :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | J. Anderson | 919 | 56.6 | 21.3 |
| | SNP | N. Rooney | 441 | 27.1 | 6.1 |
| | Conservative | D. Copinger | 259 | 15.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 478 | 29.5 | 27.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 1,619 | 44.5 | 8.5 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 3,648 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | 13.7 | |
Source: