page_title: Isle of Arran
section_title: Local government
hierarchical_section_title: Isle of Arran / Local government
caption_attribution_description: Map of Ayrshire, Scotland
context_page_description: The Isle of Arran or simply Arran is an island off the coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh largest Scottish island, at 432 square kilometres. Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the unitary council area of North Ayrshire. In the 2011 census it had a resident population of 4,629. Though culturally and physically similar to the Hebrides, it is separated from them by the Kintyre peninsula. Often referred to as "Scotland in Miniature", the island is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault and has been described as a "geologist's paradise".
  Arran has been continuously inhabited since the early Neolithic period. Numerous prehistoric remains have been found. From the 6th century onwards, Goidelic-speaking peoples from Ireland colonised it and it became a centre of religious activity. In the troubled Viking Age, Arran became the property of the Norwegian crown, until formally absorbed by the kingdom of Scotland in the 13th century. The 19th-century "clearances" led to significant depopulation and the end of the Gaelic language and way of life.
context_section_description: From the 17th to the late 20th century, Arran was part of the County of Bute. After the 1975 reorganisation of local government Arran became part of the district of Cunninghame in Strathclyde Region. This two-tier system of local government lasted until 1996 when the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 came into effect, abolishing the regions and districts and replacing them with 32 council areas. Arran is now in the North Ayrshire council area, along with some of the other constituent islands of the County of Bute.
  For some statistical purposes Arran is within the registration county of Bute, and for ceremonial purposes it forms part of the lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran.
  In the House of Commons, since 2005 it has been part of the Ayrshire North and Arran constituency, represented since 2015 by Patricia Gibson of the SNP. It is marginal between the SNP and the Scottish Conservatives. It had been part of Cunninghame North from 1983 to 2005, and of Ayrshire North and Bute from 1918 to 1983.
  In the Scottish Parliament, Arran is part of the constituency of Cunninghame North, currently represented by Kenneth Gibson of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The Labour Party held the seat until 2007, when the SNP gained it by 48 votes, making it the most marginal seat in Holyrood until 2011, when the SNP increased its majority to 6,117 over Labour.
caption: Arran's location within Ayrshire
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