Kilbirnie and Beith
North Ayrshire
Outline map
Boundary of Kilbirnie and Beith in North Ayrshire from 2017–2022.
Electorate10,600 (2017)
Major settlementsBeith
Kilbirnie
Scottish Parliament constituencyCunninghame North
Scottish Parliament regionWest Scotland
UK Parliament constituencyNorth Ayrshire and Arran
2007 (2007)–2022 (2022)
Number of councillors3
Replaced byGarnock Valley
Created fromBeith
Garnock East
Kilbirnie North
Kilbirnie South
Largs South and Fairlie

Kilbirnie and Beith 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. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.

The area was politically split after each election returned one councillor for both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Labour as well as one independent councillor.

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 Kilbirnie and Beith was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained part of the former Garnock East and Kilbirnie South wards and the majority of the former Kilbirnie North ward as well as all of the former Beith ward and a small part of the former Largs South and Fairlie ward. Kilbirnie and Beith took in an area in the northeast of the council area next to its border with Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire and centred around the towns of Beith and Kilbirnie.[1] Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward was reduced in area as largely unpopulated areas were transferred to other wards. The eastern boundary was moved west to run along the A737 with the area transferred to the Dalry and West Kilbride ward.[2]

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. The review coincided with the introduction of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 which allowed for the creation of five-member wards. This proposed that three wards – Dalry and West Kilbride, Kilbirnie and Beith and North Coast and Cumbraes – be replaced by two new wards named Garnock Valley and North Coast. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.[3][4]

Councillors

Election Councillors
2007 Jean Highgate
(Ind.)		 Craig Taylor
(SNP)		 John Bell
(Labour)
2008 Anthea Dickson
(SNP)
2012
2017 Donald L. Reid
(Ind.)

Election results

2017 election

Kilbirnie and Beith - 3 seats
PartyCandidateFPv%Count
12345
SNP Anthea Dickson (incumbent) 22.3 1,057 1,061 1,091 1,617  
Independent Donald L. Reid 22.2 1,053 1,074 1,182 1,203  
Labour John Bell (incumbent) 19.5 925 1,031 1,062 1,096 1,235
Conservative Ted Nevill 14.9 705 712 731 735 751
SNP Margaret Johnson 12.1 574 576 610    
Independent James Smith 5.6 263 267      
Labour James Robson 3.3 156        
Electorate: 10,600   Valid: 4,733   Spoilt: 122   Quota: 1,184   Turnout: 45.8%  

    Source: [5][6]

    2012 election

    Kilbirnie and Beith - 3 seats
    PartyCandidateFPv%Count
    12345678
    SNP Anthea Dickson (incumbent) 24.77 1,101 1,107 1,121          
    Independent Jean Highgate (incumbent) 17.06 758 767 804 804.5 910.6 947.6 1,000.1 1,368.6
    SNP Craig Wilson 17.15 762 763 771 778 807 853.1 886.4  
    Labour John Bell (incumbent) 17.01 756 765 773 773.6 785.6 1,370.6    
    Labour Allan Wilson 16.22 721 727 731 731.4 745.4      
    Conservative Ted Nevill 5.13 228 228 231 231.1        
    Independent Josh McCormick 1.73 77 81            
    Socialist Labour Tristan Lindsay 0.92 41              
    Electorate: 10,662   Valid: 4,444   Spoilt: 97   Quota: 1,112   Turnout: 4,541 (41.68%)  

      2008 by-election

      A by-election arose in the Kilbirnie and Beith Ward following the death of SNP councillor Craig Taylor. Anthea Dickson held the seat for the SNP on 14 October 2008.

      Kilbirnie and Beith by-election, 14 October 2008 - 1 seat[7]
      PartyCandidateFPv%Count
      123
      SNP Anthea Dickson 48.92 1,363 1,380 1,415
      Labour Gordon McKay 33.70 939 956 972
      Conservative Ted Nevill 11.56 322 324 342
      Liberal Democrats Lewis Hutton 3.37 94 104  
      Socialist Labour James McDaid 2.44 68    
      SNP hold Swing
      Electorate: 11,232   Valid: 2,786   Spoilt: 20   Quota: 1,394   Turnout: 2,806 (24.98%)  

        2007 election

        North Ayrshire council election, 2007: Kilbirnie and Beith
        Party Candidate 1st Pref  % Seat Count
        SNP Craig Taylor 1,329 23.4 1 5
        Labour John Bell 1,313 23.1 2 7
        Independent Jean Highgate 947 16.7 3 7
        Labour Donald Reid 849 15.0
        Conservative John Smith 562 9.9
        Independent John Johnstone 265 4.7
        Liberal Democrats Jenny Hutton 188 3.3
        Independent William Fyfe 116 2.0
        Independent Iain Walker 106 1.9

        References

        1. ↑ "Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2006. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
        2. ↑ "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
        3. ↑ "Review of Electoral Arrangements; North Ayrshire Council Area" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. June 2021. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
        4. ↑ Hamilton, Andy (5 March 2022). "North Ayrshire: Changes on the way as voters get set to go to polls". Irvine Times. Retrieved 2 May 2022.
        5. ↑ "Declaration of Results Report Kilbirnie and Beith" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
        6. ↑ "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Kilbirnie and Beith" (PDF). North Ayrshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
        7. ↑ "Alba Money – Financial news and budgeting advice".
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