Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)
# Kilmarnock (UK Parliament constituency)

Kilmarnock was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

The constituency included the area of the former parliamentary burgh of Kilmarnock. The parliamentary burgh had been, previously, a component of the Kilmarnock Burghs constituency.

Prominent Members for this seat included long-serving Scottish Secretary Willie Ross, and senior judge Craigie Mason Aitchison.

## Boundaries

### 1918 to 1950

The constituency was created by the Representation of the People Act 1918 as one of four constituencies covering the county of Ayr and the county of Bute. Of the other three constituencies, two were county constituencies: Bute and Northern Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. The third, Ayr Burghs, was a district of burghs constituency. All four constituencies were entirely within the boundaries of the two counties.

The Kilmarnock constituency consisted of "The county district of Kilmarnock, inclusive of all burghs situated therein except insofar as included in the Ayr District of Burghs."

The counties of Ayr and Bute had been covered, previously, by the five constituencies of Ayr Burghs, Buteshire, Kilmarnock Burghs, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire. Two of these, Ayr Burghs and Kilmarnock Burghs, had included areas (parliamentary burghs) outside the two counties.

### 1950 to 1974

Constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1950, creating five constituencies to cover the counties of Ayr and Bute. Ayr Burghs was abolished and two new county constituencies, Ayr and Central Ayrshire, were created. Part of the Kilmarnock constituency was transferred to the new Central Ayrshire constituency.

### 1974 to 1975

In 1974, the boundary between the Kilmarnock and Ayrshire Central constituencies was redrawn to enlarge Kilmarnock.

### 1975 to 1983

In 1975, under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, local government counties were abolished and replaced by a system of regions and districts. The areas of the counties of Ayr and Bute were merged into the Strathclyde region and, thus, the Kilmarnock constituency became one of a number covering the region. Eight years were to elapse before new constituency boundaries took account of new local government boundaries.

In 1983 the Kilmarnock constituency was merged into the Kilmarnock and Loudoun constituency.

## Members of Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| - | - | - | - |
| | 1918 | Alexander Shaw | Coalition Liberal |
| | 1922 | Alexander Shaw | Liberal |
| | 1923 | Robert Climie | Labour |
| | 1924 | Charles MacAndrew | Scottish Unionist Party |
| | 1929 | Robert Climie | Labour |
| | 1929 by-election | Craigie Aitchison | Labour |
| | 1931 | Craigie Aitchison | National Labour |
| | 1933 by-election | Kenneth Lindsay | National Labour |
| | 1945 | Clarice Shaw | Labour |
| | 1946 by-election | Willie Ross | Labour |
| | 1979 | William McKelvey | Labour |
| 1983 | 1983 | constituency abolished: see Kilmarnock and Loudoun | constituency abolished: see Kilmarnock and Loudoun |

## Election results

### Elections in the 1910s

General election 1918: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| C | Liberal | Alexander Shaw | 13,568 | 67.1 | |
| | Co-operative Party | Peter Malcolm | 6,652 | 32.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,916 | 34.2 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 20,220 | 62.6 | |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 32,298 | | |
| | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) | Liberal win (new seat) |
| C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government. ||||||

### Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Liberal | Alexander Shaw | 12,991 | 54.7 | −12.4 |
| | Labour | Robert Climie | 10,752 | 45.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,239 | 9.4 | −24.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 23,743 | 71.5 | +8.9 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,210 | | |
| | Liberal hold | Liberal hold | Swing | −12.4 | |

General election 1923: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Robert Climie | 10,992 | 43.2 | −2.1 |
| | Liberal | Donald Maclean | 8,185 | 32.1 | −22.6 |
| | Unionist | Alexander Morrice Mackay | 6,298 | 24.7 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,807 | 11.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,475 | 75.7 | +4.2 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 33,652 | | |
| | Labour gain from Liberal | Labour gain from Liberal | Swing | +10.3 | |

General election 1924: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Unionist | Charles MacAndrew | 14,237 | 52.2 | +27.5 |
| | Labour | Robert Climie | 13,054 | 47.8 | +4.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,183 | 4.4 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,291 | 79.5 | +3.8 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 34,315 | | |
| | Unionist gain from Labour | Unionist gain from Labour | Swing | +11.5 | |

General election 1929: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Robert Climie | 17,368 | 48.2 | +0.4 |
| | Unionist | Charles MacAndrew | 10,939 | 30.4 | −21.8 |
| | Liberal | James Rutherford | 7,700 | 21.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,429 | 17.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,007 | 77.8 | −1.7 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,310 | | |
| | Labour gain from Unionist | Labour gain from Unionist | Swing | +11.1 | |

1929 Kilmarnock by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Craigie Aitchison | 18,465 | 55.6 | +7.4 |
| | Unionist | Charles MacAndrew | 13,270 | 40.0 | +9.6 |
| | Communist | Isabel Brown | 1,448 | 4.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,195 | 15.6 | −2.2 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,183 | 71.7 | −6.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,310 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | −1.1 | |

### Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | National Labour | Craigie Aitchison | 21,803 | 59.6 | New |
| | Ind. Labour Party | John Pollock | 14,767 | 40.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,036 | 19.2 | +3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,580 | 79.5 | +7.8 |
| | National Labour hold | National Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

1933 Kilmarnock by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | National Labour | Kenneth Lindsay | 12,577 | 34.8 | −24.8 |
| | Labour | James Barr | 9,924 | 27.4 | New |
| | Ind. Labour Party | John Pollock | 7,575 | 20.9 | −19.5 |
| | Scottish Party | Alexander MacEwen | 6,098 | 16.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,653 | 7.4 | −11.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,174 | 77.3 | −2.2 |
| | National Labour hold | National Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |

General election 1935: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | National Labour | Kenneth Lindsay | 19,115 | 50.9 | +16.1 |
| | Labour | James Crawford | 12,558 | 33.4 | +6.0 |
| | Ind. Labour Party | John Pollock | 3,582 | 9.5 | -11.4 |
| | SNP | T. W. Campbell | 2,346 | 6.2 | -10.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,557 | 17.5 | +10.1 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,601 | 78.8 | +1.5 |
| | National Labour hold | National Labour hold | Swing | +5.0 | |

### Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Clarice Shaw | 23,837 | 59.4 | +26.0 |
| | Unionist | George E.O. Walker | 16,300 | 40.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,537 | 18.8 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,137 | 76.1 | −2.7 |
| | Labour gain from National Labour | Labour gain from National Labour | Swing | N/A | |

1946 Kilmarnock by-election :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 22,456 | 59.7 | +0.3 |
| | Unionist | George E.O. Walker | 12,239 | 32.5 | −8.1 |
| | SNP | George Dott | 2,932 | 7.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,217 | 27.2 | +8.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,627 | 68.4 | −7.7 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +4.2 | |

### Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 22,412 | 56.58 | -2.80 |
| | Unionist | McInnes Shaw | 14,179 | 35.80 | -4.80 |
| | Liberal | John Gibson Thomson | 2,157 | 5.45 | New |
| | Communist | Isabel Brown | 860 | 2.17 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,233 | 20.79 | +2.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 39,608 | 86.15 | +10.1 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 45,974 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.0 | |

General election 1951: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 24,664 | 60.72 | +4.14 |
| | Unionist | Norman Macleod Glen | 15,955 | 39.28 | +3.48 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,709 | 21.44 | +0.65 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,619 | 86.66 | +0.51 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 46,869 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.33 | |

General election 1955: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 23,324 | 60.89 | +0.17 |
| | Unionist | John Sutherland | 14,983 | 39.11 | -0.17 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,341 | 21.78 | +0.34 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,307 | 81.07 | -5.59 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 47,254 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.17 | |

General election 1959: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 25,379 | 62.72 | +1.83 |
| | Unionist | R Ian McNaught | 15,087 | 37.28 | -1.83 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,292 | 25.44 | +3.66 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,466 | 82.43 | +1.36 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 49,090 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +1.83 | |

### Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 25,173 | 62.29 | -0.43 |
| | Unionist | Graham H Webster | 10,796 | 26.71 | -10.57 |
| | Liberal | Ian M Will | 4,443 | 10.99 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,377 | 35.58 | +10.16 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 40,412 | 82.77 | +0.34 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,824 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +5.04 | |

General election 1966: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 26,036 | 68.54 | +6.25 |
| | Conservative | Albert McQuarrie | 11,949 | 31.46 | +4.75 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 14,087 | 37.08 | +1.50 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 37,985 | 79.02 | -3.75 |
| Registered electors | Registered electors | Registered electors | 48,073 | | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | +0.75 | |

### Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 24,477 | 59.3 | -9.2 |
| | Conservative | G Law | 11,476 | 27.8 | -3.6 |
| | SNP | Alistair MacInnes | 2,836 | 6.9 | New |
| | Liberal | Archibald James Wight | 2,459 | 6.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 13,001 | 31.52 | -5.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,248 | 79.1 | 0.0 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

General election February 1974: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 23,544 | 47.20 | -12.14 |
| | Conservative | Kenneth Alexander Ross | 13,817 | 27.70 | -0.12 |
| | SNP | Alistair MacInnes | 7,644 | 15.32 | +7.44 |
| | Liberal | Archibald James Wight | 4,878 | 9.78 | +3.82 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,727 | 19.50 | -12.02 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 49,883 | 83.25 | +3.19 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | | |

General election October 1974: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | Willie Ross | 22,184 | 45.69 | -1.51 |
| | SNP | Alistair MacInnes | 14,655 | 30.19 | +14.86 |
| | Conservative | William Adams | 9,203 | 18.96 | -8.74 |
| | Liberal | Kevin Purcell | 2,508 | 5.17 | -4.61 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,529 | 15.50 | -4.00 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,550 | 80.41 | -2.84 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -8.18 | |

General election 1979: Kilmarnock :

| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| | Labour | William McKelvey | 25,718 | 52.56 | +6.87 |
| | Conservative | John Corbett | 14,251 | 29.12 | +10.17 |
| | SNP | Alistair MacInnes | 8,963 | 18.32 | -11.87 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 11,467 | 23.44 | +7.93 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 48,932 | 81.08 | +0.67 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -1.65 | |
