Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (UK Parliament constituency).

Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley
County constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	75,928 (2019)
Current constituency
Created	1999
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Elena Whitham
Council area	East Ayrshire South Ayrshire

Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley (Gaelic: Carraig, Cumnaig agus Srath Dhùn) is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, covering parts of the council areas of South Ayrshire and East Ayrshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, it is one of nine constituencies in the South 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 Elena Whitham of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr; Clydesdale; Dumfriesshire; East Lothian; Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire; Galloway and West Dumfries; Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council areas

Wards of the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Scottish Parliament constituency as of 2011.

The Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley 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 rest of East Ayrshire is covered by the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency, whilst the rest of the South Ayrshire is covered by Ayr constituency.

Following their First Periodic review into constituencies to the Scottish Parliament in time for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended redrawing the Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency. The electoral wards used in the current creation of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley are:

• Kyle (South Ayrshire)
• Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton (South Ayrshire)
• Girvan and South Carrick (South Ayrshire)
• Ballochmyle (East Ayrshire)
• Cumnock and New Cumnock (East Ayrshire)
• Doon Valley (East Ayrshire)

Constituency profile and voting patterns

Constituency profile

The rural constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley is a diverse and sparsely populated area made up of former mining communities, outlying suburban villages, fertile farmlands and coastal resorts. Carrick stretches along the rugged and idyllic Ayrshire coast between Ayr and Galloway, taking in Culzean Castle and the resorts of Turnberry, home to the renowned Turnberry hotel and golf course, and Maidens. The main population centres within Carrick are Girvan, which serves as the area's main harbour and the main town of the Carrick area, and Maybole, the historic capital of the kingdom of Carrick. To the north west of the constituency, are the former mining villages of Tarbolton, Annbank and Mossblown. The more affluent suburban villages of Dundoald, Loans, Coylton and Symington serve as commuter villages to Ayr, Prestwick and Troon. Cumnock, Doon Valley and Ballochmyle in the East Ayrshire section of the constituency housed the central headquarters of coal mining operations in the Ayrshire area prior to the industry's collapse in the 1980s. The area is predominantly composed of dispersed and deprived former mining communities such as Cumnock, New Cunmock, Dalmellington, Bellsbank and Patna. The Trade Union movement was particularly strong in the area during the 1980s and 1990s. Keir Hardie, who is regarded as one of the primary founders of the Labour Party, was active in organising a local trade union for miners in the area during the late 1800s,

Voting patterns

At Westminster, the equivalent South Ayrshire and later Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituencies consistently returned Labour MP's since the 1930s. The area was among the most reliable and safest Labour areas in Scotland and the UK as a whole, with Labour continually gaining the majority of the vote in most electoral wards in the constituency. On a local level, Cumnock, Ballochmyle, Doon Valley, Maybole, Annbank, Tarbolton, Mossblown and parts of Girvan consistently supported Labour, with these areas making up the majority of the constituency. Rural and suburban areas in Kyle and Carrick have been more supportive of Conservative candidates in the past - including Coylton, Dundoald, Loans, Monkton, Symington, Dunure, Minishant and Girvan Ailsa at the 2003 local election for South Ayrshire. At the 1979 UK general election the Scottish Labour Party - a pro-independence breakaway group from the UK Labour Party - polled second place in the constituency at just 1,521 votes behind Labour's George Foulkes.

Although the SNP have traditionally performed poorly in Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley they were able to secure the Scottish Parliamentary constituency in 2011 with a majority of 2,581 votes. In 2016 Labour's support in the constituency slumped, with the Conservatives increasing their vote share by 9.7% to take 24.2% of the vote, narrowly behind Labour's 27.4%, allowing Jeane Freeman of the SNP to increase Adam Ingram's initial majority of 2,581 in 2011 to 6,006 in 2016 despite seeing little change in the SNP's vote share in the constituency, however the SNP have performed very well in recent elections

At the 2017 council elections, the Conservatives formed the largest party across the South Ayrshire section of the constituency through Kyle and Carrick, with the Labour Party remaining the largest party in Cumnock and Doon Valley in East Ayrshire. Conservative Bill Grant went on to gain the overlapping UK Parliament constituency of Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock with a 6% majority at the 2017 UK general election. The SNP regained this seat at the 2019 UK general election.

In 2021, the area returned the third largest swing towards the Conservatives in Scotland, who overtook Labour into second place in the constituency. The SNP's majority in the constituency was reduced from 6,006 to 4,337 votes.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1999	Cathy Jamieson	Labour
	2011	Adam Ingram	SNP
	2016	Jeane Freeman
	2021	Elena Whitham

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Elena Whitham	15,240	42.8	3.6	13,949	39.1	4.1
	Conservative	Sharon Dowey	10,903	30.6	6.4	10,812	30.3	6.5
	Labour	Carol Mochan	8,604	24.2	3.2	7,159	20.0	4.2
	Scottish Green					1,200	3.4	0.3
	All for Unity					674	1.9	New
	Liberal Democrats	Kirsten Herbst-Grey	875	2.5	0.5	646	1.8	0.1
	Alba					424	1.2	New
	Scottish Family					201	0.6	New
	Independent Green Voice					158	0.4	N/A
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					133	0.4	N/A
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					82	0.2	New
	Reform UK					73	0.2	New
	UKIP					70	0.2	2.3
	Scottish Libertarian					63	0.2	New
	Scotia Future					15	0.0	New
	Vanguard Party (UK)					8	0.0	New
Majority			4,337	12.2	6.8
Valid Votes			35,622			35,667
Invalid Votes			112			78
Turnout			35,734	59.6	5.3	35,745	59.7	5.3
	SNP hold		Swing
Notes

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Jeane Freeman	14,690	46.4	0.2	13,734	43.2	1.6
	Labour	Carol Mochan	8,684	27.4	9.8	7,701	24.2	8.6
	Conservative	Lee Lyons	7,666	24.2	9.7	7,561	23.8	10.5
	Scottish Green					982	3.1	1.4
	UKIP					799	2.5	1.8
	Liberal Democrats	Dawud Islam	640	2.0	0.2	549	1.7	0.3
	Solidarity					207	0.7	0.6
	Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent					142	0.4	New
	RISE					112	0.4	New
Majority			6,006	19.0	10.0
Valid Votes			31,680			31,787
Invalid Votes			115			44
Turnout			31,795	54.3	5.8	31,831	54.4	5.8
	SNP hold		Swing
Notes

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Adam Ingram	13,250	46.2	N/A	12,893	44.8	N/A
	Labour	Richard Leonard	10,669	37.2	N/A	9,425	32.8	N/A
	Conservative	Peter Kennerley	4,160	14.5	N/A	3,834	13.3	N/A
	Scottish Green					482	1.7	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					420	1.5	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Chamberlain	624	2.2	N/A	403	1.4	N/A
	Socialist Labour					535	1.9	N/A
	BNP					252	0.9	N/A
	UKIP					215	0.7	N/A
	Scottish Christian					178	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					70	0.2	N/A
	Solidarity					42	0.1	N/A
Majority			2,581	9.0	N/A
Valid Votes			28,703			28,749
Invalid Votes			111			88
Turnout			28,814	48.5	N/A	28,837	48.6	N/A
	SNP win (new boundaries)
Notes

2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cathy Jamieson	14,350	42.5	−5.5
	SNP	Adam Ingram	10,364	30.7	+13.8
	Conservative	Tony Lewis	6,729	19.9	−6.4
	Liberal Democrats	Paul McGreal	1,409	4.2	+0.4
	Independent	Hugh Hill	809	2.4	New
	Equal Parenting Alliance	Ray Barry	124	0.4	New
Majority			3,986	11.8	−9.9
Turnout			33,785	51.8	−1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

2003 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cathy Jamieson	16,484	48.0	+0.1
	Conservative	Phil Gallie	9,030	26.3	+6.5
	SNP	Adam Ingram	5,822	16.9	−9.5
	Scottish Socialist	Murray Steele	1,715	5.0	New
	Liberal Democrats	Caron Howden	1,315	3.8	−2.1
Majority			7,454	21.7	+0.2
Turnout			34,366	52.8	−9.0
	Labour hold		Swing

1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Cathy Jamieson	19,667	47.9	N/A
	SNP	Adam Ingram	10,864	26.4	N/A
	Conservative	John Scott	8,123	19.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	David Hannay	2,441	5.9	N/A
Majority			8,803	21.5	N/A
Turnout			41,095	61.8	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)

External links

• "Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 22 July 2021.