Stevenston | |
Year: | 2017 |
Council: | North Ayrshire |
Region: | Scotland |
Map1: | Stevenston.svg |
Map Entity: | North Ayrshire |
Map Year: | 2017–2022 |
Abolished: | 2022 |
Previous: | Saltcoats and Stevenston |
Next: | Saltcoats and Stevenston |
Electorate: | 9,565 (2017) |
Elects Howmany: | 3 |
Towns: | Stevenston |
Scot Parl: | Cunninghame South |
Scot Region: | West Scotland |
Westminster: | North Ayrshire and Arran |
Stevenston was one of the 10 electoral wards of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2017 following the Fifth 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 a Labour stronghold after the only election in 2017 returned two Labour and one Scottish National Party (SNP) councillors.
The ward was created following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections. This was the first review after the introduction of the single transferable vote electoral system in 2007. Stevenston was one of three new wards created in North Ayrshire as the total number of councillors was increased to more evenly balance electoral parity in the region. The ward centered around the town of Stevenston in the southwest of the council area. It was formed from the eastern half of the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward which was abolished as part of the review.[1]
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 the abolition of the Stevenston ward with the area it represented placed into a re-established five-member Saltcoats and Stevenston ward. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.[2] [3]
See main article: 2017 North Ayrshire Council election.