1977 Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council election
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All 10 seats to Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council 6 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 33,600 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 51.7% | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to Cumnock and Doon Valley District Council were held on 3 May 1977, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the second election to the district council following the local government reforms in 1974.
The election used the original 10 wards created by the Formation Electoral Arrangements in 1974. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.[1]
Despite losing two seats, Labour maintained control of the district council, winning six of the 10 seats. The 1977 local elections were the first test for the nationalist Scottish Labour Party (SLP) which had been formed as a breakaway from Labour by South Ayrshire MP Jim Sillars alongside John Robertson and Alex Neil. The SLP achieved its best results in Cumnock and Doon Valley by winning two seats from Labour and taking more than 25% of the popular vote but the party ultimately fared poorly across the country. The Conservatives remained on one seat after losing their seat in Mauchline and gaining Catrine and Sorn. This was the last time the Conservatives would win a seat in the area until the 2017 local elections, 40 years later. The remaining seat was won by an independent candidate.
Results
[edit]| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 6 | 2 | 4 |  2
|
60.0 | 40.1 | 4,613 |  4.6
| |
| SLP | 2 | 2 | 0 | 2
|
20.0 | 24.7 | 2,845 | New | |
| Conservative | 1 | 1 | 1 | 
|
10.0 | 8.3 | 954 | 12.4
| |
| Independent | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1
|
10.0 | 6.4 | 732 | New | |
| SNP | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.00 | 17.3 | 1,984 | New | |
| Independent Labour | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
|
0.00 | 3.2 | 373 | 40.6
| |
| Total | 10 | 11,501 | |||||||
Ward results
[edit]Cumnock Burgh
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | J. King | 912 | 40.3 | |
| SLP | W. Dick | 843 | 37.3 | |
| SNP | J. McHardy | 506 | 22.4 | |
| Majority | 69 | 3.0 | ||
| Turnout | 2,261 | 48.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 4,695 | |||
| Labour hold | ||||
Lugar, Logan and Muirkirk
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | M. Lochhead | 948 | 66.7 | |
| SNP | I. Cole | 473 | 33.3 | |
| Majority | 475 | 33.4 | ||
| Turnout | 1,421 | 42.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,389 | |||
| Labour hold | ||||
Old Cumnock Parish
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLP | W. Pender | 543 | 51.8 | |
| Labour | J. Smith | 506 | 48.2 | |
| Majority | 37 | 3.6 | ||
| Turnout | 1,049 | 44.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 2,399 | |||
| SLP gain from Labour | ||||
Auchinleck
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | J. Allan | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,495 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Catrine and Sorn
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | J. McInnes | 496 | 36.9 | |
| Independent Labour | H. Nisbet | 373 | 27.8 | |
| Labour | G. Smith | 334 | 24.9 | |
| SLP | E. Standring | 140 | 10.4 | |
| Majority | 123 | 9.1 | ||
| Turnout | 1,343 | 58.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 2,305 | |||
| Conservative gain from Labour | ||||
New Cumnock
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | J. Paterson | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,970 | ||||
| Labour hold | |||||
Dalmellington
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Independent | A. Johnstone | 682 | 40.9 | |
| SLP | J. Stewart | 585 | 35.1 | |
| Labour | P. Conway | 350 | 21.0 | |
| Independent | R. Hill | 50 | 3.0 | |
| Majority | 97 | 5.8 | ||
| Turnout | 1,667 | 50.4 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,309 | |||
| Independent gain from Labour | ||||
Patna and Dalrymple
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SLP | T. Hainey | 734 | 39.4 | |
| Labour | M. Rooney | 636 | 34.1 | |
| SNP | G. Guthrie | 495 | 26.5 | |
| Majority | 98 | 5.3 | ||
| Turnout | 1,865 | 59.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 3,178 | |||
| SLP gain from Labour | ||||
Drongan, Ochiltree, Rankinston and Stair
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | J. Hodge | Unopposed | |||
| Registered electors | 3,797 | ||||
| Labour gain from Independent Labour | |||||
Mauchline
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | D. Shankland | 927 | 48.9 | 0.9
| |
| SNP | J. Strawthorn | 510 | 26.9 | New | |
| Conservative | J. Downes | 458 | 24.2 | 27.8
| |
| Majority | 417 | 22.0 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,895 | 61.9 | 12.3
| ||
| Registered electors | 3,063 | ||||
| Labour gain from Conservative | Swing | 14.3
|
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References
[edit]- ^ "Formation Electoral Arrangements". Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1977). The Scottish District Elections 1977: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 30 December 2022.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1975). The Scottish Local Government Elections 1974: Results and Statistics (PDF). Edinburgh: Scottish Academic Press. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
