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Kilmarnock — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Kilmarnock was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 11,467 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Kilmarnock from 1918 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1918–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 Alexander Shaw (Liberal) 13,568 67.1% Peter Malcolm (Co-operative) 6,916 (34.2 pts) 62.6%
1922 Alexander Shaw (Liberal) 12,991 54.7% Robert Climie (Labour) 2,239 (9.4 pts) 71.5%
1923 Robert Climie (Labour) 10,992 43.1% Donald Maclean (Liberal) 2,807 (11.0 pts) 75.7%
1924 Charles Glen MacAndrew (Unionist) 14,237 52.2% Robert Climie (Labour) 1,183 (4.3 pts) 79.5%
1929 Robert Climie (Labour) 17,368 48.2% Charles Glen MacAndrew (Unionist) 6,429 (17.8 pts) 77.8%
1931 Craigie Mason Aitchison (National Labour) 21,803 59.6% John Pollock (Independent Labour) 7,036 (19.2 pts) 79.5%
1935 Kenneth Martin Lindsay (National Labour) 19,115 50.8% James Crawford (Labour) 6,557 (17.4 pts) 78.8%
1945 Clarice Marion Shaw (Labour) 23,837 59.4% George Walker (Unionist) 7,537 (18.8 pts) 76.1%
1950 William Ross (Labour) 22,412 56.6% Archibald Douglas MacInnes Shaw (Unionist) 8,233 (20.8 pts) 86.2%
1951 William Ross (Labour) 24,664 60.7% Norman Macleod Glen (Unionist) 8,709 (21.4 pts) 86.7%
1955 William Ross (Labour) 23,324 60.9% John Sutherland (Unionist) 8,341 (21.8 pts) 81.1%
1959 William Ross (Labour) 25,379 62.7% R Ian McNaught (Unionist) 10,292 (25.4 pts) 82.4%
1964 William Ross (Labour) 25,173 62.3% Graham H Webster (Unionist) 14,377 (35.6 pts) 82.8%
1966 William Ross (Labour) 26,036 68.5% Albert McQuarrie (Conservative) 14,087 (37.1 pts) 79.0%
1970 William Ross (Labour) 24,477 59.3% George Law (Conservative) 13,001 (31.5 pts) 79.2%
Feb 1974 William Ross (Labour) 23,544 47.2% Kenneth Ross (Conservative) 9,727 (19.5 pts) 83.2%
Oct 1974 William Ross (Labour) 22,184 45.7% Alistair MacInnes (SNP) 7,529 (15.5 pts) 80.4%
1979 William McKelvey (Labour) 25,718 52.6% John Corbett (Conservative) 11,467 (23.4 pts) 81.1%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Shaw Liberal 13,56867.1% Yes
Peter Malcolm Co-operative 6,65232.9% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Shaw Liberal 12,99154.7% Yes
Robert Climie Labour 10,75245.3% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Climie Labour 10,99243.1% Yes
Donald Maclean Liberal 8,18532.1% No
Alexander Morrice Mackay Unionist 6,29824.7% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Charles Glen MacAndrew Unionist 14,23752.2% Yes
Robert Climie Labour 13,05447.8% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Climie Labour 17,36848.2% Yes
Charles Glen MacAndrew Unionist 10,93930.4% No
James Rankin Rutherford Liberal 7,70021.4% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Craigie Mason Aitchison National Labour 21,80359.6% Yes
John Pollock Independent Labour 14,76740.4% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Kenneth Martin Lindsay National Labour 19,11550.8% Yes
James Crawford Labour 12,55833.4% No
John Pollock Independent Labour 3,5829.5% No
Thomas White Campbell SNP 2,3466.2% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Clarice Marion Shaw Labour 23,83759.4% Yes
George Walker Unionist 16,30040.6% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 22,41256.6% Yes
Archibald Douglas MacInnes Shaw Unionist 14,17935.8% No
John Gibson Thomson Liberal 2,1575.4% No
Isabel Brown Communist 8602.2% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 24,66460.7% Yes
Norman Macleod Glen Unionist 15,95539.3% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 23,32460.9% Yes
John Sutherland Unionist 14,98339.1% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 25,37962.7% Yes
R Ian McNaught Unionist 15,08737.3% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 25,17362.3% Yes
Graham H Webster Unionist 10,79626.7% No
Ian M Will Liberal 4,44311.0% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 26,03668.5% Yes
Albert McQuarrie Conservative 11,94931.5% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 24,47759.3% Yes
George Law Conservative 11,47627.8% No
Alistair MacInnes SNP 2,8366.9% No
Archibald James Wight Liberal 2,4596.0% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 23,54447.2% Yes
Kenneth Ross Conservative 13,81727.7% No
Alistair MacInnes SNP 7,64415.3% No
Archibald Wight Liberal 4,8789.8% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Ross Labour 22,18445.7% Yes
Alistair MacInnes SNP 14,65530.2% No
William Adams Conservative 9,20319.0% No
Kevin Purcell Liberal 2,5085.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William McKelvey Labour 25,71852.6% Yes
John Corbett Conservative 14,25129.1% No
Alistair MacInnes SNP 8,96318.3% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1918: Liberal margin 34.2 pts 1922: Liberal margin 9.4 pts 1923: Labour margin 11.0 pts 1924: Unionist margin 4.3 pts 1929: Labour margin 17.8 pts 1931: National Labour margin 19.2 pts 1935: National Labour margin 17.4 pts 1945: Labour margin 18.8 pts 1950: Labour margin 20.8 pts 1951: Labour margin 21.4 pts 1955: Labour margin 21.8 pts 1959: Labour margin 25.4 pts 1964: Labour margin 35.6 pts 1966: Labour margin 37.1 pts 1970: Labour margin 31.5 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 19.5 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 15.5 pts 1979: Labour margin 23.4 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

Kilmarnock has been contested at 18 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Labour, Unionist, National Labour.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Kilmarnock in the 1979 general election?

Labour won Kilmarnock in 1979 with 25,718 votes (52.6%), a majority of 11,467 votes over Conservative in second place.

Which parties have won Kilmarnock since 1918?

Since 1918, Kilmarnock has been won by: Labour, Liberal, National Labour, Unionist.

What was the closest result in Kilmarnock?

The closest result on record for Kilmarnock was 1924, when Unionist beat Labour by just 1,183 votes (4.3 percentage points).

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