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South Ayrshire — UK General Election Results

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

South Ayrshire was won by Labour at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 1,521 votes over Scottish Labour. This page covers every general election in South Ayrshire from 1868 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1868–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1868 David Wedderburn (Liberal) 1,416 50.4% Claud Alexander (Conservative) 25 (0.9 pts) 83.3%
1874 Claud Alexander (Conservative) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 Claud Alexander (Conservative) 1,830 53.6% North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton (Liberal) 247 (7.2 pts) 88.3%
1885 Eugene Wason (Liberal) 7,357 57.5% Claud Alexander (Conservative) 1,411 (11.0 pts) 88.0%
1886 Greville Richard Vernon (Liberal Unionist) 6,123 50.0% Eugene Wason (Liberal) 5 (0.0 pts) 81.0%
1892 Eugene Wason (Liberal) 6,535 50.8% William Arrol (Liberal Unionist) 197 (1.5 pts) 86.3%
1895 William Arrol (Liberal Unionist) 6,875 52.1% Eugene Wason (Liberal) 550 (4.2 pts) 85.4%
1900 William Arrol (Liberal Unionist) 6,615 53.5% Edward Alexander James Johnson-Ferguson (Liberal) 862 (7.0 pts) 77.6%
1906 William Phipson Beale (Liberal) 7,853 54.3% James Bell (Conservative) 1,242 (8.6 pts) 82.7%
Jan 1910 William Phipson Beale (Liberal) 8,833 56.5% Thomas Walker McIntyre (Conservative) 2,040 (13.1 pts) 85.5%
Dec 1910 William Phipson Beale (Liberal) 8,715 56.0% Thomas Walker McIntyre (Conservative) 1,880 (12.1 pts) 83.0%
1918 James Brown (Labour) 6,358 37.3% John Buchanan Pollok-McCall (Unionist) 863 (5.1 pts) 61.5%
1922 James Brown (Labour) 11,511 55.6% William Reid (National Liberal) 2,331 (11.3 pts) 67.9%
1923 James Brown (Labour) 11,169 55.9% Charles Fergusson (Unionist) 2,362 (11.8 pts) 65.7%
1924 James Brown (Labour) 11,313 50.4% Clarence Ivor Alistair Dubs (Unionist) 177 (0.8 pts) 74.3%
1929 James Brown (Labour) 16,981 58.1% Clarence Ivor Alistair Dubs (Unionist) 4,741 (16.2 pts) 73.9%
1931 James Orr MacAndrew (Unionist) 16,657 54.8% James Brown (Labour) 2,924 (9.6 pts) 79.2%
1935 James Brown (Labour) 18,190 57.6% James Orr MacAndrew (Unionist) 4,794 (15.2 pts) 78.1%
1945 Alexander Sloan (Labour) 21,235 61.3% Robert Mathew (Unionist) 7,853 (22.7 pts) 75.0%
1950 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 22,284 60.2% John Clarke George (Unionist) 7,567 (20.4 pts) 85.4%
1951 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 22,576 60.5% Derek Smith (Unionist) 7,836 (21.0 pts) 82.9%
1955 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 21,778 61.6% Derek MH Smith (Unionist) 8,209 (23.2 pts) 76.8%
1959 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 24,774 63.7% William Hill Hunter (Unionist) 10,669 (27.4 pts) 80.9%
1964 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 24,795 66.7% William Hill Hunter (Unionist) 12,403 (33.3 pts) 77.6%
1966 Emrys Hughes (Labour) 23,495 67.2% Christopher Graves (Conservative) 12,053 (34.5 pts) 75.1%
1970 James Sillars (Labour) 23,910 61.8% Norman Simpson (Conservative) 12,235 (31.6 pts) 76.9%
Oct 1974 James Sillars (Labour) 22,329 56.2% Roger Mullin (SNP) 14,478 (36.5 pts) 77.4%
Feb 1974 James Sillars (Labour) 23,093 57.2% Robert Colquhoun (Conservative) 12,450 (30.9 pts) 79.4%
1979 George Foulkes (Labour) 14,271 35.2% James Sillars (Scottish Labour) 1,521 (3.8 pts) 79.9%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
David Wedderburn Liberal 1,41650.4% Yes
Claud Alexander Conservative 1,39149.6% No

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Claud Alexander Conservative Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Claud Alexander Conservative 1,83053.6% Yes
North de Coigny Dalrymple-Hamilton Liberal 1,58346.4% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Eugene Wason Liberal 7,35757.5% Yes
Claud Alexander Conservative 5,94646.4% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Greville Richard Vernon Liberal Unionist 6,12350.0% Yes
Eugene Wason Liberal 6,11850.0% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Eugene Wason Liberal 6,53550.8% Yes
William Arrol Liberal Unionist 6,33849.2% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Arrol Liberal Unionist 6,87552.1% Yes
Eugene Wason Liberal 6,32547.9% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Arrol Liberal Unionist 6,61553.5% Yes
Edward Alexander James Johnson-Ferguson Liberal 5,75346.5% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Phipson Beale Liberal 7,85354.3% Yes
James Bell Conservative 6,61145.7% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Phipson Beale Liberal 8,83356.5% Yes
Thomas Walker McIntyre Conservative 6,79343.5% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Phipson Beale Liberal 8,71556.0% Yes
Thomas Walker McIntyre Conservative 6,83544.0% No

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 6,35837.3% Yes
John Buchanan Pollok-McCall Unionist 5,49532.3% No
William Robertson Liberal 4,55526.7% No
Hugh Robert Wallace Independent Unionist 6273.7% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 11,51155.6% Yes
William Reid National Liberal 9,18044.4% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 11,16955.9% Yes
Charles Fergusson Unionist 8,80744.1% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 11,31350.4% Yes
Clarence Ivor Alistair Dubs Unionist 11,13649.6% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 16,98158.1% Yes
Clarence Ivor Alistair Dubs Unionist 12,24041.9% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Orr MacAndrew Unionist 16,65754.8% Yes
James Brown Labour 13,73345.2% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Brown Labour 18,19057.6% Yes
James Orr MacAndrew Unionist 13,39642.4% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Sloan Labour 21,23561.3% Yes
Robert Mathew Unionist 13,38238.7% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 22,28460.2% Yes
John Clarke George Unionist 14,71739.8% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 22,57660.5% Yes
Derek Smith Unionist 14,74039.5% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 21,77861.6% Yes
Derek MH Smith Unionist 13,56938.4% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 24,77463.7% Yes
William Hill Hunter Unionist 14,10536.3% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 24,79566.7% Yes
William Hill Hunter Unionist 12,39233.3% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Emrys Hughes Labour 23,49567.2% Yes
Christopher Graves Conservative 11,44232.8% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sillars Labour 23,91061.8% Yes
Norman Simpson Conservative 11,67530.2% No
Samuel Purdie SNP 3,1038.0% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sillars Labour 22,32956.2% Yes
Roger Mullin SNP 7,85119.8% No
Jean Chesney Armstrong Conservative 7,40218.6% No
Richard Macdougal Mabon Liberal 2,1305.4% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Sillars Labour 23,09357.2% Yes
Robert Colquhoun Conservative 10,64326.4% No
Roger Mullin SNP 6,61216.4% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
George Foulkes Labour 14,27135.2% Yes
James Sillars Scottish Labour 12,75031.4% No
Gordon William Young Conservative 10,28725.4% No
Colin Cameron SNP 3,2338.0% No

Margin Over Time

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

1868: Liberal margin 0.9 pts 1880: Conservative margin 7.2 pts 1885: Liberal margin 11.0 pts 1886: Liberal Unionist margin 0.0 pts 1892: Liberal margin 1.5 pts 1895: Liberal Unionist margin 4.2 pts 1900: Liberal Unionist margin 7.0 pts 1906: Liberal margin 8.6 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 13.1 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 12.1 pts 1918: Labour margin 5.1 pts 1922: Labour margin 11.3 pts 1923: Labour margin 11.8 pts 1924: Labour margin 0.8 pts 1929: Labour margin 16.2 pts 1931: Unionist margin 9.6 pts 1935: Labour margin 15.2 pts 1945: Labour margin 22.7 pts 1950: Labour margin 20.4 pts 1951: Labour margin 21.0 pts 1955: Labour margin 23.2 pts 1959: Labour margin 27.4 pts 1964: Labour margin 33.3 pts 1966: Labour margin 34.5 pts 1970: Labour margin 31.6 pts Oct 1974: Labour margin 36.5 pts Feb 1974: Labour margin 30.9 pts 1979: Labour margin 3.8 pts 1868 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Oct 1974 Feb 1974 1979

Trend

South Ayrshire has been contested at 29 general elections on record since 1868. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Conservative, Liberal Unionist, Labour, Unionist.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won South Ayrshire in the 1979 general election?

Labour won South Ayrshire in 1979 with 14,271 votes (35.2%), a majority of 1,521 votes over Scottish Labour in second place.

Which parties have won South Ayrshire since 1868?

Since 1868, South Ayrshire has been won by: Conservative, Labour, Liberal, Liberal Unionist, Unionist.

What was the closest result in South Ayrshire?

The closest result on record for South Ayrshire was 1886, when Liberal Unionist beat Liberal by just 5 votes (0.0 percentage points).

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