1992 Cunninghame District Council election
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All 30 seats to Cunninghame District Council 16 seats needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Registered | 103,784 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Turnout | 39.6%[note 1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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 The result of the election | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Elections to Cunninghame District Council were held on 7 May 1992, on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. This was the sixth election to the district council following the local government reforms in 1974.
The election used the 30 wards created by the Initial Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements in 1979. Each ward elected one councillor using first-past-the-post voting.
Despite losing four seats, Labour retained control of the council by taking more than 40% of the popular vote and 20 of the 30 seats. The Conservatives remained the second-largest party after taking six seats while the Scottish National Party won their first representation on the council since 1980 after taking three seats.
This was the final election to the district council which was abolished in 1995 following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994.
Background
[edit]Following the implementation of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, a two-tier system of local government comprising nine regions, 53 districts and three island areas was introduced the following year. The 1984 elections would be the fourth district elections since their establishment.[1][2]
At the previous election in 1988, Labour retained control of the council. Despite a decrease in vote share, the party took over half the popular vote, winning 24 of the 30 seats – an increase of one from 1984. The Conservatives remained the second-largest party after taking four seats – down by one – while one Moderate and one independent candidate were elected.[3][4]
Results
[edit]| Party | Seats | Gains | Losses | Net gain/loss | Seats % | Votes % | Votes | +/− | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 20 | 0 | 4 |  4
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66.7 | 43.9 | 16,083 | 8.4
| |
| Conservative | 6 | 2 | 0 |  2
|
20.0 | 24.1 | 8,817 | 4.1
| |
| SNP | 3 | 3 | 0 | 3
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10.0 | 24.3 | 8,911 | 6.1
| |
| Moderates | 1 | 0 | 0 | 
|
3.3 | 3.0 | 1,108 | 0.7
| |
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1
|
0.0 | 2.1 | 768 | 0.8
| |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 1.7 | 616 | 0.9
| |
| People Pension Power | 0 | 0 | 0 |
|
0.0 | 0.9 | 341 | New | |
| Independent Labour | 0 | 0 | 0 |
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0.0 | 0.1 | 50 | 1.2
| |
| Total | 30 | 36,694 | |||||||
Ward results
[edit]Irvine West
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | D. O'Neill | 495 | 48.2 | 11.3
| |
| SNP | L. Brown | 348 | 33.9 | 7.1
| |
| Independent | E. Holmes | 177 | 17.2 | New | |
| Majority | 147 | 14.3 | 18.4
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| Turnout | 1,020 | 35.8 | 11.7
| ||
| Registered electors | 2,872 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | 9.2
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Arran
[edit]| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | T. Knox | 799 | 43.5 | New | |
| Labour | J. Sillars | 731 | 39.8 | 7.4
| |
| SNP | M. Lunan | 304 | 16.6 | New | |
| Majority | 68 | 3.7 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 1,834 | 51.2 | 0.3
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| Registered electors | 3,586 | ||||
| Conservative gain from Independent | Swing | 43.5
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Aftermath
[edit]Despite losing four seats, Labour retained control of the council by winning two-thirds of the seats. The Conservatives remained the second-largest party after taking six seats – an increase of two. After failing to win a seat for two consecutive elections, the Scottish National Party (SNP) won their first representation on the council since 1980.[2][3][4][5]
Two years after the election, local government reforms were brought in through the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The two-tier system of districts, regions and island areas would be replaced by a system of 32 unitary authorities with the first elections taking place in 1995. As a result, this was the final election to the district council which was abolished in 1995 and replaced by North Ayrshire Council following the implementation of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The regional council, Strathclyde was also abolished and the new unitary authority took on its responsibilities.[6]
Notes
[edit]- ^ Excludes uncontested wards.
References
[edit]- ^ "Information Paper Local government in Scotland: before 1975" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 2 April 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1992). The Scottish Council Elections 1992: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. ISBN 1-869820-04-5. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b c d e Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1989). The Scottish District Elections 1988: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. ISBN 1-869820-02-9. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ a b Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1984). The Scottish District Elections 1984: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ Botchel, J. M.; Denver, D. T. (1980). The Scottish District Elections 1980: Results and Statistics (PDF). Dundee: Election Studies, University of Dundee. Retrieved 9 March 2025.
- ^ McConnell, Alan (2004). Scottish Local Government. Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-2005-0.
