Contents
Overview
Past Results
Individual Ward Results:
Troon (Ward 1)
Prestwick (Ward 2)
Ayr North (Ward 3)
Ayr East (Ward 4)
Ayr West (Ward 5)
Kyle (Ward 6)
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton (Ward 7)
Girvan and South Carrick (Ward 8)
Data Notes
Changes in Affiliation
By-Elections:
Girvan and South Carrick (Ward 8) - 21st of September 2023
Ayr North (Ward 3) - 16th of October 2025
Council-Wide Results
A bit of a surprise from South Ayrshire this year, as the SNP took a narrow lead in votes. This is the first time the Conservatives, who experienced a chunky negative swing, haven’t been the most popular party since STV was introduced. That didn’t lead to any more SNP seats however, as they remained on 9. The Conservatives therefore still ended up the largest party on the council, though with a net loss of two seats leaving them with 10.
Similar to the SNP, although Labour made small gains in votes, they didn’t get any more councillors across the line, still on the same 5 as previously. The Conservative losses thus went directly to Independents, with two more elected this time, for a bloc of 4. One of those, Hugh Hunter in Prestwick, had served as a Conservative councillor for 22 years but wasn’t reselected by his party. He then went on to win almost as many votes as the Conservatives did! As with all Ayrshire councils, only very minor presence from the smaller parties. Notably this is one of only two council areas the Greens didn’t stand any candidates at all.
Administration
After the election, and contrary to initial reports, a Conservative minority administration was formed. The administration also received the support of two Independents, Hugh Hunter and Bob Shields, though it does not appear they will form part of it.
Interactive Map
As with its northern counterpart, this one is a simple renaming of what was an existing 70’s reform District, in this case Kyle and Carrick. In addition to Ayr itself, and the beach almost every wean in the west of Scotland is familiar with, the council includes the neighbouring towns of Prestwick and Troon to the north. The Carrick portion is much larger and much more rural, with the main population centres at Girvan and Maybole. Ayr and its attendant towns have historically been notably more affluent than the rest of the county, though by no means universally so.
The relative affluence of the urban core of this area was reflected in the consistent election of Conservative MPs to Westminster for various iterations of the Ayr constituency until Labour finally won it in 1997. However, the Holyrood equivalent would become the first constituency the Conservatives ever won for that parliament, gaining it at the first ever by-election in 2000. The SNP gained the Carrick-inclusive Holyrood constituency in 2011 and the Westminster seats in 2015. They lost the one covering the bulk of the area to the Conservatives in 2017 then regained it in 2019, and in 2021 picked up Ayr itself in the Scottish Parliament.
Turning to the old District council, it had solid Conservative majorities for the first two elections, then they traded off with Labour each election for the following four. Labour then won the first two for the rebranded South Ayrshire, and the final FPTP vote saw a straight tie between the two. This area was such a Labour-Conservative battleground that, in the absence of PR, only two of the nine elections elected any councillors from outwith those two parties.
Individual Ward Results
Councillors and Key Stats
4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Craig MacKay
đź”´Labour: Philip Saxton
🔵Conservative: Bob Pollock
🔵Conservative: Kenneth Bell
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 54.6%
Electorate: 13025
Valid: 6979 (98.2%)
Spoiled: 128 (1.8%)
Quota: 1396
Candidates
🔵Conservative: Kenneth Bell
đźź Lib Dem: Judith Godden
🔵Conservative: Rose Hall
⚪Independent: Linda Lunan
🟡SNP: Craig MacKay
🟡SNP: Annie McIndoe
🔵Conservative: Bob Pollock
đź”´Labour: Philip Saxton
Troon: First Preferences
Troon: Transfers
Troon: Results by Polling District
Troon: Second Preferences
Troon: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Ian Cochrane
⚪Independent: Hugh Hunter
🔵Conservative: Martin Kilbride
đź”´Labour: Cameron Ramsay
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 Conservative (Hugh Hunter elected as Conservative in 2017)
Turnout: 54.0%
Electorate: 12507
Valid: 6642 (98.4%)
Spoiled: 107 (1.6%)
Quota: 1329
Candidates
âš«Alba: John Caddis
🟡SNP: Ian Cochrane
⚪Independent: Hugh Hunter
🔵Conservative: Martin Kilbride
🔵Conservative: Owen North
đź”´Labour: Cameron Ramsay
🟡SNP: Norrie Smith
🔵Conservative: Derek Stillie
Prestwick: First Preferences
Prestwick: Transfers
Prestwick: Results by Polling District
Prestwick: Second Preferences
Prestwick: Two-Candidate Preferred
Prestwick: Two-Party Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
4 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Laura Brennan-Whitefield
đź”´Labour: Ian Cavana
🟡SNP: Mark Dixon
🔵Conservative: Ian Davis
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 39.2%
Electorate: 12973
Valid: 4921 (96.7%)
Spoiled: 166 (3.3%)
Quota: 985
Candidates
🟡SNP: Laura Brennan-Whitefield
đź”´Labour: Ian Cavana
🔵Conservative: Ian Davis
🟡SNP: Mark Dixon
đźź Lib Dem: Mason Graham
🔵Conservative: David Paterson
⚪Independent: Andrew Russell
âš«Alba: Denise Sommerville
Ayr North: First Preferences
Ayr North: Transfers
Ayr North: Results by Polling District
Ayr North: Second Preferences
Ayr North: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Chris Cullen
🔵Conservative: Mary Kilpatrick
đź”´Labour: Brian McGinley
Change vs 2017: No change
Electorate: 10276
Turnout: 49.0%
Valid: 4936 (98.1%)
Spoiled: 95 (1.9%)
Quota: 1235
Candidates
⚪Independent: Chic Brodie
⚪Independent: Andrew Bryden
🟡SNP: Chris Cullen
🟡SNP: Ian Douglas
đźź Lib Dem: Deirdre Kennedy
🔵Conservative: Mary Kilpatrick
🔵Conservative: Alan Lamont
đź”´Labour: Brian McGinley
⚪Independent: David Ramsay
Ayr East: First Preferences
Ayr East: Transfers
Ayr East: Results by Polling District
Ayr East: Second Preferences
Ayr East: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
4 Councillors, in order elected:
🔵Conservative: Martin Dowey
⚪Independent: Bob Shields
🟡SNP: George Weir
🔵Conservative: Lee Lyons
Change vs 2017: +1 Independent, -1 Conservative
Turnout: 58.5%
Electorate: 14541
Valid: 8369 (98.4%)
Spoiled: 133 (1.6%)
Quota: 1674
Candidates
🟣Family: Gordon Bryce
🔵Conservative: Martin Dowey
đź”´Labour: John Duncan
🔵Conservative: Lee Lyons
🔵Conservative: Derek McCabe
đźź Lib Dem: Jamie Ross
⚪Independent: Bob Shields
🟡SNP: George Weir
🟡SNP: Margaret Weir
Ayr West: First Preferences
Ayr West: Transfers
Ayr West: Results by Polling District
Ayr West: Second Preferences
Ayr West: Two-Candidate Preferred
Ayr West: Two-Party Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: Julie Dettbarn
đź”´Labour: Duncan Townson
🔵Conservative: Stephen Ferry
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 45.9%
Electorate: 10625
Valid: 4820 (98.8%)
Spoiled: 57 (1.2%)
Quota: 1206
Candidates
đźź Lib Dem: John Aitken
âš«Alba: Geoff Bush
🟡SNP: Julie Dettbarn
🔵Conservative: Stephen Ferry
🔵Conservative: Arthur Spurling
đź”´Labour: Duncan Townson
Kyle: First Preferences
Kyle: Transfers
Kyle: Results by Polling District
Kyle: Second Preferences
Kyle: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
3 Councillors, in order elected:
🟡SNP: William Grant
🔵Conservative: Iain Campbell
⚪Independent: Brian Connolly
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 46.8%
Electorate: 9316
Valid: 4282 (98.3%)
Spoiled: 74 (1.7%)
Quota: 1071
Candidates
🔵Conservative: Iain Campbell
⚪Independent: Brian Connolly
🟡SNP: William Grant
🔵Conservative: Laura McEwan
đźź Lib Dem: Stephen Ralph
đź”´Labour: Nicola Saxton
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton: First Preferences
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton: Transfers
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton: Results by Polling District
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton: Second Preferences
Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
3 Councillors, in order elected:
⚪Independent: Alec Clark
🟡SNP: Peter Henderson
🔵Conservative: Gavin Scott
Change vs 2017: No change
Turnout: 46.7%
Electorate: 8849
Valid: 4056 (98.2%)
Spoiled: 75 (1.8%)
Quota: 1015
Candidates
⚪Independent: Alec Clark
đź”´Labour: Aaron Gilpin
🟡SNP: Peter Henderson
🔵Conservative: Linda Kane
⚪Independent: Todor Radic
🔵Conservative: Gavin Scott
âš«Alba: Eileen Spence
Girvan and South Carrick: First Preferences
Girvan and South Carrick: Transfers
Girvan and South Carrick: Results by Polling District
Girvan and South Carrick: Second Preferences
Girvan and South Carrick: Two-Candidate Preferred
Girvan and South Carrick: Two-Party Preferred
If you’re unsure about what any of this data means, a quick explanation is given in this piece.
Chris Cullen (Ayr East), from 
SNP to 
Alba; defected in October 2023.
Mark Dixon (Ayr North), from SNP to ⚪Independent; left the SNP without announcement at some point in late 2023 or early 2024. According to his Facebook he joined the 🟢Greens, however that party do not allow defecting representatives to formally sit under the party’s banner.
Stephen Ferry (Kyle), from 🔵Conservative to ⚪Independent; left the Conservatives without announcement around July 2024.
William Grant (Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton), from SNP to ⚪Independent; left the SNP despite being the group leader in July 2024 to take up the education role in the Conservative administration that had been vacated by Stephen Ferry.
The Conservative group on the council were consumed by infighting following a leaked recording of Council Leader Martin Dowey in which he was critical of council officials and seemed to brag about his ability to secure work for friends. In the aftermath, four councillors went from 🔵Conservative to ⚪Independent in May 2025:
- Bob Pollock (Troon), subsequent to a vote to remove him as Deputy Leader.
- Iain Campbell (Maybole, North Carrick and Coylton), who resigned immediately as Provost after another Conservative councillor was hot-mic’d making derogatory remarks about someone; quit the party shortly afterwards.
- Gavin Scott (Girvan); resigned from the party as a consequence of the infighting. Was reported to have joined
Reform UK in October 2025, however, no such change to affiliation has been recorded by the council website. - Mary Kilpatrick (Ayr East); similarly resigned from the party in disgust, though remained as Depute Provost for the interim.
- Subsequent to this in October 2025, but as part of the ongoing stramash, Ian Davis (Kyle) quit the party following Dowey’s return to it.
By-Elections
Councillors and Key Stats
1 Councillor Elected:
Conservative: Alan Lamont
Change vs 2022 (notional): Conservative gain from SNP
Change vs vacating: Conservative gain from SNP
Turnout: 32.4% (-14.3)
Electorate: 8,653
Valid: 2770 (98.1%)
Spoiled: 32 (1.1%)
Quota: 1386
2 Continuing Councillors:
⚪Independent: Alec Clark
🔵Conservative: Gavin Scott
Candidates
Conservative: Alan LamontSNP: Joseph McLaughlin
Lib Dem: Jamie Ross
Labour: Nicola SaxtonAlba: Denise Sommerville
Girvan and South Carrick By-Election: Context
SNP councillor Peter Henderson announced his retirement for health reasons in June 2023, triggering a by-election for September. Note that as this by-election was counted by hand, no detailed data is available.
Read the BBS pre-election preview here.
Read the BBS results analysis here.
Girvan and South Carrick By-Election: First Preferences
Girvan and South Carrick By-Election: Transfers
Girvan and South Carrick By-Election: Two-Candidate Preferred
Councillors and Key Stats
1 Councillor Elected:
Independent: Wullie Hogg
Change vs 2022 (notional): Independent Gain from SNP
Change vs vacating: Different Independent
Turnout: 27.8% (-12.2)
Electorate: 12653
Valid: 3385 (98.9%)
Spoiled: 37 (1.1%)
Quota: 1693
3 Continuing Councillors:
SNP: Laura Brennan-Whitefield
Labour: Ian Cavana
Conservative: Ian Davis
Candidates
Independent: Orhan BulikjSNP: Ian DouglasLabour: John Duncan
Lib Dem: Mason GrahamIndependent: Wullie HoggConservative: David PatersonIndependent: David PetrieReform UK: Andrew Russell
Ayr North By-Election: Context
Independent councillor Mark Dixon sadly died in July 2025. He had first been elected for the SNP in 2022, though he subsequently quit and joined the Greens (according to his Facebook page); as the Greens do not allow formal designation as such unless elected for the party, he remained an Independent.
Read the BBS pre-election preview here.
Read the BBS results analysis here.