Larkhall (South Lanarkshire ward)
| Larkhall | |
|---|---|
| South Lanarkshire | |
 Boundary of Larkhall in South Lanarkshire from 2007–2017. | |
| Population | 18,524 (2020)[1] |
| Electorate | 15,010 (2022) |
| Major settlements | Larkhall |
| Scottish Parliament constituency | Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse |
| Scottish Parliament region | Central Scotland |
| UK Parliament constituency | Lanark and Hamilton East |
| Current ward | |
| Created | 2007 |
| Number of councillors | 4 |
| Councillor | Andy Carmichael (Labour) |
| Councillor | Richard Nelson (Conservative) |
| Councillor | Ross Clark (SNP) |
| Councillor | Lesley McDonald (Labour) |
| Created from | Cadzow Dalserf Hamilton Centre/Ferniegair Larkhall East Larkhall South Larkhall West Stonehouse |
Larkhall is one of the 20 electoral wards of South Lanarkshire Council. Created in 2007, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 18,524 people.
The ward is a Labour stronghold with the party winning half the seats at every election since the ward's creation. Between 2014 and 2017, the party held three of the four seats following a defection.
Boundaries[edit]
The ward was created following the Fourth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2007 Scottish local elections. As a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, local elections in Scotland would use the single transferable vote electoral system from 2007 onwards so Larkhall was formed from an amalgamation of several previous first-past-the-post wards. It contained all of the former Dalserf, Larkhall East and Larkhall West wards as well as part of the former Cadzow ward and a small part of the former Hamilton Centre/Ferniegair and Stonehouse wards. As the name suggests, Larkhall centres on the town of Larkhall and the surrounding rural area including the villages of Ashgill, Netherburn and Quarter. The ward's eastern boundary is formed by the River Clyde which coincides with the council's border with North Lanarkshire Council.[2] Following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections, the ward's boundaries were unchanged.[3]
Councillors[edit]
| Year | Councillors | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Jackie Burns (Labour/Independent) |
Andy Carmichael (Labour) |
Peter Craig (SNP) |
Lesley McDonald (SNP/Labour) | ||||
| 2012 | ||||||||
| 2014 | ||||||||
| 2017 | Richard Nelson (Conservative) | |||||||
| 2022 | Lesley McDonald (Labour) |
Ross Clark (SNP) | ||||||
Election results[edit]
2022 election[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 25.5 | 1,580 | |||||||||
| Conservative | Richard Nelson (incumbent) | 24.5 | 1,518 | |||||||||
| SNP | Ross Clark | 22.4 | 1,389 | |||||||||
| Independent | Jackie Burns (incumbent) | 10.3 | 639 | 679 | 725 | 732 | 742 | 753 | 796 | 886 | ||
| Labour | Lesley McDonald | 7.5 | 463 | 678 | 745 | 752 | 759 | 769 | 831 | 975 | 1,379 | |
| SNP | George Sutherland | 6.4 | 399 | 408 | 410 | 532 | 532 | 533 | 549 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | Jake Stevenson | 2.4 | 148 | 157 | 199 | 202 | 211 | 223 | ||||
| Libertarian | David Laird | 0.6 | 36 | 41 | 44 | 45 | ||||||
| UKIP | Donald Murdo Mackay | 0.3 | 21 | 25 | 56 | 56 | 63 | |||||
| Electorate: 15,010 Valid: 6,193 Spoilt: 140 Quota: 1,239 Turnout: 42.2% | ||||||||||||
2017 election[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | ||||
| Conservative | Richard Nelson | 26.34 | 1,645 | |||||||||
| Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 17.71 | 1,106 | 1,150 | 1,161 | 1,179 | 1,202 | 1,483 | ||||
| SNP | Peter Craig (incumbent) | 16.83 | 1,051 | 1,056 | 1,060 | 1,067 | 1,120 | 1,153 | 1,175 | 1,176 | 1,880 | |
| Labour | Jackie Burns (incumbent)[note 1] | 15.8 | 987 | 1,027 | 1,040 | 1,054 | 1,083 | 1,175 | 1,255 | |||
| SNP | Donald MacLeod | 11.27 | 704 | 709 | 714 | 720 | 761 | 790 | 801 | 802 | ||
| Labour | Lesley McDonald (incumbent) | 6.56 | 410 | 447 | 457 | 488 | 512 | |||||
| Scottish Green | Bobby Bulloch | 2.58 | 161 | 177 | 192 | 232 | ||||||
| Liberal Democrats | Lindsay Watt | 1.63 | 102 | 160 | 180 | |||||||
| UKIP | Donald Murdo MacKay | 1.28 | 80 | 143 | ||||||||
| Electorate: 14,478 Valid: 6,246 Spoilt: 168 Quota: 1,250 Turnout: 44.3% | ||||||||||||
2012 election[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | ||||
| Labour | Jackie Burns (incumbent) | 37.4 | 1,965 | |||
| SNP | Peter Craig (incumbent) | 21.4 | 1,124 | |||
| SNP | Lesley McDonald (incumbent)[note 2] | 18.2 | 958 | 1,010 | 1,102 | |
| Labour | Andy Carmichael (incumbent) | 14.3 | 752 | 1,507 | ||
| Conservative | David Murray | 6.11 | 321 | 334 | 363 | |
| UKIP | Donald Murdo MacKay | 2.5 | 131 | 141 | 177 | |
| Electorate: 14,510 Valid: 5,251 Spoilt: 106 Quota: 1,051 Turnout: 36.2% | ||||||
Source:[10]
2007 election[edit]
| Party | Candidate | FPv% | Count | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | ||||
| Labour | Jackie Burns[note 3] | 38.0 | 2,699 | |||||||
| SNP | Peter Craig | 17.8 | 1,264 | 1,335 | 1,387 | 1,437 | ||||
| SNP | Lesley McDonald | 12.5 | 890 | 931 | 981 | 1,059 | 1,071 | 1,212 | ??? | |
| Conservative | Gregor Cameron | 7.9 | 563 | 591 | 640 | 795 | 796 | |||
| Labour | Robin Cunningham | 7.1 | 502 | 727 | 757 | 828 | 829 | 888 | ||
| Scottish Unionist | Mary Duckett | 6.6 | 466 | 507 | 545 | |||||
| Labour | Andy Carmichael | 5.2 | 366 | 1,025 | 1,066 | 1,109 | 1,110 | 1,189 | ??? | |
| Liberal Democrats | Callan Dick | 4.9 | 349 | 376 | ||||||
| Electorate: 14,934 Valid: 7,099 Quota: 1,420 Turnout: 48.7% | ||||||||||
Notes[edit]
- ^ Larkhall Labour councillor Jackie Burns was expelled from the party and became an independent following a conviction for breach of the peace in May 2017.[6]
- ^ Larkhall councillor Lesley McDonald defected from the SNP and joined Labour on 2 May 2014.[9]
- ^ Returning councillor for Larkhall South single-member ward.
References[edit]
- ^ "Larkhall". Scottish Government. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Fourth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; South Lanarkshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2006. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Fifth Statutory Review of Electoral Arrangements; South Lanarkshire Council Area" (PDF). Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland. May 2016. Retrieved 17 March 2023.
- ^ "Ward 20 Larkhall Declaration of Results Elections". South Lanarkshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ "Ward 20 Larkhall Candidate Votes Per Stage Elections". South Lanarkshire Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 7 May 2022.
- ^ Findlay, Nicola (25 May 2017). "Long-standing councillors quit SNP ahead of first meeting of new council". Daily Record.
- ^ "Ward 20 Larkhall Declaration of Results Elections". South Lanarkshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ "Ward 20 Larkhall Candidate Votes Per Stage Elections". South Lanarkshire Council. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 28 January 2023.
- ^ Fanning, Gary (5 May 2014). "Larkhall SNP councillor Lesley McDonald defects to join Labour group on South Lanarkshire Council". Daily Record.
- ^ "Local Government election results 2012". South Lanarkshire Council. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
- ^ Teale, Andrew. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2007 - South Lanarkshire". Retrieved 19 February 2023.
- ^ Bochel, H. M.; Denver, D. T. (2007). Scottish Council Elections 2007 Results and Statistics (PDF). Lincoln: Policy Studies Research Centre, University of Lincoln. ISBN 978-1-874474-36-4. Retrieved 19 February 2023.