Local By-elections

'No permission was sought or given to Mr Gallagher during the six month period to allow him to be absent from the Council and, as he has failed to attend any meeting since 3 November 2003, Mr Gallagher has ceased to be a Member of North Ayrshire Council with effect from 4 May 2004, the expiration of the six month period.'
North Ayrshire Chief Executive, Bernard Devine, 11 th May 2004.

Ardrossan North (North Ayrshire) 29 th July 2004

Ardrossan North - ward 24 Conservative gain from Labour

There was a by-election for the Ardrossan North ward of North Ayrshire Council on the 29 th of July 2004 following the failure of Labour Cllr David Gallagher to attend meetings of the council for more than six months.

Ardrossan North is in the new North Ayrshire & Arran Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Katy Clark MP since May 2005) and in the Cunninghame North Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Allan Wilson MSP).

Tory gain from Labour. Swing: 18.9 % from Labour to Conservative.

Tory Cllr Gordon Allison

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	% change
29 th July 2004 By-election Turnout 32.0 % (- 19.7 %)
Gordon Allison	Conservative	340	30.5 %	+ 15.6 %
Anthony Paul Gurney	Scottish National Party	316	28.3 %	- 11.4 %
Bill McBlane	Labour	259	23.2 %	- 22.2 %
Kenneth MacDougall	Independent	99	8.9 %	(+ 8.9 %)
Sean Scott	Scotish Socialist Party	78	7.0 %	(+ 7.0 %)
Paul McKenzie	British National Party	23	2.1 %	(+ 2.1 %)
Conservative gain from Labour	Conservative majority	24	2.2 %

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	% change
1 st May 2003 Turnout 51.7 % (- 6.5 %)
Cllr David Gallacher	Labour	785	45.4 %	- 2.7 %
Anthony Paul Gurney	Scottish National Party	688	39.8 %	+ 3.1 %
John Glendinning	Conservative	257	14.9 %	- 0.3 %
Labour hold	Labour majority	97	5.6 %	- 5.8 %

Candidate	Party	Votes	%	% change
6 th May 1999 Turnout 58.2 % (+ 9.6 %)
Cllr David Gallacher	Labour	946	48.1 %	- 0.2 %
Cambell Martin	Scottish National Party	722	36.7 %	- 0.5 %
John Gardner	Conservative	300	15.2 %	+ 7.0 %
Labour hold	Labour majority	224	11.4 %	+ 0.3 %

Candidate	Party	Votes	%
6 th April 1995 Turnout 48.0 %
David Gallagher	Labour	821	48.3 %
Campbell Martin	Scottish National Party	632	37.2 %
Helen McKinley	Conservative	140	8.2 %
Anne Riddle	Liberal Democrat	108	6.3 %
Labour win	Labour majority	189	11.1 %

Ward 24 (Ardrossan North) Vacancy

From North Lanarkshire Council 11 th May 2004

NORTH AYRSHIRE COUNCIL
Agenda Item 9
11 May 2004

North Ayrshire Council
Subject:

Ward 24 (Ardrossan North) Vacancy

Purpose: To advise the Council that, in terms of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, David Gallagher is no longer a Member of North Ayrshire Council and that a By-Election to fill the vacancy in Ward 24 (Ardrossan North) shall now require to be held.
Recommendation: That the Council note (a) that David Gallagher is no longer a Member of North Ayrshire Council; and (b) that, in my capacity as Returning Officer, I shall arrange to hold a By-Election to fill the casual vacancy in Ward 24 (Ardrossan North).

1. Introduction

David Gallagher was elected to serve as the Member for Ward 24 (Ardrossan North) on 1 May 2003.

2. Current Position

Mr Gallagher was present at the meeting of North Ayrshire Council held on 3 November 2003 but has not attended any meeting since that date.

Section 35(1) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 states that "if a member of a local authority fails throughout a period of six consecutive months to attend any meeting of the authority, he shall, unless the failure was due to some reason approved by the authority, cease to be a member of the authority".

No permission was sought or given to Mr Gallagher during the six month period to allow him to be absent from the Council and, as he has failed to attend any meeting since 3 November 2003, Mr Gallagher has ceased to be a Member of North Ayrshire Council with effect from 4 May 2004, the expiration of the six month period.

3. Proposal

As there is now a casual vacancy in Ward 24, an election requires to be held within three months from when the vacancy occurred, i.e. 4 May 2004. The date of the election shall be fixed by me in my capacity as Returning Officer.

4. Consultation

The Leader of the Council has been advised of the content of this report.

BERNARD DEVINE
Chief Executive

Reference :
For further information please contact Gerry Lawson, Head of Corporate and Democratic Support, on 01294 324121.

Conservatives gain seat in North Ayrshire

From the Tories 29 th July 2004

Ardrossan North, North Ayrshire Unitary, was a Conservative gain from Labour. Congratulations to Gordon Allison for taking the seat from Labour with a swing of 19%.

Local By-elections

Ardrossan North (North Ayrshire) 29 th July 2004

Ardrossan North - ward 24 Conservative gain from Labour

Ward 24 (Ardrossan North) Vacancy

From North Lanarkshire Council 11 th May 2004

Conservatives gain seat in North Ayrshire

From the Tories 29 th July 2004

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