 | 'London Labour are damaging communities and destroying jobs with their road fuel escalator - increasing duty by 6 per cent over and above inflation. Since New Labour came to power, road fuel hikes in Scotland are the equivalent of a 2.5 pence rise in income tax. But New Labour are only picking up where the Tories left off - because it was the Tories who introduced the road fuel escalator in the first place.' SNP Chief Executive Michael Russell, April 18 th 1999. |  |
 |
Michael Russell MSP |  |
Irene Oldfather MSP |
 | Andrew Brocklehurst |  |
Iain Dale |
 | Rosemary Byrne |
The seat of Cunninghame South was created in 1983 with 83% of its voters coming from Central Ayrshire and 17% from Bute & North Ayrshire. The boundaries of Cunninghame South were unchanged in the review for the 1997 Westminster election.
Labour won Central Ayrshire from the Conservatives in 1959 and have held it ever since. It was represented from 1970 to 1983 by David Lambie who held the seat with majorities of around 10,000.
The trimming of the seat and trading of one strong socialist area for another assured Mr Lambie's place as Cunninghame South's MP from 1983 until 1992 when he retired.
In 1983 the Conservative candidate was Mr Phil Gallie, who was MP for Ayr between 1992 and 1997 and who came within 25 votes of winning Ayr in the Scottish Parliamentary election. He is currently a South of Scotland list MSP. The SNP's candidate in 1983 and 1987 was Mrs Kay Ullrich, who contested the 1994 Monklands West by-election and came within 1,640 votes of overturning one of the largest Labour majorities in Scotland. Mrs Ullrich stood in neighbouring Cunninghame North for the Scottish parliament and was elected as a West of Scotland list MSP.
In Cunninghame South, Mr Lambie's majority rose from 11,768 in 1983 to over 16,663 in 1987, with the Conservatives in second place in both elections.
In 1992, Mr Lambie retired and was succeeded by Brian Donahoe. While Brian Donahoe's vote fell by 8.7 %, Ricky Bell increased the SNP vote here by a massive 12.8 % and rocketed from fourth to second place taking the SNP to within 10,680 votes of Labour. Labour's lead over the SNP had been reduced by 49.8 % in 1987 to 28.7 % in 1992 and Mr Donahoe was clearly alarmed by the potential of the SNP to cause him electoral harm here.
In 1997, there was better news for Labour. There was an 8.1 % swing from the Conservatives to Labour which allowed Brian Donahoe increase his majority to 14,869 over the SNP's Margaret Burgess.
The SNP candidate for the 2001 Westminster election was Bill Kidd. The Tories originally selected Eveline Archer, who stood down and was replaced by Pam Paterson. The SSP candidate was Rosemary Byrne while the Socialist Labour Party selected Bobby Cochrane.
In 2001 Brian Donahoe was returned to Westminster with 58.6 % of the vote, down 4.1 % on 1997. This gave him a majority of 11,230 over the SNP's Bill Kidd who polled 18.5 %. In third place were the Tories with 9.6 %, followed by the Lib Dems with 7.5 %, the SSP with 4.4 % and the Socialist Labour Party with 1.4 %.
Opinion is divided concerning Mr Brian Donahoe the MP for Cunninghame South. Donahoe sees himself as God's Gift to politics, while most the electorate have never even heard of him. However, if anybody who doubts that politics can be hilarious fun need look no further than Cunninghame South. Wee Brian Donahoe is unable to open his mouth without having a screaming tantrum about the nasty list MSPs from the Scottish Parliament who stole one of his constituents and then ran away! Dr Spooner would probably have described Brian Donahoe as the Shining Wit of Scottish Politics. Those familiar with Lewis Grassic Gibbon's Cloud Howe will remember the character called 'The Roarer and Greeter' and realise that the wee bairn o' Cunninghame South could play this role to perfection in any future dramatisation.
The simple fact is that now that a Scottish parliament is up and running, the workload of Scottish MPs have been vastly reduced and there is simply no justification for maintaining Scotland's over-representation at Westminster. Of course, the parties will be keeping the best MPs rather than the dross and a good indicator as to which is which can be the knee-jerk reactions from certain quarters.
One of the Roarer and Greeter's spiffing wheezes was a whizzo plan to reduce the number of PR seats in the Scottish Parliament to 17 (thus getting rid of most of the Tory and SNP members). In the wee laddie's fantasy Scotland, each constituency would be transformed into a two member constituency which would elect one male and one female MP. Without debating the advantages and disadvantages of such a system, the shrewd observer might ask why Brian Donahoe, as a Westminster MP, wishes to apply this system to the Scottish Parliament, rather than the one of which he is such an invaluable, overworked and Honourable Member? verb sap.
Mr Donahoe, like the majority of his Labour colleagues, has nothing but contempt for the Scottish Parliament so a replacement had to be found. She was Cllr Irene Oldfather who represented Kilwinning East ward on North Ayrshire Council and was one of the remaining Scottish representatives on the European Committee of the Regions - when Labour came to power they deliberately reversed a hard-fought arrangement between the Tories and SNP and reduced the Scottish and Welsh representation on the Committee in order to increase the number of representatives from England.
The SNP candidate was Michael Russell who had contested Clydesdale in 1987. Mr Russell was born in Kent and educated at Troon and Edinburgh University. Michael Russell was also a successful and prolific TV Producer and Writer. He joined the SNP in 1974 and was SNP Chief Executive between 1994 and 1999. He was acknowledged by journalists to be by far and away the best and most efficient of all the parties' 'spin doctors' with the SNP's small and mostly amateur organisation often running rings round Labour's enormous but ungainly press corps. Michael Russell is a former Vice Convenor for Publicity and directed the 1997 General Election campaign and the by-elections in Perth and Paisley South. Michael Russell is also Convenor of the SNP Internet Support Group and unlike his onetime opposite number Jack McConnell is an Internet enthusiast with the SNP having a presence on the web for several years before London Labour permitted their Scottish 'Regional Office' (London Labour's own description) their own web site in February 1999.
In May 1999, Irene Oldfather was elected as Labour MSP for Cunninghame South with a majority of 6,541 over the SNP. However there was a swing of 9.4 % to the SNP, and, one could imagine Brain Donahoe engaging on another rant when, horror of horrors, Michael Russell was elected to the Scottish Parliament as a South of Scotland list MSP. Murray Tosh, who took 11.4 % of the vote in Cunninghame South was also elected as a South of Scotland list MSP. To add insult to injury, two previous Cunninghame South candidates were also elected as list MSPs - Conservative Phil Gallie in South of Scotland, and the SNP's Kay Ullrich in West of Scotland. The Roarer and Greeter must have had apoplexy!
Suddenly, for the first time ever, a majority of the people of Scotland were represented by at least one parliamentarian of a party which they had voted for. Most would call this democracy. However political history has always been full of narrow minded dictators who see nothing but their own narrow interests and who lament the days of the old Rotten Burghs before the 1832 Reform Act when getting elected did not require talent, something sadly lacking at Westminster these days, merely a deep purse.
Irene Oldfather was born in Glasgow in 1954 and educated at Irvine Royal Academy. She studied at the University of Strathclyde then lectured at the University of Arizona in the USA. She returned to Scotland to become a researcher for Glasgow City Council then lectured at Paisley University before becoming a journalist. Before her election she was a North Ayrshire Councillor from 1995 until 1999 and a researcher for Alex Smith, who was Labour MEP for South of Scotland from 1989 until 1999. As Brian Donahoe does not pass on enquiries about devolved matters, but deals with them himself, there have been questions as to what purpose Oldfather serves as MSP for Cunninghame South.
Michael Russell was born in Bromley in Kent in 1953 and educated at Mar College in Troon. He studied at Edinburgh University before working with the Church of Scotland and with several film companies. Michael Russell was SNP Policy Convenor from 1987 until 1991 and Chief Executive from 1994 until 1999. He is a close friend of Alex Salmond and ran the latter's leadership campaign in 1990. After standing in Clydesdale in 1987, coming fourth with 14.8 %, and Cunninghame South in 1999, coming second with 29.7 %, he became South of Scotland's second MSP thanks to his second place on the SNP's regional list. Alex Salmond appointed him as Shadow Business Manager and Minister for Broadcasting & Gaelic, while in September 2000, John Swinney made him Shadow Minister for Children & Education. Michael Russell is widely acknowledged, even by his political adversaries, as one of the SNP's most talented and hardworking MSPs. His ranking by party activists at number four on the South of Scotland list has caused astonishment, as did similarly low rankings for two more of the SNP's best known MSPs Andrew Wilson and Margo MacDonald. While Michael Russell and Andrew Wilson are relaxed about their lower ranking, Margo MacDonald decided to stand as an Independent and there has been acknowledgement that the party delegate system for ranking candidates should be replaced by one-member-one-vote.
The Tory candidate is Andrew Brocklehurst while the Lib Dems have selected Iain Dale and Rosemary Byrne is standing for the SSP.
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | Cllr Irene Oldfather | 14,936 | 52.82 % | - 9.91 % |
|
Scottish National Party | Michael Russell | 8,395 | 29.69 % | + 8.91 % |
|
Conservative | Murray Tosh | 3,229 | 11.42 % | + 1.34 % |
|
Liberal Democrat | Stuart Ritchie | 1,717 | 6.07 % | + 1.54 % |
|
Lab win | Lab majority | 6,541 | 23.13 % | - 18.82 % |
| Logo | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | 11,426 | 41.04 % |
|
Scottish National Party | 8,360 | 30.02 % |
|
Conservative & Unionist Party | 3,131 | 11.24 % |
 |
Socialist Labour Party | 1,743 | 6.26 % |
|
Liberal Democrats | 1,557 | 5.59 % |
|
Scottish Socialist Party | 762 | 2.74 % |
 |
Scottish Green Party | 555 | 1.99 % |
 |
Liberal Party | 161 | 0.58 % |
 |
UK Independence Party | 92 | 0.33 % |
 |
Natural Law Party | 57 | 0.20 % |
|
Lab maj | 3,066 | 11.01 % |
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | Brian Donohoe | 22,233 | 62.73% |
|
Scottish National Party | Margaret Burgess | 7,364 | 20.78% |
|
Conservative | Pamela Paterson | 3,571 | 10.08% |
|
Liberal Democrat | Erland Watson | 1,604 | 4.53% |
|
Socialist Labour Party | Krishna Edwin | 494 | 1.39% |
 |
Referendum | Allan Martlew | 178 | 0.50% |
|
Lab hold | Lab majority | 14,869 | 41.95% |
Return to home page