Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2005 onwards
Paisley and Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the House of Commons, located in Renfrewshire, Scotland to the southwest of Glasgow. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting.
Constituency profile and voting patterns
Constituency profile
Covering the southern portion of the Renfrewshire council area, the east of the constituency includes half of Paisley, as well as the smaller town of Johnstone and the villages of Kilbarchan and Elderslie.
This is contrasted with the rural south and west of the seat, containing the villages of Lochwinnoch, Howwood and several hamlets and farms. The constituency also contains the Gleniffer Braes Country Park to the south and Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park to the west, notable for Castle Semple Loch.
Voting Patterns
This seat had traditionally been considered a heartland for the Labour Party, who had held constituencies containing Paisley and its surrounding towns and villages since 1945.
First used at the 2005 general election, this seat was won by Labour politician Douglas Alexander, who previously represented its predecessor constituency of Paisley South since 1997. Alexander was re-elected at the 2010 general election with an increased share of the vote and majority.
The aftermath of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum resulted in a substantial increase in support for the SNP across Scotland. Subsequently, the 2015 general election saw the SNP candidate Mhairi Black gain the seat from Alexander on a 27% swing. Black was re-elected at the 2017 general election, but with a reduced majority over Labour; who had made gains at the snap election. However, two years later, at the 2019 general election, Black increased her majority and won over half the vote share; making it a safe seat for the SNP.
The seat has also seen support for other parties, with the Conservative Party rising in 2017 and 2019 to around one-fifth of the vote share. There is also some Liberal Democrat support in the constituency, with the party achieving 7% at the most recent general election. The constituency has also seen several minor parties and independents stand in its history, however individually none of these have won more than 2% of the vote at any election.
Boundaries
Map of current boundaries
This seat was created in 2005 from the bulk of the former Paisley South seat, with minor additions from neighbouring constituencies. Population areas in this seat include Glenburn, Saucel and Hunterhill, Johnstone and Kilbarchan.[1]
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the small town of Linwood is to be included in the constituency, alongside some minor changes in Paisley. The redrawn seat is due to be contested for the first time at the next general election.[2]
Members of Parliament
The constituency's first MP was Douglas Alexander, who had held the seat since its creation in 2005 and its predecessor Paisley South since 1997. Alexander was the Shadow Foreign Secretary, and has previously held Cabinet posts such as Transport Secretary and Scottish Secretary (2006–07; joint), and International Development Secretary (2007–10).
When SNP candidate Mhairi Black gained the seat in May 2015, she was 20 years and 237 days old, making her the youngest ever Member of Parliament (MP) elected to the House of Commons since at least the Reform Act of 1832, replacing William Wentworth-Fitzwilliam; who was 20 years and 11 months old when elected in 1832.[3] She subsequently held the seat at the snap 2017 general election[4] and 2019 general election.[5]
