Electoral ward in North Ayrshire
Saltcoats was one of the 10 electoral wards of North Ayrshire Council. Created in 2017 following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements, the ward elected three councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system. As a result of the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, the ward was abolished in 2022.
The area was politically split after each election returned one councillor for both the Scottish National Party (SNP) and Labour as well as one independent councillor.
Boundaries
The ward was created following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections. This was the first review after the introduction of the single transferable vote electoral system in 2007. Saltcoats was one of three new wards created in North Ayrshire as the total number of councillors was increased to more evenly balance electoral parity in the region. The ward centered around the town of Saltcoats in the southwest of the council area and included part of Ardrossan. It was formed from the western half of the Saltcoats and Stevenston ward – abolished as part of the review – and the northeastern part of the Ardrossan and Arran ward which was retained but reduced in size.[1]
In 2018, the Scottish Parliament passed the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 which included provisions to improve the representation of island communities on councils. As a result, an intermediate review of the boundaries in North Ayrshire was carried out. The review coincided with the introduction of the Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 which allowed for the creation of five-member wards. This proposed the abolition of the Saltcoats ward with the area it represented split between a re-established five-member Saltcoats and Stevenston ward and a newly created Ardrossan ward. The proposals for North Ayrshire were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament and the ward was abolished in 2022.[2][3]
