2000 Ayr by-election

2000 by-election for Scottish Parliament June 2014 June 2014 2000 Ayr by-election Parliamentary Scotland The Ayr seat in the Scottish Parliament.Elected by simple majority using first past the post.Triggered by resignation of incumbent no 1999 Scottish Parliament election 1999 2003 Scottish Parliament election 2003 2000 03 16 y John Scott JohnScottMSP20110509.JPG Scottish Conservatives 12,580 39.4% 1.4% Jim Mather Jim Mather, Minister for Enterprise, Energy and Tourism (1).jpg Scottish National Party 9,236 29.0% 9.5% Rita Miller 3x4.svg Scottish Labour 7,054 22.1% 16.0% MSP Ian Welsh Scottish Labour John Scott Scottish Conservatives Ayr ScottishParliamentConstituency.PNG 200px Ayr shown within the South of Scotland electoral region. The 2000 Ayr by-election on 16 March 2000 was the first by-election for the Scottish Parliament that had been established the year previously. It was caused by the resignation of Ian Welsh who had been elected at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. Welsh resigned to spend more time with his family. The by-election came amidst the Keep the Clause campaign. The Scottish parliament seat of Ayr shared its boundaries with the Westminster seat, which had until 1997 been held by the Conservatives for almost a hundred years. In the 1999 Scottish parliamentary election the seat had been the most marginal in Scotland, with Labour winning over the Conservatives by a mere 25 votes. The Keep the Clause Campaign sought to influence the outcome of the election, campaigning in the area and buying up billboard space.Lynch Peter Scottish Government and Politics: An Introduction https://books.google.com/books?id=cdrUZfeULK8C&q=keep+the+clause+ayr+by-election&pg=PA113 Edinburgh University Press 2001 113 9780748612871 Souter later claimed to have successfully influenced the by-election, with the by-election being won by the Conservative candidate, who had opposed repealing Section 28.17 March 2000 Tories walking on Ayr https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/678408.stm BBC News Labour's George Foulkes attacked the Keep the Clause Campaign, claiming there had been a "distortion of democracy" and that the Keep the Clause Campaign had outspent all the candidates combined.17 March 2000 Tories 'humiliate' Labour in Ayr byelection https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2000/mar/17/scotlanddevolution.devolution1 The Guardian The result was a poor one for the Scottish Labour, which had won the seat in the previous year, albeit with a majority of just 25. Labour fell into third place behind the Scottish National Party (SNP) and the Scottish Conservatives. The Scottish Socialist Party had a relatively strong performance for a constituency which did not seem like its natural terrain. This by-election showed a strange effect in the Scottish AMS electoral system. Labour in the South of Scotland region had won seven seats, all as first past the post constituencies and none on the list system through proportional representation, whilst the Conservative and Unionists had won four seats in South of Scotland through the proportional representation system. By winning the Ayr seat at the by-election the Conservatives had technically greater representation than their 1999 results would have proportionally given them. This is an anomaly that the Scotland Act 1998 does not cater to. Result 2000 Ayr by-election Scottish Conservatives John Scott 12,580 39.4 +1.4 Scottish National Party Jim Mather 9,236 29.0 +9.5 Scottish Labour Rita Miller 7,054 22.1 -16.0 Scottish Socialist Party James Stewart 1,345 4.2 New Liberal Democrats (UK) Stuart Ritchie 800 2.5 -1.9 Scottish Greens Gavin Corbett 460 1.4 New The Radio Vet William Botcherby 186 0.6 New UKIP Alistair McConnachie 113 0.4 New ProLife Alliance Robert Graham 111 0.4 New Independent (politician) Kevin Dillion 15 0.1 New 3,344 10.4 N/A 31,900 Scottish Conservatives Scottish Labour Previous result 1999 Ayr Scottish Parliament election Labour Party (UK) Ian Welsh 14,263 38.1 N/A Conservative Party (UK) Phil Gallie 14,238 38.0 N/A Scottish National Party Roger Mullin 7,291 19.5 N/A Liberal Democrats (UK) Elaine Morris 1,662 4.4 N/A 25 0.1 N/A 37,454 Labour Party (UK) See also Ayr (Scottish Parliament constituency) Ayr (UK Parliament constituency) Elections in Scotland List of by-elections to the Scottish Parliament References External links Scottish Election Results 1997 - present Ayr by-election Ayr by-election Category:2000s elections in Scotland Ayr 2000 Category:Politics of South Ayrshire Category:20th century in South Ayrshire Ayr by-election