Renfrewshire South
County constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Renfrewshire South shown within the West Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population68,156 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created2011
PartySNP
MSPTom Arthur
Council areaRenfrewshire
East Renfrewshire

Renfrewshire South is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering parts of the council areas of Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It forms one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which also elects seven additional members to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The constituency was created for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election from parts of the former constituencies of West Renfrewshire, Paisley South and Paisley North constituencies. It also contains some areas of East Renfrewshire that were originally part of the Eastwood constituency.[2] The seat has been held by Tom Arthur of the Scottish National Party since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

The other nine constituencies of the West Scotland region are: Clydebank and Milngavie, Cunninghame North, Cunninghame South, Dumbarton, Eastwood, Greenock and Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and West and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.

The region covers part of the Argyll and Bute council area, the East Dunbartonshire council area, the East Renfrewshire council area, the Inverclyde council area, North Ayrshire council area, the Renfrewshire council area and the West Dunbartonshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The Renfrewshire South constituency contains portions of both Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire and was formed from the following local electoral wards:[3]

The rest of Renfrewshire is covered by the Paisley and Renfrewshire North and West seats, whilst the rest of East Renfrewshire forms the Eastwood seat.

Constituency profile

Located in the West-Central Lowlands of Scotland, the constituency lies to the south of the town of Paisley and covers portions of the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas. It includes a number of small towns and villages that developed during the industrial revolution, when the chief industry was thread and cotton manufacture in factories powered by the Black Cart Water and small scale coal mining.[4]

The main population centres are the former burghs of Johnstone and Barrhead. The seat also covers the villages of Elderslie, Howwood, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Neilston and Uplawmoor alongside numerous hamlets.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

ElectionMemberParty
2011 Hugh Henry Labour
2016 Tom Arthur SNP

Labour Party politician Hugh Henry won the seat upon its first use in the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, having held its predecessor constituency of Paisley South since 1999. Henry retired from politics prior to the 2016 election, which also saw Tom Arthur gain the seat for the Scottish National Party. Arthur was subsequently re-elected in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Renfrewshire South[5][6]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Tom Arthur[lower-alpha 1] 17,532 50.5 Increase2.4 15,127 43.3 Decrease0.7
Labour Co-op Paul O'Kane[lower-alpha 2] 10,426 30.0 Decrease3.2 8,341 23.9 Decrease3.8
Conservative Derek Stillie 5,149 14.8 Decrease1.2 6,341 18.2 Increase1.1
Scottish Green 2,427 7.0 Increase1.9
Liberal Democrats Christine Cosh 826 2.4 Decrease 0.3 793 2.3 Increase0.3
Alba 590 1.7 New
All for Unity 286 0.8 New
Independent Green Voice 223 0.6 New
Scottish Family 195 0.6 New
Scotia Future Andy Doig 765 2.2 New 127 0.4 New
Freedom Alliance (UK) 81 0.2 New
Abolish the Scottish Parliament 65 0.2 New
Reform UK 56 0.2 New
UKIP 49 0.1 Decrease1.8
Libertarian 45 0.1 Steady0.0
TUSC 45 0.1 New
Independent James Morrison 24 0.1 New
Independent Maurice Campbell 12 0.0 New
Renew 12 0.0 New
Majority 7,106 20.5 Increase 5.6
Valid Votes 34,698 34,839
Invalid Votes 123 71
Turnout 34,821 65.7 Increase 5.4 34,910 65.9 Increase 5.5
SNP hold Swing Increase 2.8
Notes
  1. ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. ↑ Elected on the party list

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Renfrewshire South[7]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Tom Arthur 14,272 48.1 Increase9.6 13,103 44.0 Increase5.6
Labour Co-op Paul O'Kane 9,864 33.2 Decrease14.9 8,261 27.7 Decrease13.0
Conservative Ann Le Blond 4,752 16.0 Increase5.2 5,103 17.1 Increase7.6
Scottish Green 1,513 5.1 Increase2.2
Liberal Democrats Tristan Gray 793 2.7 Increase0.1 606 2.0 Increase0.1
UKIP 577 1.9 Increase1.2
Solidarity 301 1.0 Increase0.8
Scottish Christian 182 0.6 Decrease0.3
RISE 113 0.4 New
Libertarian 34 0.1 New
Majority 4,408 14.9 N/A
Valid Votes 29,681 29,793
Invalid Votes 129 49
Turnout 29,810 60.3 Increase6.5 29,842 60.4 Increase6.6
SNP gain from Labour Swing Decrease12.3
Notes
    2011 Scottish Parliament election: Renfrewshire South[8]
    Party Candidate Constituency Regional
    Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
    Labour Hugh Henry[lower-alpha 1] 12,943 48.1 -2.9 10,964 40.7 N/A
    SNP Andy Doig 10,356 38.5 +7.9 10,346 38.4 N/A
    Conservative Alistair Campbell 2,917 10.8 -1.7 2,546 9.5 N/A
    Scottish Green 781 2.9 N/A
    Liberal Democrats Gordon Anderson 702 2.6 -1.7 507 1.9 N/A
    All-Scotland Pensioners Party 461 1.7 N/A
    Socialist Labour 384 1.4 N/A
    Scottish Christian 229 0.9 N/A
    BNP 195 0.7 N/A
    UKIP 182 0.7 N/A
    Ban Bankers Bonuses 113 0.4 N/A
    Pirate 93 0.3 N/A
    Independent Richard Vassie 47 0.2 N/A
    Solidarity 44 0.2 N/A
    Scottish Socialist 41 0.2 N/A
    Majority 2,587 9.6 -10.8
    Valid Votes 26,908 26,933
    Invalid Votes 124 86
    Turnout 27,032 53.8 N/A 27,019 53.8 N/A
    Labour win (new seat)
    Notes
    1. ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

    2000s: Notional Result

    The following is the notional result for the 2007 Scottish Parliament election, as calculated by the BBC.[2]

    2007 Scottish Parliament election Notional Result: Renfrewshire South
    Party Candidate Votes % ±%
    Labour 14,838 51.0 N/A
    SNP 8,902 30.6 N/A
    Conservative 3,646 12.5 N/A
    Liberal Democrats 1,251 4.3 N/A
    Others 459 1.6 N/A
    Majority 5,936 20.4 N/A
    Labour hold Swing N/A

    References

    1. ↑ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
    2. 1 2 "The New Scottish Parliament Constituencies 2011" (PDF). BBC News online. 8 September 2010. p. 26. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
    3. ↑ "First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Final Report" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2010. p. 128. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
    4. ↑ "Renfrewshire South - Scottish Parliament constituency - Election 2016 - BBC News" – via www.bbc.co.uk.
    5. ↑ team, Renfrewshire Communications. "2021 - Scottish Parliamentary Election - Results". www.renfrewshire.gov.uk.
    6. ↑ Constituencies A-Z | Renfrewshire South, BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
    7. ↑ "2016 - Scottish Parliamentary Election - Results". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
    8. ↑ "2011 - Scottish Parliamentary Election - Results". Renfrewshire Council. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
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