Kirkcaldy (UK Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Kirkcaldy (Scottish Parliament constituency).

Kirkcaldy
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Major settlements	Kirkcaldy
February 1974 (February 1974)–2005 (2005)
Number of members	One
Replaced by	Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath Glenrothes
Created from	Kirkcaldy Burghs

Kirkcaldy was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Fife, returning one Member of Parliament (MP). It existed from the February 1974 election until its abolition in 2005.

History

This was a safe Labour seat throughout its existence.

Boundaries

The constituency was centred around the town of Kirkcaldy. It was created at the February 1974 election, mostly replacing Kirkcaldy Burghs. In 2005 the seat was abolished, being mostly replaced by Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath with a small portion becoming part of Glenrothes.

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	Feb 1974	Harry Gourlay	Labour
	1987	Lewis Moonie	Labour
	2005	constituency abolished: see Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath and Glenrothes

Elections

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2001: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	15,227	54.1	+0.5
	SNP	Shirley-Anne Somerville	6,264	22.2	−0.7
	Conservative	Scott Campbell	3,013	10.7	−3.0
	Liberal Democrats	Andrew Weston	2,849	10.1	+1.5
	Scottish Socialist	Douglas Kinnear	804	2.9	N/A
Majority			8,963	31.9	+1.3
Turnout			28,157	54.6	−12.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+0.6

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Lewis Moonie	18,730	53.6	+8.0
	SNP	S Hosie	8,020	22.9	+0.3
	Conservative	C Black	4,779	13.7	−8.4
	Liberal Democrats	J Mainland	3031	8.7	−1.0
	Referendum Party	V Baxter	413	1.2	N/A
Majority			10,710	30.6	+7.6
Turnout			34,973	66.5
	Labour hold		Swing	+3.8

General Election 1992: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dr. Lewis Moonie	17,887	46.0	−3.5
	SNP	S Hosie	8,761	22.5	+10.8
	Conservative	SP Wosley	8,476	21.8	+0.5
	Liberal Democrat	Ms. S Leslie	3,729	9.6	−7.8
Majority			9,126	23.5	−4.8
Turnout			38,853	74.8	−1.8
	Labour hold		Swing	−7.2

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Kirkcaldy [Seat was vacant at Dissolution (Death)]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Dr.Lewis Moonie	20,281	49.6
	Conservative	I.G. Mitchell	8,711	21.3
	Social Democrat	D. Stewart	7,118	17.4
	SNP	W.A.R. Mullin	4,794	11.7
Majority			11,570	28.3
Turnout			53,439	76.5
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	15,380	40.3
	Conservative	I.B. Walker	10,049	26.3
	Social Democrat	M. Black	9,274	24.3
	SNP	D.D. Wood	3,452	9.1
Majority			5,331	14.0
Turnout			53,078	71.9
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour
	Conservative
	Liberal
	SNP
Majority
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

General Election Oct 1974: Kirkcaldy
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Harry Gourlay	20,688
	SNP	R.T. Knox	14,587
	Conservative	R.B. Jones	7,539
	Liberal	F. Young	2,788
Majority			6,101
Turnout
	Labour hold		Swing

References

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "K" (part 2)