Ayr
Labour hold

Ayr seems destined for tight contests at all levels. The perennial Conservative champion here Phil Gallie, member from1992-7, tried again at the Scottish Parliament elections of May 1999, and came closest to winning a first past the post seat for his party north of the border, finishing just 25 votes behind Labour on a very high turnout of 66.6pc. Then in a second bite at this particular cherry, the Conservatives actually won a by-election in the area covered by the constituency for the Scottish Parliament. It must be their best chance of a win in a Westminster contest, although the Tories' explusion from Scotland in 1997 would suggest otherwise. However, the memory of success is more recent here than anywhere else in the whole of Scotland, which is important for a party in danger of demoralisation as well as defeat.

Sandra Osborne won Ayr in 1997 after selection by an all-women shortlist excluded her husband, the candidate in 1992, from the running. Bespectacled and mousey-looking, and PPS to Scottish Office minister Brian Wilson, she has followed a safely Blairite path, if unhappy about Preswick Airport-affecting air traffic control privatisation. Born 1956 and educated at Camphill Senior Secondary School, Paisley, Jordanhill Teacher Training College and Strathclyde University, she formerly worked as a ëwomenís aid workerí with battered women. The loss of the seat to the Conservatives in the 2000 Scottish Parliament byelection, due to the SNP siphoning-off enough Labour votes to let the Tory in, gives Phil Gallie, the former Conservative MP here (1992-97) a chance of a come-back. A rare working class Conservative, born 1939, educated at Dunfermline High School and at technical colleges in Lauder and Kirkcaldy, and a Rosyth Dockyard worker before becoming an electrical engineer and power station manager, he has a reputation as an abrasive but astute Thatcherite, with populist stances on hanging, flogging, taxation and defence.

Ayr Conservative Party

South Ayrshire Council

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   Thriving Wealthy Achievers, Suburban Areas 16.55% 14.99% 110.37 Affluent Greys, Rural Communities 0.32% 2.13% 15.11 Prosperous Pensioners, Retirement Areas 4.36% 2.49% 175.29 Expanding Affluent Executives, Family Areas 2.71% 4.43% 61.31 Well-Off Workers, Family Areas 7.26% 7.27% 99.78 Rising Affluent Urbanites, Town & City Areas 3.47% 2.56% 135.12 Prosperous Professionals, Metropolitan Areas 1.51% 2.04% 73.78 Better-Off Executives, Inner City Areas 4.19% 3.94% 106.35 Settling Comfortable Middle Agers, Mature Home Owning Areas 9.73% 13.04% 74.59 Skilled Workers, Home Owning Areas 5.75% 12.70% 45.27 Aspiring New Home Owners, Mature Communities 9.98% 8.14% 122.54 White Collar Workers, Better-Off Multi Ethnic Areas 1.82% 4.02% 45.33 Striving Older People, Less Prosperous Areas 4.73% 3.19% 148.38 Council Estate Residents, Better-Off Homes 13.22% 11.31% 116.89 Council Estate Residents, High Unemployment 9.66% 3.06% 315.56 Council Estate Residents, Greatest Hardship 4.75% 2.52% 188.55 People in Multi-Ethnic, Low-Income Areas 0.00% 2.10% 0.00 Unclassified Unclassified 0.00% 0.06% 0.00

Area Percent GB Percent Index GB=100   £0-5K 10.54% 9.41% 112.00 £5-10K 17.13% 16.63% 102.97 £10-15K 16.43% 16.58% 99.13 £15-20K 13.27% 13.58% 97.66 £20-25K 10.12% 10.39% 97.41 £25-30K 7.60% 7.77% 97.71 £30-35K 5.69% 5.79% 98.17 £35-40K 4.27% 4.33% 98.57 £40-45K 3.23% 3.27% 98.81 £45-50K 2.45% 2.48% 98.87 £50-55K 1.88% 1.90% 98.74 £55-60K 1.45% 1.47% 98.44 £60-65K 1.13% 1.15% 98.00 £65-70K 0.88% 0.91% 97.44 £70-75K 0.70% 0.72% 96.80 £75-80K 0.55% 0.57% 96.08 £80-85K 0.44% 0.46% 95.31 £85-90K 0.35% 0.37% 94.51 £90-95K 0.29% 0.31% 93.68 £95-100K 0.23% 0.25% 92.84 £100K + 1.18% 1.34% 87.45