General Election candidates announced as party leader's wife enters Westminster race

Stephen Bark

10 June 2024 at 5:32 am·3-min read

Palace of Westminster — -Credit: (Image: Getty Images)

Candidates from nine parties and independents will be seeking the votes of Ayrshire residents at this year’s general election.

In total, 30 candidates are standing across the county with Labour and the Conservatives challenging the SNP - who currently hold the four seats - in every constituency.

The Liberal Democrats, who last won representation at any level in Ayrshire in 2011, as well as the Greens and Reform UK have also named candidates in each seat.

In Kilmarnock and Loudoun, incumbent Alan Brown will again contest the seat for the SNP having represented the area since 2015.

Kilmarnock West and Crosshouse councillor Lillian Jones has been selected as Labour’s candidate for the seat while Jordan Cowie is the Conservative on the ballot.

Also standing are the Lib Dems’ Edward Thornley, Bex Glen of the Greens, independent candidate Stephen McNamara and Reform UK’s William Thomson.

Allan Dorans will be defending his seat in Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock as he was once again selected by the SNP.

South Ayrshire Council leader Martin Dowey will contest the seat for the Conservatives. He recently welcomed Douglas Ross to the constituency on the campaign trail.

Doon Valley councillor Elaine Stewart has been nominated by Labour as they look to take back a seat they haven’t won since 2010.

Also standing is Corri Wilson - who was the SNP MP for Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock between 2015 and 2017 - for Alex Salmond’s Alba Party, Paul Kennedy for the Lib Dems, Korin Vallance of the Greens and Alloway Community Council chair Andrew Russell for Reform UK.

In North Ayrshire and Arran, Patricia Gibson will again be defending the seat she has held for the SNP since 2015.

Todd Ferguson, a councillor for North Ayrshire’s North Coast ward, has been named as the Conservative candidate for the seat while Irene Campbell will be the Labour name on the ballot.

Also standing is the Lib Dems’ Gillian Cole-Hamilton, wife of Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole-Hamilton, Cara McKee for the Greens, Ian Gibson of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Socialist Labour candidate James McDaid and Reform UK’s Michael Mann.

Central Ayrshire is the only seat where the incumbent MP is standing down after Philippa Whitford announced she would not be contesting this election.

In her place, the SNP have selected Annie McIndoe to defend the seat.

Challenging her will be former British Deputy High Commissioner for South Asia Alan Gemmell who has been selected to run for Labour.

David Rocks, who unsuccessfully ran for election in North Ayrshire and Arran in 2017, has been named as the Conservative candidate.

Also standing are Elaine Ford for the Lib Dems, Tom Kerr for the Greens, Allan MacMillan of the SDP, Socialist Labour candidate Louise McDaid and Reform UK’s Kevin Blades.

Full list of candidates:

Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock

Allan Dorans - SNP
Martin Dowey - Conservative
Paul Kennedy - Lib Dem
Andrew Russell - Reform UK
Elaine Stewart - Labour
Korin Vallance - Green
Corri Wilson - Alba

Central Ayrshire

Kevin Blades - Reform UK
Elaine Ford - Lib Dem
Alan Gemmell - Labour
Tom Kerr - Green
Allan MacMillan - SDP
Louise McDaid - Socialist Labour
Annie McIndoe - SNP
David Rocks - Conservative

Kilmarnock and Loudoun

Alan Brown - SNP
Jordan Cowie - Conservative
Bex Glen - Green
Lillian Jones - Labour
Stephen McNamara - Independent
William Thomson - Reform UK
Edward Thornley - Lib Dem

North Ayrshire and Arran

Irene Campbell - Labour
Gillian Cole-Hamilton - Lib Dem
Todd Ferguson - Conservative
Ian Gibson - SDP
Patricia Gibson - SNP
Michael Mann - Reform UK
James McDaid - Socialist Labour
Cara McKee - Green

Read next:

Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter

The Telegraph
Labour vote share falls to lowest in more than two years
Labour’s vote share has fallen to its lowest level in more than two years ahead of the general election, new polling shows.
The Independent
Reform takes three point lead over Tories in shock poll
Reform has been dogged by allegations over racism, misogyny, homophobia and support for Hitler and Putin but a poll has put them three points ahead of the Tories
The Daily Beast
Obama Rode to Biden’s Rescue—but Intervention Could Yet Come
On Friday afternoon, in the aftermath of President Joe Biden’s disastrous debate against Donald Trump, private murmurs and public calls for an “intervention” ricocheted through Democratic circles. But then a hold-up emerged.Some 17 hours after Biden botched his big debate moment, his former boss came to the rescue.For many high-ranking Democrats, a single tweet from former President Barack Obama appeared to nix any chance of the 44th president meeting with the 46th and urging him to drop out.Rea
The Telegraph
Donald Trump is going to turn Starmer’s Britain into an international laughing stock
Grandfather Robert Blackstock, a retired engineer from Nottinghamshire, became the “Brenda from Bristol” of this election campaign when he asked Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer during Wednesday night’s TV debate: “Are you two really the best we’ve got to be the next prime minister of our great country?”
Manchester Evening News
'My mortgage has doubled... the country's gone to pot': The Greater Manchester neighbourhood where people want change
'I was born and bred here... I've never known the place be as big of a dump as it is'
The Telegraph
How Biden’s disastrous debate could end up benefiting the Democrats
Donald Trump’s allies were like Cheshire cats as they celebrated in the spin room backstage at the TV debate in Atlanta on Thursday night.
Business Insider
A grinding Russian assault appears telling about Putin's plan to defeat Ukraine
ISW's conflict experts warned that the West must "challenge Putin's belief that he can gradually subsume Ukraine."
HuffPost
Critics Clown Trump's 'IDIOTIC' Electric Planes Remarks: 'Dumb As A Box Of Rocks'
"What happens if the sun isn’t shining while you’re up in the air?” the former president asked at a rally in Virginia.
The Telegraph
A Labour landslide would leave the UK unrecognisable
Until now, Sir Keir Starmer has carefully hidden the Labour Party’s radical, hard-Left agenda from the public. But on the brink of the largest majority in nearly a century, his mask has slipped.
The Guardian
‘Disbelief’ as US-UK trade deals under threat after Britain axes negotiators
Business community decries ‘act of arson’ as one-sixth of trade posts within British consulates in the US are scrapped
The Independent
‘Panicking’ Rishi Sunak in final weekend of campaigning to save his own seat
Rishi Sunak‘s team asked for a hustings to be arranged in his own constituency which was later cancelled as he tries to make sure he saves his own seat
Yahoo News UK
Who will you vote for in the general election? Yahoo readers have their say
With just a week to go until the general election, Yahoo readers have backed Reform UK over the two leading parties.
The Telegraph
‘Trillion dollar trainwreck’: US super stealth fighter is eating the next generation
All of a sudden, the US Air Force is considering cancelling a multibillion-dollar effort to develop a new stealth fighter. Citing the high cost of the so-called “Next-Generation Air Dominance” programme and the competing demands of other projects, USAF leaders have warned they may have no choice but to cancel NGAD – and find other ways of winning control of the air in future wars.
The Independent
Who won the debate? Snap poll results following first Trump-Biden presidential square off
Large majority of registered voters told CNN that the Republican beat the president in first debate
The Telegraph
Jill Biden has the fate of the world in her hands
Now might be a good time for Dr Jill Biden, the First Lady, to have a rummage around in the back of the wardrobe for one particular item of clothing. When Joe Biden opted against running for president in 2004, his decision was underlined by his wife’s decision to wear a halter top with the word “NO” scrawled on her stomach.
PA Media: UK News
Farage’s Reform UK calls for election watchdog to investigate undercover sting
Reform claimed Channel 4 used an actor as a plant in its undercover expose of Nigel Farage’s election campaign, a claim the broadcaster has denied.
The Telegraph
Wetherspoon boss: I’m not backing any political party this year
Sir Tim Martin, the JD Wetherspoon founder and chairman, has called last orders on all political parties at the general election, despite backing the Conservatives and Reform UK in the past.
The Independent
Who could replace Joe Biden? Debate performance has Democrats in crisis talks
The president just gave his party a reality check. Where can Democrats go from here?
The Daily Beast
Trump Makes Bold Promise About War in Ukraine in Off-the-Rails Debate Rant
Donald Trump was back on his regular antics in Thursday night’s presidential debate, claiming Joe Biden was to blame for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine—a war Trump promised he’d have “settled” as president-elect should he win in November. “I will have that war settled between [Vladimir] Putin and [Volodymyr] Zelensky as president-elect,” Trump said. “Before I take office on Jan. 20, I’ll have that war settled.”Trump, 78, didn’t specify how he’d bring the years-long conflict to a screeching halt, b
The Telegraph
The battle brewing at the heart of Starmer’s super-majority Britain
Nick Thomas-Symonds is not a household name. But Keir Starmer’s shadow minister without portfolio may have made one of the most significant interventions in the general election this week.

Latest stories