This article covers the constituency for the Scottish Parliament. For the constituency for the British Parliament, see Ayr (constituency, United Kingdom) .
Ayr is a constituency for the Scottish Parliament . It was introduced in 1999 as one of nine constituencies in the electoral region of South of Scotland , which was redesigned and renamed South Scotland as part of the constituency revision in 2011 . The borders of the Ayr constituency were redrawn and large, sparsely populated areas in the east were added to the neighboring constituency of Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley . In contrast, the eponymous city of Ayr is now completely within the constituency. The constituency includes the coastal areas of South Ayrshire between Ayr and Troon and sends one MP.
The constituency extends over an area of 38.6 km 2 . In the 2011 census survey, a total of 76,846 people lived within its borders.
Labor politician Ian Welsh's win of the constituency by just 25 votes was the tightest election result in Scotland, which is why the ballot papers were counted twice. At the end of 1999 Welsh announced his retirement from politics, which necessitated a new election.