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Central Ayrshire is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south-west of Scotland within the North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire council areas. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) at least once every five years using the first-past-the-post system of voting. It has been represented since 2024 by Alan Gemmell of Scottish Labour.
1974–1983: The burghs of Irvine, Kilwinning and Troon, the districts of Irvine and Kilbirnie and the electoral division of Dundonald in the district of Ayr.
2005–present: Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies, the constituency contained parts of the North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Councils; the boundaries were defined in accordance with the ward structure in place on 30 November 2004. Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the boundaries were unchanged. 2023 Review UK Parliament constituencies Boundary Commission for Scotland
Further to reviews of local government ward boundaries which came into effect in 2007 and 2017, but did not affect the parliamentary boundaries, the contents of the constituency are now defined as follows:
Irvine was designated in the 1970s as a Glasgow overspill new town. In recent local council elections, the SNP have performed strongly in the town of Irvine gaining 3 Councillors to Labours 5 in Irvine and Kilwinning wards.
The coastal towns of Prestwick and Troon join the town as part of the constituency as well as outlying rural areas located south and east of Troon and Prestwick: Prestwick, Troon and their hinterlands have sustained a considerable level of support for Conservative candidates locally and as part of the Ayr constituency in the Scottish Parliament. Heathfield in Ayr North also forms part of the constituency: this area is relatively small but has been more supportive of the SNP in recent council elections.
The constituency was re-established in 2005, centred around the historic burgh of Irvine and stretching north to cover part of Kilwinning and south to cover the coastal resort towns of Prestwick, Troon and their adjacent hinterlands alongside part of Ayr. The constituency covers the 2017 electoral wards of Irvine East, Irvine South, Irvine West and a small section of Kilwinning (between the River Garnock and the B778) from the North Ayrshire and Prestwick, Troon, Kyle and a small section of Ayr North (between Seaforth Road and Lochside Road in Heathfield) from the South Ayrshire.[3] The remainder of the North Ayrshire Council area is represented as part of the North Ayrshire and Arran Parliamentary constituency, with the remainder of South Ayrshire being covered by the Ayr, Carrick and Cumnock Parliamentary constituency alongside parts of East Ayrshire.
The boundaries were unchanged by the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies.
| 1950 | Archie Manuel | Labour | |
| 1955 | Douglas Spencer-Nairn | Unionist | |
| 1959 | Archie Manuel | Labour | |
| 1970 | David Lambie | ||
| 1983 | constituency abolished: see Ayr and Cunninghame South | ||
| 2005 | constituency created, see Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley and Cunninghame South | ||
| 2005 | Brian Donohoe | Labour | |
| 2015 | Philippa Whitford | Scottish National Party | |
| 2024 | Alan Gemmell | Labour | |
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