Renfrewshire South (Scottish Parliament constituency)

During the period Renfrewshire South was in existence, the other nine constituencies of the West Scotland region were: Clydebank and Milngavie, Cunninghame North, Cunninghame South, Dumbarton, Eastwood, Greenock and Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and West and Strathkelvin and Bearsden. During this period, the region covered all of the East Dunbartonshire, the East Renfrewshire, the Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Renfrewshire, and West Dunbartonshire council areas, and part of the Argyll and Bute council area.

Map of boundaries from 2011

Renfrewshire South contained portions of both Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, and was formed from the following electoral wards:^[4]

• East Renfrewshire Council wards
  • Barrhead, Liboside and Uplawmoor (entire ward)
  • Newton Mearns North and Neilston (shared with Eastwood constituency)
• Renfrewshire Council wards:
  • Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch (entire ward)
  • Johnstone South and Elderslie (shared with Paisley constituency)
  • Houston, Crosslee and Linwood (shared with Renfrewshire North and West constituency)

During this period the rest of Renfrewshire wass covered by the Paisley and Renfrewshire North and West seats, whilst the rest of East Renfrewshire formed the Eastwood seat.

Located in the West-Central Lowlands of Scotland, the constituency lay to the south of the town of Paisley and covered portions of the Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire council areas. It included a number of small towns and villages that developed during the Industrial Revolution, when the chief industry was thread and cotton manufacture in factories powered by the Black Cart Water and small scale coal mining.^[5]

The main population centres were the former burghs of Johnstone and Barrhead. The seat also covered the villages of Elderslie, Howwood, Kilbarchan, Lochwinnoch, Neilston and Uplawmoor alongside numerous hamlets.