ARRAN residents will be heading to the polling stations tomorrow to elect their new councillor.

The North Ayrshire Council seat has become vacant following the recent resignation of Conservative Councillor Timothy Billings.

Six candidates have been confirmed for the by-election:

  • Charles Currie, Scottish Labour Party
  • James Andrew McMaster, Independent
  • Mackenzie Smith, Scottish Conservative and Unionist
  • Matt Taylor, Scottish Liberal Democrats
  • Carole Thomson, Reform UK
  • Neil Alexander Wilkinson, Scottish Greens

Voting gets under way at 7am tomorrow, Thursday, September 12, and polling places will remain open until 10pm.

Last week, the council reassured residents that the vote would go ahead despite recent problems with the island ferry service. Engine failure and bad weather meant Arran has been without a service for a number of days in recent weeks.

A local authority spokesperson said: “We are very aware of the situation with the ferries and have contingency plans in place should there be any further disruption.

“Ballot boxes, stationery and eCount equipment are all being despatched to Arran earlier to allow for any issues with the ferries.

“Most of the staff recruited for this by-election live on Arran, however, a small core team will be travelling to Arran in sufficient time to prepare for poll, postal votes and the eCount.

"Should there be an issue with the booked crossing, alternative contingencies are in place and CalMac are aware of what ferries the core election team are travelling on."

The count, which is carried out electronically, will be held the following day on Friday, September 13.