sandy beach. Governance West Kilbride is governed by North Ayrshire Council as part of the unitary local authority of North Ayrshire and Arran based in Irvine, which controls such matters as education, environmental services and social housing. Police services are operated by Police Scotland. The Scottish Parliament is responsible for policy on devolved matters such as education, health and justice while reserved matters are dealt with by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. West Kilbride forms part of the constituency of North Ayrshire and Arran, electing one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. Katy Clark of the Labour Party was elected in 2005 and re-elected in 2010 with a 47.4% share of the vote. For Scottish Parliament elections, West Kilbride forms part of the Cunninghame North constituency, which elected SNP candidate Kenny Gibson to Holyrood in 2007 with 30.7% of the vote. Gibson was re-elected in 2011 with 52.6% of the vote, a majority of 6,117. West Kilbride is also represented by seven regional MSPs from the West of Scotland electoral region. See also North Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency) (1868–1918) Bute and Northern Ayrshire (UK Parliament constituency) (1918–1983) Cunninghame North (UK Parliament constituency) (1983–2005) Geography West Kilbride is situated on the west coast of Scotland, approximately southwest of Glasgow, about south of Largs and about north of the "Three Towns" conurbation of Ardrossan, Saltcoats and Stevenston. The built-up area extends from Seamill on the coast of the Firth of Clyde to the principal part of the town, which, raised up and about from the coast, lies between Law Hill () and Tarbert Hill (). It is overlooked by Cauldron Hill (), whose name is largely reputed to be from the Welsh "Cadron" ref. Geoffrey of Monmouth. It looks across the Firth of Clyde to the mountains of the Isle of Arran to the west. The seafront at Seamill features a long sandy beach, as well as rocky outcrops including the small harbour at Portencross. The neighbouring agricultural land supports cereals, potatoes, and livestock, particularly sheep. Demography At the 2001 census, the population of West Kilbride was 4,393. Approximately 85% were born in Scotland, and 10.6% were born in England. Compared to the population of Scotland as a whole, the number of children aged 5–15 is above average, as is the proportion of adults age 45+. 2.2% of the community were born outside Europe.