Party Conservative Founded 2011 Lieutenancy area Dumfries and Galloway | MSP Finlay Carson Council area Dumfries and Galloway | |
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Created from Dumfries,
Galloway and Upper Nithsdale Created Scottish Parliament election, 2011 Replaced by Dumfries, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | ||
Galloway and West Dumfries is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Contents
- Electoral region
- Constituency boundaries and council area
- Constituency profile
- Voting patterns
- Member of the Scottish Parliament
- References
Created in 2011, it comprises areas that were previously part of the old Dumfries and Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituencies, which were abolished for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
Electoral region
The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.
The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.
Constituency boundaries and council area
Dumfries and Galloway is represented in the Scottish Parliament by two constituencies: Dumfriesshire and Galloway and West Dumfries.
Galloway and West Dumfries is formed from the following electoral wards:
Constituency profile
The Galloway and West Dumfries constituency covers a large, diverse stretch of land between the Rhins of Galloway in the extreme south-west of Scotland and the River Nith and Cluden Water in eastern Dumfries and Galloway. It covers a set of rugged pastoral plains and forests across the region of Galloway, taking in rural towns such as Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright and St John's Town of Dalry. To the west of the constituency is the portly town of Stranraer, situated at the base of Loch Ryan, whilst in the east the constituency takes in patches of Dumfries, administrative centre of the Dumfries and Galloway Council area.
Voting patterns
Galloway and West Dumfries has a dynamic mix of political traditions. It covers most of the former Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency, a seat which has a long-standing tradition of being marginally contested between the Conservatives and the Scottish National Party, in addition to patches of the former safe Labour constituency of Dumfries. This is dynamic is clearly represented within local council politics with Wigtownshire typically voting SNP, Kirkcudbrightshire voting Conservative and Dumfries voting Labour.
At Westminster the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency was represented by Conservative Ian Lang from its creation at the 1983 UK general election until 1997. It became the only Conservative constituency in the UK Parliament in Scotland in 2001. The Conservatives have represented the area in the Scottish Parliament since 2003.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
As Galloway and Upper Nithsdale
As Galloway and West Dumfries