Galloway and West Dumfries is a

constituency An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger State (polity), state (a country, administrative region, ...

of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...

( Holyrood) covering part of the

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...

for the region as a whole. Created for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, it comprises areas that were previously part of the old Dumfries and Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituencies, which were abolished. The seat has been held by

Finlay Carson Finlay Hamilton Carson (born 18 October 1967) is a Scottish Conservative Party politician serving as Convener of the Rural Affairs, Islands and Natural Environment Committee since 2021. He has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) f ...

of the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...

since the

2016 Scottish Parliament election The 2016 Scottish parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2016 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the fifth election held since the devolved parliament was established in 1999. It was the first parliamentary electi ...

Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley,

Clydesdale Clydesdale is an archaic name for Lanarkshire, a traditional county in Scotland. The name may also refer to: Sports * Clydesdale F.C., a former football club in Glasgow * Clydesdale RFC, Glasgow, a former rugby union club * Clydesdale RFC, South ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

, 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 Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the historic counties of Dumfriesshire, Kirkcu ...

, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the

East Lothian council area East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

, part of the Midlothian council area, the

Scottish Borders council area The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Loth ...

, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the

South Lanarkshire council area gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Deas , image_skyline = , image_flag = , image_shield = Arms_slanarkshire.jpg , image_blank_emblem = Slanarks.jpg , blank_emblem_type = Council logo , image_map ...

Constituency boundaries and council area

Galloway and West Dumfries C Ward Map 2011

is represented in the

by two constituencies:

and Galloway and West Dumfries. Galloway and West Dumfries covers the western part of the council area. The town of Dumfries is divided between the two constituencies. The electoral wards forming the Galloway and West Dumfries constituency are listed below. All of these wards are part of Dumfries and Galloway: * Stranraer and the Rhins *

Mid Galloway and Wigtown West Mid Galloway and Wigtown West (Ward 2) is one of the twelve wards used to elect members of the Dumfries and Galloway Council in Scotland. It elects four Councillors under the Single transferable vote system. Councillors Election results 20 ...

* Dee and Glenkens * Castle Douglas and Crocketford *

Abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christian monks and nuns. The conce ...

North West Dumfries North West Dumfries is one of the thirteen wards used to elect members of the Dumfries and Galloway Council. It elects four Councillors. Councillors Election Results 2017 Election 2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election 2012 Ele ...

Constituency profile and voting patterns

Constituency profile

The Galloway and West Dumfries constituency covers a large, diverse stretch of land between the

Rhins of Galloway The Rhins of Galloway, otherwise known as the Rhins of Wigtownshire (or as The Rhins, also spelt The Rhinns; gd, Na Rannaibh), is a hammer-head peninsula in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Stretching more than from north to south, its southern ...

in the extreme south-west of Scotland and the

River Nith The River Nith ( gd, Abhainn Nid; Common Brittonic: ''Nowios'') is a river in south-west Scotland. The Nith rises in the Carsphairn hills of East Ayrshire, more precisely between Prickeny Hill and Enoch Hill, east of Dalmellington. For the ...

and Cluden Water in eastern Dumfries and Galloway. It covers a set of rugged pastoral plains and forests across the region of

Galloway Galloway ( ; sco, Gallowa; la, Gallovidia) is a region in southwestern Scotland comprising the historic counties of Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire. It is administered as part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. A native or i ...

, taking in rural towns such as

Castle Douglas Castle Douglas ( gd, Caisteal Dhùghlais) is a town in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It lies in the lieutenancy area of Kirkcudbrightshire, in the eastern part of Galloway, between the towns of Dalbeattie and Gatehouse of Fleet. It is in th ...

Newton Stewart Newton Stewart ( Gd: ''Baile Ùr nan Stiùbhartach'') is a former burgh town in the historical county of Wigtownshire in Dumfries and Galloway, southwest Scotland. The town is on the River Cree with most of the town to the west of the river, and ...

Kirkcudbright Kirkcudbright ( ; sco, Kirkcoubrie; gd, Cille Chùithbeirt) is a town, parish and a Royal Burgh from 1455 in Kirkcudbrightshire, of which it is traditionally the county town, within Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. The town lies southwest of ...

and

St John's Town of Dalry St John's Town of Dalry ( gd, Clachan Eòin), usually referred to simply as Dalry ( / 'dal-RYE'), is a village in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, in the historic county of Kirkcudbrightshire. Location St Johns Town is located close to the ...

. To the west of the constituency is the portly town of Stranraer, situated at the base of

Loch Ryan Loch Ryan ( gd, Loch Rìoghaine, ) is a Scottish sea loch that acts as an important natural harbour for shipping, providing calm waters for ferries operating between Scotland and Northern Ireland. The town of Stranraer is the largest settlemen ...

, 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 dynamic was represented within local council politics with

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

traditionally voting SNP,

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative count ...

voting Conservative and Dumfries voting Labour. At Westminster the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency was represented by Conservative

Ian Lang Ian Bruce Lang, Baron Lang of Monkton, PC DL (born 27 June 1940) is a British Conservative Party politician and Life Peer who served as the Member of Parliament for Galloway, and then Galloway and Upper Nithsdale, from 1979 to 1997. On 29 Sep ...

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. In the 2022 council election, 5 out of 6 wards in Galloway and West Dumfries voted Conservative - with Galloway wards voting Conservative and

voting SNP.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election results

2020s

2010s

References

External links

* {{Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions 2011- Politics of Dumfries and Galloway Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011 Constituencies of the Scottish Parliament Constituencies established in 2011 2011 establishments in Scotland Dumfries Stranraer Dalbeattie Castle Douglas Newton Stewart Wigtownshire Whithorn Kirkcudbrightshire