Dumfries & Galloway
Apr 26, 2020 18:37:28 GMT
robertwaller, Lord Twaddleford (dormant), and 5 more like this
Post by Deleted on Apr 26, 2020 18:37:28 GMT
As the name would suggest - this large and mostly rural Southern Uplands constituency covers the town of Dumfries and the region of Galloway - which combines the historic County of Wigtown and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. The landscape of this constituency is dominated by farmland and small port towns along the attractive coastline. The second largest settlement in the constituency is Stranraer, with nearby Cairnryan serving as an important ferry connection to Northern Ireland. Other notable settlements include the aforementioned Wigtown, known for being "Scotland's National Book Town" and for the infamous Wigtown Martyrs, as well as Isle of Whithorn, known for it's connection to the ancient St Ninian.
The current constituency was created in 2005, combining the entirety of the former Galloway & Upper Nithsdale constituency with a geographically small but populous section of the Dumfries constituency. The Galloway section of the constituency has been somewhat over-represented at the Scotland office, with two MPs having served as Secretary of State for Scotland since the 1990s, and one as Shadow Secretary of State.
Upon the creation of the constituency, it was contested by the sitting Conservative MP for Galloway & Upper Nithsdale - Peter Duncan, and Labour MP for Dumfries - Russell Brown. While it was suggested that the constituency was notionally Conservative - in the event - Brown was narrowly victorious over Duncan. This was the first time in history that Galloway had elected a Labour MP, having traditionally been a Conservative/SNP marginal area. Analysis of the results would suggest that the significant SNP vote collapsed in Brown's favour, coalescing around Labour as the anti-Conservative option.
Duncan once again sought a return to Westminster in 2010 - however on this occasion Russell Brown significantly increased his majority - perhaps now benefiting from incumbency across the entirety of the new constituency. By 2015, Labour's fortunes in Dumfries & Galloway and across Scotland as a whole were failing, and like almost every other Labour constituency in Scotland - it fell in the SNP landslide. By comparison, the swing against the Conservatives was small - as a result, this was the only constituency which Labour lost in 2015 in which they fell to third.
However, as with the two occasions when the SNP have gained Dumfries & Galloway's predecessor constituencies, they were unable to defend it from the Conservatives who comfortably gained the constituency in 2017 amid a significant increase in Scottish support. In 2019, the Conservatives held the seat with a reduced majority, as the Labour vote share continued to collapse in the SNP's favour.
The Conservatives perform most strongly in Kirkcudbrightshire, while the deprived areas of Wigtownshire such as Glenluce were once the best in the constituency for the SNP - however in recent years, rural Wigtownshire has trended to the Conservatives. The SNP's strength in the constituency now lies primarily in the urban areas of Dumfries and Stranraer.
The current constituency was created in 2005, combining the entirety of the former Galloway & Upper Nithsdale constituency with a geographically small but populous section of the Dumfries constituency. The Galloway section of the constituency has been somewhat over-represented at the Scotland office, with two MPs having served as Secretary of State for Scotland since the 1990s, and one as Shadow Secretary of State.
Upon the creation of the constituency, it was contested by the sitting Conservative MP for Galloway & Upper Nithsdale - Peter Duncan, and Labour MP for Dumfries - Russell Brown. While it was suggested that the constituency was notionally Conservative - in the event - Brown was narrowly victorious over Duncan. This was the first time in history that Galloway had elected a Labour MP, having traditionally been a Conservative/SNP marginal area. Analysis of the results would suggest that the significant SNP vote collapsed in Brown's favour, coalescing around Labour as the anti-Conservative option.
Duncan once again sought a return to Westminster in 2010 - however on this occasion Russell Brown significantly increased his majority - perhaps now benefiting from incumbency across the entirety of the new constituency. By 2015, Labour's fortunes in Dumfries & Galloway and across Scotland as a whole were failing, and like almost every other Labour constituency in Scotland - it fell in the SNP landslide. By comparison, the swing against the Conservatives was small - as a result, this was the only constituency which Labour lost in 2015 in which they fell to third.
However, as with the two occasions when the SNP have gained Dumfries & Galloway's predecessor constituencies, they were unable to defend it from the Conservatives who comfortably gained the constituency in 2017 amid a significant increase in Scottish support. In 2019, the Conservatives held the seat with a reduced majority, as the Labour vote share continued to collapse in the SNP's favour.
The Conservatives perform most strongly in Kirkcudbrightshire, while the deprived areas of Wigtownshire such as Glenluce were once the best in the constituency for the SNP - however in recent years, rural Wigtownshire has trended to the Conservatives. The SNP's strength in the constituency now lies primarily in the urban areas of Dumfries and Stranraer.
