Post by ntyuk1707 on Oct 25, 2023 9:19:14 GMT
Dumfries and Galloway is a county constituency covering the region of Galloway in south-west Scotland and the town of Dumfries located 24-miles away from the Scotland-England border.
Dumfries is a socially mixed town containing eight of Scotland's 20% most deprived datazones and ten of Scotland's 20% least deprived datazones. The social division of the town is reflected in its politics, with a correspondingly strong Conservative vote in middle-class suburban areas in eastern and south-western Dumfries, contrasting a stronger Labour vote in more working-class areas in central and north-western areas of Dumfries, which have since moved towards the SNP.
The former Dumfriesshire parliamentary constituency, which included the more rural Conservative-leaning areas of Annandale and Eskdale nearing the Scotland-England border, was represented by the Liberal National Party and subsequently Conservative and Unionist Party from 1931 through to 1997, with the Labour Party consistently winning over 35% until the 1970s, before Labour's Russell Brown's victory in the seat at the 1997 general election. In the Scottish Parliament, Dumfriesshire was represented by Labour's Elaine Murray from the Parliament's inception in 1999 until 2016, while western Dumfries joined Galloway to be represented by Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson from 2011 to 2016. Following a brief interlude of voting SNP at the 2015 UK general election, improved electoral fortunes for the Conservatives in Scotland allowed the party to win the Dumfriesshire constituency in the Scottish Parliament in 2016, and for Alister Jack to gain the Dumfries and Galloway constituency at Westminster in 2017 with a 5,643-vote majority (10.9%), which then fell back to 1,805 votes ahead of the SNP (3.5%), aided by a better showing for the SNP in the town of Dumfries.
Despite this, in 2021, the Conservatives saw their majorities in the Scottish Parliament increase from 1,514 to 2,635 in the Galloway and West Dumfries seat and from 1,230 to 4,066 in Dumfriesshire.
Galloway spans from the Rhins of Galloway in the far south-west of Scotland, including Scotland's most southerly point, to the outskirts of the town of Dumfries. The region includes the Galloway Forest, the rolling hills of the Southern Uplands, and many former market towns as well as the harbour town of Stranraer near to the port of Cairnryan, where there are Stena Line and P&O ferry terminals to Belfast.
The region is comprised of the former counties of Wigtownshire to the west and Kirkcudbrightshire to the east. Kirkcudbrightshire includes mid-market towns like Castle Douglas, Dalbettie, Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet, while Wigtownshire includes the more socially deprived towns of Stranraer and Newton Stewart. Traditionally, Kirkcudbrightshire tended to return a stronger vote for the Conservatives, with Wigtownshire being a better area for the SNP. This contributed to Galloway being a Conservative seat from 1931 through to 1997, with the SNP briefly winning the seat at the October 1974 general election. In 1997 and in the 1999 Scottish election, the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency voted SNP, before becoming the only Conservative seat in Scotland at Westminster in 2001. A redistribution of boundaries in 2005 saw Upper Nithsdale leave the seat to be replaced by Dumfries, which allowed the Labour party to win the newly created Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Sitting Conservative MP Peter Duncan made the miscalculation of standing in the Dumfries and Galloway constituency rather than its more rural neighbour of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, which was a notional Labour seat but has returned David Mundell of the Conservatives as its MP since 2005.
In the Scottish Parliament, Galloway has been represented by Conservative constituency MSPs since 2003. At the 2016 EU membership referendum, it is estimated that Wigtownshire voted to Leave the European Union. This, combined with strong opposition to Scottish independence in the county, has seen the county swing substantially towards the Conservatives to become a better area for the party than its traditional heartland of Kirkcudbrightshire in eastern Galloway.
While the Alister Jack won the seat with a marginal majority of 1,805, a strong Conservative performance in the area at the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election and worsening electoral prospects for the SNP will likely see the Conservatives win the seat at next year's UK general election, with a recovering Labour vote in Dumfries.
At the 2014 independence referendum, the constituency voted approximately 63% No to independence: breaking down to a 60% No vote in Dumfries and 65% No vote in Galloway.
Boundary change in the constituency is minor - seeing the loss of the Mid Nithsdale villages of Kirkton, Duncow, Dalswinton, Auldgirth, Blackwood and Allanton, to be replaced by the lower Nithsdale villages of Loaningfoot, Netherwood, Kelton, Glencaple, Bankend, Shearington and Blackshaw (a net gain of 1,531 electors)
Dumfries is a socially mixed town containing eight of Scotland's 20% most deprived datazones and ten of Scotland's 20% least deprived datazones. The social division of the town is reflected in its politics, with a correspondingly strong Conservative vote in middle-class suburban areas in eastern and south-western Dumfries, contrasting a stronger Labour vote in more working-class areas in central and north-western areas of Dumfries, which have since moved towards the SNP.
The former Dumfriesshire parliamentary constituency, which included the more rural Conservative-leaning areas of Annandale and Eskdale nearing the Scotland-England border, was represented by the Liberal National Party and subsequently Conservative and Unionist Party from 1931 through to 1997, with the Labour Party consistently winning over 35% until the 1970s, before Labour's Russell Brown's victory in the seat at the 1997 general election. In the Scottish Parliament, Dumfriesshire was represented by Labour's Elaine Murray from the Parliament's inception in 1999 until 2016, while western Dumfries joined Galloway to be represented by Conservative MSP Alex Fergusson from 2011 to 2016. Following a brief interlude of voting SNP at the 2015 UK general election, improved electoral fortunes for the Conservatives in Scotland allowed the party to win the Dumfriesshire constituency in the Scottish Parliament in 2016, and for Alister Jack to gain the Dumfries and Galloway constituency at Westminster in 2017 with a 5,643-vote majority (10.9%), which then fell back to 1,805 votes ahead of the SNP (3.5%), aided by a better showing for the SNP in the town of Dumfries.
Despite this, in 2021, the Conservatives saw their majorities in the Scottish Parliament increase from 1,514 to 2,635 in the Galloway and West Dumfries seat and from 1,230 to 4,066 in Dumfriesshire.
Galloway spans from the Rhins of Galloway in the far south-west of Scotland, including Scotland's most southerly point, to the outskirts of the town of Dumfries. The region includes the Galloway Forest, the rolling hills of the Southern Uplands, and many former market towns as well as the harbour town of Stranraer near to the port of Cairnryan, where there are Stena Line and P&O ferry terminals to Belfast.
The region is comprised of the former counties of Wigtownshire to the west and Kirkcudbrightshire to the east. Kirkcudbrightshire includes mid-market towns like Castle Douglas, Dalbettie, Kirkcudbright and Gatehouse of Fleet, while Wigtownshire includes the more socially deprived towns of Stranraer and Newton Stewart. Traditionally, Kirkcudbrightshire tended to return a stronger vote for the Conservatives, with Wigtownshire being a better area for the SNP. This contributed to Galloway being a Conservative seat from 1931 through to 1997, with the SNP briefly winning the seat at the October 1974 general election. In 1997 and in the 1999 Scottish election, the Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituency voted SNP, before becoming the only Conservative seat in Scotland at Westminster in 2001. A redistribution of boundaries in 2005 saw Upper Nithsdale leave the seat to be replaced by Dumfries, which allowed the Labour party to win the newly created Dumfries and Galloway constituency.
Sitting Conservative MP Peter Duncan made the miscalculation of standing in the Dumfries and Galloway constituency rather than its more rural neighbour of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale, which was a notional Labour seat but has returned David Mundell of the Conservatives as its MP since 2005.
In the Scottish Parliament, Galloway has been represented by Conservative constituency MSPs since 2003. At the 2016 EU membership referendum, it is estimated that Wigtownshire voted to Leave the European Union. This, combined with strong opposition to Scottish independence in the county, has seen the county swing substantially towards the Conservatives to become a better area for the party than its traditional heartland of Kirkcudbrightshire in eastern Galloway.
While the Alister Jack won the seat with a marginal majority of 1,805, a strong Conservative performance in the area at the 2021 Scottish Parliamentary election and worsening electoral prospects for the SNP will likely see the Conservatives win the seat at next year's UK general election, with a recovering Labour vote in Dumfries.
At the 2014 independence referendum, the constituency voted approximately 63% No to independence: breaking down to a 60% No vote in Dumfries and 65% No vote in Galloway.
Boundary change in the constituency is minor - seeing the loss of the Mid Nithsdale villages of Kirkton, Duncow, Dalswinton, Auldgirth, Blackwood and Allanton, to be replaced by the lower Nithsdale villages of Loaningfoot, Netherwood, Kelton, Glencaple, Bankend, Shearington and Blackshaw (a net gain of 1,531 electors)
