Dumfriesshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Not to be confused with Dumfriesshire (Parliament of Scotland constituency).

Dumfriesshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Dhùn Phris) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Dumfries and Galloway. 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 nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Dumfriesshire
constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Dumfriesshire shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	75,849 (2019)
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Conservative
MSP	Oliver Mundell
Council area	Dumfries and Galloway
Created from	Dumfries, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale

Created for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the constituency comprises areas that were previously part of the old Dumfries and Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituencies, which were abolished and replaced by Dumfriesshire and Galloway and West Dumfries.

The seat has been held by Oliver Mundell of the Scottish Conservatives since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election. Mundell is the son of former Secretary of State for Scotland, David Mundell who holds the Westminster seat of Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

Electoral region

See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, East Lothian, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Galloway and West Dumfries, 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

Electoral wards of the Dumfriesshire Scottish Parliament constituency as of 2011

Dumfries and Galloway is represented in the Scottish Parliament by two constituencies: Dumfriesshire and Galloway and West Dumfries. Dumfriesshire covers the eastern part of the council area. The town of Dumfries is divided between the two constituencies.

The electoral wards in the Dumfriesshire constituency are listed below. All of these wards are part of Dumfries and Galloway:

• Mid and Upper Nithsdale
• Lochar
• Nith
• Annandale South
• Annandale North
• Annandale East and Eskdale

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	Elaine Murray	Labour
	2016	Oliver Mundell	Conservative

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Dumfriesshire

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Oliver Mundell	19,487	47.7	10.4	17,561	42.9	5.8
	SNP	Joan McAlpine	15,421	37.7	3.8	14,301	34.9	1.2
	Labour Co-op	Colin Smyth	4,671	11.4	13.8	4,834	11.8	7.5
	Scottish Green					1,376	3.4	0.2
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Brodie	1,314	3.2	0.3	1,034	2.5	0.5
	All for Unity					778	1.9	New
	Alba					292	0.7	New
	Independent Green Voice					163	0.4	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					151	0.4	New
	Scottish Family					134	0.3	New
	Reform UK					85	0.2	New
	UKIP					82	0.2	2.5
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					76	0.2	New
	Scottish Libertarian					44	0.1	New
	Scotia Future					15	0.0	New
	Vanguard					10	0.0	New
Majority			4,066	10.0	6.6
Valid Votes			40,893			40,883
Invalid Votes			111
Turnout			41,004	66.0	6.1
	Conservative hold		Swing
Notes

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Dumfriesshire

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Oliver Mundell	13,536	37.3	7.7	13,451	37.1	12.5
	SNP	Joan McAlpine	12,306	33.9	7.6	12,212	33.7	1.2
	Labour	Elaine Murray	9,151	25.2	14.3	7,019	19.3	11.1
	Scottish Green					1,178	3.2	0.7
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Brodie	1,267	3.5	1.0	1,080	3.0	0.5
	UKIP					990	2.7	0.9
	RISE					131	0.4	New
	Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent					126	0.3	New
	Solidarity					104	0.3	0.1
Majority			1,230	3.4	N/A
Valid Votes			36,260			36,291
Invalid Votes			101			82
Turnout			36,361	59.9	6.3	36,373	59.9	6.2
	Conservative gain from Labour		Swing		11.0
Notes

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Dumfriesshire

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Elaine Murray	12,624	39.6	N/A	9,719	30.4	N/A
	Conservative	Gill Dykes	9,468	29.7	N/A	7,841	24.5	N/A
	SNP	Aileen Orr	8,384	26.3	N/A	10,373	32.4	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Richard Brodie	1,419	4.4	N/A	1,123	3.5	N/A
	Scottish Green					822	2.6	N/A
	UKIP					587	1.8	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					566	1.8	N/A
	Socialist Labour					388	1.2	N/A
	BNP					235	0.7	N/A
	Scottish Christian					199	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					72	0.2	N/A
	Solidarity					48	0.2	N/A
Majority			3,156	9.9	N/A
Valid Votes			31,895			31,973
Invalid Votes			112			88
Turnout			32,007	53.6	N/A	32,061	53.7	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
Notes

External links

• "Dumfriesshire constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 7 August 2021.