Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (UK Parliament constituency)
UK Parliament constituency (1983–2005)
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Galloway and Upper Nithsdale was a county constituency which returned one Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, elected by the first past the post voting system.
| Galloway and Upper Nithsdale | |
|---|---|
| Former county constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Galloway and Upper Nithsdale in Scotland for the 2001 general election | |
| Subdivision | Dumfries and Galloway |
| Major settlements | Stranraer, Castle Douglas, Dalbeattie, Kirkcudbright, Newton Stewart |
| 1983–2005 | |
| Seats | 1 |
| Created from | Galloway and Dumfries[1] |
| Replaced by | Dumfries and Galloway |
The constituency was created for the 1983 general election (partly replacing the former Galloway constituency), and abolished for the 2005 general election, when it was replaced by Dumfries and Galloway.
The constituency was notable in being the only seat in all of Scotland won by the Conservative Party at the 2001 general election, and was one of the very few seats that changed hands in that election.
Boundaries
1983–1997: Stewartry District, Wigtown District, and the Nithsdale District electoral divisions of Kirkconnel, Mabie, Mid Nithsdale, and Sanquhar and Queensberry.
1997–2005: Stewartry District, Wigtown District, and the Nithsdale District electoral divisions of Queensberry, Upper Nithsdale, and West Nithsdale.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member[2] | Party | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1983 | Ian Lang | Conservative | Member for main predecessor seat (1979–1983) Secretary of State for Scotland (1990–1995) Secretary of State for Trade and Industry (1995–1997) | |
| 1997 | Alasdair Morgan | SNP | Leader of the SNP in Westminster (1999–2001) Elected to in Scottish Parliament in 1999 | |
| 2001 | Peter Duncan | Conservative | Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland (2003–2005) Contested Dumfries and Galloway following redistribution | |
| 2005 | constituency abolished: see Dumfries and Galloway | |||
Elections
Elections of the 1980s
| 1979 notional result[3] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| Conservative | 18,549 | 45.7 | |
| SNP | 13,319 | 32.8 | |
| Labour | 4,810 | 11.9 | |
| Liberal | 3,881 | 9.6 | |
| Turnout | 40,559 | ||
| Electorate | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Lang | 17,579 | 44.7 | −1.0 | |
| SNP | George Thompson | 12,118 | 30.8 | −2.0 | |
| Liberal | Gerald Douglas | 5,129 | 13.1 | +3.5 | |
| Labour | Malcolm Miller | 4,464 | 11.4 | −0.5 | |
| Majority | 5,461 | 13.9 | +1.0 | ||
| Turnout | 39,290 | 75.8 | |||
| Registered electors | 51,831 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | +0.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Lang | 16,592 | 40.4 | −4.3 | |
| SNP | Stephen Norris | 12,919 | 31.5 | +0.6 | |
| Liberal | John McKercher | 6,001 | 14.6 | +1.6 | |
| Labour | James Gray | 5,298 | 12.9 | +1.5 | |
| Independent | Dan Kenny | 230 | 0.6 | New | |
| Majority | 3,673 | 8.9 | −5.0 | ||
| Turnout | 41,040 | 76.8 | +1.0 | ||
| Registered electors | 53,429 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −2.5 | |||
Elections of the 1990s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Ian Lang | 18,681 | 42.0 | +1.6 | |
| SNP | Matt Brown | 16,213 | 36.4 | +5.0 | |
| Labour | John Dowson | 5,766 | 13.0 | +0.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John McKerchar | 3,826 | 8.6 | −6.0 | |
| Majority | 2,468 | 5.5 | −3.4 | ||
| Turnout | 44,486 | 81.7 | +4.9 | ||
| Registered electors | 54,474 | ||||
| Conservative hold | Swing | −1.7 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Alasdair Morgan | 18,449 | 43.9 | +7.5 | |
| Conservative | Ian Lang | 12,825 | 30.5 | −11.5 | |
| Labour | Katy Clark | 6,861 | 16.3 | +3.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | John McKerchar | 2,700 | 6.4 | −2.2 | |
| Independent | Robert Wood | 566 | 1.3 | New | |
| Referendum | Alan Kennedy | 428 | 1.0 | New | |
| UKIP | Joseph Smith | 189 | 0.4 | New | |
| Majority | 5,624 | 13.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 42,018 | 79.7 | −1.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 52,751 | ||||
| SNP gain from Conservative | Swing | +9.5 | |||
Elections of the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conservative | Peter Duncan | 12,222 | 34.0 | +3.5 | |
| SNP | Malcolm Fleming | 12,148 | 33.8 | −10.1 | |
| Labour | Thomas Sloan | 7,258 | 20.2 | +3.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Neil Wallace | 3,698 | 10.3 | +3.9 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Andy Harvey | 588 | 1.6 | New | |
| Majority | 74 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 35,914 | 67.4 | −12.3 | ||
| Registered electors | 52,756 | ||||
| Conservative gain from SNP | Swing | +6.8 | |||