Glenrothes and Mid Fife
UK Parliament constituency (since 2005)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Glenrothes and Mid Fife (/ɡlɛnˈrɒθɪs/) is a constituency in Scotland in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament, represented by Richard Baker of the Labour Party since the 2024 general election. The seat was previously held by Peter Grant of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The seat includes the major settlements of Glenrothes, Levenmouth (part of), Lochgelly, Kelty and Cardenden.
| Glenrothes and Mid Fife | |
|---|---|
| County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Location of Glenrothes and Mid Fife within Scotland | |
| Subdivisions of Scotland | Fife |
| Electorate | 69,734 (March 2020)[1] |
| Major settlements | Glenrothes, Levenmouth (part of), Lochgelly, Kelty and Cardenden |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2005 (as Glenrothes) |
| Member of Parliament | Richard Baker (Scottish Labour) |
| Created from | Central Fife |
It was created at the 2005 general election as Glenrothes, and renamed as Glenrothes and Mid Fife for the 2024 general election under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies.[2]
Boundaries
2005–2024: Under the Fifth Review of UK Parliament constituencies, the constituency boundaries were defined in accordance with the ward structure in place on 30 November 2004 and contained the Fife Council wards of Cardenden, Cluny and Chapel; Kinglassie, Bowhill and Dundonald; Wemyss and Muiredge; Buckhaven and Denbeath; Methilhill; Methil; Leven West and Kirkland; Kennoway; Windygates, Star and Balgonie; Markinch and Woodside East; Auchmuty and Woodside West; Pitteuchar and Finglassie North; Thornton, Stenton and Finglassie South; Caskieberran and Rimbleton; Newcastle and Tanshall; South Parks and Macedonia; Leslie and Whinnyknowe; Balgeddie and Collydean; Cadham, Pitcoudie and Balfarg.
2024–present: Under the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the 2024 general election, the renamed constituency contains the following wards or part wards of Fife Council:[3][4]
- In full: Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty; Glenrothes West and Kinglassie; Glenrothes North, Leslie and Markinch; Glenrothes Central and Thornton; Buckhaven, Methil and Wemyss Villages.
- In part: Cowdenbeath (community of Kelty).
As a result of the boundary review, the communities of Lochgelly, Kelty and the Benarty area were added from the (renamed) Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy constituency. To compensate, Kennoway, Windygates and west Leven were transferred to North East Fife.
The revised 2024 boundaries of the constituency centre on Glenrothes and its surrounding villages; Coaltown of Balgonie, Leslie, Markinch, Milton of Balgonie and Thornton. Moving south and west to include Ballingry, Cardenden, Kelty, Kinglassie, Lochgelly and Lochore. In the east, the seat includes parts of the Levenmouth conurbation, including Buckhaven, Methil and the Wemyss villages; East Wemyss, West Wemyss, and Coaltown of Wemyss.
History
Glenrothes was created for the 2005 general election, mostly replacing Central Fife, but incorporating small parts of Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline East.
Creation in 2005–2008
The first holder of the newly created seat was John MacDougall, who died on 13 August 2008,[5] triggering a by-election.
2008
In the 2008 by election, Lindsay Roy was elected, the Labour majority falling by around 4,000 votes, with the Labour vote increasing by 3%; the SNP making significant gains from the lower-placed Conservative and the Liberal Democrat candidates.[6]
2010 general election
With the 2010 general election, the Labour share of the vote increased by 10% at the expense of the SNP candidate. The winner's total reached 62% of the votes cast, which places the seat in the top decile of seats won and therefore indicates a safe seat majority. Relative to the 2005 general election the swing against the SNP was less accentuated than relative to the by-election at 4.45% of the vote on the standard two-party measure of swing, which is comparable to the national swing.
Members of Parliament
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Richard Baker | 15,994 | 44.3 | +16.9 | |
| SNP | John Beare | 13,040 | 36.1 | −13.4 | |
| Reform | Ian Smith | 3,528 | 9.8 | +6.8 | |
| Conservative | Debbie MacCallum | 1,973 | 5.5 | −9.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jill Reilly | 1,604 | 4.4 | ±0.0 | |
| Majority | 2,954 | 8.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 36,139 | 51.33 | −9.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 70,655 | ||||
| Labour gain from SNP | Swing | +15.1 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| 2019 notional result [a] [10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Vote | % | |
| SNP | 20,921 | 49.5 | |
| Labour | 11,569 | 27.4 | |
| Conservative | 6,482 | 15.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 1,876 | 4.4 | |
| Brexit Party | 1,284 | 3.0 | |
| Scottish Greens | 146 | 0.3 | |
| Majority | 9,352 | 22.1 | |
| Turnout | 42,278 | 60.6 | |
| Electorate | 69,734 | ||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 21,234 | 51.1 | +8.3 | |
| Labour | Pat Egan | 9,477 | 22.8 | −11.9 | |
| Conservative | Amy Thomson | 6,920 | 16.7 | −2.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 2,639 | 6.4 | +3.4 | |
| Brexit Party | Victor Farrell | 1,276 | 3.1 | New | |
| Majority | 11,757 | 28.3 | +20.2 | ||
| Turnout | 41,546 | 63.2 | +2.3 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | +10.1 | |||
The Brexit Party withdrew support for Victor Farrell over homophobic remarks.[13]
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 17,291 | 42.8 | −17.0 | |
| Labour | Altany Craik | 14,024 | 34.7 | +4.1 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Brown | 7,876 | 19.5 | +11.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Bell | 1,208 | 3.0 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 3,267 | 8.1 | −21.1 | ||
| Turnout | 40,399 | 60.9 | −7.3 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | −10.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 28,459 | 59.8 | +38.1 | |
| Labour | Melanie Ward | 14,562 | 30.6 | −31.7 | |
| Conservative | Alex Stewart-Clark[17] | 3,685 | 7.7 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston[18] | 892 | 1.9 | −5.8 | |
| Majority | 13,897 | 29.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 47,598 | 68.2 | +8.5 | ||
| SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +35.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsay Roy | 25,247 | 62.3 | +10.4 | |
| SNP | David Alexander | 8,799 | 21.7 | −1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harry Wills | 3,108 | 7.7 | −5.0 | |
| Conservative | Sheila Low | 2,922 | 7.2 | +0.1 | |
| UKIP | Kris Seunarine | 425 | 1.0 | −0.2 | |
| Majority | 16,448 | 40.6 | +12.1 | ||
| Turnout | 40,501 | 59.7 | +3.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +6.0 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsay Roy | 19,946 | 55.1 | +3.2 | |
| SNP | Peter Grant | 13,209 | 36.5 | +13.1 | |
| Conservative | Maurice Golden | 1,381 | 3.8 | −3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harry Wills | 947 | 2.6 | −10.1 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | Jim Parker | 296 | 0.8 | −1.1 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 212 | 0.6 | −1.3 | |
| UKIP | Kris Seunarine | 117 | 0.3 | −0.9 | |
| Solidarity | Louise McLeary | 87 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 6,737 | 18.61 | −9.89 | ||
| Turnout | 36,195 | 52.37 | −3.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | −4.96 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John MacDougall | 19,395 | 51.9 | −6.0 | |
| SNP | John Beare | 8,731 | 23.4 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Riches | 4,728 | 12.7 | +4.8 | |
| Conservative | Belinda Don | 2,651 | 7.1 | −0.4 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | George Rodger | 716 | 1.9 | New | |
| Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 705 | 1.9 | −0.8 | |
| UKIP | Paul Smith | 440 | 1.2 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 10,664 | 28.5 | −5.4 | ||
| Turnout | 37,366 | 56.1 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
Notes
- Estimate of the 2019 general election result as if the revised boundaries recommended under the 2023 boundary review were in place