South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)
Region or constituency of the Scottish Parliament
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South Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region. Under the additional-member electoral system used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, the region elects seven regional Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs), in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole, which thus elects a total of 17 MSPs.
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| South Scotland | |
|---|---|
| electoral region for the Scottish Parliament | |
South Scotland shown within Scotland | |
| Electorate | 594,925 (2022)[1] |
| Current electoral region | |
| Created | 2011 |
| MSPs | Scottish National Party 7 Scottish Conservative Party 6 Scottish Labour 3 |
| Council areas | Dumfries and Galloway East Ayrshire (part) Midlothian (part) Scottish Borders South Ayrshire South Lanarkshire (part) |
| Constituencies | Ayr Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley Clydesdale Dumfriesshire East Kilbride Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire Galloway and West Dumfries Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale |
The region was created as a result of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries in 2011, and largely replaced the South of Scotland region. As defined at the 2011 review, the South Scotland region covered the Dumfries and Galloway, East Ayrshire, Scottish Borders and South Ayrshire council areas in full and parts of the East Lothian, Midlothian and South Lanarkshire council areas, and covered nine constituencies.[2] Following the second periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries in 2025, the boundaries of the region were altered, and it now covers ten constituencies. The region now covers the whole of the council areas of Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, and South Ayrshire; and parts of the council areas of East Ayrshire, Midlothian, and South Lanarkshire.[3] By population it is now the largest of Scotland's eight electoral regions.[1]
Constituencies and local government areas
2026–present
As a result of the Second Periodic Review in 2025, the boundaries for the region and constituencies were redrawn for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election. South Scotland underwent considerable changes, with East Lothian being transferred to the new Edinburgh and Lothians East region, and the region gaining the East Kilbride and Hamilton, Larkhall and Stonehouse constituencies from the former Central Scotland region. Additionally, the region lost a small portion of the East Ayrshire council area to the West Scotland region due to a boundary changes of the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency.[4][5]
2011–2026
As a result of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries for the region and constituencies were redrawn for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
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1999–2011
Prior to the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries, the area which previously encompassed much of the South Scotland electoral region was known as the 'South of Scotland' electoral region. The constituencies were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies, as existing in at that time.[6]
The First Past the Post constituencies can be found below:
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The region covered the following local government areas: In full:
- Scottish Borders
- South Ayrshire
- Dumfries and Galloway
In part:
- East Ayrshire
- East Lothian
- Midlothian
- North Ayrshire
- South Lanarkshire
Members of the Scottish Parliament
Constituency MSPs
Regional List MSPs
N.B. This table is for presentation purposes only
| Parliament | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| as South of Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| 1st (1999–2003) |
Phil Gallie (Conservative) |
Alex Fergusson (Conservative) |
Christine Grahame (SNP) |
Michael Russell (SNP) |
Adam Ingram (SNP) |
Murray Tosh (Conservative) |
David Mundell (Conservative) | |||||||
| 2nd (2003–07) |
Rosemary Byrne (Socialist) |
Alasdair Morgan (SNP) |
Chris Ballance (Green) | |||||||||||
| Derek Brownlee (Conservative) | ||||||||||||||
| 3rd (2007–11) |
Michael Russell (SNP) |
Jim Hume (Lib Dem) |
Aileen Campbell (SNP) | |||||||||||
| as South Scotland | ||||||||||||||
| 4th (2011–16) |
Chic Brodie (SNP) |
Jim Hume (Lib Dem) |
Joan McAlpine (SNP) |
Aileen McLeod (SNP) |
Paul Wheelhouse (SNP) |
Claudia Beamish (Labour) |
Graeme Pearson (Labour) | |||||||
| 5th (2016–2021) |
Rachael Hamilton (Conservative) |
Brian Whittle (Conservative) |
Emma Harper (SNP) |
Colin Smyth (Labour) | ||||||||||
| Michelle Ballantyne (Conservative, then Reform UK) | ||||||||||||||
| 6th (2021–) |
Craig Hoy (Conservative) |
Sharon Dowey (Conservative) |
Carol Mochan (Labour) |
Martin Whitfield (Labour) | ||||||||||
Election results
2026 Scottish Parliament election
| 2026 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. | |
| SNP | Màiri McAllan, Alan Brown, Emma Harper, Siobhian Brown, Katie Hagmann, John Redpath, Collette Stevenson, Stephen Thompson, Alex Kerr, Allan Dorans, Kirsty Campbell, Ross Clark, Amjid Bashir | ||||
| Conservative | Rachael Hamilton, Craig Hoy, Finlay Carson, Sharon Dowey, Brian Whittle, Keith Cockburn, Julie Pirone, James Adams, Tracey Clark | ||||
| Labour | Carol Mochan, Joe Fagan, Linda Dorward, Ewan MacPhee | ||||
| Green | Laura Moodie, Ann McGuinness, Dominic Ashmole, Neil MacKinnon, Barbra Harvie, Cameron Garrett, Tim Clancey, Tom Kerr, Korin Vallance | ||||
| Liberal Democrats | Duncan Dunlop, Ray Georgeson, Aisha Mir, Richard Brodie, Charlotte Olcay | ||||
| Reform UK | Andrew Russell, Andrew Scott, Daniel Clarke, David Kirkwood, Tim Kelly, Jamie Langan, Senga Beresford, John McNamee, Anne Millar, Carolyn Grant | ||||
| Scottish Socialist | |||||
| Scottish Family | Gareth Kirk | ||||
2021 Scottish Parliament election
In the 2021 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 7 Scottish National Party MSPs (6 constituency members and 1 additional member)
- 3 Labour MSPs (additional members)
- 6 Conservative MSPs (3 constituency members and 3 additional member)
Constituency results
| 2021 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Ayr | Siobhian Brown | SNP gain from Conservative | |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | Elena Whitham | SNP hold | |
| Clydesdale | Màiri McAllan | SNP hold | |
| Dumfriesshire | Oliver Mundell | Conservative hold | |
| East Lothian | Paul McLennan | SNP gain from Labour | |
| Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | Rachael Hamilton | Conservative hold | |
| Galloway and West Dumfries | Finlay Carson | Conservative hold | |
| Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley | Willie Coffey | SNP hold | |
| Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | Christine Grahame | SNP hold | |
Additional Member results
| 2021 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland[7][8] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. | |
| SNP | Emma Harper, Joan McAlpine, Paul Wheelhouse, Màiri McAllan, Richard Walker, Heather Anderson, Siobhian Brown, Stacy Bradley, Paul McLennan, Ali Salamati, Stephen Thompson, Laura Brennan-Whitefield | 136,741 | 37.6 |  0.7 | |
| Conservative | Oliver Mundell, Rachael Hamilton, Craig Hoy, Brian Whittle, Sharon Dowey, Shona Haslam, Finlay Carson, Scott Hamilton, Alex Allison, Eric Holford, Alexandra Herdman, John Denerley | 121,730 | 33.5 |  1.4 | |
| Labour | Colin Smyth, Carol Mochan, Martin Whitfield, Claudia Beamish, Kevin McGregor, Katherine Sangster, Ian Davidson | 57,236 | 15.7 | 2.1 | |
| Green | Laura Moodie, Barbra Harvie, Dominic Ashmole, Katherine Malone, Charles Strang, Ciara Campbell, Peter Barlow, James Puchowski, Tristan Gray | 18,964 | 5.2 | 0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Catriona Bhatia, Jenny Marr | 12,422 | 3.4 | 0.3 | |
| All for Unity | George Galloway, Jamie Blackett, Dr Bruce Halliday, Jim Grindlay, Kirsteen Michell, Elspeth Grindlay, Malcolm MacDonald | 5,521 | 1.5 | 1.5 | |
| Alba | Cynthia Guthrie, Corri Wilson, Suzanne Blackley, Laurie Flynn | 3,896 | 1.1 | 1.1 | |
| Independent Green Voice | Maxwell Dunbar | 1,690 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
| Scottish Family | Charles McEwan, Dorothy Yost, Sophie Hendry, Theresa Gavin, Elizabeth Fabisiak | 1,659 | 0.5 | 0.5 | |
| Abolish the Scottish Parliament | John Ferguson, Simon Bellord | 1,126 | 0.3 | 0.3 | |
| Reform UK | Michelle Ballantyne, David Kirkwood, James Corbett, William Luke | 779 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| Freedom Alliance | Mandy Blackman, Amanda McConechy, Gillian Jamieson, Joy Rivett-Gill | 686 | 0.2 | 0.2 | |
| UKIP | Richard Elvin, Julia Searle, Patricia Mountain, Patricia Bryant, Nick Hollis, David Blaymires | 578 | 0.2 | 2.0 | |
| Scottish Libertarian | Stef Johnstone | 534 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
| Scotia Future | Chic Brodie | 194 | 0.1 | 0.1 | |
| Vanguard | Michael Banks | 92 | 0.0 |  0.0 | |
2016 Scottish Parliament election
In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 7 Scottish National Party MSPs (four constituency members and three additional members)
- 6 Conservative MSPs (four constituency members and two additional members)
- 3 Labour MSPs (one constituency member and two additional members)
Constituency results
| 2016 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Ayr | John Scott | Conservative hold | |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | Jeane Freeman | SNP hold | |
| Clydesdale | Aileen Campbell | SNP hold | |
| Dumfriesshire | Oliver Mundell | Conservative gain from Labour | |
| East Lothian | Iain Gray | Labour hold | |
| Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | John Lamont | Conservative hold | |
| Galloway and West Dumfries | Finlay Carson | Conservative hold | |
| Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley | Willie Coffey | SNP hold | |
| Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | Christine Grahame | SNP hold | |
Additional member results
| 2016 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | Joan McAlpine Paul Wheelhouse Emma Harper |
3 | -1 | 120,217 | 38.3 | -2.7 | |
| Conservative | Rachael Hamilton Brian Whittle |
2 | +2 | 100,753 | 32.1 | +12.6 | |
| Labour | Claudia Beamish Colin Smyth |
2 | ±0 | 56,072 | 17.8 | -7.5 | |
| Green | 0 | ±0 | 14,773 | 4.7 | +1.6 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | -1 | 11,775 | 3.7 | -1.7 | ||
| UKIP | 0 | ±0 | 6,726 | 2.1 | +1.0 | ||
| Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | 0 | ±0 | 1,485 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
| Solidarity | 0 | ±0 | 1,294 | 0.4 | +0.1 | ||
| RISE | 0 | ±0 | 1,097 | 0.3 | N/A | ||
2011 Scottish Parliament election
In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 8 Scottish National Party MSPs (four constituency members and four additional members)
- 4 Labour MSPs (two constituency members and two additional members)
- 3 Conservative MSPs (all constituency members)
- 1 Liberal Democrat MSP (additional member)
Constituency results
| 2011 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Ayr | John Scott | Conservative hold | |
| Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley | Adam Ingram | SNP gain from Labour | |
| Clydesdale | Aileen Campbell | SNP gain from Labour | |
| Dumfriesshire | Elaine Murray | Labour gain from Conservative | |
| East Lothian | Iain Gray | Labour hold | |
| Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire | John Lamont | Conservative hold | |
| Galloway and West Dumfries | Alex Fergusson | Conservative hold | |
| Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley | Willie Coffey | SNP hold | |
| MMidlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale | Christine Grahame | SNP hold | |
Additional member results
| 2011 Scottish Parliament election: South Scotland | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | Joan McAlpine Aileen McLeod Paul Wheelhouse Chic Brodie |
4 | -1 | 114,270 | 41.0 | +12.4 | |
| Labour | Claudia Beamish Graeme Pearson |
2 | +2 | 70,596 | 25.3 | -3.5 | |
| Conservative | 0 | -1 | 54,352 | 19.5 | -2.8 | ||
| Liberal Democrats | Jim Hume | 1 | ±0 | 15,096 | 5.4 | -4.5 | |
| Green | 0 | ±0 | 8,656 | 3.1 | -0.3 | ||
| Scottish Senior Citizens | 0 | ±0 | 4,418 | 1.6 | -0.4 | ||
| UKIP | 0 | ±0 | 3,343 | 1.2 | +0.6 | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | ±0 | 2,906 | 1.0 | +0.5 | ||
| BNP | 0 | ±0 | 2,017 | 0.7 | -0.4 | ||
| Scottish Christian | 0 | ±0 | 1,924 | 0.7 | -0.1 | ||
| Solidarity | 0 | ±0 | 813 | 0.3 | -0.7 | ||
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | ±0 | 697 | 0.2 | -0.2 | ||