Dunfermline (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Dunfermline
County constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Dunfermline shown within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Electorate62,615 (2022)[1]
Current constituency
Created2011
PartySNP
MSPShirley-Anne Somerville
Council areaFife

Dunfermline (Gaelic: Dùn Phàrlain) is a county constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering part of the council area of Fife.[2] It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Under the additional-member electoral system used for elections to the Scottish Parliament, it is also one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.[3] Created in 2011, it comprises parts of the former constituencies of Dunfermline East and Dunfermline West.[4]

Bill Walker narrowly won the seat for the Scottish National Party in 2011, however he resigned after being convicted of assault charges in 2013. This led to the 2013 Dunfermline by-election, in which Labour's Cara Hilton was elected, defeating the SNP's Shirley-Anne Somerville. However Somerville subsequently ousted Hilton in the 2016 election and was re-elected in 2021.

Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Mid Scotland and Fife region are: Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Cowdenbeath, Kirkcaldy, Mid Fife and Glenrothes, Fife North East, Perthshire North, Perthshire South and Kinross-shire and Stirling.[3] The region covers all of the Clackmannanshire council area, all of the Fife council area, all of the Perth and Kinross council area and all of the Stirling council area.[5]

Constituency boundaries and council area

Fife is represented in the Scottish Parliament by five constituencies, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Mid Fife and Glenrothes and Fife North East .[6]

The Dunfermline constituency was created by the first periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries ahead of the 2011 Scottish Parliament election from the following electoral wards of Fife Council:[4][2]

At the second periodic review of Scottish Parliament boundaries in 2025 the seat boundaries were very slightly altered by a minor change of the boundary with the Cowdenbeath constituency in order to match ward boundaries (no electors were affected by this boundary change).[7]

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election Member Party
2011 Bill Walker SNP
2012 Independent
2013 Cara Hilton Labour
2016 Shirley-Anne Somerville SNP

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Dunfermline[8][9]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Shirley-Anne Somerville[a] 20,048 49.0 5.7 16,623 40.5 0.4
Labour Julie MacDougall 11,384 27.8 1.7 8,468 20.6 2.5
Conservative Roz McCall 6,314 15.4 2.2 7,884 19.2 0.8
Green 3,432 8.4 3.0
Liberal Democrats Aude Boubaker-Calder 3,196 7.8 1.8 2,956 7.2 1.4
Alba 772 1.9 New
All for Unity 290 0.7 New
Scottish Family 228 0.6 New
Abolish the Scottish Parliament 97 0.2 New
Scottish Libertarian 94 0.2 New
Freedom Alliance (UK) 78 0.2 New
Reform 62 0.2 New
UKIP 42 0.1 1.6
Independent Martin Keatings 38 0.1 New
Renew 16 0.0 New
Independent Mercy Kamanja 3 0.0 New
Majority 8,664 21.2 7.4
Valid Votes 40,942 41,083
Invalid Votes 167 77
Turnout 41,109 66.0 8.8 41,160 66.0 8.8
SNP hold Swing
Notes
  1. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Dunfermline[9][a]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Shirley-Anne Somerville 14,257 43.3 5.7 13,223 40.1 0.9
Labour Cara Hilton[b] 9,699 29.5 6.1 7,634 23.1 8.8
Conservative James Reekie 5,797 17.6 10.5 6,597 20.0 12.2
Liberal Democrats James Calder 3,156 9.6 10.1 2,826 8.6 2.7
Green 1,796 5.4 2.2
UKIP 598 1.7 0.9
Solidarity 138 0.4 0.3
RISE 117 0.4 New
Scottish Libertarian 60 0.2 New
Majority 4,558 13.8 11.8
Valid Votes 32,909 32,989
Invalid Votes 99 31
Turnout 33,008 57.2 4.2 33,020 57.2 4.1
SNP hold Swing 5.9
Notes
  1. ^ Showing changes from 2011 election
  2. ^ Incumbent member for this constituency by virtue of by-election victory
Scottish Parliament by-election, 2013: Dunfermline[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Cara Hilton 10,279 42.5 6.9
SNP Shirley-Anne Somerville 7,402 30.7 6.9
Liberal Democrats Susan Leslie 2,852 11.8 7.9
Conservative James Reekie 2,009 8.3 1.2
UKIP Peter Adams 908 3.8 New
Green Zara Kitson 593 2.5 New
Independent John Black 161 0.7 New
Majority 2,877 11.8 N/A
Total valid votes 24,200
Rejected ballots 41
Turnout 24,241 42.8 10.2
Labour gain from SNP Swing 6.9
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Dunfermline[9][11][12]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
SNP Bill Walker 11,010 37.6 N/A 12,039 41.0 N/A
Labour Alex Rowley 10,420 35.6 N/A 9,371 31.9 N/A
Liberal Democrats Jim Tolson[a] 5,776 19.7 N/A 3,304 11.3 N/A
Conservative James Reekie 2,093 7.1 N/A 2,283 7.8 N/A
Green 928 3.2 N/A
All-Scotland Pensioners Party 420 1.4 N/A
UKIP 276 0.9 N/A
Socialist Labour 221 0.8 N/A
BNP 197 0.7 N/A
Scottish Christian 99 0.3 N/A
CPA 74 0.3 N/A
Scottish Socialist 72 0.2 N/A
Independent Andrew Roger 56 0.2 N/A
Solidarity 24 0.1 N/A
Majority 590 2.0 N/A
Valid Votes 29,299 29,364
Invalid Votes 92 82
Turnout 29,391 53.0 N/A 29,446 53.1 N/A
SNP win (new seat)
Notes
  1. ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

Footnotes

  1. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 25.
  2. ^ a b Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 141.
  3. ^ a b Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 28.
  4. ^ a b "First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Final Report" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2010. p. 160. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
  5. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 143.
  6. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 140-142.
  7. ^ Second Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries: Report to Scottish Ministers, p 110.
  8. ^ "Constituencies A-Z: Dunfermline". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  9. ^ a b c "Scottish Parliamentary Results". Fife Council. 14 May 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
  10. ^ "Dunfermline by-election briefing" (PDF). Scottish Parliament Information Centre. 25 October 2013. Retrieved 14 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
  12. ^ "2011 Election analysis (Excel 2.37MB)". Scottish Parliament. Retrieved 23 June 2021.

Bibliography