# Linlithgow (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Linlithgow is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of West Lothian. 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 Lothian 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.
The seat has been held by Fiona Hyslop of the Scottish National Party since the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the Lothian region are: Almond Valley, Edinburgh Central, Edinburgh Eastern, Edinburgh Northern and Leith, Edinburgh Pentlands, Edinburgh Southern, Edinburgh Western and Midlothian North and Musselburgh
The region includes all of the City of Edinburgh council area, parts of the East Lothian council area, parts of the Midlothian council area and all of the West Lothian council area.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The West Lothian council area is represented by two constituencies in the Scottish Parliament, these are Almond Valley and Linlithgow.
The Linlithgow constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The electoral wards used in this seat are:
* In full: Armadale and Blackridge, Bathgate, Broxburn, Uphall and Winchburgh and Linlithgow
* In part: Whitburn and Blackburn (shared with Almond Valley)
As of 2019, Linlithgow's population (95,663) was the highest among the 70 Holyrood mainland constituencies, almost one-third greater than those at the bottom of the list, the lowest being Argyll and Bute which had barely 60,000 within its boundaries.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1999 | Mary Mulligan | Labour |
| | 2011 | Fiona Hyslop | SNP |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Fiona Hyslop | 22,693 | 48.4 | 2.0 | 18,735 | 39.8 | 4.2 |
| | Labour | Kirsteen Sullivan | 12,588 | 26.9 | 0.8 | 10,135 | 21.6 | 1.5 |
| | Conservative | Charles Kennedy | 9,472 | 20.2 | 0.2 | 10,556 | 22.4 | 1.9 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 3,566 | 7.6 | 2.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sally Pattle | 2,126 | 4.5 | 1.1 | 1,551 | 3.3 | 0.8 |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 724 | 1.5 | New |
| | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | Animal Welfare | 393 | 0.8 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 330 | 0.7 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 221 | 0.5 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 146 | 0.3 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 128 | 0.3 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 120 | 0.3 | New |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 99 | 0.2 | 0.5 |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 88 | 0.2 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 88 | 0.2 | 2.4 |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 62 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | Ashley Graczyk | 39 | 0.1 | New |
| | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | SDP | 26 | 0.1 | New |
| | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | 14 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,105 | 21.5 | 2.8 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 46,879 | | | 47,021 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 199 | | | 91 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 47,078 | 62.2 | 8.2 | 47,112 | 62.3 | 8.3 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Fiona Hyslop | 19,362 | 50.4 | 0.6 | 16,987 | 44.0 | 2.4 |
| | Labour | Angela Moohan | 10,027 | 26.1 | 11.7 | 8,905 | 23.1 | 7.6 |
| | Conservative | Charles Kennedy | 7,699 | 20.0 | 12.3 | 7,931 | 20.5 | 13.1 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,179 | 5.6 | 2.4 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 1,001 | 2.6 | 1.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dan Farthing-Sykes | 1,319 | 3.4 | 0.4 | 961 | 2.5 | 0.4 |
| | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | Women's Equality | 269 | 0.7 | New |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 248 | 0.6 | 0.5 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 133 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 9,335 | 24.3 | 12.3 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 38,407 | | | 38,614 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 143 | | | 35 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 38,550 | 54.0 | 1.3 | 35,649 | 54.0 | 1.2 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Fiona Hyslop | 17,027 | 49.8 | N/A | 15,883 | 46.4 | N/A |
| | Labour | Mary Mulligan | 12,936 | 37.8 | N/A | 10,517 | 30.7 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Chris Donnelly | 2,646 | 7.7 | N/A | 2,524 | 7.4 | N/A |
| | Independent | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | Margo MacDonald | 1,644 | 4.8 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,088 | 3.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jennifer Lang | 1,015 | 3.0 | N/A | 680 | 2.0 | N/A |
| | National Front | Michael Coyle | 558 | 1.6 | N/A | | | |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 463 | 1.4 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 436 | 1.3 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 315 | 0.9 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 248 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 142 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 127 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | CPA | 78 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | 52 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 24 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | David Hogg | 9 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | Ken O'Neil | 8 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Independent | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | Mev Brown | 5 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,091 | 12.0 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 34,182 | | | 34,243 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 113 | | | 79 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 34,295 | 52.7 | N/A | 34,322 | 52.8 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) |
| Notes 1 2 Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mary Mulligan | 12,715 | 42.9 | +1.1 |
| | SNP | Fiona Hyslop | 11,565 | 39.0 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | Donald Cameron | 3,125 | 10.5 | −0.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Oliver | 2,232 | 7.5 | 0.0 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,150 | 3.9 | −3.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,637 | 52.7 | +1.6 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.2 | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mary Mulligan | 11,548 | 41.8 | −3.3 |
| | SNP | Fiona Hyslop | 9,578 | 34.6 | −1.9 |
| | Conservative | Gordon Lindhurst | 3,059 | 11.1 | +1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Martin Oliver | 2,093 | 7.5 | −0.3 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Steven Nimmo | 1,367 | 4.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,970 | 7.2 | −1.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,645 | 51.1 | −11.2 |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -3.4 | |

### 1990s

1999 Scottish Parliament election: Linlithgow :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Mary Mulligan | 15,247 | 45.1 | N/A |
| | SNP | Stewart Stevenson | 12,319 | 36.5 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Gordon Lindhurst | 3,158 | 9.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | John Barrett | 2,643 | 7.8 | N/A |
| | Independent | Irene Overstone | 415 | 1.2 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,928 | 8.6 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 36,710 | 62.3 | N/A |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* 1 2 Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "Election Results". West Lothian Council. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
* ↑ "Constituencies A-Z: Linlithgow]". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
* ↑ "Scottish Parliament Elections 2016" (PDF). West Lothian Council. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
* ↑ "Scottish Parliament Elections 2011" (PDF). West Lothian Council. Retrieved 5 July 2021.