# Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering parts of the council areas of Midlothian and Scottish Borders. Created for the 2011 election, it elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The constituency covers parts of the former constituencies of Midlothian and Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale. The remainder of Midlothian council area lies within the constituency of Midlothian North and Musselburgh, whilst the remainder of Scottish Borders forms the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency.

## Electoral region

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Galloway and West Dumfries and Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley.
The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.
Midlothian North and Musselburgh, which covers the rest of Midlothian, is part of the Lothian region.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

Since the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, the constituency of Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale has been formed from the following electoral wards:
* In full:
** Galashiels and District (Scottish Borders)
** Leaderdale and Melrose (Scottish Borders)
** Midlothian South (Midlothian)
** Penicuik (Midlothian)
** Tweeddale East (Scottish Borders)
** Tweeddale West (Scottish Borders)
* In part
** Midlothian West (in Midlothian, and shared with Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency)

## Members of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 2011 | Christine Grahame | Scottish National Party |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Christine Grahame | 19,807 | 46.0 | 0.9 | 17,902 | 41.51 | 1.84 |
| | Conservative | Shona Haslam | 12,981 | 30.2 | 1.6 | 12,079 | 28.01 | 0.65 |
| | Labour | Katherine Sangster | 5,410 | 12.6 | 3.4 | 5,679 | 13.17 | 0.85 |
| | Liberal Democrats | AC May | 2,615 | 6.1 | 4.3 | 2,832 | 6.57 | 1.59 |
| | Scottish Green | Dominic Ashmole | 2,154 | 5.0 | New | 3,007 | 6.97 | 0.18 |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 427 | 0.99 | New |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 405 | 0.94 | New |
| | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | 202 | 0.47 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 154 | 0.36 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 116 | 0.27 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 94 | 0.22 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 86 | 0.20 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 56 | 0.13 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 50 | 0.12 | 1.57 |
| | Vanguard Party (UK) | Michael Banks | 67 | 0.2 | New | 21 | 0.05 | New |
| | Scotia Future | Scotia Future | Scotia Future | Scotia Future | Scotia Future | 19 | 0.04 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6,863 | 15.8 | 0.7 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 43,034 | | | 43,129 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 137 | | | 62 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 43,171 | 66.4 | 7.0 | 43,191 | 66.4 | 7.0 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | 0.4 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Christine Grahame | 16,031 | 45.1 | 1.6 | 14,162 | 39.7 | 3.5 |
| | Conservative | Michelle Ballantyne | 10,163 | 28.6 | 16.8 | 10,230 | 28.7 | 14.7 |
| | Labour | Fiona Dugdale | 5,701 | 16.0 | 0.7 | 5,005 | 14.0 | 2.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Kris Chapman | 3,686 | 10.4 | 17.6 | 2,912 | 8.2 | 7.1 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,426 | 6.8 | 2.1 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 602 | 1.7 | 0.7 |
| | Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent | 125 | 0.4 | New |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 121 | 0.3 | 1.4 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 114 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,868 | 16.5 | 1.0 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 35,581 | | | 35,697 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 156 | | | 54 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,737 | 59.4 | 4.1 | 35,751 | 59.4 | 4.1 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Christine Grahame | 13,855 | 43.5 | N/A | 13,796 | 43.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jeremy Purvis | 8,931 | 28.0 | N/A | 4,894 | 15.3 | N/A |
| | Labour | Ian Miller | 5,312 | 16.7 | N/A | 5,353 | 16.8 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Peter Duncan | 3,743 | 11.8 | N/A | 4,465 | 14.0 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,500 | 4.7 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 527 | 1.7 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 396 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 319 | 1.0 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 196 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 186 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 180 | 0.6 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 100 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,924 | 15.5 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 31,841 | | | 31,912 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 126 | | | 53 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,967 | 55.3 | N/A | 31,965 | 55.3 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency ↑ Incumbent member for the Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale constituency |||||||||

## Footnotes

* ↑ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
* ↑ "The New Scottish Parliament Constituencies 2011" (PDF). BBC News online. 8 September 2010. p. 24. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
* 1 2 "First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Final Report" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2010. p. 120. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
* ↑ "Constituencies A-Z: Midlothian South, Tweeddale & Lauderdale". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
* ↑ "Christine Grahame elected as MSP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale". Scottish Borders Council. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
* ↑ "Scottish Parliament election results 2016". Scottish Borders Council. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
* ↑ "Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale 2016 election results - list" (PDF). Scottish Borders Council. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
* ↑ "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.