# Galloway and Upper Nithsdale (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Galloway and Upper Nithsdale was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. This constituency was abolished for the 2011 election, with 78.4% of the constituency being incorporated into the new Galloway and West Dumfries (Scottish Parliament constituency), with the rest becoming part of the Dumfriesshire (Scottish Parliament constituency).

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The Galloway and Upper Nithsdale 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.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

Alex Fergusson represented the constituency from the 2003 election until its abolition in 2011, having previously been an additional MSP for the South of Scotland region from 1999 to 2003. Originally elected as a Conservative, he was the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament from 2007 to 2011, a post which required him to relinquish party allegiance.
| Election | Member | Party |
| 1999 | Alasdair Morgan | Scottish National Party |
| 2003 | Alex Fergusson | Conservative |
| 2007 | Alex Fergusson | Presiding Officer |
| 2011 | constituency abolished: replaced by Dumfriesshire, and Galloway and West Dumfries | constituency abolished: replaced by Dumfriesshire, and Galloway and West Dumfries |

## Election results

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Galloway and Upper Nithsdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alex Fergusson | 13,387 | 44.2 | +6.0 |
| | SNP | Alasdair Morgan | 10,054 | 33.2 | −4.7 |
| | Labour | Stephen Hodgson | 4,935 | 16.3 | +1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Alastair Cooper | 1,631 | 5.4 | −0.8 |
| | Independent | Sandy Richardson | 311 | 1.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,333 | 11.0 | +10.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 31,295 | | |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Galloway and Upper Nithsdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alex Fergusson | 11,332 | 38.2 | +8.0 |
| | SNP | Alasdair Morgan | 11,233 | 37.9 | −1.4 |
| | Labour | Norma Harte | 4,299 | 14.5 | −5.9 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Neil Wallace | 1,847 | 6.2 | −3.9 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Joy Cherkaoui | 709 | 2.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 99 | 0.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 29,420 | | |
| | Conservative gain from SNP | Conservative gain from SNP | Swing | +4.6 | |
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Galloway and Upper Nithsdale :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Alasdair Morgan | 13,873 | 39.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Alex Fergusson | 10,672 | 30.2 | N/A |
| | Labour | Jim Stevens | 7,209 | 20.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Joan Mitchell | 3,562 | 10.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,201 | 9.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,316 | | N/A |
| | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) |
| Preceded byOchil | Constituency or Region represented by the Presiding Officer 2007–2011 | Succeeded byMid Fife and Glenrothes |

## Footnotes

* ↑ "The New Scottish Parliament Constituencies 2011" (PDF). BBC News.
* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ Sub-constituency election results for the 2007 Scottish Parliament elections - data Archived 6 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine- Scotland Office; 30 April 2008 (retrieved 5 April 2011)