# Central Fife (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Central Fife 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. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife 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 former First Minister Henry McLeish represented the constituency from 1999 to 2003.
From the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Central Fife was redrawn and renamed Mid Fife and Glenrothes.

## Electoral region

The other eight initial constituencies of the Mid Scotland and Fife region were; Dunfermline East, Dunfermline West, Fife North East, Kirkcaldy, Ochil, Perth, Stirling and Tayside North.
The region covers all of the Clackmannanshire council area, all of the Fife council area, all of the Perth and Kinross council area, all of the Stirling council area and parts of the Angus council area.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies. Most of the Fife Central Westminster constituency was merged into the Glenrothes constituency.
The Holyrood constituency of Central Fife was one of five Mid Scotland and Fife constituencies covering the Fife council area, the others being Dunfermline East, Dunfermline West, Fife North East and Kirkcaldy. All are entirely within the council area.
Fife Central covered a central portion of the council area, south-west of Fife North East, north of Kirkcaldy, and north-west of Dunfermline East.

## Constituency profile

The constituency included the new town of Glenrothes and the industrial ports of Leven and Methil. The main industries in this region were once coal and linoleum, but nowadays Glenrothes is a centre for the electronics and off-shore oil industries.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Member | Party |
| 1999 | Henry McLeish | Labour |
| 2003 | Christine May | Labour |
| 2007 | Tricia Marwick | Scottish National Party |
| 2011 | Constituency abolished; see Mid Fife and Glenrothes | Constituency abolished; see Mid Fife and Glenrothes |

## Election results

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Central Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Tricia Marwick | 11,920 | 44.2 | +13.6 |
| | Labour | Christine May | 10,754 | 39.9 | −1.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Riches | 2,288 | 8.5 | +1.8 |
| | Conservative | Maurice Golden | 2,003 | 7.4 | +0.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,166 | 4.3 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,965 | 46.3 | +1.9 |
| | SNP gain from Labour | SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +7.6 | |
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Central Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Christine May | 10,591 | 41.4 | −15.9 |
| | SNP | Tricia Marwick | 7,829 | 30.6 | −0.3 |
| | Independent | Andrew Rodger | 2,258 | 8.8 | New |
| | Conservative | James North | 1,803 | 7.0 | +1.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Riches | 1,725 | 6.7 | +0.8 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 1,391 | 5.4 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,762 | 10.8 | −15.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 25,597 | 44.4 | |
| | Labour hold | Labour hold | Swing | -15.9 | |
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Central Fife :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Labour | Henry McLeish | 18,828 | 57.31 | N/A |
| | SNP | Tricia Marwick | 10,153 | 30.91 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 1,953 | 5.94 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Keith Harding | 1,918 | 5.84 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 8,675 | 26.40 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 32,852 | | |
| | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) | Labour win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
| Preceded byGlasgow Anniesland | Constituency represented by the First Minister 2000–2001 | Succeeded byMotherwell and Wishaw |