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Dunfermline West (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Dunfermline West 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.
From the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, parts of the Dunfermline East
constituency were merged with Dunfermline West to form a single Dunfermline
constituency.
The region covered 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
.
, 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. The Dunfermline West Westminster constituency
was merged into Dunfermline and West Fife
.
The Holyrood constituency of Dunfermline West was one of five Mid Scotland and Fife constituencies covering the Fife council area
, the others being Dunfermline East
, Fife Central
, Fife North East
and Kirkcaldy
. All were entirely within the council area.
Dunfermline West covered a south-western portion of the council area, west of Dunfermline East.
and some land on the north bank of the Firth of Forth
.
Historically, the town was once Scotland's capital city. Eight kings are buried there, amongst them Robert the Bruce. Today, textiles, engineering and synthetic material manufacturing are the primary industries. The constituency also contains rural areas.
Like its neighbour, Dunfermline East, the constituency was one of Labour
’s safest seats in Scotland. In Westminster elections voters in the area elected Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) continuously from 1935 until 2006. In a 2006 by-election
, however, the Liberal Democrats
won the equivalent Westminster seat, and they proceeded to win the Holyrood seat in 2007 as well, calling into question Labour's future as a dominant party in the area.
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
(Holyrood
Scottish Parliament Building
The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...
). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
by the plurality (first past the post) method of election.
From the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, parts of the Dunfermline East
Dunfermline East (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Dunfermline East was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
constituency were merged with Dunfermline West to form a single Dunfermline
Dunfermline (Scottish Parliament constituency)
For earlier results see Dunfermline West.Dunfermline is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
constituency.
Electoral region
- See also Mid Scotland and Fife Scottish Parliament region
The region covered all of the Clackmannanshire council area
Clackmannanshire
Clackmannanshire, often abbreviated to Clacks is a local government council area in Scotland, and a lieutenancy area, bordering Perth and Kinross, Stirling and Fife.As Scotland's smallest historic county, it is often nicknamed 'The Wee County'....
, all of the Fife council area
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, all of the Perth and Kinross council area
Perth and Kinross
Perth and Kinross is one of 32 council areas in Scotland, and a Lieutenancy Area. It borders onto the Aberdeenshire, Angus, Dundee City, Fife, Clackmannanshire, Stirling, Argyll and Bute and Highland council areas. Perth is the administrative centre...
, all of the Stirling council area
Stirling (council area)
Stirling is one of the 32 unitary local government council areas of Scotland, and has a population of about 87,000 . It was created under the Local Government etc Act 1994 with the boundaries of the Stirling district of the former Central local government region, and it covers most of the former...
and parts of the Angus council area
Angus
Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...
.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999Scottish Parliament election, 1999
The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...
, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster
Palace of Westminster
The Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of Parliament or Westminster Palace, is the meeting place of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom—the House of Lords and the House of Commons...
(House of Commons) constituency. In 2005
United Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies. The Dunfermline West Westminster constituency
Dunfermline West (UK Parliament constituency)
Dunfermline West was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
was merged into Dunfermline and West Fife
Dunfermline and West Fife (UK Parliament constituency)
Dunfermline and West Fife is a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was created for the 2005 general election from all of the old Dunfermline West and parts of the old Dunfermline East constituencies...
.
The Holyrood constituency of Dunfermline West was one of five Mid Scotland and Fife constituencies covering the Fife council area
Fife
Fife is a council area and former county of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries to Perth and Kinross and Clackmannanshire...
, the others being Dunfermline East
Dunfermline East (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Dunfermline East was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
, Fife Central
Fife Central (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Central Fife is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, Fife North East
Fife North East (Scottish Parliament constituency)
North East Fife is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
and Kirkcaldy
Kirkcaldy (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Kirkcaldy is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
. All were entirely within the council area.
Dunfermline West covered a south-western portion of the council area, west of Dunfermline East.
Description of the constituency
The constituency includes all of the town of DunfermlineDunfermline
Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...
and some land on the north bank of the Firth of Forth
Firth of Forth
The Firth of Forth is the estuary or firth of Scotland's River Forth, where it flows into the North Sea, between Fife to the north, and West Lothian, the City of Edinburgh and East Lothian to the south...
.
Historically, the town was once Scotland's capital city. Eight kings are buried there, amongst them Robert the Bruce. Today, textiles, engineering and synthetic material manufacturing are the primary industries. The constituency also contains rural areas.
Like its neighbour, Dunfermline East, the constituency was one of Labour
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
’s safest seats in Scotland. In Westminster elections voters in the area elected Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) continuously from 1935 until 2006. In a 2006 by-election
Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, 2006
The Dunfermline and West Fife by-election, in Dunfermline and West Fife, Scotland, was held on 9 February 2006 following the death of sitting Labour MP Rachel Squire on 6 January. The by-election was the first seat to change hands in the 2005 Parliament when Willie Rennie won the seat for the...
, however, the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
won the equivalent Westminster seat, and they proceeded to win the Holyrood seat in 2007 as well, calling into question Labour's future as a dominant party in the area.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 Scottish Parliament election, 1999 The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members... |
Scott Barrie Scott Barrie Scott Barrie, is a Scottish Labour Party politician and former social worker. He represented Dunfermline West in the Scottish Parliament from 1999 to 2007, where he was a member of the Communities Committees of the Parliament.... |
Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland.... |
||
| 2003 Scottish Parliament election, 2003 The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive... |
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| 2007 Scottish Parliament election, 2007 The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999... |
Jim Tolson Jim Tolson Jim Tolson is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician, and former Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Dunfermline West. He lost his seat to the Scottish National Party's Bill Walker in the 2011 election.-External links:... |
Liberal Democrats Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England... |
||
| 2011 Scottish Parliament election, 2011 The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to... |
Constituency abolished; see Dunfermline Dunfermline (Scottish Parliament constituency) For earlier results see Dunfermline West.Dunfermline is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election.... |
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