Dumbarton | |
---|---|
County constituency for the Scottish Parliament | |
![]() | |
![]() Dumbarton shown within the West Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland | |
Population | 72,921 (2019)[1] |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1999 |
Party | Labour |
MSP | Jackie Baillie |
Council area | West Dunbartonshire Argyll and Bute |
Dumbarton (Gaelic: Dùn Breatann) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering parts of the council areas of Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of ten constituencies in the West Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The seat has been held continuously by Jackie Baillie of Scottish Labour since being first contested at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election.
Electoral region
[edit]The other nine constituencies of the West Scotland region are: Clydebank and Milngavie, Cunninghame North, Cunninghame South, Eastwood, Greenock and Inverclyde, Paisley, Renfrewshire North and West, Renfrewshire South and Strathkelvin and Bearsden.
The region covers part of the Argyll and Bute council area, the East Dunbartonshire council area, the East Renfrewshire council area, the Inverclyde council area, North Ayrshire council area, the Renfrewshire council area and the West Dunbartonshire council area.
Constituency boundaries and council area
[edit]The Dumbarton 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, the Westminster (House of Commons) constituency was abolished in favour of new constituencies.[2]
The constituency takes in Helensburgh and Lomond from the Argyll and Bute council area and covers Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven in West Dunbartonshire. The rest of West Dunbartonshire is covered by the Clydebank and Milngavie. The rest of Argyll and Bute is covered by the Argyll and Bute constituency, which is within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.
From the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, Dumbarton had its boundaries altered to include the following electoral wards:
- From West Dunbartonshire: Dumbarton, Leven, Lomond
- From Argyll and Bute: Lomond North, Helensburgh Central, Helensburgh and Lomond South
Constituency profile
[edit]Dumbarton is the only constituency in the Scottish Parliament to have voted Labour in every election in the devolved era. Ahead of the 2021 election, The Times profiled the seat:
Dumbarton is a diverse seat split between two local authorities: Argyll and Bute and West Dunbartonshire. Its two biggest towns, Dumbarton and Helensburgh, have very different demographics. Dumbarton has significant unemployment and deprivation. It is a traditional Labour territory but, as with many such heartlands, the party’s one-time supporters have become increasingly disaffected... Helensburgh, with its pretty, blustery waterfront, is more affluent and has benefited from its proximity to [Faslane naval] base.[3]
Incumbent Jackie Baillie has cultivated a profile as a hard working local MSP,[4] a reputation that has helped her retain the seat as the Labour Party has declined nationally. In the 2021 election there was speculation that the seat could vote SNP for the first time,[5] but in the end, Baillie increased her majority from 109 to 1,483.[6] The SNP candidate, Toni Giugliano, blamed his loss on pro-Union tactical voting, tweeting: "The Tory vote in Helensburgh went to Labour in extraordinary numbers to keep us out."[7][8]
Member of the Scottish Parliament
[edit]Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | Jackie Baillie | Labour |
Election results
[edit]2020s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Constituency | Regional | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% | |||
Labour | Jackie Baillie[a] | 17,825 | 46.3 | ![]() |
10,228 | 26.6 | ![]() | |
SNP | Toni Giugliano | 16,342 | 42.5 | ![]() |
14,766 | 38.4 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Maurice Corry[b] | 3,205 | 8.3 | ![]() |
8,110 | 21.1 | ![]() | |
Scottish Green | 2,444 | 6.4 | ![]() | |||||
Liberal Democrats | Andy Foxall | 676 | 1.8 | ![]() |
986 | 2.6 | ![]() | |
Alba | 727 | 1.9 | New | |||||
All for Unity | 291 | 0.8 | New | |||||
Scottish Family | 211 | 0.5 | New | |||||
Independent Green Voice | 192 | 0.5 | New | |||||
Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 90 | 0.2 | New | |||||
Scottish Libertarian | Jonathan Rainey | 134 | 0.3 | New | 73 | 0.2 | ![]() | |
Freedom Alliance (UK) | 70 | 0.2 | New | |||||
TUSC | 73 | 0.2 | New | |||||
Reform UK | 57 | 0.1 | New | |||||
Independent | James Morrison | 65 | 0.2 | New | ||||
UKIP | 48 | 0.1 | ![]() | |||||
Independent | Maurice Campbell | 27 | 0.1 | New | ||||
Scotia Future | 16 | 0.0 | New | |||||
Renew | 4 | 0.0 | New | |||||
Independent | James Morrison | 183 | 0.5 | New | ||||
Independent | Andrew Muir | 94 | 0.2 | ![]() |
||||
Majority | 1,483 | 3.8 | ![]() |
|||||
Valid Votes | 38,459 | 38,478 | ||||||
Invalid Votes | 106 | 58 | ||||||
Turnout | 38,565 | 68.5 | ![]() |
38,536 | 68.5 | ![]() | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
||||||
Notes
|
2010s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Constituency | Region | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% | |||
Labour | Jackie Baillie[a] | 13,522 | 40.2 | ![]() |
8,433 | 25.1 | ![]() | |
SNP | Gail Robertson | 13,413 | 39.9 | ![]() |
13,059 | 38.8 | ![]() | |
Conservative | Maurice Corry | 4,891 | 14.6 | ![]() |
7,779 | 23.1 | ![]() | |
Scottish Green | 1,683 | 5.0 | ![]() | |||||
Liberal Democrats | Aileen Morton | 1,131 | 3.4 | ![]() |
1,265 | 3.8 | ![]() | |
Independent | Andrew Muir | 641 | 1.9 | New | ||||
UKIP | 665 | 2.0 | ![]() | |||||
Solidarity | 263 | 0.8 | ![]() | |||||
Scottish Christian | 212 | 0.6 | ![]() | |||||
RISE | 186 | 0.6 | New | |||||
Scottish Libertarian | 69 | 0.2 | New | |||||
Majority | 109 | 0.3 | ![]() |
|||||
Valid Votes | 33,598 | 33,614 | ||||||
Invalid Votes | 100 | 75 | ||||||
Turnout | 33,698 | 61.2 | ![]() |
33,689 | 61.1 | ![]() | ||
Labour hold | Swing | ![]() |
||||||
Party | Candidate | Constituency | Region | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% | |||
Labour | Jackie Baillie[a] | 12,562 | 44.1 | N/A | 9,531 | 33.4 | N/A | |
SNP | Iain Robertson | 10,923 | 38.3 | N/A | 11,178 | 39.2 | N/A | |
Conservative | Graham Smith | 3,395 | 11.9 | N/A | 3,668 | 12.9 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Helen Watt | 858 | 3.0 | N/A | 948 | 3.3 | N/A | |
Independent | George Rice | 770 | 2.7 | N/A | ||||
Scottish Green | 786 | 2.8 | N/A | |||||
All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 507 | 1.8 | N/A | |||||
Scottish Socialist | 506 | 1.8 | N/A | |||||
UKIP | 301 | 1.1 | N/A | |||||
Socialist Labour | 254 | 0.9 | N/A | |||||
BNP | 254 | 0.9 | N/A | |||||
Scottish Christian | 212 | 0.7 | N/A | |||||
Ban Bankers Bonuses | 147 | 0.5 | N/A | |||||
Pirate | 97 | 0.3 | N/A | |||||
Independent | Richard Vassie | 69 | 0.2 | N/A | ||||
Solidarity | 54 | 0.2 | N/A | |||||
Majority | 1,639 | 5.8 | N/A | |||||
Valid Votes | 28,508 | 28,512 | ||||||
Invalid Votes | 114 | 90 | ||||||
Turnout | 28,622 | 53.5 | N/A | 28,602 | 53.5 | N/A | ||
Labour win (new boundaries) | ||||||||
2000s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jackie Baillie | 11,635 | 38.7 | −3.5 | |
SNP | Graeme McCormick | 10,024 | 33.4 | +14.2 | |
Conservative | Brian Pope | 4,701 | 15.6 | +1.1 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alex Mackie | 3,385 | 11.3 | −4.2 | |
Scottish Jacobite | John Black | 309 | 1.0 | New | |
Majority | 1,611 | 5.3 | −17.7 | ||
Turnout | 30,054 | 55.6 | +3.7 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jackie Baillie | 12,154 | 42.2 | −1.6 | |
SNP | Iain Docherty | 5,542 | 19.2 | −10.8 | |
Liberal Democrats | Eric Thompson | 4,455 | 15.5 | +3.9 | |
Conservative | Murray Tosh | 4,178 | 14.5 | −0.1 | |
Scottish Socialist | Les Robertson | 2,494 | 8.7 | New | |
Majority | 6,612 | 23.0 | +9.2 | ||
Turnout | 28,823, | 51.9 | −10.0 | ||
Labour hold | Swing |
1990s
[edit]Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Labour | Jackie Baillie | 15,181 | 43.8 | N/A | |
SNP | Lloyd Quinan | 10,423 | 30.0 | N/A | |
Conservative | Donald Reece | 5,060 | 14.6 | N/A | |
Liberal Democrats | Paul Coleshill | 4,035 | 11.6 | N/A | |
Majority | 4,758 | 13.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 34,699 | 61.9 | N/A | ||
Labour win (new seat) |
Notes and references
[edit]- ^ 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 September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Garavelli, Dani (11 April 2021). "Holyrood election: Is it time for Faslane seat to hit the big SNP button?" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
- ^ Gordon, Tom (4 May 2021). "Election 2021: Dumbarton constituency profile as Holyrood's tightest fight". The Herald.
- ^ Thomson, Jack (14 April 2021). "Constituency profile: Dumbarton". Holyrood Website.
- ^ "Scottish election results 2021: Labour increase majority in Dumbarton". BBC News. 7 May 2021.
- ^ Giugliano, Toni [@ToniGiugliano] (8 May 2021). "Congratulations to Jackie Baillie on holding her seat. I'm immensely proud of my campaign and my team. Our vote came out in large numbers - particularly in Dumbarton and the Vale of Leven" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Giugliano, Toni [@ToniGiugliano] (8 May 2021). "However the Tory vote in Helensburgh went to Labour in extraordinary numbers to keep us out. The sound of Tory activists cheering louder than Labour at yesterday's count speaks for itself" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ "Elections 2021: Constituencies A-Z: Dumbarton". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
- ^ "2021 Results (6 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "Scottish Lib Dems announce Helensburgh councillor as candidate to contest Dumbarton seat". Helensburgh Advertiser.
- ^ "2016 Results (5 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
- ^ "2011 Results (5 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
External links
[edit]- "Dumbarton constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 7 July 2021.