Politics
Dumfries & Galloway's predecessor seats, Galloway & Upper Nithsdale (1983-2005) and Galloway (1918–83), had been represented by Conservative MPs in all but 2 parliaments since 1931. It was won by the Scottish National Party (SNP) in 1997, however became the only Scottish seat to return a Conservative MP at the 2001 General Election.
Boundary changes for the 2005 election saw the new seat have a very slim Labour majority over the Conservatives, and the SNP were in close third place. Russell Brown was the Labour candidate, who had been the MP for the neighbouring seat of Dumfriesshire since 1997, and Peter Duncan, the sitting MP for Galloway & Upper Nithsdale, stood as the Conservative candidate. Although the seat was the Conservatives' 2nd target seat across Britain, Labour increased its vote share and Russell Brown was elected as the constituency's MP.
In 2010, Duncan attempted once again to become Dumfries & Galloway's MP however the election produced a swing against the Conservatives in the seat, and it was held by Labour. As of the last election, the seat has became a relatively safe Labour seat, with a majority of over 7,000 above the Conservatives. The SNP's share of the vote in the constituency collapsed at the 2005 general election, and remained static in 2010.
Read more about this topic: Dumfries And Galloway (UK Parliament Constituency)
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