Wikipedia

Dunfermline and West Fife (UK Parliament constituency)

Dunfermline and West Fife was 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 current MP is Douglas Chapman of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

Dunfermline and West Fife
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Dunfermline and West Fife in Scotland
Major settlementsDunfermline, Inverkeithing, North Queensferry, Rosyth
2005–2024
Created fromDunfermline West and Dunfermline East

The Dunfermline and West Fife by-election was held in early 2006, due to the death of the sitting MP, Rachel Squire. Willie Rennie of the Liberal Democrats was the surprise winner, by some 1,800 votes, in what was seen as a safe Labour seat.[1] However, he lost the seat to Labour's Thomas Docherty at the 2010 general election. Chapman then won the seat in the SNP's Scottish landslide in the 2015 general election.[2]

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was subject to boundary changes which will include the small town of Dollar in Clackmannanshire. As a consequence, it was renamed Dunfermline and Dollar, first contested at the 2024 general election.[3] Graeme Downie, of The Scottish Labour Party successfully was elected as the Member of Parliament for Dunfermline and Dollar on Thursday 4th July 2024.

Boundaries

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Map of boundaries 2005-2024

This constituency was formed in 2005 from all of the old Dunfermline West and parts of the old Dunfermline East constituencies.

Rosyth and Inverkeithing in the southeast are the only large population centres on the coast. To the north and west of Dunfermline is more rugged and robust Fife countryside. The whole seat was up against the Firth of Forth.

Places in Dunfermline and West Fife constituency

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Royal burghs

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Burghs, towns, and large villages (Over 1,000 population)

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Electoral wards of Dunfermline and small, outlying villages

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  • Baldridgeburn (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Bellyeoman (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Brucefield (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Carnegie (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Garvock (Ward of Dunfermline
  • Halbeath (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Headwell (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Linburn (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Milesmark (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Mossside (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Netherton (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Pitcorthie (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Pitreavie (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Woodmill (Ward of Dunfermline)
  • Blairhall - Population: 930
  • Hill of Beath - Population: 875
  • Kingseat - Population: 860
  • Comrie - Population: 830
  • Carnock - Population: 790
  • Wellwood - Population: 608
  • Crombie - Population: 374
  • Steelend - Population: 320
  • Gowkhall - Population: 220


Members of Parliament

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Rachel Squire (Labour) was the MP for Dunfermline West constituency from 1992 until the major revision of the composition of Scottish parliamentary constituencies for the 2005 general election. Gordon Brown was MP for the neighbouring Dunfermline East constituency from which some territory was given to Dunfermline and West Fife.

Squire won the new seat in the 2005 general election and held it until her death on 5 January 2006. The subsequent by-election was held on 9 February 2006, which Liberal Democrat Willie Rennie won in a shock defeat for Labour. The Liberal Democrats also gained the Dunfermline West Scottish Parliamentary constituency from Labour in the 2007 Holyrood Parliament elections.

In the 2010 general election, the Labour candidate Thomas Docherty won the seat back. In the 2015 general election the seat was won by the SNP's Douglas Chapman.

Election Member[4] Party
2005 Rachel Squire Labour
2006 by-election Willie Rennie Liberal Democrat
2010 Thomas Docherty Labour
2015 Douglas Chapman SNP

Election results

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Elections in the 2010s

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2019 general election: Dunfermline and West Fife[5][6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Douglas Chapman 23,727 44.4 +8.9
Labour Co-op Cara Hilton 13,028 24.4 −9.5
Conservative Moira Benny 11,207 21.0 −3.7
Liberal Democrats Rebecca Bell 4,262 8.0 +2.1
Scottish Green Mags Hall 1,258 2.4 New
Majority 10,699 20.0 +18.4
Turnout 53,482 69.8 +2.4
SNP hold Swing +9.2
2017 general election: Dunfermline and West Fife[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Douglas Chapman 18,121 35.5 −14.8
Labour Co-op Cara Hilton 17,277 33.9 +2.2
Conservative Belinda Hacking 12,593 24.7 +12.8
Liberal Democrats James Calder 3,019 5.9 +1.9
Majority 844 1.6 −17.0
Turnout 51,010 67.4 −4.2
SNP hold Swing -8.4
2015 general election: Dunfermline and West Fife[10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Douglas Chapman 28,096 50.3 +39.7
Labour Thomas Docherty 17,744 31.7 −14.6
Conservative James Reekie 6,623 11.9 +5.1
Liberal Democrats Gillian Cole-Hamilton[12] 2,232 4.0 −31.1
Scottish Green Lewis Campbell[13] 1,195 2.1 New
Majority 10,352 18.6 N/A
Turnout 55,890 71.6 +5.2
SNP gain from Labour Swing +27.1
2010 general election: Dunfermline and West Fife[14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Thomas Docherty 22,639 46.3 −1.1
Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie 17,169 35.1 +14.9
SNP Joe McCall 5,201 10.6 −8.3
Conservative Belinda Hacking 3,305 6.8 −3.5
UKIP Otto Inglis 633 1.3 −0.2
Majority 5,470 11.2 −16.0
Turnout 48,947 66.4 +6.5
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 2000s

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2006 by-election: Dunfermline and West Fife
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Willie Rennie 12,391 35.8 +15.6
Labour Catherine Stihler 10,591 30.6 −16.8
SNP Douglas Chapman 7,261 21.0 +2.1
Conservative Carrie Ruxton 2,702 7.8 −2.5
Scottish Socialist John McAllion 537 1.6 0.0
Scottish Christian George Hargreaves 411 1.2 New
Abolish Forth Bridge Tolls Party Tom Minogue 374 1.1 New
UKIP Ian Borland 208 0.6 −0.9
Common Good Dick Rodgers 103 0.3 New
Majority 1,800 5.2 N/A
Turnout 34,578 47.9 −12.0
Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Swing +16.24
2005 general election: Dunfermline and Fife West[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Rachel Squire 20,111 47.4 −7.1
Liberal Democrats David Herbert 8,549 20.2 +5.9
SNP Douglas Chapman 8,026 18.9 +1.1
Conservative Roger Smillie 4,376 10.3 +0.6
Scottish Socialist Susan Archibald 689 1.6 −0.8
UKIP Ian Borland 643 1.5 +0.1
Majority 11,562 27.2 −13.0
Turnout 42,394 59.9 +2.3
Labour hold Swing -6.5

References

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  1. ^ "Lib Dems deliver blow to Labour". BBC News. 10 February 2006.
  2. ^ "Everything you need to know about the Scottish National Party's 56 MPs". BT.com. 13 May 2015.
  3. ^ Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "D" (part 4)
  5. ^ "General Election 12 December 2019". Fife Council. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Dunfermline & West Fife parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ^ "Dunfermline & West Fife parliamentary constituency - Election 2017". BBC News. Retrieved 12 April 2018.
  9. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  10. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ Fife Council, Elections (7 July 2014). "Elections - The Scottish Independence Referendum Results 2014". www.fifedirect.org.uk. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 10 September 2019.
  12. ^ "List of selected candidates". Liberal Democrats. 4 March 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.
  13. ^ "Updates".
  14. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  15. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
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56°03′25″N 3°25′48″W / 56.057°N 3.430°W / 56.057; -3.430

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