Galloway and West Dumfries
Galloway and West Dumfries is a Scottish Parliament constituency in the Dumfries and Galloway council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first-past-the-post system and is part of the South Scotland electoral region, which also elects regional MSPs to provide wider representation.
Created for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, it combines parts of the old Dumfries, Galloway and Upper Nithsdale constituencies. The seat largely matches the historic counties of Kirkcudbrightshire and Wigtownshire. The town of Dumfries is split between this seat and the neighbouring Dumfriesshire seat.
The current MSP is Finlay Carson of the Conservative Party, who has held the seat since 2016.
Geography and towns: The constituency stretches from the Rhins of Galloway in the southwest to the River Nith in the east. It includes Stranraer, Castle Douglas, Newton Stewart, Kirkcudbright, and St John’s Town of Dalry, along with parts of Dumfries.
Boundary notes: Ahead of the 2026 elections, a small change moved part of the boundary along the River Nith to the river’s centre to align with ward boundaries.
Politics: The area has a mix of political traditions. Conservatives have represented the Scottish Parliament seat since 2003. In local council elections, the Conservatives won the most first-preference votes in most wards in 2022, with SNP winning one ward.
South Scotland region: The region includes the council areas of Dumfries and Galloway, Scottish Borders, and South Ayrshire, plus parts of East Ayrshire, Midlothian, and South Lanarkshire. It is the largest Scottish Parliament electoral region by population. Other constituencies in the region (as of the 2025 review) include Ayr; Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley; Clydesdale; Dumfriesshire; East Kilbride; Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire; Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley; and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 10:52 (CET).