Glenrothes (UK Parliament Constituency)
The seat is held by Richard Baker of the Labour Party since the 2024 general election. The seat was previously held by Peter Grant of the Scottish National Party (SNP). The seat includes the major settlements of Glenrothes, Levenmouth (part of), Lochgelly, Kelty and Cardenden.
Under the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies the Boundary Commission for Scotland recommended the constituency of Glenrothes to be renamed Glenrothes and Mid Fife, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.
Boundaries
Following the revised 2024 boundary review, the boundaries of the constituency centre on Glenrothes and it's surrounding villages; Coaltown of Balgonie, Leslie, Markinch, Milton of Balgonie and Thornton. Moving south and west to include Ballingry, Cardenden, Kelty, Kinglassie, Lochgelly and Lochore. In the east, the seat includes parts of the Levenmouth conurbation, including Buckhaven, Methil and the Wemyss villages; East Wemyss, West Wemyss, and Coaltown of Wemyss.
History
Glenrothes was created for the 2005 general election, mostly replacing Central Fife, but incorporating small parts of Kirkcaldy and Dunfermline East.
Creation in 2005–2008
The first holder of the newly created seat was John MacDougall, who died on 13 August 2008, triggering a by-election.
2008
In the 2008 by election, Lindsay Roy was elected, the Labour majority falling by around 4,000 votes, with the Labour vote increasing by 3%; the SNP making significant gains from the lower-placed Conservative and the Liberal Democrat candidates.
2010 general election
With the 2010 general election, the Labour share of the vote increased by 10% at the expense of the SNP candidate. The winner's total reached 62% of the votes cast, which places the seat in the top decile of seats won and therefore indicates a safe seat majority. Relative to the 2005 general election the swing against the SNP was less accentuated than relative to the by-election at 4.45% of the vote on the standard two-party measure of swing, which is comparable to the national swing.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | John MacDougall | Labour | |
| 2008 by-election | Lindsay Roy | Labour | |
| 2015 | Peter Grant | Scottish National Party | |
| 2024 | Richard Baker | Labour | |
Elections
Elections in the 2020s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Richard Baker | 15,994 | 44.3 | +16.9 | |
| SNP | John Beare | 13,040 | 36.1 | −13.4 | |
| Reform UK | Ian Smith | 3,528 | 9.8 | +6.8 | |
| Conservative | Debbie MacCallum | 1,973 | 5.5 | −9.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jill Reilly | 1,604 | 4.4 | ±0.0 | |
| Majority | 2,954 | 8.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 36,139 | 51.33 | −9.5 | ||
| Registered electors | 70,655 | ||||
| Labour gain from SNP | Swing | +15.1 | |||
Elections in the 2010s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 21,234 | 51.1 | +8.3 | |
| Labour | Pat Egan | 9,477 | 22.8 | −11.9 | |
| Conservative | Amy Thomson | 6,920 | 16.7 | −2.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 2,639 | 6.4 | +3.4 | |
| Brexit Party | Victor Farrell | 1,276 | 3.1 | New | |
| Majority | 11,757 | 28.3 | +20.2 | ||
| Turnout | 41,546 | 63.2 | +2.3 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | +10.1 | |||
The Brexit Party withdrew support for Victor Farrell over homophobic remarks.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 17,291 | 42.8 | −17.0 | |
| Labour | Altany Craik | 14,024 | 34.7 | +4.1 | |
| Conservative | Andrew Brown | 7,876 | 19.5 | +11.8 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Rebecca Bell | 1,208 | 3.0 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 3,267 | 8.1 | −21.1 | ||
| Turnout | 40,399 | 60.9 | −7.3 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | -10.6 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Peter Grant | 28,459 | 59.8 | +38.1 | |
| Labour | Melanie Ward | 14,562 | 30.6 | −31.7 | |
| Conservative | Alex Stewart-Clark | 3,685 | 7.7 | +0.5 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jane Ann Liston | 892 | 1.9 | −5.8 | |
| Majority | 13,897 | 29.2 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 47,598 | 68.2 | +8.5 | ||
| SNP gain from Labour | Swing | +35.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsay Roy | 25,247 | 62.3 | +10.4 | |
| SNP | David Alexander | 8,799 | 21.7 | −1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harry Wills | 3,108 | 7.7 | −5.0 | |
| Conservative | Sheila Low | 2,922 | 7.2 | +0.1 | |
| UKIP | Kris Seunarine | 425 | 1.0 | −0.2 | |
| Majority | 16,448 | 40.6 | +12.1 | ||
| Turnout | 40,501 | 59.7 | +3.5 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | +6.0 | |||
Elections in the 2000s
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Lindsay Roy | 19,946 | 55.1 | +3.2 | |
| SNP | Peter Grant | 13,209 | 36.5 | +13.1 | |
| Conservative | Maurice Golden | 1,381 | 3.8 | −3.3 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Harry Wills | 947 | 2.6 | −10.1 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | Jim Parker | 296 | 0.8 | −1.1 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 212 | 0.6 | −1.3 | |
| UKIP | Kris Seunarine | 117 | 0.3 | −0.9 | |
| Solidarity | Louise McLeary | 87 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 6,737 | 18.61 | −9.89 | ||
| Turnout | 36,195 | 52.37 | −3.7 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -4.96 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | John MacDougall | 19,395 | 51.9 | −6.0 | |
| SNP | John Beare | 8,731 | 23.4 | −0.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Elizabeth Riches | 4,728 | 12.7 | +4.8 | |
| Conservative | Belinda Don | 2,651 | 7.1 | −0.4 | |
| Scottish Senior Citizens | George Rodger | 716 | 1.9 | New | |
| Scottish Socialist | Morag Balfour | 705 | 1.9 | −0.8 | |
| UKIP | Paul Smith | 440 | 1.2 | +1.1 | |
| Majority | 10,664 | 28.5 | −5.4 | ||
| Turnout | 37,366 | 56.1 | |||
| Labour win (new seat) | |||||
References
- ^ "Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 27 July 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
- ^ "MP MacDougall dies after illness". BBC News. 13 August 2008. Archived from the original on 17 September 2008. Retrieved 13 August 2008.
- ^ "Glenrothes by-election date set". BBC News. 6 October 2008. Archived from the original on 9 October 2008. Retrieved 6 October 2008.
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "G" (part 2)
- ^ "Glenrothes and Mid Fife results". BBC News. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
- ^ "Fife General Election Results 2024". Fife Council. 5 July 2024.
- ^ "General Election 12 December 2019". Fife Council. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Glenrothes parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". BBC News. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Brexit Party withdraws support from Glenrothes candidate over 'rampant homophobia'". The Scotsman. Archived from the original on 18 November 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Glenrothes parliamentary constituency - Election 2017 - BBC News". www.bbc.com. BBC News. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017. Retrieved 10 June 2017.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "General Election Results". Fife Council. Archived from the original on 20 December 2016. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Alex Stewart-Clark". Scottish.Conservative. Archived from the original on 6 March 2016. Retrieved 27 April 2015.
- ^ "list of selected candidates". Lib Dems. Archived from the original on 9 August 2017. Retrieved 7 March 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Glenrothes result in full". BBC News. 7 November 2008. Archived from the original on 13 September 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2008.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
External links
- Glenrothes UK Parliament constituency (boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
- Glenrothes and Mid Fife UK Parliament constituency (boundaries from June 2024) at MapIt UK