Dumbarton (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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.

Not to be confused with Dumbarton (Parliament of Scotland constituency) or Dumbarton (UK Parliament constituency).

Dumbarton
County constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Dumbarton shown within the West Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population72,921 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created1999
PartyLabour
MSPJackie Baillie
Council areaWest Dunbartonshire
Argyll and Bute

The seat has been held continuously by Jackie Baillie of Scottish Labour since being first contested at the 1999 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region
See also: West Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

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

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:

Constituency profile

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
ElectionMemberParty
1999 Jackie Baillie Labour

Election results

2020s
2021 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton[9][10]
Party Candidate Constituency Regional
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
Labour Jackie Baillie[lower-alpha 1] 17,825 46.3 Increase 6.1 10,228 26.6 Increase1.5
SNP Toni Giugliano 16,342 42.5 Increase 2.6 14,766 38.4 Decrease0.5
Conservative Maurice Corry[lower-alpha 2] 3,205 8.3 Decrease 6.3 8,110 21.1 Decrease2.1
Scottish Green 2,444 6.4 Increase1.3
Liberal Democrats Andy Foxall 676 1.8 Decrease 1.6 986 2.6 Decrease1.2
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
Libertarian Jonathan Rainey 134 0.3 New 73 0.2 Steady0.0
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 Decrease1.9
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 Decrease1.7
Majority 1,483 3.8 Increase3.5
Valid Votes 38,459 38,478
Invalid Votes 106 58
Turnout 38,565 68.5 Increase7.4 38,536 68.5 Increase7.3
Labour hold Swing Increase1.8
Notes
  1. Incumbent member for this constituency
  2. Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2010s
2016 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton[11][12]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
Labour Jackie Baillie[lower-alpha 1] 13,522 40.2 Decrease3.8 8,433 25.1 Decrease8.3
SNP Gail Robertson 13,413 39.9 Increase1.6 13,059 38.8 Decrease0.4
Conservative Maurice Corry 4,891 14.6 Increase2.6 7,779 23.1 Increase10.3
Scottish Green 1,683 5.0 Increase2.3
Liberal Democrats Aileen Morton 1,131 3.4 Increase0.4 1,265 3.8 Increase0.4
Independent Andrew Muir 641 1.9 New
UKIP 665 2.0 Increase0.9
Solidarity 263 0.8 Decrease0.3
Scottish Christian 212 0.6 Decrease0.1
RISE 186 0.6 New
Libertarian 69 0.2 New
Majority 109 0.3 Decrease5.5
Valid Votes 33,598 33,614
Invalid Votes 100 75
Turnout 33,698 61.2 Increase7.6 33,689 61.1 Increase7.6
Labour hold Swing Decrease2.75
Notes
  1. Incumbent member for this constituency
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton[13]
Party Candidate Constituency Region
Votes % ±% Votes % ±%
Labour Jackie Baillie[lower-alpha 1] 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)
Notes
  1. Incumbent member for this constituency

2000s
2007 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton
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
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton
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
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Dumbarton
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
  1. Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
  2. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived September 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  3. Garavelli, Dani (11 April 2021). "Holyrood election: Is it time for Faslane seat to hit the big SNP button?" – via www.thetimes.co.uk.
  4. Gordon, Tom (4 May 2021). "Election 2021: Dumbarton constituency profile as Holyrood's tightest fight". The Herald.
  5. Thomson, Jack (14 April 2021). "Constituency profile: Dumbarton". Holyrood Website.
  6. "Scottish election results 2021: Labour increase majority in Dumbarton". BBC News. 7 May 2021.
  7. 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.
  8. 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.
  9. "Elections 2021: Constituencies A-Z: Dumbarton". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 May 2021. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
  10. "2021 Results (6 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  11. "Scottish Lib Dems announce Helensburgh councillor as candidate to contest Dumbarton seat". Helensburgh Advertiser.
  12. "2016 Results (5 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
  13. "2011 Results (5 May)". West Dunbartonshire Council. Retrieved 7 June 2021.
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