Constituency profile

Dumfries and Galloway

Scotland · County constituency · Dumfries and Galloway borough

John Cooper MP
Sitting MP

John Cooper

Conservative

First elected July 2024

Current PollCheck projection

Region & type
Scotland
County constituency, Dumfries and Galloway council
Last 5 GE winners
LSCCC
Conservative 3/5, Labour 1/5, SNP 1/5
EU referendum 2016
45.1% Leave
UK average 51.9%; -6.8pp below mean
Current outlook
SNP +4.2pp
Vulnerability score 7/10 (Conservative projected to lose)
ScottishBrexit-marginal

About the Dumfries and Galloway constituency

Dumfries and Galloway is a county constituency in Scotland, covering most or all of Dumfries and Galloway. The sitting MP is John Cooper (Conservative), first elected in July 2024.

At the 2024 general election, the Conservatives won Dumfries and Galloway with 29.6% of the vote, ahead of the SNP on 27.5%, a majority of 930 votes. Turnout was 58.3%.

If a general election were held today, PollCheck's projection at the current seven-poll average has the SNP on 31.7% and the Conservatives on 27.5% in Dumfries and Galloway, a margin of 4.2 points, a projected change from the Conservatives since 2024. The projection updates automatically as new polls are added.

Demographically, Dumfries and Galloway is closely divided in the 2016 EU referendum (an estimated 45.1% voted Leave in 2016). About 38.4% of residents hold a degree, 65.1% of homes are owner-occupied, and the seat has a median age of about 51 (2021 Census).

Across the last 5 general elections on record, the seat has been won by the Conservatives 3 times, Labour 1 time, the SNP 1 time (earlier years may be on predecessor boundaries).

Who lives in Dumfries and Galloway? Constituency demographics

From the 2021 Census and 2016 EU referendum estimates. Constituency-level data on 2024 boundaries.

Leave vote 2016
45.1%
UK average ~52%
Degree or above
38.4%
UK average ~34%
No qualifications
21.0%
UK average ~18%
Owner-occupied
65.1%
UK average ~63%
Renting (social + private)
32.4%
UK average ~36%
Median age
50.7
UK median ~40
Age 65+
31.4%
UK average ~19%
Age 18-34
22.5%
UK average ~28%

How did Dumfries and Galloway vote in 2024 and how would it vote now?

2024 vote shares from the HoC Library. Current projection is at the 7-poll average.

2024 general election

Con hold · majority 930 votes (2.1pp) · turnout 58.3%

Current projection

If a general election were held today, at current poll average

Map of Dumfries and Galloway

Switch between ward-level 2024 election winners and a demographic view. Ward winners are Britain Elects' / New Statesman modelled estimates with an average ~4pp margin of error per ward. The demographic view splits the seat into small neighbourhoods (around 800 residents each, from Scotland's 2022 Census). Hover any area for detail.

Holyrood 2026 layer

How Dumfries and Galloway voted at the Scottish Parliament election (7 May 2026)

Dumfries and Galloway sits almost entirely within the Holyrood constituency of Galloway and West Dumfries. Scotland uses the Additional Member System: voters cast one ballot for a constituency MSP and a second for a regional list. The figures below are the constituency vote.

Holyrood constituencyShare of Dumfries and GallowayWinnerRunner-upElected MSP
Galloway and West Dumfries92%Conservative 38.3%SNP 33.0%Finlay Carson
Dumfriesshire7%Conservative 34.8%SNP 31.4%Craig Hoy

Holyrood 2026 constituency results from official declarations. Overlap percentages are area-based using the post-2024 Westminster boundary against the new Holyrood second-review boundary (in force from 7 May 2026).

Council layer (not Westminster)

Dumfries and Galloway within Dumfries and Galloway

The Westminster constituency of Dumfries and Galloway sits entirely within Dumfries and Galloway Council. Local council elections are a separate ballot from Westminster general elections - English councils rotate their election cycles and Dumfries and Galloway was not due to vote in 2026, so the figures below show the most recent council ward results available.

Council overlap

CouncilShare of seat
Dumfries and Galloway
1 LSOAs
100%

Most recent council ward results

Latest council winner per ward. Where the council held a May 2026 election, those results are shown; otherwise we show the most recent available ward result (via DCLEAPIL, 2014-2024), or, where the seat was uncontested at the last election, the current sitting councillor from OpenCouncilData. The "Shift since GE2024" column is only computed for May 2026 results - earlier council votes pre-date the GE, so no directional shift is shown.

Ward GE2024 winner Latest council winner Shift since GE2024 Turnout

Projection trajectory

PollCheck's projection for Dumfries and Galloway at each of the last 60 GB polls. Hover the chart for the underlying poll details.

Who has won Dumfries and Galloway at past general elections?

2024 result is on current boundaries. The 2019 row is the UK Parliament's notional recalculation onto the 2024 boundaries (directly comparable to 2024). The 2010, 2015 and 2017 rows are on the boundaries in force at the time and aren't directly comparable.

Year Result MP Lab Con LD Right (Ref/UKIP) Green Other Majority Turnout
2010Lab holdRussell Brown45.9%31.6%8.8%1.3% UKIP--7,44970.0%
2015SNP gain from LabRichard Arkless24.7%29.9%1.7%2.3% UKIP--6,51475.2%+5.2
2017Con gain from SNPAlister Jack20.9%43.3%2.4%--1.0%5,64369.5%-5.7
2019notionalConservative winnerAlister Jack 2019 MP, pre-review boundary9.4%43.8%6.0%--40.8%1,55668.3%-1.2
2024Con holdJohn Cooper25.7%29.6%4.6%9.4% Ref2.7%0.5%93058.3%-10.0

Earlier years are on pre-2024 boundaries; comparable results on the new boundary will be added when sourced.

Constituencies most like Dumfries and Galloway

Five seats with similar demographic profiles to Dumfries and Galloway. Politics shown for context.

What would change this seat?

Move the sliders to set national vote shares. The per-seat projection updates live. Reset returns to the current 7-poll average.

Related

Sources

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