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Dunfermline West Scottish Parliament burgh constituency
Dunfermline West shown within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Created:	1999
MSP:	Jim Tolson
Party:	Liberal Democrats
Council area:	Fife

Dunfermline West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Contents 1 Electoral region 2 Constituency boundaries and council area 3 Description of the constituency 4 Member of the Scottish Parliament 5 Election results 6 Footnotes

See also Mid Scotland and Fife Scottish Parliament region

The other eight constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Dunfermline East, Fife Central, Fife North East, Kirkcaldy, Ochil, Perth, Stirling and Tayside North.

The region covers all of the Clackmannanshire council area, all of the Fife council area, all of the Perth and Kinross council area, all of the Stirling council area and parts of the Angus council area.

The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies^[1]. The Dunfermline West Westminster constituency was merged into Dunfermline and West Fife.

The Holyrood constituency of Dunfermline West is one of five Mid Scotland and Fife constituencies covering the Fife council area, the others being Dunfermline East, Fife Central, Fife North East and Kirkcaldy. All are entirely within the council area.

Dunfermline East covers a south-western portion of the council area, west of Dunfermline East.

The constituency includes all of the town of Dunfermline and some land on the north bank of the Firth of Forth.

Historically, the town was once Scotland's capital city. Eight kings are buried there, amongst them Robert the Bruce. Today, textiles, engineering and synthetic material manufacturing are the primary industries. The constituency also contains rural areas.

Like its neighbour, Dunfermline East, the constituency was one of Labour’s safest seats in Scotland. In Westminster elections voters in the area elected Labour Members of Parliament (MPs) continuously from 1935 until 2006. In a 2006 by-election, however, the Liberal Democrats won the equivalent Westminster seat, and they proceeded to win the Holyrood seat in 2007 as well, calling into question Labour's future as a dominant party in the area.

Election		Member	Party
	1999	Scott Barrie	Labour
	2003
	2007	Jim Tolson	Liberal Democrats

Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Dunfermline West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	James Tolson	9,952	33.7	+19.3
	Labour Party	Thomas Scott Barrie	9,476	32.1	-2.2
	Scottish National Party	Len Woods	7,296	24.7	+7.3
	Conservative Party	Peter Lyburn	2,363	8.0	+0.6
	Scottish Voice	Susan Archibald	238	1.5	+1.5
Majority			476	1.6
Turnout			29,252	51.8	+5.0
	Liberal Democrats gain from Labour Party		Swing	10.8

Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Dunfermline West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Party	Scott Barrie	8,644	34.3	-9.9
	Independent Campaign for Local Hospital Services	David Wishart	4,584	18.2	+18.2
	Scottish National Party	Brian Goodall	4,372	17.4	-10.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Tolson	3,636	14.4	-3.8
	Conservative Party	Jim Mackie	1,868	7.4	-2.3
	Scottish Socialist Party	Andy Jackson	923	3.7	+3.7
	Independent	Alastair Harper	714	2.8	+2.8
	Independent	Damien Quigg	459	1.8	+1.8
Majority			4,080	16.2
Turnout			25,240	46.8
	Labour Party hold		Swing

Scottish Parliament election, 1999: Dunfermline West
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour Party	Scott Barrie	13,560	44.21	N/A
	Scottish National Party	Douglas Chapman	8,539	27.84	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Elizabeth Harris	5,591	18.23	N/A
	Conservative Party	James Mackie	2,981	9.72	N/A
Majority			5,021	16.37
Turnout			30,671
	Labour Party hold		Swing

1. ^ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland

v • d • e Electoral regions and Constituencies of the Scottish Parliament
Central Scotland	Airdrie and Shotts · Coatbridge and Chryston · Cumbernauld and Kilsyth · East Kilbride · Falkirk East · Falkirk West · Hamilton North and Bellshill · Hamilton South · Kilmarnock and Loudoun · Motherwell and Wishaw
Glasgow	Glasgow Anniesland · Glasgow Baillieston · Glasgow Cathcart · Glasgow Govan · Glasgow Kelvin · Glasgow Maryhill · Glasgow Pollok · Glasgow Rutherglen · Glasgow Shettleston · Glasgow Springburn
Highlands and Islands	Argyll and Bute · Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross · Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber · Moray · Orkney · Ross, Skye and Inverness West · Shetland · Western Isles
Lothians	Edinburgh Central · Edinburgh East and Musselburgh · Edinburgh North and Leith · Edinburgh Pentlands · Edinburgh South · Edinburgh West · Linlithgow · Livingston · Midlothian
Mid Scotland and Fife	Central Fife  · Dunfermline East · Dunfermline West · Kirkcaldy · North East Fife · North Tayside · Ochil · Perth · Stirling
North East Scotland	Aberdeen Central · Aberdeen North · Aberdeen South · Angus · Banff and Buchan · Dundee East · Dundee West · Gordon · West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
South of Scotland	Ayr · Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley · Clydesdale · Cunninghame South · Dumfries · East Lothian · Galloway and Upper Nithsdale · Roxburgh and Berwickshire · Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale
West of Scotland	Clydebank and Milngavie · Cunninghame North · Dumbarton · Eastwood · Greenock and Inverclyde · Paisley North · Paisley South · Strathkelvin and Bearsden · West Renfrewshire