Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Gaelic: Eadraig, Rosbrog agus Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Scottish Borders. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is also one of nine constituencies in the South Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
County constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire shown within the South Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	68,019 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Conservative
MSP	Rachael Hamilton
Council area	Scottish Borders
Created from	Roxburgh and Berwickshire, Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale

The constituency was established for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, and covers parts of the former constituencies of Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale and Roxburgh and Berwickshire. The remaining parts of the Scottish Borders form part of the Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency.^[2][3]

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire is currently held by the Conservatives. The current MSP is Rachael Hamilton, who won the seat at a 2017 by-election following the resignation of previous member John Lamont in order to contest the 2017 UK general election.

Electoral region

See also: South Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the South Scotland region are: Ayr, Carrick, Cumnock and Doon Valley, Clydesdale, Dumfriesshire, East Lothian, Galloway and West Dumfries, Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley and Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The region covers the Dumfries and Galloway council area, part of the East Ayrshire council area, part of the East Lothian council area, part of the Midlothian council area, the Scottish Borders council area, the South Ayrshire council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

Constituency boundaries and council areas

Map of boundaries from 2011

The rest of the Scottish Borders is represented in the Scottish Parliament by the Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale constituency.

The electoral wards in the Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency are listed below. All of these wards are part of Scottish Borders.^[3]

• Selkirkshire
• Mid Berwickshire
• East Berwickshire
• Kelso and District
• Jedburgh and District
• Hawick and Denholm
• Hawick and Hermitage

Members of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	John Lamont	Conservative
	2017 by-election	Rachael Hamilton

Election results

2021 parliamentary election

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire^[4][5][6][a]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachael Hamilton[b]	18,564	51.5	3.7	17,075	47.4	0.7
	SNP	Paul Wheelhouse[c]	11,701	32.5	0.7	10,857	30.1	0.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jenny Marr	2,352	6.5	1.2	2,426	6.7	1.9
	Labour	Ian Davidson	2,050	5.7	0.4	2,438	6.8	0.0
	Scottish Green	Barbra Harvie	1,084	3.0	New	1,665	4.6	0.1
	All for Unity					492	1.4	New
	Alba					317	0.9	New
	Independent	Jesse Rae	290	0.8	New
	Scottish Family					184	0.51	New
	Independent Green Voice					148	0.41	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					134	0.37	New
	Reform UK					116	0.32	New
	Scottish Libertarian					60	0.17	New
	UKIP					60	0.17	2.1
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					51	0.17	New
	Vanguard					11	0.03	New
	Scotia Future					10	0.03	New
Majority			6,863	19.0	4.4
Valid Votes			36,041			36,044
Invalid Votes			81			69
Turnout			36,122	64.0	3.1	36,113	64.0	3.1
	Conservative hold		Swing		2.2
Notes Showing changes from 2016 general election. Incumbent member for this constituency Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2017 by-election

Main article: 2017 Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election

In April 2017, John Lamont announced his intention to resign his seat in the Scottish Parliament in order to contest the 2017 UK general election.^[7]

2017 Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election^[8][9]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachael Hamilton	20,658	53.5	1.7
	SNP	Gail Hendry	11,320	29.3	2.5
	Labour	Sally Prentice	3,406	8.8	3.5
	Liberal Democrats	Catriona Bhatia	3,196	8.3	0.6
Majority			9,338	24.2	0.8
Total valid votes			38,580
Rejected ballots			73
Turnout			38,653	70.9	10.0
	Conservative hold		Swing	0.4

2016 parliamentary election

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire^[10][11]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Lamont[a]	18,257	55.2	10.3	15,452	46.7	15.2
	SNP	Paul Wheelhouse[b]	10,521	31.8	5.4	10,068	30.4	4.4
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Hume[b]	2,551	7.7	9.6	2,851	8.6	6.2
	Labour	Barrie Cunning	1,766	5.3	5.1	2,251	6.8	3.2
	Scottish Green					1,481	4.5	1.1
	UKIP					771	2.3	0.6
	Clydesdale and South Scotland Independent					112	0.3	New
	RISE					68	0.2	New
	Solidarity					67	0.2	0.1
Majority			7,736	23.4	4.9
Valid Votes			33,095			33,121
Invalid Votes			88			68
Turnout			33,183	60.9	7.7	33,189	60.9	7.7
	Conservative hold		Swing
Notes Incumbent member for this constituency Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2011 parliamentary election

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire^[12]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Lamont[a]	12,933	44.88	N/A	9,045	31.5	N/A
	SNP	Paul Wheelhouse[b]	7,599	26.37	N/A	10,009	34.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Euan Robson	4,990	17.32	N/A	4,247	14.8	N/A
	Labour	Rab Stewart	2,986	10.36	N/A	2,881	10.0	N/A
	Scottish Green					965	3.4	N/A
	UKIP					481	1.7	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					442	1.5	N/A
	Independent	Jesse Rae	308	1.07	N/A
	Socialist Labour					201	0.7	N/A
	BNP					183	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Christian					178	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					71	0.2	N/A
	Solidarity					21	0.1	N/A
Majority			5,334	18.51	N/A
Valid Votes			28,816			28,724
Invalid Votes			102			166
Turnout			28,918	53.2	N/A	28,890	53.2	N/A
	Conservative win (new seat)
Notes Incumbent member for the Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency Elected on the party list

References

1. Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
2. "The New Scottish Parliament Constituencies 2011" (PDF). BBC News online. 8 September 2010. p. 10. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
3. "First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries Final Report" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. May 2010. p. 120. Retrieved 7 August 2021.
4. "Constituencies A-Z: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire". BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2021.
5. "Scottish Parliament election results 2021". Scottish Borders Council. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
6. "Rachael Hamilton elected as MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire". Scottish Borders Council. 7 May 2021. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
7. "Tory MSP to quit Holyrood to stand for Westminster". BBC News. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
8. "Scottish Parliament by election results 2017: Ettrick, Roxburghshire, Berwickshire". Scottish Borders Council. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
9. "WATCH: Rachael Hamilton wins Holyrood by-election". Border Telegraph.
10. "Scottish Parliament election results 2016". Scottish Borders Council. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
11. "Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire 2016 election results - list" (PDF). Scottish Borders Council. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
12. "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

External links

• "Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 10 August 2021.