This seat occupies territory in the far south west corner of Scotland and is blessed with a varied landscape encompassing hills, valleys and the Solway coast.
Agriculture, forestry and limited tourism are the mainstays of the local economy, although the ex-mining towns of Kirkconnel and Sanquhar in the north are now home to some diverse light industries. The port of Stranraer is also in the seat, drawing tourists to the ferry service with Larne in Northern Ireland since 1872.
There is a cross-party campaign underway for major investment in the trunk route, the A75, which is the constituency’s main route to Europe, via the ferry link to Larne and then onto the Netherlands. P&O ferries have recognised the significance of the North Channel sea link from Stranraer by introducing their first ferry on this route in 2000 and the promise of a second in 2002.
The SNP’s Alasdair Morgan won Galloway & Upper Nithsdale from Conservative Cabinet minister Ian Lang at the 1997 election. Like all the other SNP MPs, Alasdair Morgan stood for the Scottish Parliament and won the seat. He is standing down from Westminster and his parliamentary assistant, Malcolm Fleming, is defending the seat for the SNP.