Cowdenbeath (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Cowdenbeath is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Fife. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. It is one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife 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.

Cowdenbeath
Burgh constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Cowdenbeath shown within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	71,913 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Annabelle Ewing
Council area	Fife

The town of Cowdenbeath was formerly part of the Dunfermline East constituency which was abolished in 2011.

The current Member is Annabelle Ewing of the Scottish National Party, elected in 2016, following her defeat of Alex Rowley.

Electoral region

See also: Mid Scotland and Fife (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

The other eight constituencies of the Mid Scotland and Fife region are: Clackmannanshire and Dunblane, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Mid Fife and Glenrothes, North East Fife, Perthshire North, Perthshire South and Kinross-shire and Stirling.

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

Constituency boundaries and council area

Map of boundaries from 2011

Fife is represented in the Scottish Parliament by five constituencies, Cowdenbeath, Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Mid Fife and Glenrothes and North East Fife.

The constituency of Cowdenbeath is formed from the following electoral wards, all of which are part of Fife:^[2]

• In full:
  • Inverkeithing and Dalgety Bay
  • Cowdenbeath
  • Lochgelly, Cardenden and Benarty
• In part:
  • Rosyth (shared with Dunfermline)

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	2011	Helen Eadie	Labour
	2014	Alex Rowley
	2016	Annabelle Ewing	SNP

Election results

Cowdenbeath election results 1999-2021

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Cowdenbeath^[3][4]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Annabelle Ewing[a]	16,499	48.3	2.2	15,088	44.0	0.2
	Labour	Alex Rowley[b]	10,486	30.7	5.2	8,308	24.3	5.3
	Conservative	Darren Watt	4,758	13.9	0.4	5,881	17.2	1.8
	Scottish Green	Mags Hall	1,344	3.9	New	2,212	6.5	2.1
	Liberal Democrats	Malcolm Wood	1,088	3.2	0.5	1,229	3.6	0.0
	Alba					723	2.1	New
	All for Unity					223	0.7	New
	Scottish Family					211	0.6	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					84	0.2	New
	Reform UK					80	0.2	New
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					74	0.2	New
	Scottish Libertarian					58	0.2	0.0
	UKIP					46	0.1	1.9
	Independent	Martin Keatings				25	0.1	New
	Renew					10	0.0	New
	Independent	Mercy Kamanja				0	0.0	New
Majority			6,013	17.6	7.4
Valid Votes			34,175			34,252
Invalid Votes			81			42
Turnout			34,256	60.7	6.0	34,294	60.8	6.1
	SNP hold		Swing
Notes Incumbent member for this constituency Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Cowdenbeath^[4][5][a]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Region
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Annabelle Ewing[b]	13,715	46.1	4.5	13,050	43.8	0.9
	Labour	Alex Rowley[c][d]	10,674	35.9	10.6	8,825	29.6	9.3
	Conservative	Dave Dempsey	4,251	14.2	7.3	4,601	15.4	8.6
	Scottish Green					1,315	4.4	2.0
	Liberal Democrats	Bryn Jones	1,094	3.7	0.2	1,087	3.6	0.1
	UKIP					631	2.0	1.0
	Solidarity					149	0.5	0.4
	RISE					92	0.3	New
	Scottish Libertarian					69	0.2	New
Majority			3,041	10.2	5.4
Valid Votes			29,734			29,819
Invalid Votes			123			57
Turnout			29,857	54.7	7.3	29,876	54.7	7.2
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing
Notes Showing changes from 2011 election Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency Incumbent member for this constituency by virtue of by-election victory Elected on the party list

2014 Cowdenbeath by-election^[6][7][4]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Alex Rowley	11,192	55.8	9.3
	SNP	Natalie McGarry	5,704	28.4	13.2
	Conservative	Dave Dempsey	1,893	9.4	2.4
	UKIP	Denise Baykal	610	3.04	New
	Liberal Democrats	Jade Holden	425	2.1	1.8
	The Victims Final Right	Stuart Graham	187	0.93	New
	SDA	James Trolland	51	0.25	New
Majority			5,488	27.4	22.5
Total valid votes			20,062
Rejected ballots			21
Turnout			20,083	34.8	12.6
	Labour hold		Swing

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Cowdenbeath^[4][8][9]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Region
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Helen Eadie[a]	11,926	46.5	N/A	10,003	38.9	N/A
	SNP	Ian Chisholm	10,679	41.6	N/A	11,030	42.9	N/A
	Conservative	Belinda Don	1,792	7.0	N/A	1,752	6.8	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Keith Legg	997	3.9	N/A	912	3.5	N/A
	Scottish Green					611	2.4	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					434	1.7	N/A
	Land Party	Mick Heenan	276	1.1	N/A
	UKIP					276	1.1	N/A
	Socialist Labour					247	1.0	N/A
	BNP					171	0.7	N/A
	Scottish Christian					84	0.3	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					81	0.3	N/A
	Independent	Andrew Roger				57	0.2	N/A
	CPA					40	0.2	N/A
	Solidarity					26	0.1	N/A
Majority			1,247	4.9	N/A
Valid Votes			25,670			25,724
Invalid Votes			80			81
Turnout			25,750	47.4	N/A	25,805	47.5	N/A
	Labour win (new seat)
Notes Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency