Dumfries and Galloway: MP, 2024 result and local figures
Dumfries and Galloway is represented in the House of Commons by John Cooper (Conservative). John Cooper took the seat for Conservative in July 2024 with 13,527 votes (29.6%), ahead of Tracey Little (Scottish National Party) on 12,597. Turnout, counted as valid votes over the electorate, was 58.3% (45,775 of 78,541); the winning margin was 930 votes.
Key figures
What the figures show
2,467 children in Dumfries and Galloway were in relative low income families after housing costs in 2024/25, the Department for Work and Pensions estimates: 17.0% of under-16s, where the UK share is 26.0%. Before housing costs the share was 14.0% in 2024/25, from 16.5% in 2021/22.
Median annual pay for full-time work was £35,424 for jobs in Dumfries and Galloway and £36,304 for its residents (April 2025, ASHE). A year before, the residents' median was £36,013. The residents' figure ranks 205th lowest of 632 constituencies with an estimate. The latest year is provisional.
Survey estimates for April 2025 to March 2026 have 77.5% of working-age residents in employment, within a margin of 5.5 points. The economically inactive share was 20.1%.
4,860 business sites were registered in Dumfries and Galloway in March 2026 (4,820 a year before), and employed 41,000 people in 2024.
In September 2026, 2.7% of 16 to 64 year olds in Dumfries and Galloway were claimants (1,505 people). September 2025 had 1,465.
MP
John Cooper, Conservative
- MP for Dumfries and Galloway since 4 July 2024
Official UK Parliament page · Statements by John Cooper on this site
In Parliament
What John Cooper said most recently in Parliament, word for word from Hansard (from 21 October 2026 to 22 October 2026). Hansard search returns 271 spoken contributions by John Cooper since 4 July 2024.
One of the great sports in this place is who has the best constituency. Well, National Geographic magazine’s verdict is in and the only place in the UK to get a mention in its “Best Places in the World to Travel to in 2027” is Dumfries and Galloway.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
CropLife UK warns that the heedless rush to align with the EU could cost British farming £810 million. That is £810 million off bottom lines, which are already very marginal. Further, it could also hit production in this country, so we cannot export what we are not even growing.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
6. What assessment she has made of the potential impact of the UK–EU sanitary and phytosanitary agreement on the farming sector.
Food security is national security, as the mantra from the Government Benches goes. Yet the reality, I am afraid, is that it is much spun and little done.
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
My hon. Friend and I were in the Committee that discussed the carbon border adjustment mechanism. Does he share my surprise that the Government did not seem to realise that it would affect fertiliser?
Read in Hansard (opening words; the full contribution is longer)
Read from the Hansard API on 27 October 2026. Up to two items per debate; remarks under 40 characters are left out. All contributions in Hansard.
General election, 4 July 2024
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Change in share |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Cooper | Conservative | 13,527 | 29.6% | −14.3 |
| Tracey Little | Scottish National Party | 12,597 | 27.5% | −13.3 |
| James Wallace | Labour | 11,767 | 25.7% | +16.3 |
| Charles Keal | Reform UK | 4,313 | 9.4% | |
| Iain McDonald | Liberal Democrat | 2,092 | 4.6% | −1.4 |
| Laura Moodie | Scottish Green Party | 1,249 | 2.7% | |
| David Griffiths | Heritage Party | 230 | 0.5% |
Result summary as published: Con hold. Change in share is in percentage points against the notional 2019 result on the new boundaries. Source: House of Commons Library, election results (data, read 14 October 2026).
Results on these boundaries
| Date | Election | First | Second | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 July 2024 | General election | Conservative 29.6% | Scottish National Party 27.5% | 930 | 58.3% |
| 12 December 2019 | General election (notional result on these boundaries) | Conservative 43.8% | Scottish National Party 40.8% | 1,556 | 68.3% |
Only results on the constituency boundaries first used at the 2024 general election are shown. The 2019 figures are the House of Commons Library's notional estimates of how votes cast in 2019 would have fallen on these boundaries, not a result that was declared. Source: House of Commons Library, constituency results.
Councils
Dumfries and Galloway lies within Dumfries and Galloway.
- Dumfries and Galloway S12000006
Who has power over Dumfries and Galloway
Every body that makes decisions for Dumfries and Galloway, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
- Scottish Parliament and Scottish Government makes law for Scotland on devolved subjects
Level 6: National government
- Dumfries and Galloway this page: John Cooper (Conservative) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
| Figure | Period | Publisher | Read | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Claimants as a share of residents aged 16 to 64 | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Claimant count | September 2026 | ONS | 29 October 2026 | data · area |
| Employment rate, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of residents | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Median full-time pay of people working here | April 2025 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Children in relative low income families, after housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Children in relative low income families, before housing costs | 2024/25 | DWP | 14 October 2026 | data · release |
| Business sites (local units) | March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| People employed by businesses here | 2024 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
| Economically inactive, aged 16 to 64 | April 2025 to March 2026 | ONS | 14 October 2026 | data · area |
"Data" is the file or query each figure was read from (its SHA-256 is in the link title); "area" shows the same table for this constituency alone.
Common questions
Who is the MP for Dumfries and Galloway?
UK Parliament lists John Cooper, Conservative, as the Member of Parliament for Dumfries and Galloway since the July 2024 general election.
What was the 2024 general election result in Dumfries and Galloway?
John Cooper (Conservative) won with 13,527 votes, a majority of 930, on a turnout of 58.3% (House of Commons Library).
What is the unemployment claimant rate in Dumfries and Galloway?
2.7% of residents aged 16 to 64 in September 2026, 1,505 people, on the ONS claimant count.
What is the average salary in Dumfries and Galloway?
Median full-time pay of residents was £36,304 a year in April 2025 (ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings).
How many children in Dumfries and Galloway live in low income families?
DWP counts 2,467 (17.0% of under-16s) in relative low income after housing costs for 2024/25.
Built 14 October 2026 from official records; how these pages are compiled. This page lists what the record shows and gives no verdict on the MP or the area. Link moved or figure wrong? Tell us.