Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk (UK Parliament constituency)

Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk is a constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

of the British House of Commons, located in the south of Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

within the Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

council area. It elects one Member of Parliament

Member of Parliament

A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...

(MP) at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post

First-past-the-post

First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...

system of voting.

Currently, the seat is held by the Liberal Democrat

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...

Michael Moore

Michael Moore (UK politician)

Michael Kevin Moore is a British Liberal Democrat politician, currently the Secretary of State for Scotland in the UK coalition government, and the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk....

, currently the Secretary of State for Scotland

Secretary of State for Scotland

The Secretary of State for Scotland is the principal minister of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Scotland. He heads the Scotland Office , a government department based in London and Edinburgh. The post was created soon after the Union of the Crowns, but was...

. Moore has held the seat since its creation in 2005, and was MP for the predecessor seat of Tweeddale, Ettrick & Lauderdale

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale (UK Parliament constituency)

Tweeddale, Ettrick and Lauderdale was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983...

from 1997-2005. The seat and its predecessor seats have had a strong Liberal presence since the 1960s, with former Liberal

Liberal Party (UK)

The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day...

leader David Steel

David Steel

David Martin Scott Steel, Baron Steel of Aikwood, KT, KBE, PC is a British Liberal Democrat politician who served as the Leader of the Liberal Party from 1976 until its merger with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the Liberal Democrats...

having represented the seat from 1965 to 1997. The Conservative Party

Conservative Party (UK)

The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...

are the main challengers to the seat, and they hold the equivalent Holyrood seat

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It will elect one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...

. The seat is notable for producing the lowest percentage vote share for Labour

Labour Party (UK)

The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...

in Scotland at the 2010 general election.

A mostly rural seat, it includes the towns of Eyemouth

Eyemouth

Eyemouth , historically spelt Aymouth, is a small town and civil parish in Berwickshire, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is east of the main north-south A1 road and just north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. It has a population of circa 3,420 people .The town's name comes from its location at...

, Hawick

Hawick

Hawick is a town in the Scottish Borders of south east Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-southeast of Selkirk. It is one of the farthest towns from the sea in Scotland, in the heart of Teviotdale, and the biggest town in the former county of Roxburghshire. Hawick's architecture is...

, Galashiels

Galashiels

Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often shortened to "Gala" .Galashiels is a major commercial centre for the Scottish Borders...

, Duns

Duns

Duns is the county town of the historic county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders.-Early history:Duns law, the original site of the town of Duns, has the remains of an Iron Age hillfort at its summit...

, Jedburgh

Jedburgh

Jedburgh is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and historically in Roxburghshire.-Location:Jedburgh lies on the Jed Water, a tributary of the River Teviot, it is only ten miles from the border with England and is dominated by the substantial ruins of Jedburgh Abbey...

and Selkirk.

Boundaries

As created by the Fifth Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland the constituency is one of six covering the Dumfries and Galloway council area, the Scottish Borders council area and the South Lanarkshire council area. The other five constituencies are: Dumfries and Galloway

Dumfries and Galloway (UK Parliament constituency)

Dumfries and Galloway is a county constituency of in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was first used in the 2005 general election, and replaced Galloway and Upper Nithsdale and part of Dumfries, and it elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post...

, Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale (UK Parliament constituency)

Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the south of Scotland, within the Dumfries and Galloway, South Lanarkshire and Scottish Borders council areas...

, East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow

East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow (UK Parliament constituency)

East Kilbride, Strathaven and Lesmahagow is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was first used in the general election of 2005...

, Lanark and Hamilton East

Lanark and Hamilton East (UK Parliament constituency)

Lanark and Hamilton East is a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was first used in the general election of 2005...

and Rutherglen and Hamilton West

Rutherglen and Hamilton West (UK Parliament constituency)

Rutherglen and Hamilton West is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which was first used in the general election of 2005...

.

The Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency covers part of the Scottish Borders council area. The rest of the council area is covered by the Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale constituency, which also covers part of the Dumfries and Galloway council area and part of the South Lanarkshire council area.

The Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk constituency is predominantly rural, and includes the towns of Eyemouth