Nith (ward)

Nith
Dumfries and Galloway
Boundary of Nith in Dumfries and Galloway from 2017.
Population	10,448 (2021)[1]
Electorate	8,242 (2022)
Major settlements	Dumfries (part of)
Scottish Parliament constituency	Dumfriesshire
Scottish Parliament region	South Scotland
UK Parliament constituency	Dumfries and Galloway
Current ward
Created	2007 (2007)
Number of councillors	4
Councillor	John Campbell (SNP)
Councillor	Malcolm Johnstone (Conservative)
Councillor	Keith Walters (Labour)
Councillor	David R. Slater (Independent)
Created from	Caerlaverock Criffel Georgetown Lochvale Loreburn Marchmount Nithsdale East

Nith is one of the thirteen wards used to elect members of the Dumfries and Galloway Council. It elects four Councillors.

Councillors

Election	Councillors
2007		John Allan Martin (Labour)		Alistair Witts (SNP)		Jack Groom (Conservative)		Colin Smyth (Labour)
2012
2017	John Campbell (SNP)		Malcolm Johnstone (Conservative)	Elaine Murray (Labour)
2022		Keith Walters (Labour)			Robert Slater (Ind.)

Election results

2022 election

Main article: 2022 Dumfries and Galloway Council election

Nith - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	SNP	John Campbell (incumbent)	33.3	1,670
	Conservative	Malcolm Johnstone (incumbent)	18.0	904	920	923	937	1,386
	Labour	Keith Walters	16.7	835	949	1,291
	Conservative	Alastair Muir	10.2	515	521	523	539
	Independent	David R. Slater	9.7	488	546	562	621	642	785	1,029
	Labour	Angie Whitelaw	7.1	355	409
	Green	Ann McLauchlan	4.8	240	540	559	624	629	655
Electorate: 10,573   Valid: 5,007   Spoilt: 72   Quota: 1,002   Turnout: 48.0%

Source: ^[2][3]

Stranraer and the Rhins by-election

In September 2025, Willie Scobie, long-serving independent councillor for Stranraer and the Rhins, resigned for health reasons.^[4]

Stranraer and the Rhins by-election (20 November 2025) - 1 seat

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1
	Conservative	Julie Currie
	Green	Michael Havard
	SNP	Simon Jones
	Labour	John McCutcheon
	Reform	John Roberts
	Heritage	Gisele Skinner
	Independent	Shaun Smith
	Liberal Democrats	Tracey Warman
Electorate: 0   Valid: 0

References

1. "Nith". Scottish Government. Retrieved 29 March 2025.
2. "Declaration of Results Report Ward 9 - Nith" (PDF). Dumfries and Galloway Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
3. "Candidate Votes Per Stage Report Ward 9 - Nith" (PDF). Dumfries and Galloway Council. 6 May 2022. Retrieved 23 February 2025.
4. Macmillan, Penny (26 September 2025). "Long-serving councillor steps down after 37 years". BBC.

2017 election

2017 Dumfries and Galloway Council election^[1]

Nith - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10
	Conservative	Malcolm Johnstone	29.30	1,481
	Labour	Elaine Murray	19.01	961	1,033.2
	SNP	John Campbell	16.97	858	862.75	863.32	887.71	901.77	922.72	950.35	1,379.72
	SNP	Alastair Witts (incumbent)	8.66	438	441.48	441.96	468.7	488.37	493.71	507.68
	Labour	John Martin (incumbent)	8.39	424	463.9	478.72	500.8	523.66	540.98	579.72	599.29	682.97	837.94
	Independent	David Robert Slater	5.88	297	362.55	363.43	380.02	401.18	459.13	586.3	606.99	676.46
	Independent	Niall Cowan	3.88	196	246.35	247.12	252.05	278.76	321.56
	Independent	Andrew Crosbie	3.03	153	188.15	188.47	192.81	210.46
	Independent	John Dennis	2.49	126	151.02	151.67	168.34
	Green	Sandy Rogerson	2.39	121	133.67	134.22
Electorate: 10,233   Valid: 5,055   Spoilt: 77   Quota: 1,012   Turnout: 49.4

2012 election

2012 Dumfries and Galloway Council election^[2]

Nith - 4 seats

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	John Allan Martin (incumbent)	25.93	1,079
	Labour	Colin Smyth (incumbent)	19.20	799	1,010.3
	SNP	Alastair Witts (incumbent)	18.84	784	789.7	822	830.2	850.9
	Conservative	Jack Groom (incumbent)††	15.67	652	657.5	669.5	675.9	687.8	689.9	900.9
	Conservative	David Slater	8.56	356	361	366.5	369.5	382.5	383.6
	Independent	Andrew Crosbie	8.36	348	352.8	376.2	391.6	430.4	435.1	514.1
	Independent	Nello Paoletti	2.19	91	93.1	103.1	108.4
	Independent	Lee Vann-Wakelin	1.25	52	53.6	59.81
Electorate: 9,844   Valid: 4,161   Spoilt: 66   Quota: 833   Turnout: 4,227 (42.27%)

2007 election

2007 Dumfries and Galloway Council election^[3]

Nith

Party		Candidate	FPv%	Count
				1	2	3	4	5	6	7
	Labour	John Allan Martin	23.0	1,268
	SNP	Alistair Witts	20.8	1,145
	Conservative	Jack Groom	14.4	794	795.56	798.13	843.68	1,304.35
	Labour	Colin Smyth	13.0	714	847.76	854.92	912.09	940.39	954.98	1,262.99
	Conservative	Frances Hassall	11.3	623	624.69	626.60	662.00
	Liberal Democrats	Kerr Little	10.9	598	605.55	614.02	740.42	794.05	857.23
	Independent	Robin Wishart	6.7	368	370.34	378.30
Electorate: 10,021   Valid: 5,510   Spoilt: 79   Quota: 1,103   Turnout: 55.8%

References

1. "Council elections - May 2017".
2. "Local Elections Archive Project - 2012 - Dumfries and Galloway".
3. https://www.gallowaygazette.co.uk/news/dumfries-and-galloway-council-elections-1-334191 ^{[dead link]}