Stranraer and the Rhins (ward)
Stranraer and the Rhins is one of the twelve electoral wards of Dumfries and Galloway Council. Created in 2017, the ward elects four councillors using the single transferable vote electoral system and covers an area with a population of 14,821 people.
The area has produced strong results for the Conservatives who have won more than 30 per cent of the vote at each election and have held half of the seats since 2022.
Boundaries
The ward was created by the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland following the Fifth Statutory Reviews of Electoral Arrangements ahead of the 2017 Scottish local elections. Five of the 13 multi-member wards in Dumfries and Galloway were abolished as a result of the review and replaced by four new ones. Stranraer and the Rhins encompasses an area represented by the former Stranraer and North Rhins and Wigtown West wards. The ward is takes in the westernmost and southernmost part of the council area and runs along part of the boundary with South Ayrshire.It is situated within Galloway and the historic county of Wigtownshire and includes the Rhins of Galloway double-headed peninsula. The dominant settlement is Stranraer, Dumfries and Galloway’s second largest town, at the head of Loch Ryan. Other settlements include the ferry port of Cairnryan and villages in the Rhins of Galloway including Ardwell, Drummore, Kirkcolm, Leswalt, Port Logan, Portpatrick, Sandhead and Stoneykirk. The ward is the most southerly ward in Scotland as it includes the Mull of Galloway, Scotland's most southernly point.