Council by-election · Dumfries and Galloway: Annandale East and Eskdale ward · Thursday, 10 December 2026
This is where politics meets your life.
Before anyone asks for your vote: what the official record says about the area around this area, from planning to local statistics, and who represents you now.
Life in Dumfries and Galloway: Annandale East and Eskdale ward: the official facts
Official open data about the area. It describes the place, not you, and it favours no candidate.
People claiming unemployment-related benefits
145 people in Annandale East and Eskdale ward, 2.7% of residents aged 16–64, against 3.1% across Scotland (September 2026).
Claimant count, Office for National Statistics via Nomis (Open Government Licence). It counts people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance or Universal Credit while required to seek work; it is not the same as the unemployment rate.
House prices in Dumfries And Galloway
Average price £171,854, up 3.9% on a year earlier (August 2026).
Flats and maisonettes: £88,882
Detached houses: £263,073
Source: HM Land Registry UK House Price Index for the local authority (Open Government Licence). A local-authority average; prices within it vary widely.
Recorded crime nearby, August 2026
0 street-level crimes recorded within about a mile of the area's centre.
Source: data.police.uk (Open Government Licence). Centroid of the ONS 2024 boundary. Statistics near this point describe the area, not any household. Recorded crime reflects reporting and policing as well as offending; see the ONS guidance in further reading.
Who represents you now
Councillors for Annandale East and Eskdale, as recorded after the May 2026 elections:
Karen Carruthers, Independent / Other
Archie Dryburgh, Labour Party
Denis Male, Independent / Other
This by-election fills a seat that has fallen vacant since then, so one of those listed may no longer hold it.
Across the whole of Dumfries and Galloway council (43 seats in 2026): Conservative 10, Labour 8, Liberal Democrat 1, SNP 11, Other 13. Run by: a coalition or arrangement of SNP, Labour, independents and Liberal Democrats.
Councillors and council make-up from Open Council Data (public domain). The council's own website lists current councillors and how to contact them.
