Instead, Cowdenbeath is the largest town and most of the seat's area was once part of the Fife coal field. Mining no longer takes place here, but scattered around the seat are ex-mining communities once known as "little Moscows" - hinting at their communist past.

Economically the region is still depressed, and matters have not been helped by the redundancies caused by the trouble-stricken Rosyth dockyards and naval base which is just across the south western border of the seat in Dunfermline West.

However, various business developments are being undertaken in the Rosyth site which are expected to generate more jobs for the future. The telecommunications company Motorola has opened a new factory in the Dunfermline West seat, which has created a new source of employment for the people of Dunfermline East too.