Following boundary changes in 1997 this seat no longer contains any part of the town of Falkirk. Despite the presence of large tracts of open countryside it is definitely industrial in character. Grangemouth holds both a modern container port and a vast petrochemical complex, the chimneys of which can be seen belching smoke for miles around.
Most of the towns and villages here, such as Stenhousemuir, are home to working-class residents and many new light industries have been attracted to the area in recent years.
One of the more novel sights in the seat, and certainly less of a blot on the landscape than the Grangemouth smokestacks, is a 45-foot high stone pineapple at Dunmore - built to mark an ill-fated attempt at cultivation of the fruit in the eighteenth century and a tourist attraction today.
Sitting Labour MP Michael Connarty applied to stand for the Scottish Parliament but, like Dennis Canavan in neighbouring Falkirk West, he was rejected by Labour’s central selection panel. Unlike Mr Canavan he chose to accept this. Labour’s Cathy Peattie went on to win the seat in the Scottish Parliament with a majority of 4,139 votes.
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