Although the seat is largely rural, most of its population live in the industrial town of Greenock. It grew up as a shipbuilding town, having become the home of the first dock on the Clyde in 1711, but with the decline of shipbuilding industrial diversification has taken place and computer and electronics firms are the major employers today.
Both IBM and National Semi-Conductors have large plants here. Other towns in the seat include Gourock, a seaside resort, and Wemyss Bay, a small port with a ferry link with Bute.
This is yet another central belt, post-industrial seat which the Labour party has tended to dominate politically. Former Catholic priest David Cairns has been selected to contest this seat for Labour, necessitating a change in the law to allow him to take his seat if he should win.
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