Dumfries and Galloway lieutenancy purposes, the historic counties are largely maintained with its three lieutenancy areas being Dumfries, Wigtown and the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright. To the north, Dumfries and Galloway borders East Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire; in the east the Borders; and to the south the county of Cumbria in England and the Solway Firth. To the west lies the Irish Sea. The Dumfries and Galloway Council region is composed of counties and their sub-areas. From east to west: The term 'Dumfries and Galloway' has been used since at latest the 19th century – by 1911 the three counties had a
2007 Dumfries and Galloway Council election 2007 Dumfries and Galloway Council election Elections to Dumfries and Galloway Council were held on 3 May 2007 the same day as the other Scottish local government elections and the Scottish Parliament general election. The election was the first one using 13 new wards created as a results of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward will elect three or four councillors using the single transferable vote system a form of proportional representation. The new wards replace 47 single-member wards which used the plurality (first past the post) system of election. The Conservatives increased their number of seats by