Highlands and Islands (European Parliament constituency)

Highlands and Islands
Highlands and Islands
European Parliament constituency
	Boundary within Scotland (1979-1984)
Member state	United Kingdom
Created	1979
Dissolved	1999
MEPs	1
Sources

Last updated December 30, 2024

Prior to its uniform adoption of proportional representation in 1999, the United Kingdom used first-past-the-post for the European elections in England, Scotland and Wales. The European Parliament constituencies used under that system were smaller than the later regional constituencies and only had one Member of the European Parliament each.

Boundaries

1979–1984: Argyll; Banff; Caithness and Sutherland; Inverness; Moray and Nairn; Orkney and Shetland; Ross and Cromarty; Western Isles

1984–1999: Argyll and Bute; Caithness and Sutherland; Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber; Moray; Orkney and Shetland; Ross, Cromarty and Skye; Western Isles

Members of the European Parliament

	Member	Party
1979	Winnie Ewing	SNP
1984
1989
1994

Election results

European elections 1994: Highlands and Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Winnie Ewing	74,872	58.4	+6.9
	Labour	Michael M. Macmillan	19,956	15.6	+1.7
	Conservative	Mark E. Tennant	15,767	12.3	–4.5
	Liberal Democrats	Hamish R. Morrison	12,919	10.1	+1.8
	Scottish Green	Eleanor Scott	3,140	2.4	–7.1
	UKIP	Martin B.N. Carr	1,096	0.8	New
	Natural Law	Margaret F. Gilmour	522	0.4	New
Majority			54,916	42.8	+8.1
Turnout			128,272	39.1	–1.9
	SNP hold		Swing	+2.6

European elections 1989: Highlands and Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Winnie Ewing	66,297	51.5	+9.7
	Conservative	Albert McQuarrie	21,602	16.8	+0.8
	Labour	N.L. MacAskill	17,848	13.9	–0.2
	Green	M.A.O. Gregson	12,199	9.5	New
	SLD	Neil Mitchison	10,644	8.3	−19.8
Majority			44,695	34.7	+21.0
Turnout			128,590	41.0	+2.6
	SNP hold		Swing	+4.5

European elections 1984: Highlands and Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Winnie Ewing	49,410	41.8	+7.8
	Liberal	D.R. Johnston	33,133	28.1	–2.6
	Conservative	David Webster	18,847	16.0	–10.1
	Labour	John M.M. MacArthur	16,644	14.1	+4.9
Majority			16,277	13.7	+10.4
Turnout			118,034	38.4	–1.0
	SNP hold		Swing	+5.2

European elections 1979: Highlands and Islands^[1]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	SNP	Winnie Ewing	39,991	34.0
	Liberal	D.R. Johnston	36,109	30.7
	Conservative	M. Joughin	30,776	26.1
	Labour	J.G. Watson	10,846	9.2
Majority			3,882	3.3
Turnout			117,722	39.4
	SNP win (new seat)

Related Research Articles

Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It has land borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. The wider upland area of the Scottish Highlands after which the council area is named extends beyond the Highland council area into all the neighbouring council areas plus Angus and Stirling.

The Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament, created in 1999. Eight of the parliament's first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1997 onwards

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It is the most northerly constituency on the British mainland. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ross, Skye and Lochaber (UK Parliament constituency)</span> Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2005–2024

Ross, Skye and Lochaber was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood), in use between 1999 and 2011. It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it was one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides.

Ross, Skye and Inverness West was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It was one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Argyll and Bute is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering most of the council area of Argyll and Bute. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering most of the council area of Moray. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies within the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Orkney. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Shetland. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Na h-Eileanan an Iar, formerly the Western Isles, is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Na h-Eileanan Siar. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The Northern Constabulary was the territorial police force responsible for Northern Scotland, covering the Highland council area along with the Western Isles, the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands, which make up most of the Highlands and Islands area. It was the police force covering the largest geographical area in the United Kingdom, equivalent to the size of Belgium, but was one of the smallest in terms of officers, with about 715 officers. The Constabulary was one of those amalgamated to form Police Scotland in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the Highland council area</span>

The politics of the Highland council area in Scotland are evident in the deliberations and decisions of the Highland Council, in elections to the council, and in elections to the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster) and the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). In the European Parliament the area was within the Scotland constituency, which covers all of the 32 council areas of Scotland.

A local enterprise company (LEC) was a public-sector organisation in Scotland with responsibility for local economic development activities. The LECs formed part of the two enterprise networks, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise. The 22 LECs were abolished in September 2007 and replaced with enterprise regions (ERs).

Inverness-shire or the County of Inverness, is a historic county in Scotland. It is named after Inverness, its largest settlement, which was also the county town. Covering much of the Highlands and some of the Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county by land area. It is generally rural and sparsely populated, containing only three towns which held burgh status, being Inverness, Fort William and Kingussie. The county is crossed by the Great Glen, which contains Loch Ness and separates the Grampian Mountains to the south-east from the Northwest Highlands. The county also includes Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in both Scotland and the United Kingdom.

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Inverness and Nairn is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, as well as eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

References

1 2 3 4 "Elections to the European Parliament 1979-99: Scotland". Election Demon. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2009.

External links

David Boothroyd's United Kingdom Election Results Archived 9 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine

This United Kingdom election-related article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article about the European Union is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.

[election.demon.co.uk-1] 1 2 3 4 "Elections to the European Parliament 1979-99: Scotland". Election Demon. Archived from the original on 1 February 2020. Retrieved 7 September 2009.

[1]