This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2009) |
Ross, Skye and Inverness West | |
---|---|
Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
Subdivisions of Scotland | Highland |
1997–2005 | |
Number of members | One |
Replaced by | Ross, Skye & Lochaber Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross |
Created from | Ross, Cromarty & Skye Inverness, Nairn & Lochaber |
Ross, Skye and Inverness West was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2005. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
The constituency was formed by merging most of the former Ross, Cromarty and Skye constituency (that constituency minus an Easter Ross area) with part of the former Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber constituency.
When abolished in 2005 much of the area of the constituency became part of the then new Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency. Most of the rest went to Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey while a tiny portion joined Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
There was also a Ross, Skye and Inverness West constituency of the Scottish Parliament, which was created in 1999 with the same boundaries as the former House of Commons constituency.
Skye and Lochalsh District, the Inverness District electoral divisions of Aird North, Aird South, Ballifeary-Columba, Caledonian Canal, Merkinch, and Scorguie, and the Ross and Cromarty District electoral divisions of Alness and Ardross, Black Isle East, Black Isle West, Dingwall, Ferindonald, Lochbroom, Ord and Conon, Strathconon, and Wester Ross.
The constituency area was entirely within the Highland unitary council area. In terms of Highland Council committee areas it covered Ross and Cromarty minus an Easter Ross area, all of Skye and Lochalsh, and part of Inverness.
Charles Kennedy of the Liberal Democrats was elected in 1997 and re-elected in 2001. Most of Kennedy's tenure as leader of his party coincided with his time as MP for this seat. When the constituency was abolished in 2005, Kennedy was elected MP for Ross, Skye and Lochaber.
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Charles Kennedy | 18,832 | 54.1 | +15.4 | |
Labour | Donald Crichton | 5,880 | 16.9 | −11.8 | |
SNP | Jean Urquhart | 4,901 | 14.1 | −5.5 | |
Conservative | Angus Laing | 3,096 | 8.9 | −2.0 | |
Green | Eleanor Scott | 699 | 2.0 | +1.2 | |
Scottish Socialist | Stuart Topp | 683 | 2.0 | New | |
UKIP | Philip Anderson | 456 | 1.3 | New | |
Countryside | James Crawford | 265 | 0.8 | New | |
Majority | 12,952 | 37.2 | +27.2 | ||
Turnout | 34,812 | 61.6 | −10.0 | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | Charles Kennedy | 15,472 | 38.7 | 0.0 | |
Labour | Donnie Munro | 11,453 | 28.7 | +9.8 | |
SNP | Margaret Paterson | 7,821 | 19.6 | +0.8 | |
Conservative | Mary MacLeod | 4,368 | 10.9 | -10.9 | |
Referendum | Les Durance | 535 | 1.3 | ||
Green | Alan Hopkins | 306 | 0.8 | ||
Majority | 4,019 | 10.0 | |||
Turnout | 39,955 | 71.6 | |||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
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 shares borders with the council areas of Aberdeenshire, Argyll and Bute, Moray and Perth and Kinross. Their councils, and those of Angus and Stirling, also have areas of the Scottish Highlands within their administrative boundaries.
Ross and Cromarty, sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the latter of which is 8,019 square kilometres in extent. Historically there has also been a constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, a local government county, a district of the Highland local government region and a management area of the Highland Council. The local government county is now divided between two local government areas: the Highland area and Na h-Eileanan Siar. Ross and Cromarty border Sutherland to the north and Inverness-shire to the south.
Skye and Lochalsh is one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region of Scotland. The main offices of the Skye and Lochalsh district council were in Portree, on the Isle of Skye.
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.
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey is a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all seats since 1955 it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
Ross, Skye and Lochaber is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It elects 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.
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.
Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament from 1832 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) using the first-past-the-post voting system.
Ross, Cromarty and Skye was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
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.
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2005. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
Inverness was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.
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.
The Highland Council, the political body covering the Highland local authority created in 1995, comprises 21 wards, each electing three or four councillors by the single transferable vote system, which creates a form of proportional representation. The total number of councillors is 74, and the main meeting place and main offices are in Glenurquhart Road, Inverness.
Inverness-shire is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. Covering much of the Highlands and Outer Hebrides, it is Scotland's largest county, though one of the smallest in population, with 67,733 people or 1.34% of the Scottish population.
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. 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.