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).
| Highlands and Islands | |
|---|---|
| electoral region for the Scottish Parliament | |
.svg) Highlands and Islands shown within Scotland | |
| Population | 448,311 (2019)[1] |
| Current electoral region | |
| Created | 1999 |
| MSPs | Scottish National Party 7 Conservative 4 Liberal Democrats 2 Labour 1 Scottish Greens 1 |
| Council areas | Argyll and Bute (part) Highland Moray (part) Na h-Eileanan Siar Orkney Islands Shetland Islands |
| Constituencies | Argyll and Bute Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Inverness and Nairn Moray Na h-Eileanan an Iar Orkney Shetland Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch |
The name Highlands and Islands is much older than the electoral region. The Highlands and Islands area has a large area of overlap with the Scottish Highlands, and the two names are often regarded as representing the same area.
The Highlands and Islands region is the largest of the eight electoral regions in terms of area, but the smallest in terms of population and electorate. It has boundaries with the North East Scotland, Mid Scotland and Fife and the West Scotland electoral regions.
Constituencies and council areas
edit2011–
editAs a result of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries of the region and constituencies were redrawn for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.
| Map | Constituency |
|---|---|
_2011.png) |
1999–2011
editThe constituencies were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies, as existing at that time.[2] They covered all of four council areas,[3] the Highland council area, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles council area), the Orkney Isles council area and the Shetland Isles council area, and most of two others, the Argyll and Bute council area and the Moray council area:
| Map | Constituency |
|---|---|
 |
|
A south-eastern portion of the Argyll and Bute area is covered by the Dumbarton constituency, which is in the West of Scotland region. An eastern portion of the Moray area is covered by the Gordon constituency, in the North East Scotland region.
Boundary changes
editThe Boundary Commission also recommended changes to the electoral regions used to elect "list" members of the Scottish Parliament. Highlands and Islands was amended so as to contain the newly redrawn constituencies of Argyll and Bute; Caithness, Sutherland and Ross; Inverness and Nairn; Moray; Na h-Eileanan an Iar; Orkney Islands; Shetland Islands; and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.[4]
List of MSPs
editConstituency MSPs
editRegional list MSPs
editN.B. This table is for presentation purposes only
| Term | Election | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | MSP | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1999 | Winnie Ewing (SNP) |
Duncan Hamilton (SNP) |
Rhoda Grant (Labour) |
Maureen Macmillan (Labour) |
Peter Peacock (Labour) |
Jamie McGrigor (Conservative) |
Mary Scanlon (Conservative) | |||||||
| 2nd | 2003 | Rob Gibson (SNP) |
Jim Mather (SNP) |
Eleanor Scott (Green) | |||||||||||
| 2006 by | Dave Petrie (Conservative) | ||||||||||||||
| 3rd | 2007 | David Thompson (SNP) |
Rhoda Grant (Labour) |
David Stewart (Labour) |
Mary Scanlon (Conservative) | ||||||||||
| 4th | 2011 | John Finnie (SNP) (later Independent) |
Mike MacKenzie (SNP) |
Jean Urquhart (SNP) (later Independent) | |||||||||||
| 2012 | |||||||||||||||
| 5th | 2016 | John Finnie (Green) |
Maree Todd (SNP) |
Douglas Ross (Conservative) |
Edward Mountain (Conservative) |
Donald Cameron (Conservative) | |||||||||
| 2017 | Jamie Halcro Johnston (Conservative) | ||||||||||||||
| 6th | 2021 | Ariane Burgess (Green) |
Emma Roddick (SNP) |
Douglas Ross (Conservative) | |||||||||||
| 2024 | Tim Eagle | ||||||||||||||
Election results
edit
2021 Scottish Parliament election
editConstituency results
edit| 2021 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Argyll and Bute | Jenni Minto | SNP hold | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | Maree Todd | SNP hold | |
| Inverness and Nairn | Fergus Ewing | SNP hold | |
| Moray | Richard Lochhead | SNP hold | |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Alasdair Allan | SNP hold | |
| Orkney | Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Shetland | Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | Kate Forbes | SNP hold | |
Additional Member results
edit| 2021 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands[5][6] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. | |
| SNP | Emma Roddick, Kate Forbes, Maree Todd, Fergus Ewing, Tom Wills, Mike MacKenzie, Robert Leslie, Rhiannon Spear, Jamie Szymkowiak, Qasim Hanif, Ken Gowans, Sarah Fanet | 96,433 | 40.4 |  0.7
| |
| Conservative | Douglas Ross, Edward Mountain, Donald Cameron, Jamie Halcro Johnston, Tim Eagle, Ella Robertson McKay, Struan Mackie, Sam Brown, Gavin Berkenheger, Nick Tulloch | 60,779 | 25.4 | 3.6
| |
| Liberal Democrats | Alan Reid, Molly Nolan, Denis Rixson, William Sinclair, Sheila Ritchie, David Gregg, Neil Mitchison | 26,771 | 11.2 |  2.1
| |
| Labour | Rhoda Grant, John Erskine, Marion Donaldson, Jo Kirby, Coilla Drake, Lewis Whyte, Shaun Fraser | 22,713 | 9.5 | 1.7
| |
| Scottish Green | Ariane Burgess, Anne Thomas, Fabio Villani, Steve Sankey, Debra Nicholson, Sand Owsnett, Topher Dawson, Lisa Jane Mead, Chris Ballance, Isabella Sumsion, Phyl Meyer, Luna Martin | 17,729 | 7.4 | 0.2
| |
| Alba | Kirk Torrance, Craig Berry, Josh Robertson, Judith Reid | 3,828 | 1.6 | 
| |
| Independent | Andy Wightman | 3,367 | 1.4 |
| |
| Scottish Family Party | Michael Willis, Philipp Tanzer, Shena McLelland, Sophie Hendry, Dolores Hughes | 1,976 | 0.8 |
| |
| All for Unity | Moira Ramage, Patricia Watson, Robbie Munro, Donald Boyd, Paul Burrows, Ian Mitchell, Alistair Kennedy, Paul Bradburn | 1,540 | 0.6 |
| |
| Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Jack Malcolm | 686 | 0.3 |
| |
| Freedom Alliance | Tina McCaffery, Emma Idzidowska, Phil Breed, Gary Cheesman, Anne McCloskey | 671 | 0.3 |
| |
| Reform UK | Sandra Skinner, Les Durance, Kate Brownlie, Catherine Mount | 547 | 0.2 |
| |
| Scottish Libertarian | Harry Christian, Calum Liptrot | 488 | 0.2 |
| |
| UKIP | Robert Stephenson, Robert Scorer, Michael Burger de Fremol, Duncan Geddes, Alan Breeze, Bryan Foster | 457 | 0.2 | 2.4
| |
| Restore Scotland | Brian Nugent, Andrew Macdonald | 437 | 0.2 |
| |
| TUSC | Sean Robertson, Yolanda Piotrowicz, Luke Ivory | 280 | 0.1 |
| |
| Independent | Hazel Mansfield | 219 | 0.1 |
| |
2016 election
editIn the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 7 Scottish National Party MSPs (six constituency members and one additional member)
- 3 Conservative MSPs (all additional members)
- 2 Liberal Democrat MSPs (both constituency members)
- 2 Labour MSPs (both additional members)
- 1 Green MSP (additional member)
Constituency results
edit| 2016 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Argyll and Bute | Michael Russell | SNP hold | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | Gail Ross | SNP hold | |
| Inverness and Nairn | Fergus Ewing | SNP hold | |
| Moray | Richard Lochhead | SNP hold | |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Alasdair Allan | SNP hold | |
| Orkney | Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Shetland | Tavish Scott | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | Kate Forbes | SNP hold | |
Additional member results
editElected candidates are highlighted in bold.
| 2016 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands[7] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| List | Candidates | Votes | Of total (%) | ± from prev. | |
| SNP | Maree Todd, Laura Mitchell, Mike Mackenzie, Liz MacDonald, Richard Laird, Danus Skene, Angus MacLeod, Hugh Moodie, Ken Gowans, Donna Heddle, Antony Harrison, Muriel Cockburn | 81,600 | 39.7 | −7.8 | |
| Conservative | Douglas Ross, Edward Mountain, Donald Cameron, Jamie Halcro Johnston, Struan Mackie, Cameron Smith, Robbie Munro | 44,693 | 21.8 | +10.1 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jamie Stone, Carolyn Caddick, James Patterson, David Green, Alan Reid, Angela MacLean, Jean Davis, Ken MacLeod | 27,223 | 13.3 | +1.2 | |
| Labour | Rhoda Grant, David Stewart, Leah Franchetti, Sean Morton, Sarah Atkin, John Erskine, Robina Barton, Gerard McGarvey | 22,894 | 11.2 | −3.3 | |
| Scottish Green | John Finnie, Isla O'Reilly, Fabio Villani, Ariane Burgess, Steve Sankey, Anne Katherine Thomas, Donnie Macleod, Michele Rhodius, Topher Dawson | 14,781 | 7.2 | +2.1 | |
| UKIP | David Coburn, Arthur Leslie Durance, George King, Philip Andrew Anderson | 5,344 | 2.6 | 0.7 | |
| Independent | James Wilson Stockan | 3,689 | 1.8 | +1.8 | |
| Scottish Christian | Donald Macleod Boyd, Andrew Henderson Shearer, Isobel Ann MacLeod, John Cranston Lister | 3,407 | 1.7 | −0.3 | |
| RISE | Jean Urquhart, Conor Cheyne, Suzanne Nicola Wright, Louis McIntosh | 889 | 0.4 | N/A | |
| Solidarity | Liz Walker, Ryan Malcolm McGuinness, William Robertson Henderson, Findlay Robert Walker | 793 | 0.4 | +0.3 | |
2011 election
editIn the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:[8]
- 9 Scottish National Party MSPs (six constituency members and three additional members)
- 2 Liberal Democrat MSPs (both constituency members)
- 2 Labour MSPs (both additional members)
- 2 Conservative MSPs (both additional members)
Constituency results
edit| 2011 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Argyll and Bute | Michael Russell | SNP hold | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Ross | Rob Gibson | SNP gain from Liberal Democrats | |
| Inverness and Nairn | Fergus Ewing | SNP hold | |
| Moray | Richard Lochhead | SNP hold | |
| Na h-Eileanan an Iar | Alasdair Allan | SNP hold | |
| Orkney | Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Shetland | Tavish Scott | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch | Dave Thompson | SNP gain from Liberal Democrats | |
Additional member results
edit| 2011 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | John Finnie Jean Urquhart Mike MacKenzie |
3 | +1 | 85,082 | 47.5 | +13.1 | |
| Labour | Rhoda Grant David Stewart |
2 | -1 | 25,884 | 14.5 | -3.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | ±0 | 21,729 | 12.1 | -8.0 | ||
| Conservative | Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon |
2 | ±0 | 20,843 | 11.6 | -0.8 | |
| Scottish Green | 0 | 0 | 9,076 | 5.1 | +0.4 | ||
| Scottish Christian | 0 | 0 | 3,541 | 2.0 | -1.4 | ||
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 3,372 | 1.9 | +1.2 | ||
| All Scotland Pensioners Party | 0 | 0 | 2,770 | 1.5 | -0.6 | ||
| Ban Bankers Bonuses | 0 | 0 | 1,764 | 1.0 | N/A | ||
| Liberal | 0 | 0 | 1,969 | 0.9 | N/A | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 1,406 | 0.8 | +0.2 | ||
| BNP | 0 | 0 | 1,134 | 0.6 | -0.5 | ||
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | 0 | 509 | 0.3 | -0.2 | ||
| Solidarity | 0 | 0 | 204 | 0.1 | -0.9 | ||
2007 election
editIn the 2007 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 6 Scottish National Party MSPs (four constituency MSPs and two additional members)
- 4 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency MSPs)
- 3 Labour MSPs (all additional members)
- 2 Conservative MSPs (both additional members)
Constituency results
edit| 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Argyll and Bute | Jim Mather | SNP gain from Liberal Democrats | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | Jamie Stone | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | Fergus Ewing | SNP hold | |
| Moray | Richard Lochhead | SNP hold | |
| Orkney | Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | John Farquhar Munro | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Shetland | Tavish Scott | Liberal Democrats hold | |
| Western Isles | Alasdair Allan | SNP gain from Labour | |
Additional member results
edit| 2007 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | Rob Gibson David Thompson |
2 | ±0 | 63,979 | 34.4 | +11.0 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | ±0 | 37,001 | 19.9 | +1.1 | ||
| Labour | Peter Peacock Rhoda Grant David Stewart |
3 | +1 | 32,952 | 17.7 | -4.6 | |
| Conservative | Mary Scanlon Jamie McGrigor |
2 | ±0 | 23,334 | 12.6 | -3.4 | |
| Scottish Green | 0 | -1 | 8,602 | 4.6 | -3.6 | ||
| Scottish Christian | 0 | ±0 | 6,332 | 3.4 | +3.4 | ||
| Scottish Senior Citizens | 0 | ±0 | 3,841 | 2.1 | N/A | ||
| BNP | 0 | ±0 | 2,152 | 1.2 | N/A | ||
| Solidarity | 0 | ±0 | 1,833 | 1.0 | N/A | ||
| UKIP | 0 | ±0 | 1,287 | 0.7 | -0.5 | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | ±0 | 1,027 | 0.6 | -0.4 | ||
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | ±0 | 973 | 0.5 | -4.8 | ||
| Publican Party | 0 | ±0 | 914 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
| CPA | 0 | ±0 | 885 | 0.5 | N/A | ||
| Scottish Voice | 0 | ±0 | 450 | 0.2 | N/A | ||
| Scottish Enterprise | 0 | ±0 | 211 | 0.1 | N/A | ||
2003 election
editIn the 2003 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 5 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency MSPs)
- 4 Scottish National Party MSPs (two constituency MSPs and two additional members)
- 3 Labour MSPs (one constituency MSP and two additional members)
- 2 Conservative MSPs (both additional members)
- 1 Green MSP (additional member)
Constituency results
editChanges:
- Margaret Ewing, Scottish National Party MSP for Moray, died on 21 March 2006. The by-election was won by Richard Lochhead of the SNP.
Additional member results
edit| 2003 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | Jim Mather Rob Gibson |
2 | ±0 | 39,497 | 23.43 | -4.3 | |
| Labour | Peter Peacock Maureen Macmillan |
2 | −1 | 37,605 | 22.31 | -3.16 | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | 0 | 31,655 | 18.78 | -2.65 | ||
| Conservative | Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon |
2 | ±0 | 26,989 | 16.01 | +1.07 | |
| Scottish Green | Eleanor Scott | 1 | +1 | 13,935 | 8.27 | +4.52 | |
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | 0 | 9,000 | 5.34 | +4.46 | ||
| UKIP | 0 | 0 | 1,947 | 1.16 | N/A | ||
| Robbie the Pict (Independent) | 0 | 0 | 1,822 | 1.08 | +0.51 | ||
| Countryside | 0 | 0 | 1,768 | 1.05 | N/A | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | 0 | 1,617 | 0.96 | -0.43 | ||
| Scottish People's | 0 | 0 | 793 | 0.47 | N/A | ||
| Independent | 0 | 0 | 353 | 0.21 | +0.03 | ||
| Rural Party | 0 | 0 | 177 | 0.11 | N/A | ||
Changes:
- Dave Petrie replaced Mary Scanlon. Scanlon resigned as an MSP in April 2006 to contest the Moray by-election following the death of Margaret Ewing. Petrie was next on the Conservative list.
1999 election
editIn the 1999 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 5 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency members)
- 4 Scottish National Party MSPs (two constituency and two additional members)
- 4 Labour MSPs (one constituency and three additional members)
- 2 Conservative MSP (both additional members)
Constituency results
edit| 1999 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Constituency | Elected member | Result | |
| Argyll and Bute | George Lyon | Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |
| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | Jamie Stone | Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |
| Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber | Fergus Ewing | Scottish National Party win (new seat) | |
| Moray | Margaret Ewing | Scottish National Party win (new seat) | |
| Orkney | Jim Wallace | Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |
| Ross, Skye and Inverness West | John Farquhar Munro | Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |
| Shetland | Tavish Scott | Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | |
| Western Isles | Alasdair Morrison | Scottish Labour Party win (new seat) | |
Additional member results
edit| 1999 Scottish Parliament election: Highlands and Islands | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Elected candidates | Seats | +/− | Votes | % | +/−% | |
| SNP | Winnie Ewing Duncan Hamilton |
2 | N/A | 55,593 | 27.73 | N/A | |
| Labour | Peter Peacock Maureen Macmillan Rhoda Grant |
3 | N/A | 51,371 | 25.47 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | 0 | N/A | 43,226 | 21.43 | N/A | ||
| Conservative | Jamie McGrigor Mary Scanlon |
2 | N/A | 30,122 | 14.94 | N/A | |
| Scottish Green | 0 | N/A | 7,560 | 3.75 | N/A | ||
| I Noble (Independent) | 0 | N/A | 3,522 | 1.75 | N/A | ||
| Socialist Labour | 0 | N/A | 2,808 | 1.39 | N/A | ||
| Highlands and Islands | 0 | N/A | 2,607 | 1.29 | N/A | ||
| Scottish Socialist | 0 | N/A | 1,770 | 0.88 | N/A | ||
| Robbie the Pict (Independent) | 0 | N/A | 1,151 | 0.57 | N/A | ||
| Independent | 0 | N/A | 712 | 0.35 | N/A | ||
| Natural Law | 0 | N/A | 536 | 0.27 | N/A | ||
| Independent | 0 | N/A | 354 | 0.18 | N/A | ||
Footnotes
edit- ^ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
- ^ Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies in 2005. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 2007-09-21 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Council areas are as defined in 1996, and were changed after the 2007 Scottish Parliament election.
- ^ "Politicians, elections and democracy: Elections and voting: Scottish Parliamentary". Highland Council. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ^ MacNeill, Alison. "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2021 results for the Highlands and Islands Regional List". www.highland.gov.uk. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
- ^ Highlands and Islands [region], BBC News; retrieved 8 May 2021
- ^ "Scottish Parliamentary election 2016: Highlands and Islands Region Statement of persons and parties nominated and Notice of Poll". The Highland Council. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
- ^ "Your MSPs: Highlands & Islands" (PDF). Scottish Government. May 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 23 July 2014.