Ross, Skye and Lochaber (UK Parliament constituency)
{{Short description|Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 2005–2024}}
{{Use British English|date=April 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2015}}
{{Infobox UK constituency main
|name = Ross, Skye and Lochaber
|parliament = uk
|map1 = RossSkyeLochaber
|map2 =
|map_size = 250px
|map_entity = Scotland
|map_year =
|year = 2005
|abolished = 2024
|type = County
|elects_howmany =
|previous = Ross, Skye & Inverness West and Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber
|next = Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire
|electorate =
|mp =
|party =
|towns = Dingwall, Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Muir of Ord, Ullapool, Portree
|region = Scotland
|county = Highland
|european = Scotland
}}
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.
The constituency covered a central portion of the Highland council area, and at {{convert|12000|km2|sqmi|-2}}, it covered the largest area of any House of Commons constituency in Britain.{{cite web|url=https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/constituencies/|title=Parliamentary Constituencies|website=Parliament.uk|publisher=UK Parliament|access-date=8 November 2019}} Until the 2015 general election, it was represented by former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy. After that, it was represented by Ian Blackford, the former leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.
The seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents being distributed to neighbouring constituencies.{{Cite web |last=Boundary Commission for Scotland |date=28 June 2023 |title=2023 Review of UK Parliament Constituency Boundaries in Scotland |url=https://www.bcomm-scotland.independent.gov.uk/sites/default/files/2023_review_final/bcs_2023_review_final_report_print_version_reduced.pdf |access-date=22 July 2023}}
Boundaries
The constituency was created in 2005 by merging an area from Ross, Skye and Inverness West with an area from Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber. Most of the rest of Ross, Skye and Inverness West was merged with the rest of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber to form Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. A small area of Ross, Skye and Inverness West was merged into Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
For representation in the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) the area of the Westminster constituency is divided between Caithness, Sutherland and Ross and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
= Local government area =
{{see also|Politics of the Highland council area}}
The Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency was one of three Westminster constituencies covering the Highland council area, the other two being Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Ross, Skye and Lochaber covers a central portion of the council area, with Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to its south and east and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross to its north. Ross, Skye and Lochaber included the Black Isle on the east coast of Scotland and, in the west, the Hebridean island of Skye.
When created in 2005, the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency covered 26 out of the 80 wards of the council area: 11 wards (Avoch and Fortrose, Black Isle North, Conon and Maryburgh, Dingwall North, Dingwall South, Gairloch, Knockbain and Killearnan, Lochbroom, Lochcarron, Muir of Ord and Strathpeffer and Strathconon) out of the 18 wards of the Ross and Cromarty committee area, all of the six wards of the Skye and Lochalsh area committee, all of the eight wards of the Lochaber committee area and one ward (Beauly and Strathglass) out of the 23 wards of the Inverness area committee.
Ward boundaries were redrawn again in 2007, and the management areas were abolished in favour of three new corporate management areas. The new areas consist of groups of the new wards, and boundaries are similar to those of the Westminster constituencies, as created in 2005. Two areas, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross area and the Ross, Skye and Lochaber area, have the names of Westminster constituencies. The name of the third area, the Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch and Strathspey area, is very similar to that of the third constituency.
Abolition
Further to the completion of the 2023 review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election. Its area was split roughly equally between Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Black Isle and Dingwall) and the new constituency of Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire (Isle of Skye, Mallaig and Fort William). A relatively small area around Ballachulish was transferred to Argyll and Bute, which was renamed Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber.
Members of Parliament
class="wikitable" | |
colspan=2|Election | Member{{Rayment-hc|r|2|date=March 2012}}
!Party |
---|---|
style="color:inherit;background-color: {{party color|Liberal Democrats (UK)}}" |
| 2005 | |
style="color:inherit;background-color: {{party color|Scottish National Party}}" |
| 2015 |SNP |
Elections
= Elections in the 2010s =
{{Election box begin|
|title=General election 2019: Ross, Skye and Lochaber{{cite web|url=https://www.highland.gov.uk/download/downloads/id/21496/notice_of_poll_-_uk_parliamentary_elections_2019_ross_skye_and_lochaber_constituency.pdf|title=Notice of poll – UK Parliamentary elections 2019 Ross, Skye and Lochaber Constituency|website=The Highland Council|access-date=14 November 2019}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/politics/constituencies/S14000055|title=Ross, Skye & Lochaber parliamentary constituency – Election 2019|access-date=2019-12-14|language=en-GB}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Scottish National Party|candidate=Ian Blackford|votes=19,263|percentage=48.3|change=+8.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Liberal Democrats|candidate=Craig Harrow|votes=9,820|percentage=24.6|change=+3.7}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Conservatives|candidate=Gavin Berkenheger|votes=6,900|percentage=17.3|change=−7.5}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Labour|candidate=John Erskine|votes=2,448|percentage=6.1|change=−6.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Brexit Party|candidate=Kate Brownlie|votes=710|percentage=1.8|change=New}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Christian Party|candidate=Donald Boyd|votes=460|percentage=1.2|change=New}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|
|party = Scottish Family Party
|candidate = Richard Lucas
|votes =268
|percentage=0.7
|change =New
}}
{{Election box majority
|votes = 9,443
|percentage = 23.7
|change = +8.3
}}
{{Election box turnout
|votes = 39,869
|percentage = 73.5
|change = +1.7
}}
{{Election box registered electors|
|reg. electors = 54,229
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
|winner = Scottish National Party
|swing =
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin|title=General election 2017: Ross, Skye and Lochaber{{cite web|url=http://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/general-election-snp-reselects-54-mps-1-4426658|title=General Election: SNP reselects 54 MPs|website=www.scotsman.com}}{{cite web|url=http://www.highland.gov.uk/info/799/elections_and_voting/605/uk_parliamentary_general_election|title=UK Parliamentary General Election|first=Heather|last=Butlin|website=www.highland.gov.uk}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
|party = Scottish National Party
|candidate = Ian Blackford
|votes = 15,480
|percentage = 40.2
|change = −7.9
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Conservative Party
|candidate = Robert Mackenzie
|votes = 9,561
|percentage = 24.8
|change = +18.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|candidate = Jean Davis
|votes = 8,042
|percentage = 20.9
|change = −15.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Labour
|candidate = Peter Ó Donnghaile
|votes = 4,695
|percentage = 12.2
|change = +7.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Ronnie Campbell
|votes = 499
|percentage = 1.3
|change = +0.8
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Something New (political party)
|candidate = Stick Sturrock
|votes = 177
|percentage = 0.5
|change = New
}}
{{Election box majority
|votes = 5,919
|percentage = 15.4
|change = +3.2
}}
{{Election box turnout
|votes = 38,503
|percentage = 71.8
|change = −5.4
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
|winner = Scottish National Party
|swing = −13.3
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{See also|Opinion polling in United Kingdom constituencies, 2010–15#Ross, Skye and Lochaber}}
{{Election box begin|title=General election 2015: Ross, Skye and Lochaber{{cite web|title=Election Data 2015|url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt|publisher=Electoral Calculus|access-date=17 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151017112223/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2015.txt|archive-date=17 October 2015}}{{cite web|url=https://www.highland.gov.uk/news/article/8586/ross_skye_and_lochaber_constituency_-_uk_parliamentary_general_election_result|title=Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency – UK Parliamentary General Election result|first=Alison|last=MacNeill|website=www.highland.gov.uk}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
|party = Scottish National Party
|candidate = Ian Blackford
|votes = 20,119
|percentage = 48.1
|change = +33.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|candidate = Charles Kennedy
|votes = 14,995
|percentage = 35.9
|change = −16.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Conservatives
|candidate = Lindsay McCallum
|votes = 2,598
|percentage = 6.2
|change = −6.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Labour
|candidate = Chris Conniff
|votes = 2,043
|percentage = 4.9
|change = −10.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Greens
|candidate = Anne Thomas
|votes = 1,051
|percentage = 2.5
|change = +0.3
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = UK Independence Party
|candidate = Philip Anderson
|votes = 814
|percentage = 1.9
|change = 0.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Ronnie Campbell
|votes = 191
|percentage = 0.5
|change = −0.3
}}
{{Election box majority
|votes = 5,124
|percentage = 12.2
|change = N/A
}}
{{Election box turnout
|votes = 41,811
|percentage = 77.2
|change = +10.0
}}
{{Election box gain with party link
|winner = Scottish National Party
|loser = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|swing = +24.9
}}
{{Election box end}}
{{Election box begin |title=General election 2010: Ross, Skye and Lochaber{{cite web|title=Election Data 2010|url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt|publisher=Electoral Calculus|access-date=17 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130726162034/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2010.txt|archive-date=26 July 2013}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link|party=Scottish Liberal Democrats|candidate=Charles Kennedy|votes=18,335|percentage=52.6|change=-6.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Labour
|candidate=John McKendrick|votes=5,265|percentage=15.1|change=+0.2}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish National Party|candidate=Alasdair Stephen|votes=5,263|percentage=15.1|change=+5.5}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Conservatives|candidate=Donald Cameron|votes=4,260|percentage=12.2|change=+2.1}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Scottish Greens|candidate=Eleanor Scott|votes=777|percentage=2.2|change=−1.2}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=UK Independence Party|candidate=Philip Anderson|votes=659|percentage=1.9|change=+0.4}}
{{Election box candidate with party link|party=Independent politician|candidate=Ronnie Campbell|votes=279|percentage=0.8|change=New}}
{{Election box majority|votes=13,070|percentage=37.5|change=−6.3}}
{{Election box turnout|votes=34,838|percentage=67.2|change=+2.8}}
{{Election box hold with party link
|winner = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|swing = −3.1
}}
{{Election box end}}
: ''Note: The constituency was new in 2005 and +/- percentages are notional.
{{Election box begin |title=General election 2005: Ross, Skye and Lochaber{{cite web|title=Election Data 2005|url=http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2005ob.txt|publisher=Electoral Calculus|access-date=18 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111015054249/http://www.electoralcalculus.co.uk/electdata_2005ob.txt|archive-date=15 October 2011}}
}}
{{Election box winning candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|candidate = Charles Kennedy
|votes = 19,100
|percentage = 58.7
|change = +14.4
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Labour
|candidate = Christine Conniff
|votes = 4,851
|percentage = 14.9
|change = −8.1
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Conservatives
|candidate = John Hodgson
|votes = 3,275
|percentage = 10.1
|change = −0.2
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish National Party
|candidate = Mhairi Will
|votes = 3,119
|percentage = 9.6
|change = −8.0
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Green Party
|candidate = David Jardine
|votes = 1,097
|percentage = 3.4
|change = New
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = UK Independence Party
|candidate = Philip Anderson
|votes = 500
|percentage = 1.5
|change = +0.6
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Scottish Socialist Party
|candidate = Anne Macleod
|votes = 412
|percentage = 1.3
|change = −0.7
}}
{{Election box candidate with party link
|party = Independent politician
|candidate = Morris Grant
|votes = 184
|percentage = 0.6
|change = New
}}
{{Election box majority
|votes = 14,249
|percentage = 43.8
|change = +22.5
}}
{{Election box turnout
|votes = 32,538
|percentage = 64.4
|change = +2.6
}}
{{Election box hold with party link
|winner = Scottish Liberal Democrats
|swing = +11.2
}}
{{Election box end}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/election2010/results/constituency/855.stm|title=Election 2010: Ross, Skye & Lochaber|work=BBC News|access-date=3 July 2010}}
- [https://mapit.mysociety.org/area/14452.html Ross, Skye and Lochaber UK Parliament constituency] (boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at MapIt UK
{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{s-bef|before=Yeovil}}
{{s-ttl|title=Constituency represented by the Leader of the Liberal Democrats|years=2001–2006}}
{{s-aft|after=North East Fife}}
{{s-bef|before=Moray}}
{{s-ttl|title=Constituency represented by the Leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster|years=2017–2022}}
{{s-aft|after=Aberdeen South}}
{{s-end}}
{{Constituencies in Scotland by Holding Party}}
{{Scottish Westminster constituencies}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Coord|57.274|-5.896|display=title|region:GB_scale:200000}}
Category:Historic parliamentary constituencies in Scotland (Westminster)
Category:Highland constituencies, UK Parliament
Category:Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 2005
Category:Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024