| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Scottish Parliament county constituency |
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| Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross shown within the Highlands and Islands electoral region and the region shown within Scotland |
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| Created: | 1999 |
| MSP: | Jamie Stone |
| Party: | Liberal Democrat |
| Council area: | Highland |
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). 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.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross covers a northern portion of the Highland council area.
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Electoral region
The other seven constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region are Argyll and Bute, Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Moray, Orkney, Ross, Skye and Inverness West, Shetland and the Western Isles.
The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney council area, all of the Shetland council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were generally replaced with new larger constituencies[1]. The Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Westminster constituency was enlarged slightly, to cover an area also covered by the Ross, Skye and Inverness West Holyrood constituency.
Boundary Review
See Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011
Following their First Periodic review into constituencies to the Scottish Parliament, the Boundary Commission for Scotland has formed a newly drawn seat to succeed Caithness, Sutherland, and Easter Ross in time for the next election in 2011. The new constituency is to be known as Caithness, Sutherland, and Ross.
Council area
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is the most northerly of three constituencies covering the Highland council area. The other two are Ross, Skye and Inverness West and Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber. All three are within the Highlands and Islands electoral region. Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has Ross, Skye and Inverness West on its southern boundary. Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber is further south.
When created in 1999 the constituency boundaries were definable with reference to council wards which were grouped, by the Highland Council, in relation to eight council management areas. Constituency and management area names have many elements in common, and the management areas had the boundaries of former districts of the Highland region, as abolished in 1996, namely Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, Inverness, Nairn, Lochaber and Badenoch and Strathspey.
The management areas were abolished this year, 2007, and the council has now three new corporate management areas, defined as groups of new wards, also introduced this year, 2007. The boundaries of the corporate management areas are similar to those of Westminster constituencies created in 2005. One corporate management area, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross area, has boundaries, therefore, which are also similar to those of a Holyrood constituency. The boundaries of the other two corporate areas, the Ross, Skye and Lochaber area and the Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch and Strathspey area, are quite unlike those of any Holyrood constituency.
The most recent general election of the Highland Council was in 2007, and its current political commposition is as follows:
| Independent Group (Sandy Park group) | Liberal Democrats | Scottish National Party | Labour | Independent Members Group |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | 22 | 17 | 7 | 5 |
Member of the Scottish Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Jamie Stone | Liberal Democrat | |
| 2003 | |||
| 2007 | |||
Election results
| Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jamie Stone | 8,981 | 40.2 | +3.6 | |
| SNP | Rob Gibson | 6,658 | 29.8 | +12.3 | |
| Labour | John McKendrick | 3,152 | 14.1 | -12.6 | |
| Conservative | Donald McDonald | 2,586 | 11.6 | +0.9 | |
| Independent | Gordon Campbell | 957 | 4.3 | +4.3 | |
| Majority | 2,323 | 10.4 | |||
| Turnout | 22,334 | 53.4 | +1.2 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jamie Stone | 7,742 | 36.7 | - 4.4 | |
| Labour | Deirdrie Stephen | 5,650 | 26.7 | + 2.2 | |
| SNP | Rob Gibson | 3,692 | 17.5 | - 5.7 | |
| Conservative | Allan McLeod | 2,262 | 10.7 | + 1.8 | |
| Independent | Gordon Campbell | 953 | 4.5 | + 2.4 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Frank Ward | 828 | 3.9 | (+ 3.9) | |
| Majority | 2,092 | 9.9 | - 7.0 | ||
| Turnout | |||||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
| Scottish Parliament election, 1999: Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Jamie Stone | 10,691 | 41.0 | N/A | |
| Labour | James Hendry | 6,300 | 24.2 | N/A | |
| SNP | Jean Urquhart | 6,035 | 23.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Richard Jenkins | 2,167 | 8.3 | N/A | |
| Independent | Gordon Campbell | 554 | 2.1 | N/A | |
| Independent | Ewen Stewart | 282 | 1.0 | N/A | |
| Majority | 4,391 | 16.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | |||||
Footnotes
See also
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