Caithness and Sutherland
Former County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Location of Caithness and Sutherland within Scotland
Subdivisions of ScotlandHighland
1918–1997
Created fromCaithness, Sutherland and Wick Burghs
Replaced byCaithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross

Caithness and Sutherland was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

The constituency was created by merging the constituencies of Caithness and Sutherland and the Dornoch and Wick components of the Wick Burghs constituency.

In 1997 the constituency was superseded by the creation of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which merged Caithness and Sutherland and the Easter Ross area of Ross, Cromarty and Skye.

Caithness and Sutherland was geographically one of the largest constituencies in the United Kingdom, as well as the most northerly constituency on the mainland (only the island constituency of Orkney and Shetland was further north).

1918 constituency reform

The creation of Caithness and Sutherland as a single constituency was a part of a package of boundary reform also affecting many other parts of the United Kingdom. The reform was the first since the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885, and its main aim was to make constituencies more equal in terms of the sizes of their electorates.

Local government areas

1918 to 1975

When created the constituency covered the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland, including the burghs of Dornoch, Thurso and Wick.

1975 to 1983

In 1975 counties and burghs were abolished and the constituency became an area within the Highland region. The region included two new local government districts, called Caithness and Sutherland. The Caithness district was entirely within the constituency. The Sutherland district had a small area, the Kincardine electoral division, within the Ross and Cromarty constituency.

1983 to 1996

Constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1983, and the Caithness and Sutherland constituency was enlarged to cover the whole of the Sutherland district.

1996 to 1997

In 1996 the districts were abolished and the Highland region became a unitary council area. Throughout the remainder of the life of the constituency the Highland Council had area committees representing the areas of the former districts.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember [1] Party
1918 Sir Leicester Harmsworth Coalition Liberal
1922 Sir Archibald Sinclair National Liberal
1923 Liberal
1945 Eric Gandar Dower Conservative
1950 Sir David Robertson Conservative
1959 Independent Conservative
1964 George Mackie Liberal
1966 Robert Maclennan Labour
1981 SDP
1988 Liberal Democrats
1997 constituency abolished

At the time of the 1918 general election, Sir Leicester Harmsworth had been MP for the constituency of Caithness since the 1900 general election.

In the general election of 1997, Robert Maclennan was elected MP for the then new constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, a seat he held until retiring from parliament at the 2001 general election.

Election results

Election results since 1918

Elections in the 1910s

Sir Leicester Harmsworth
General election 1918: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
C National Liberal Leicester Harmsworth 6,769 62.6
Liberal Francis John Robertson 4,036 37.4
Majority 2,733 25.2
Turnout 10,785
National Liberal win (new seat)
C indicates candidate endorsed by the coalition government.

Elections in the 1920s

General election 1922: Caithness and Sutherland [2]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
National Liberal Archibald Sinclair 7,715 57.1 -5.5
Liberal Leicester Harmsworth 5,803 42.9 +5.5
Majority 1,912 14.2 -11.0
Turnout 13,518 60.1
National Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1923: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archibald Sinclair Unopposed N/A N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1924: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archibald Sinclair Unopposed N/A N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1929: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archibald Sinclair 13,462 73.9 N/A
Unionist James Duncan 3,041 16.7 New
Independent Labour Charles G Oman 1,711 9.4 New
Majority 10,421 57.2 N/A
Turnout 18,214 66.5 N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1930s

General election 1931: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archibald Sinclair Unopposed N/A N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A
General election 1935: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Archibald Sinclair 12,071 72.32 N/A
National William Bruce 4,621 27.68 New
Majority 7,650 44.64 N/A
Turnout 16,692 60.06 N/A
Liberal hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 1940s

General election 1945: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist Eric Gandar Dower 5,564 33.5 New
Labour Robert Ian Aonas MacInnes 5,558 33.4 New
Liberal Archibald Sinclair 5,503 33.1 -39.2
Majority 6 0.04 N/A
Turnout 16,625 64.2 +4.1
Unionist gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General election 1950: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist David Robertson 6,969 36.0 +2.5
Liberal Archibald Sinclair 6,700 34.6 +1.5
Labour Alasdair MacArthur 5,676 29.3 -4.1
Majority 269 1.4 +1.4
Turnout 25,021 76.6 +12.4
Unionist hold Swing +3.3
General election 1951: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist David Robertson 9,814 49.2 +13.2
Labour Richard Murray 6,799 34.1 +4.8
Liberal Peter J M McEwan 3,299 16.6 -18.0
Majority 3,015 15.14 +14.7
Turnout 19,912 73.26 +3.3
Unionist hold Swing +4.2
General election 1955: Caithness and Sutherland[3]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Unionist David Robertson 10,453 56.5 +7.3
Labour Hugh F Sutherland 5,364 29.0 -5.1
Liberal John Stuart Mowat 2,674 14.5 -2.1
Majority 5,089 27.5 +12.4
Turnout 18,491 69.5 -3.8
Unionist hold Swing +6.1
General election 1959: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Ind. Unionist David Robertson 12,163 65.3 New
Labour Ronald Murray 6,438 34.6 +5.6
Majority 5,725 30.7 N/A
Turnout 18,601 69.6 +0.1
Ind. Unionist gain from Unionist Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General election 1964: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal George Mackie 7,894 36.1 New
Labour John B Urquhart 6,619 30.2 -4.4
Unionist Patrick Maitland 4,550 20.8 New
Ind. Unionist John M Young 2,795 12.7 -52.6
Majority 1,275 5.9 N/A
Turnout 21,858 80.1 +11.5
Liberal gain from Ind. Unionist Swing
General election 1966: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Maclennan 8,308 39.1 +8.9
Liberal George Mackie 8,244 38.8 +2.7
Conservative Hamish Watt 4,662 21.9 +1.1
Majority 64 0.3 N/A
Turnout 21,214 79.2 -0.9
Labour gain from Liberal Swing +3.1

Elections in the 1970s

General election 1970: Caithness and Sutherland
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Maclennan 8,768 36.7 -2.4
Liberal George Mackie 6,063 25.4 -13.4
Conservative John M Young 5,334 22.3 +0.4
SNP Donald G. Barr 3,690 15.4 New
Majority 2,705 11.3 +11.0
Turnout 23,855
Labour hold Swing +5.5
General election February 1974: Caithness and Sutherland[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Maclennan 8,574 36.2 -0.5
Liberal Michael R Burnett 6,222 26.2 +0.8
Conservative G Susan Bell 5,104 21.5 -0.8
SNP Eric Alexander Sutherland 3,814 16.1 +0.7
Majority 2,352 10.0 -1.3
Turnout 23,714 83.0
Labour hold Swing -0.7
General election October 1974: Caithness and Sutherland[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Maclennan 7,941 35.3 −0.9
SNP Eric Alexander Sutherland 5,381 23.9 +7.8
Liberal Michael R Burnett 4,949 22.0 −4.2
Conservative Albert McQuarrie 4,240 18.8 −2.7
Majority 2,560 11.4 +1.4
Turnout 22,511 78.1 -4.9
Labour hold Swing −4.3
General election 1979: Caithness and Sutherland[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Robert Maclennan 9,613 41.5 +6.2
Conservative Richard H. Wardrop 7,074 30.5 +11.7
SNP Robin R. Shaw 6,487 28.0 +4.1
Majority 2,539 11.0 −0.4
Turnout 23,714 78.4 +0.3
Labour hold Swing −2.7

Elections in the 1980s

General election 1983: Caithness and Sutherland[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDP Robert Maclennan 12,119 52.0 N/A
Conservative Alistair M. Scouller 5,276 22.7 −7.8
Labour Danny Carrigan 3,325 14.3 −27.2
SNP Jim Ingram 2,568 11.0 −17.0
Majority 6,843 29.3 N/A
Turnout 23,288 75.4 -3.0
SDP gain from Labour Swing
General election 1987: Caithness and Sutherland[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SDP Robert Maclennan 12,338 53.7 +1.7
Conservative Robert Hamilton 3,844 16.7 −6.0
Labour Allan Byron 3,437 14.9 +0.6
SNP Archibal MacGregor 2,371 10.3 −0.7
Independent Liberal William Mowat 686 2.9 New
Green Bernard Planterose 333 1.4 New
Majority 8,494 37.0 +7.7
Turnout 23,009 73.6 -1.8
SDP hold Swing +3.8

Elections in the 1990s

General election 1992: Caithness and Sutherland[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Robert Maclennan 10,032 45.1 −8.6
Conservative George Bruce 4,667 20.9 +4.2
SNP Kerr MacGregor 4,049 18.2 +7.9
Labour Michael F. Coyne 3,483 15.6 +0.7
Majority 5,365 24.2 -12.8
Turnout 22,231 72.5 -1.1
Liberal Democrats hold Swing −6.4

References

  1. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "C" (part 1)
  2. ↑ British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949, FWS Craig
  3. ↑ The Times House of Commons, 1955
  4. ↑ British Parliamentary election Results 1974-83 by FWS Craig
  5. ↑ British Parliamentary election Results 1974-83 by FWS Craig
  6. ↑ British Parliamentary election Results 1974-83 by FWS Craig
  7. ↑ "Election Data 1983". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  8. ↑ "Election Data 1987". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  9. ↑ "Election Data 1992". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.

See also

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