Ross, Skye and Lochaber
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Ross, Skye and Lochaber in Scotland
Subdivisions of ScotlandHighland
Major settlementsDingwall, Fort William, Kyle of Lochalsh, Mallaig, Muir of Ord, Ullapool, Portree
Current constituency
Created2005
Member of ParliamentIan Blackford (SNP)
Created fromRoss, Skye & Inverness West and Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber

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.

The constituency covers a central portion of the Highland council area, and at 12,000 square kilometres (4,600 sq mi), it covers the largest area of any House of Commons constituency in Britain.[1] Until the 2015 general election, it was represented by former Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy. Since then, it has been represented by Ian Blackford, the former leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons from 2017 to 2022.

The seat is due to be abolished for the next general election, with its contents being distributed to neighbouring constituencies.[2]

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

The Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency is 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 includes 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.

Proposed abolition

Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be abolished for the next general election.[2] Its electorate will be 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 Ballachullish will be transferred to Argyll and Bute, which is to be renamed Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber.

Members of Parliament

ElectionMember[3] Party
2005 Charles Kennedy Liberal Democrat
2015 Ian Blackford SNP

Elections

Ross and successor constituencies election results

Elections in the 2010s

General election 2019: Ross, Skye and Lochaber[4][5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Ian Blackford 19,263 48.3 +8.1
Liberal Democrats Craig Harrow 9,820 24.6 +3.7
Conservative Gavin Berkenheger 6,900 17.3 −7.5
Labour John Erskine 2,448 6.1 −6.1
Brexit Party Kate Brownlie 710 1.8 New
Scottish Christian Donald Boyd 460 1.2 New
Scottish Family Richard Lucas 268 0.7 New
Majority 9,443 23.7 +8.3
Turnout 39,869 73.5 +1.7
Registered electors 54,229
SNP hold Swing
General election 2017: Ross, Skye and Lochaber[6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Ian Blackford 15,480 40.2 −7.9
Conservative Robert Mackenzie 9,561 24.8 +18.6
Liberal Democrats Jean Davis 8,042 20.9 −15.0
Labour Peter Ó Donnghaile 4,695 12.2 +7.3
Independent Ronnie Campbell 499 1.3 +0.8
Something New Stick Sturrock 177 0.5 New
Majority 5,919 15.4 +3.2
Turnout 38,503 71.8 −5.4
SNP hold Swing −13.3
General election 2015: Ross, Skye and Lochaber[8][9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Ian Blackford 20,119 48.1 +33.0
Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy 14,995 35.9 −16.7
Conservative Lindsay McCallum 2,598 6.2 −6.0
Labour Chris Conniff 2,043 4.9 −10.2
Scottish Green Anne Thomas 1,051 2.5 +0.3
UKIP Philip Anderson 814 1.9 0.0
Independent Ronnie Campbell 191 0.5 −0.3
Majority 5,124 12.2 N/A
Turnout 41,811 77.2 +10.0
SNP gain from Liberal Democrats Swing +24.9
General election 2010: Ross, Skye and Lochaber[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy 18,335 52.6 -6.1
Labour John McKendrick 5,265 15.1 +0.2
SNP Alasdair Stephen 5,263 15.1 +5.5
Conservative Donald Cameron 4,260 12.2 +2.1
Scottish Green Eleanor Scott 777 2.2 −1.2
UKIP Philip Anderson 659 1.9 +0.4
Independent Ronnie Campbell 279 0.8 New
Majority 13,070 37.5 −6.3
Turnout 34,838 67.2 +2.8
Liberal Democrats hold Swing −3.1
Note: The constituency was new in 2005 and +/- percentages are notional.
General election 2005: Ross, Skye and Lochaber[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Liberal Democrats Charles Kennedy 19,100 58.7 +14.4
Labour Christine Conniff 4,851 14.9 −8.1
Conservative John Hodgson 3,275 10.1 −0.2
SNP Mhairi Will 3,119 9.6 −8.0
Scottish Green David Jardine 1,097 3.4 New
UKIP Philip Anderson 500 1.5 +0.6
Scottish Socialist Anne Macleod 412 1.3 −0.7
Independent Morris Grant 184 0.6 New
Majority 14,249 43.8
Turnout 32,538 64.4 +2.6
Liberal Democrats hold Swing +11.2

References

  1. ↑ "Parliamentary Constituencies". Parliament.uk. UK Parliament. Retrieved 8 November 2019.
  2. 1 2 Boundary Commission for Scotland (28 June 2023). "2023 Review of UK Parliament Constituency Boundaries in Scotland" (PDF). Retrieved 22 July 2023.
  3. ↑ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "R" (part 2)
  4. ↑ "Notice of poll - UK Parliamentary elections 2019 Ross, Skye and Lochaber Constituency" (PDF). The Highland Council. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  5. ↑ "Ross, Skye & Lochaber parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  6. ↑ "General Election: SNP reselects 54 MPs". www.scotsman.com.
  7. ↑ Butlin, Heather. "UK Parliamentary General Election". www.highland.gov.uk.
  8. ↑ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  9. ↑ MacNeill, Alison. "Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency - UK Parliamentary General Election result". www.highland.gov.uk.
  10. ↑ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ↑ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

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