Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Scottish Parliament constituency infobox
Name = Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Type = county


Region = Highlands and Islands
Year = 1999
MSP = Fergus Ewing
Party = Scottish National Party
Council = Highland

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 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.

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber covers a southern portion of the Highland council area.

Electoral region

:"See also "Highlands and Islands Scottish Parliament region

The other seven constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region are Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, 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

The Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber 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 [See [http://www.bcomm-scotland.gov.uk/ "The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland] "] . For representation at Westminster, the area of the Holyrood constituency is now divided between two constituencies: the Ross, Skye and Lochaber Westminster constituency and the
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Westminster constituency.

Council area

:"See also "Politics of the Highland council area

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber is the most southerly of three Holyrood constituencies covering the Highland council area. The other two are Ross, Skye and Inverness West and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber has Ross, Skye and Inverness West on its northern boundary. Inverness East, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is further north. All three constituencies are within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

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 Inverness, Nairn, Lochaber, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness and Sutherland.

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 this year, 2007, and its current political composition is as follows:

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election results

Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = Fergus Ewing
votes = 16,443
percentage = 41.5
change = +10.6 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
candidate = Craig Harrow
votes = 10,972
percentage = 27.7
change = +11.5 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Linda Stewart
votes = 7,559
percentage = 19.1
change = -8.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
candidate = Jamie Halcro Johnston
votes = 4,635
percentage = 11.7
change = -6.1 Election box majority
votes = 5,471
percentage = 13.8
change = Election box rejected
votes = 1,249
percentage =Election box turnout
votes = 36,609
percentage = 55.3
change = +3.1Election box hold with party link
winner = Scottish National Party
swing = 0.5

Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = Fergus Ewing
votes = 10,764
percentage = 30.9
change = -2.1 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Rhoda Grant
votes = 9,718
percentage = 27.9
change = -4.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative Party
candidate = Mary Scanlon
votes = 6,205
percentage = 17.8
change = +3.2 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
candidate = Patsy Kenton
votes = 5,622
percentage = 16.2
change = -4.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Socialist Party
candidate = Steven Arnott
votes = 1,661
percentage = 4.8
change = "N/A" Election box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = Thomas Lamont
votes = 825
percentage = 2.4
change = +2.4 Election box majority
votes = 1046
percentage = 3.0
change = +1.9Election box turnout
votes = 34795
percentage = 52.5
change = -10.0 Election box hold with party link
winner = Scottish National Party
swing =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = Fergus Ewing
votes = 13825
percentage = 33.1
change = N/A Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Joan Aitken
votes = 13384
percentage = 32.0
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
candidate = Donnie Fraser
votes = 8508
percentage = 20.3
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative Party
candidate = Mary Scanlon
votes = 6107
percentage = 14.6
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 441
percentage = 1.1
change = Election box turnout
votes = 41824
percentage = 62.5
change =

Notes and references

ee also