Ross, Skye and Inverness West (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Scottish Parliament constituency infobox
Name = Ross, Skye and Inverness West
Type = county


Region = Highlands and Islands
Year = 1999
MSP = John Farquhar Munro
Party = Liberal Democrats
Council = Highland

Ross, Skye and Inverness West 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.

Ross, Skye and Inverness West covers a central 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, Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, Moray, Orkney, 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 Ross, Skye and Inverness West 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 three constituencies: the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Westminster constituency, 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

Ross, Skye and Inverness West is one of three Holyrood constituencies covering the Highland council area. The other two are Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber. Ross, Skye and Inverness West covers a central portion of the council area, with Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross to the north and Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber to the south. All three 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 Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, Inverness, Nairn, Lochaber, 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 Liberal Democrats
candidate = John Farquhar Munro
votes = 13,501
percentage = 42.6
change = -0.5 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = David Thompson
votes = 10,015
percentage = 31.6
change = +12.1 Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Maureen Macmillan
votes = 4,789
percentage = 15.1
change = -3.8Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
candidate = John Hodgson
votes = 3,122
percentage = 9.8
change = -3.2Election box candidate
party = Scottish Enterprise Party
candidate = Iain Brodie of Falsyde
votes = 292
percentage =0.9
change =+0.9Election box majority
votes = 3,486
percentage = 11.0
change = -12.6Election box turnout
votes = 31,719
percentage = 53.6
change = +1.7 Election box hold with party link
winner = Scottish Liberal Democrats
loser =
swing =

Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
candidate = John Farquhar Munro
votes = 12,495
percentage = 43.1
change = +10.2Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = David Thompson
votes = 5,647
percentage = 19.5
change = -3.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Maureen MacMillan
votes = 5,464
percentage = 18.9
change = -9.7Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
candidate = Jamie McGrigor
votes = 3,772
percentage = 13.0
change = +3.1Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Socialist Party
candidate = Anne MacLeod
votes = 1,593
percentage = 5.5
change = (+5.5)Election box majority
votes = 6,848
percentage = 23.6
change = +19.3Election box turnout
votes = 28,971
percentage = 51.9
change = -10.9

Election box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Liberal Democrats
candidate = John Farquhar Munro
votes = 11,652
percentage = 32.9
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Labour Party
candidate = Donnie Munro
votes = 10,113
percentage = 28.6
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Scottish National Party
candidate = Jim Mather
votes = 7,997
percentage = 22.6
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
candidate = John Scott
votes = 3,351
percentage = 9.5
change = N/AElection box candidate with party link
party = Independent (politician)
candidate = William Briggs
votes = 2,302
percentage = 6.5
change = N/AElection box majority
votes = 1,539
percentage = 4.3
change = N/AElection box turnout
votes = 35,415
percentage = 62.8
change = N/A

Notes and references