Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)

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For the archipelago, see the Northern Isles.

Orkney and Shetland County constituency
Orkney and Shetland shown within Scotland
Created:	1708
MP:	Alistair Carmichael
Party:	Liberal Democrats
Type:	House of Commons
Council areas:	Orkney/Shetland
EP constituency:	Scotland

Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. In the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies.

The constituency was historically known as Orkney and Zetland - an alternative name for Shetland.

Contents 1 Boundaries 2 Member of Parliament 3 Election results 3.1 Elections in the 2000s 3.2 Elections in the 1990s 3.3 Elections in the 1980s 3.4 Elections in the 1970s 3.5 Elections in the 1960s 3.6 Elections in the 1950s 3.7 Elections in the 1940s 3.8 Elections in the 1930s 3.9 Elections in the 1920s 3.10 Elections in the 1910s 3.11 Elections in the 1900s 3.12 Elections in the 1890s 3.13 Elections in the 1880s 3.14 Elections in the 1870s 3.15 Elections in the 1860s 3.16 Elections in the 1850s 3.17 Elections in the 1840s 3.18 Elections in the 1830s 4 Sources 5 See also

[edit] Boundaries

The constituency is made up of the two island groups Orkney, and Shetland. A constituency of this name has existed continuously since 1708, which may be a record. However before 1918 the town of Kirkwall (the capital of Orkney) formed part of the Northern Burghs constituency.

Uniquely, the constituencies boundaries are protected by legislation, as rule 3a of the Boundary Commission rules states: "A constituency which includes the Orkney Islands or the Shetland Islands shall not include the whole or any part of a local government area other than the Orkney Islands and the Shetland Islands." [1] This rule was added in the late 90s as a by-product of the legislation establishing the Scottish parliament.

[edit] Member of Parliament

The constituency has elected only Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs since 1950, the longest run of any UK constituency. In each general election from 1955 until 1979, and again in 1987, it was the safest Liberal seat in the UK.

Year		Member	Party
	1707	Sir Alexander Douglas
	1713	George Douglas
	1715	James Moodie
	1722	George Douglas
	1730	Robert Douglas
	1747	John Halyburton
	1754	James Douglas
	1768	Thomas Dundas
	1771	Thomas Dundas
	1780	Robert Baikie
	1781	Thomas Dundas
	1790	John Balfour
	1796	Robert Honyman
	1806	Robert Honyman
	1807	Malcolm Laing
	1812	Richard Bempde Johnstone Honyman
	1818	George Heneage Lawrence Dundas
	1820	John Balfour
	1826	George Heneage Lawrence Dundas
	1830	George Traill	Whig
	1835	Thomas Balfour	Tory
	1837	Frederick Dundas	Liberal
	1847	Arthur Anderson	Liberal
	1852	Frederick Dundas	Liberal
	1873	Samuel Laing	Liberal
	1885	Leonard Lyell	Liberal
	1900	Cathcart Wason	Liberal Unionist
	1902		Independent Liberal
	1906		Liberal
	1918		Coalition Liberal
	1921	Malcolm Smith	Coalition Liberal
	1922	Robert Hamilton	Liberal
	1935	Basil Neven-Spence	Conservative
	1950	Jo Grimond	Liberal
	1983	Jim Wallace	Liberal
	1988		Liberal Democrat
	2001	Alistair Carmichael	Liberal Democrat

[edit] Election results

[edit] Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alistair Carmichael	9,138	51.5	+10.1
	Labour	Richard Meade	2,511	14.2	−6.4
	Conservative	Frank Nairn	2,357	13.3	−5.4
	Scottish National Party	John Mowat	1,833	10.3	−4.5
	Scottish Socialist	John Aberdein	992	5.6	+1.0
	UK Independence	Scott Dyble	424	2.4	+2.4
	Legalise Cannabis	Paul Cruickshank	311	1.8	+1.8
	Free Scotland Party	Brian Nugent	176	1.0	+1.0
Majority			6,627	37.4
Turnout			17,742	53.7	+1.7
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+8.3

General Election 2001: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alistair Carmichael	6,919	41.3	−10.6
	Labour	Robert Mochrie	3,444	20.6	+2.3
	Conservative	John Firth	3,121	18.7	+6.4
	Scottish National Party	John Mowat	2,473	14.8	+2.1
	Scottish Socialist	Peter Andrews	776	4.6	+4.6
Majority			3,475	20.7
Turnout			16,733	52.4	−11.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Jim Wallace	10,743	52.0
	Labour	James Paton	3,775	18.3
	Scottish National Party	Willie Ross	2,624	12.7
	Conservative	Hope Vere Anderson	2,527	12.2
	Referendum Party	F. Adamson	820	4.0
	Natural Law	C. Wharton	116	0.6
	Independent	A. Robertson	60	0.3
Majority			6,968
Turnout				64.0
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

General Election 1992: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Jim Wallace	9,575	46.4
	Conservative	Paul McCormick	4,542	22.0
	Labour	John Aberdein	4,093	19.8
	Scottish National Party	Frances McKie	2,301	11.2
	Natural Law	C. Wharton	115	0.6
Majority			5,033
Turnout				65.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jim Wallace	8,881	41.7
	Conservative	R. W. A. Jenkins	4,959	23.3
	Labour	John Aberdein	3,995	18.7
	Orkney and Shetland Movement	John Goodlad	3,095	14.5
	Green	G. K. Collister	389	1.8
Majority			3,922	18.4
Turnout				68.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1983: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jim Wallace	9,374	45.9
	Conservative	David Myles	5,224	25.6
	Scottish National Party	Winifred Ewing	3,147	15.4
	Labour	Robina Goodlad	2,665	13.1
Majority			4,150	20.3
Turnout				67.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1979: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	10,950	56.4
	Conservative	C. Donaldson	4,140	21.3
	Labour	Robina Goodlad	3,385	17.4
	Scottish National Party	M. Spens	935	4.8
Majority			6,810	35.1
Turnout				67.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election October 1974: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	9,877	56.2
	Scottish National Party	H. Firth	3,025	17.2
	Conservative	C. Donaldson	2,495	14.2
	Labour	W. J. G. Wills	2,175	12.4
Majority			6,852	39.0
Turnout				66.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election February 1974: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	11,491	62.0
	Conservative	J. L. Firth	4,186	22.6
	Labour	W. J. G. Wills	2,865	15.5
Majority			7,305	39.4
Turnout				71.1
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	7,896	47.0
	Conservative	J. L. Firth	5,364	31.9
	Labour	W. McP. Reid	3,552	21.1
Majority			2,532	15.1
Turnout				65.6
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	9,605	59.1
	Conservative	J L Firth	3,630	22.3
	Labour	H Lynch	3,021	18.6
Majority			5,975	36.8
Turnout			16,256	65.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	11,604	62.6
	Conservative	J L Firth	3,704	20.0
	Labour	I MacInnes	3,232	17.4
Majority			7,900	42.6
Turnout			18,540	72.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	12,099	64.1
	Conservative	G H W Bruce	3,487	18.5
	Labour	R S McGowan	3,275	17.4
Majority			8,612	45.7
Turnout			18,861	71.3
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1955: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	11,753	63.8
	Conservative	J Eunson	3,760	20.4
	Labour	E Ramsay	2,914	15.8
Majority			7,993	43.4
Turnout			18,427	66.1
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1951: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	11,745	57.5
	Conservative	A Tennant	5,354	26.2
	Labour	M A Fairnie	3,335	16.2
Majority			6,391	31.3
Turnout			20,434	69.0
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1950: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	9,237	46.8
	Conservative	Basil Neven-Spence	6,281	31.9
	Labour	H R Leslie	3,335	21.3
Majority			2,956	15.0
Turnout			19,716	67.7
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Basil Neven-Spence	6,304	36.0	-21.6
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	5,975	34.2	-8.2
	Labour	P J L Smith	5,208	29.8
Majority			329	1.8	-13.4
Turnout			17,487	55.5	+9.2
	Conservative hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1935: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Basil Neven-Spence	8,406	57.6
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	6,180	42.4
Majority			2,226	15.2
Turnout			1,586	46.3
	Conservative gain from Liberal		Swing

General election of 1931

In the 1931 UK general election, Robert William Hamilton was elected unopposed.

[edit] Elections in the 1920s

General Election 1929: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	8,256	60.4
	Conservative	Basil Neven-Spence	5,404	39.6
Majority			2,852	20.6
Turnout			13,660	43.1
	Liberal hold		Swing

General election of 1924

In the 1924 UK general election, Robert William Hamilton was elected unopposed.

General Election 1923: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	5,129	54.3	+0.8
	Conservative	Robert Boothby	4,318	45.7
Majority			811	8.6	+1.6
Turnout			9,447	39.1	+1.7
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1922: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	4,814	53.5
	National Liberal	Malcolm Smith	4,189	46.5
Majority			625	7.0
Turnout			9,003	37.4
	Liberal gain from National Liberal		Swing

Orkney and Shetland By-Election 17th May 1921

In the 1921 Orkney and Shetland by-election, Malcolm Smith was elected unopposed.

[edit] Elections in the 1910s

General election of 1918

In the 1918 UK general election, Cathcart Wason was elected unopposed.

General election of December 1910

In the December 1910 UK general election, Cathcart Wason was elected unopposed.

General Election January 1910: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cathcart Wason	4,117	80.6	+1.6
	Liberal Unionist	T W Hemsley	994	19.4	-1.6
Majority			3,123	61.2	+3.2
Turnout			5,111	71.8	+8.5
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1906: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cathcart Wason	3,837	79.0	+29.5
	Conservative	C J Dunlop	1,021	21.0	-29.5
Majority			2,816	58.0
Turnout			4,858	63.3	+8.4
	Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Orkney and Shetland by-election, 1902
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	Cathcart Wason	2,412	46.8	+46.8
	Liberal	T M Wood	2,001	38.8	-10.7
	Liberal Unionist	T V S Angier	740	14.4	-36.1
Majority			411	8.0
Turnout			5,153	68.1	+13.2
	Independent gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

General Election 1900: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	Cathcart Wason	2,057	50.5	+10.4
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	2,017	49.5	-10.4
Majority			40	1.0
Turnout			4,074	54.9	-1.0
	Liberal Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	2,361	59.9	-2.0
	Liberal Unionist	R W M Fullarton	1,580	40.1	+2.0
Majority			781	19.8	-4.0
Turnout			3,941	55.9	-4.0
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1892: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	2,624	61.9	-1.1
	Liberal Unionist	W Younger	1,617	38.1	+1.1
Majority			1,007	23.8	-2.2
Turnout			4,241	59.9	+8.4
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1886: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	2,353	63.0	-0.3
	Liberal Unionist	H Hoare	1,382	37.0	+0.3
Majority			971	26.0	-0.6
Turnout			3,735	50.5	-21.1
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1885: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	3,352	63.3
	Conservative	C T Dundas	1,940	36.7
Majority			1,412	26.6
Turnout			5,292	71.6
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1880: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Laing	896
	Conservative	G R Badenoch	578
Majority			318
Turnout			1,474
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1870s

Orkney and Shetland by-election, 1873
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Samuel Laing	646
	Liberal	Sir P Tait	621
Majority			25
Turnout			1,267
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1860s

General Election 1868: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Dundas	715
	Conservative	H B Riddell	446
Majority			269
Turnout			1,161
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1850s

General Election 1852: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Frederick Dundas	227
	Conservative	J Inglis	194
Majority			33
Turnout			421
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1840s

General Election 1847: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Arthur Anderson	209
	Liberal	Frederick Dundas	183
Majority			26
Turnout			392
	Liberal hold		Swing

[edit] Elections in the 1830s

General Election 1835: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Tory	Thomas Balfour	114
	Whig	George Traill	84
Majority			30
Turnout			198
	Tory gain from Whig		Swing

General Election 1832: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Whig	George Traill	107
	Tory	S Laing	96
	Whig	R Hunter	9
Majority			11
Turnout			212
	Whig hold		Swing

[edit] Sources

• BBC Vote 2001
• BBC Election 2005
• Guardian Unlimited Politics
• Leigh Rayment's Peerage Page
• UK General Elections since 1832
• http://www.psr.keele.ac.uk/ (Election results from 1950 to the present)
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 - 1949
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 - 1918
• F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1832 - 1885

[edit] See also

v • d • e Westminster constituencies of Scotland 1708 to 1832 · 1832 to 1868 · 1868 to 1885 · 1885 to 1918 · 1918 to 1950 · 1950 to 1955 · 1955 to 1974 · 1974 to 1983 · 1983 to 1997 · 1997 to 2005 Current constituencies (2005 to present) Aberdeen North · Aberdeen South · Airdrie & Shotts · Angus · Argyll & Bute · Ayr, Carrick & Cumnock · Banff & Buchan · Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk · Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross · Central Ayrshire · Coatbridge, Chryston & Bellshill · Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East · Dumfries & Galloway · Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale & Tweeddale · Dundee East · Dundee West · Dunfermline & West Fife · East Dunbartonshire · East Kilbride, Strathaven & Lesmahagow · East Lothian · East Renfrewshire · Edinburgh East · Edinburgh North & Leith · Edinburgh South · Edinburgh South West · Edinburgh West · Falkirk · Glasgow Central · Glasgow East · Glasgow North · Glasgow North East · Glasgow North West · Glasgow South · Glasgow South West · Glenrothes · Gordon · Inverclyde · Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey · Kilmarnock & Loudoun · Kirkcaldy & Cowdenbeath · Lanark & Hamilton East · Linlithgow & East Falkirk · Livingston · Midlothian · Moray · Motherwell & Wishaw · Na h-Eileanan an Iar · North Ayrshire & Arran · North East Fife · Ochil & South Perthshire · Orkney & Shetland · Paisley & Renfrewshire North · Paisley & Renfrewshire South · Perth & North Perthshire · Ross, Skye & Lochaber · Rutherglen & Hamilton West · Stirling · West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine · West Dunbartonshire