Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)

For the archipelago, see Northern Isles.

Coordinates: 59°46′30″N 1°48′11″W / 59.775°N 1.803°W / 59.775; -1.803

Orkney and Shetland
County constituency
for the House of Commons
Boundary of Orkney and Shetland in Scotland.
Subdivisions of Scotland	Orkney and Shetland
Electorate	32,181
Current constituency
Created	1708 (1708)
Member of Parliament	Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
Overlaps
European Parliament 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.

Boundaries

The constituency is made up of the two island groups Orkney, and Shetland. A constituency of this name has existed continuously since 1708. However before 1918 the town of Kirkwall (the capital of Orkney) formed part of the Northern Burghs^{[disambiguation needed]} 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 1999 as part of the Scotland Act 1998, which established the Scottish parliament^[2]

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Member of Parliament

The constituency has elected only Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs since 1950, the longest run of any British Parliamentary Constituency.^[3]^[4] In each general election from 1955 until 1979, in 1987, and again in 2010 it was the safest Liberal seat in Britain.

	Member	Party
1707	Sir Alexander Douglas
1713	George Douglas
1715	James Moodie
1722	George Douglas
1730	Robert Douglas^{[disambiguation needed]}
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	Jim Wallace	Liberal Democrat
2001	Alistair Carmichael	Liberal Democrat

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Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2010: Orkney and Shetland^[5]^[6]^[7]^[8]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Alistair Carmichael	11,989	62.0	+10.5
	Labour	Mark Cooper	2,061	10.7	-3.5
	SNP	John Mowat	2,042	10.6	+0.2
	Conservative	Frank Nairn	2,032	10.5	-2.8
	UKIP	Robert Smith	1,222	6.3	+3.9
Majority			9,928	51.3
Turnout			19,346	58.5	+4.1
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+7.0

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
	SNP	John Mowat	1,833	10.3	−4.5
	Scottish Socialist	John Aberdein	992	5.6	+1.0
	UKIP	Scott Dyble	424	2.4	N/A
	Legalise Cannabis	Paul Cruickshank	311	1.8	N/A
	Free Scotland	Brian Nugent	176	1.0	N/A
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
	SNP	John Mowat	2,473	14.8	+2.1
	Scottish Socialist	Peter Andrews	776	4.6	N/A
Majority			3,475	20.7
Turnout			16,733	52.4	−11.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Orkney and Shetland^[9]^[10]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Jim Wallace	10,743	52.0	+5.6
	Labour	James Paton	3,775	18.3	−1.5
	SNP	Willie Ross	2,624	12.7	+1.5
	Conservative	Hope Vere Anderson	2,527	12.2	−9.8
	Referendum Party	Francis Adamson	820	4.0	N/A
	Natural Law	Christian Wharton	116	0.6	N/A
	Independent	Arthur Robertson	60	0.3	N/A
Majority			6,968	+33.7	+10.3
Turnout				64.0	−1.5
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+3.6

General Election 1992: Orkney and Shetland^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrat	Jim Wallace	9,575	46.4	+4.7
	Conservative	Dr. Paul McCormick	4,542	22.0	−1.3
	Labour	John Aberdein	4,093	19.8	+1.1
	SNP	Mrs. Frances McKie	2,301	11.2	N/A
	Natural Law	Ms. Christian Wharton	115	0.6	N/A
Majority			5,033	24.4	+6.0
Turnout			20,626	65.5	−3.2
	Liberal Democrat hold		Swing	+3.0

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1987: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jim Wallace	8,881	41.7	−4.2
	Conservative	R. W. A. Jenkins	4,959	23.3	−2.3
	Labour	John Aberdein	3,995	18.7	+5.4
	Orkney and Shetland Movement	John Goodlad	3,095	14.5	N/A
	Green	G. K. Collister	389	1.8	N/A
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
	SNP	Winifred Ewing	3,147	15.4
	Labour	Robina Goodlad	2,665	13.1
Majority			4,150	20.3
Turnout				67.8
	Liberal hold		Swing

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
	SNP	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
	SNP	H. Firth	3,025	17.2
	Conservative	R M Fraser	2,495	14.2
	Labour	J. W. 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	J. W. 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

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1966: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	9,605	59.1
	Conservative	Dr John 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	Dr John 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

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1959: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Jo Grimond	12,099	64.1	0.3
	Conservative	G H W Bruce	3,487	18.5	-1.9
	Labour	R S McGowan	3,275	17.4	1.6
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	6.3
	Conservative	J Eunson	3,760	20.4	-6.2
	Labour	E Ramsay	2,914	15.8	-0.4
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	11.3
	Conservative	A Tennant	5,354	26.2	-5.7
	Labour	M A Fairnie	3,335	16.2	-3.1
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	12.6
	Conservative	Basil Neven-Spence	6,281	31.9	-4.1
	Labour	H R Leslie	3,335	21.3	-8.5
Majority			2,956	15.0
Turnout			19,716	67.7
	Liberal gain from Conservative		Swing

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

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 1931: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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 1924: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Robert William Hamilton	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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, 1921
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Coalition Liberal	Malcolm Smith	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Coalition Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Elections in the 1910s

General Election 1918: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cathcart Wason	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

General Election December 1910: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Cathcart Wason	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

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

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

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1895: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	2,361	59.9	-2.0
	Liberal Unionist	Ralph Wardlaw MacLeod 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Sources

Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O" ^{[self-published source]}^{[better source needed]}
BBC Vote 2001
BBC Election 2005
Guardian Unlimited Politics
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

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Notes

^ [1]
^ Scotland Act 1998, section 86(3)
^ "Candidates and Constituency Assessments". alba.org.uk - "The almanac of Scottish elections and politics". Retrieved 9 February 2010.
^ "The Untouchable Orkney & Shetland Isles " (1 October 2009) www.snptacticalvoting.com Retrieved 9 February 2010.
^ http://ukpollingreport.co.uk/guide/seat-profiles/orkneyandshetland
^ People: Westminster Candidates, SNP
^ http://election.pressassociation.com/Nominations/general.php
^ BBC election website
^ "Politcs Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
^ C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.130 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
^ "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

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Conservative (1)	Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale

Independent (1)	Falkirk

Scotland European constituency: Scottish National Party (2) Labour (2) Conservative (1) Liberal Democrat (1)

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