Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)

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

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
Member of parliament	Alistair Carmichael (Liberal Democrat)
Number of members	One
Created from	Orkney and Shetland
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 constituency.

The constituency is one of three "protected constituencies", the others being Na h-Eileanan an Iar and the Isle of Wight.^[1] The constituency contains the areas of the Orkney Islands Council and the Shetland Islands Council. Before 2011 the constituency had been unique in having its boundaries protected by legislation.^[2]

The constituency has one of the smallest electorates of any UK parliamentary constituency.

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 Democrat seat in Britain. In the May 2015 general election it was the only seat in Scotland to elect a Liberal Democrat MP.

Year		Member	Party
	1707	Sir Alexander Douglas
	1713	George Douglas
	1715	James Moodie
	1722	George Douglas
	1730 by-election	Robert Douglas
	1747	James Halyburton
	1754	James Douglas
	1768	Thomas Dundas I
	1771 by-election	Thomas Dundas II
	1780	Robert Baikie
	1781	Charles Dundas
	1784	Thomas Dundas II
	1790	John Balfour
	1796	Capt. Robert Honyman I
	1806	Col. Robert Honyman II
	1807	Malcolm Laing
	1812	Richard Bempde Johnstone Honyman
	1818	George Heneage Lawrence Dundas	Whig
	1820	John Balfour
	1826	George Heneage Lawrence Dundas	Whig
	1830	George Traill	Whig
	1835	Thomas Balfour	Tory
	1837	Frederick Dundas	Liberal
	1847	Arthur Anderson	Liberal
	1852	Frederick Dundas	Liberal
	1873 by-election	Samuel Laing	Liberal
	1885	Leonard Lyell	Liberal
	1900	Cathcart Wason	Liberal Unionist
	1902 by-election		Independent Liberal
	1906		Liberal
	1918		Coalition Liberal
	1921 by-election	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

Elections

Elections in the 2010s

General Election 2015: Orkney and Shetland [5][6][7][8][9]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Carmichael	9,407	41.4	−20.6
	SNP	Danus Skene	8,590	37.8	+27.2
	Conservative	Donald Cameron	2,025	8.9	−1.6
	Labour	Gerry McGarvey	1,624	7.1	−3.5
	UKIP	Robert Smith	1,082	4.8	−1.6
Majority			817	3.6	-47.7
Turnout			22,728	65.8	+7.3
	Liberal Democrats hold		Swing	−23.9

General Election 2010: Orkney and Shetland[10][11][12][13]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	Alistair Carmichael	11,989	62.0	+10.5
	Labour	Mark Cooper	2,061	10.7	−3.5
	SNP	John Mowat	2,042	10.6	+0.3
	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 Democrats hold		Swing	+7.0

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2005: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	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 Democrats hold		Swing	+8.3

General Election 2001: Orkney and Shetland
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	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 Democrats hold		Swing

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1997: Orkney and Shetland[14][15]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	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	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 Democrats hold		Swing	+3.6

General Election 1992: Orkney and Shetland[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Democrats	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 Democrats 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	Richard William Arthur Jenkins	4,959	23.3	−2.3
	Labour	John Henry Aberdein	3,995	18.7	+5.4
	Orkney and Shetland Movement	John Hutchison Goodlad	3,095	14.5	N/A
	Green	Grierson Kesterton 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	−10.5
	Conservative	David Myles	5,224	25.6	+4.3
	SNP	Winifred Ewing	3,147	15.4	+10.6
	Labour	Robina Goodlad	2,665	13.1	−4.3
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	Rt Hon. Joseph 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	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	9,877	56.2
	SNP	Howard Firth	3,025	17.2
	Conservative	Raymond M. Fraser	2,495	14.2
	Labour	Jonathan 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	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	11,491	62.0
	Conservative	Dr John L. Firth	4,186	22.6
	Labour	Jonathan W.G. Wills	2,865	15.5
Majority			7,305	39.4
Turnout				71.1
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1970: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 25,630
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	7,896	47.0
	Conservative	Dr John L. Firth	5,364	31.9
	Labour	William Macpherson 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 Electorate 24,927
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	9,605	59.1
	Unionist	Dr John L Firth	3,630	22.3
	Labour	Hugh Lynch	3,021	18.6
Majority			5,975	36.8
Turnout			16,256	65.2
	Liberal hold		Swing

General Election 1964: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 25,481
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	11,604	62.6
	Unionist	Dr John L Firth	3,704	20.0
	Labour	Ian 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 Electorate 26,435
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Rt Hon. Joseph Grimond	12,099	64.1	0.3
	Unionist	Robert Hunter Wingate Bruce	3,487	18.5	-1.9
	Labour	Robert 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 Electorate 27,868
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Grimond	11,753	63.8	6.3
	Unionist	John W Eunson	3,760	20.4	-6.2
	Labour	Edgar 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 Electorate 29,603
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Grimond	11,745	57.5	11.3
	Unionist	Archibald Tennant	5,354	26.2	-5.7
	Labour	Magnus 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 Electorate 29,131
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Joseph Grimond	9,237	46.8	12.6
	Unionist	Sir Basil Hamilton Hebden Neven-Spence	6,281	31.9	-4.1
	Labour	Harald Robert Leslie	3,335	21.3	-8.5
Majority			2,956	15.0
Turnout			19,716	67.7
	Liberal gain from Unionist		Swing

Elections in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 31,468
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Sir Basil Hamilton Hebden Neven-Spence	6,304	36.0	-21.6
	Liberal	Joseph Grimond	5,975	34.2	-8.2
	Labour	Prophet JL Smith	5,208	29.8	n/a
Majority			329	1.8	-13.4
Turnout			17,487	55.5	+9.2
	Unionist hold		Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1939/40: Another general election was required to take place before the end of 1940. The political parties had been making preparations for an election to take place and by the Autumn of 1939, the following candidates had been selected;

• Conservative: Basil Neven-Spence
• Liberal: Lady Louise Glen-Coats

General Election 1935: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 31,480
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Unionist	Basil Hamilton Hebden Neven-Spence	8,406	57.6	n/a
	Liberal	Sir Robert William Hamilton	6,180	42.4	n/a
Majority			2,226	15.2	n/a
Turnout			1,586	46.3	n/a
	Unionist gain from Liberal		Swing	n/a

General Election 1931: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 33,147
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir 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	Sir Robert William Hamilton	8,256	60.4	n/a
	Unionist	Basil Hamilton Hebden Neven-Spence	5,404	39.6	n/a
Majority			2,852	20.6	n/a
Turnout			13,660	43.1	n/a
	Liberal hold		Swing	n/a

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

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

Sir Robert Hamilton

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

Orkney and Shetland by-election, 1921
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Coalition Liberal	Sir 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	John Cathcart Wason	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

• endorsed by the Coalition Government

General Election December 1910: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 7,115
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Cathcart Wason	Unopposed	N/A	N/A
	Liberal hold		Swing	N/A

Cathcart Wason

General Election January 1910: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 7,115
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John 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 Electorate 7,680
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	John Cathcart Wason	3,837	79.0	+29.5
	Liberal Unionist	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 Electorate 7,572
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Independent Liberal	John Cathcart Wason	2,412	46.8	+46.8
	Liberal	Thomas McKinnon Wood	2,001	38.8	-10.7
	Liberal Unionist	Theodore Vivian Samuel Angier	740	14.4	-36.1
Majority			411	8.0
Turnout			5,153	68.1	+13.2
	Independent Liberal gain from Liberal Unionist		Swing

Cathcart Wason

General Election 1900: Orkney and Shetland Electorate 7,420
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal Unionist	John Cathcart Wason	2,057	50.5	+10.4
	Liberal	Sir 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 Electorate 7,053
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Sir 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 Electorate 7,064
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 Electorate 7,391
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 Electorate 7,391
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Leonard Lyell	3,352	63.3
	Conservative	Hon. 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

Notes

1. Protected constituencies, s 11, schedule 2, Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011. The constituencies are protected from splitting or merging in future boundary reviews. The two Isle of Wight constituencies have not yet been formed.
2. Rule 3A of the Boundary Commission rules stated "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." Boundary Commission Rules This rule was added in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 and retained in the Scotland Act 1998, which established the Scottish Parliament.
3. "Candidates and Constituency Assessments". alba.org.uk - "The almanac of Scottish elections and politics". Retrieved 9 February 2010.
4. "The Untouchable Orkney & Shetland Isles " (1 October 2009) www.snptacticalvoting.com Retrieved 9 February 2010.
5. election result http://www.shetland.gov.uk/elections/documents/DeclarationofResults-OrkneyandShetland.pdf 23Jun15
6. total electorate 34,552 email from Shetland Council by email
7. "Alistair Carmichael reselected for Orkney and Shetland". Liberal Democrat Voice.
8. "UKIP to field Robert Smith again". Shetland News.
9. "Conservative candidate named". The Shetland Times.
10. "UKPollingReport Election Guide 2010 » Orkney and Shetland". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
11. People: Westminster Candidates, SNP
12. "Press Association Elections". pressassociation.com.
13. "BBC News — Election 2010 - Constituency - Orkney & Shetland". bbc.co.uk.
14. "Politics Resources". Election 1997. Politics Resources. 1 May 1997. Retrieved 2010-12-25.
15. C. Rallings & M. Thrasher, The Media Guide to the New Parliamentary Constituencies, p.130 (Plymouth: LGC Elections Centre, 1995)
16. "Politics Resources". Election 1992. Politics Resources. 9 April 1992. Retrieved 2010-12-06.

Further reading

• 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

External links

• Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"
• 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)