Argyll and Bute (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Argyll and Bute 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. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Argyll and Bute | |
---|---|
county constituency for the Scottish Parliament | |
![]() | |
![]() Argyll and Bute shown within the Highlands and Islands electoral region and the region shown within Scotland | |
Current constituency | |
Created | 1999 |
Party | Scottish National Party |
MSP | Mike Russell |
Council area | Argyll and Bute |
Electoral region
The Argyll and Bute constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney, Shetland and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
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 Islands council area, all of the Shetland Islands council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The Argyll and Bute constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, the Westminster (House of Commons) constituency was enlarged slightly.[1]
The Holyrood constituency covers most of the Argyll and Bute council area. The rest of the council area is covered by the Dumbarton constituency, which is in the West Scotland electoral region. The Argyll and Bute Westminster constituency has covered the whole of the council area since 2005.
From the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, boundary changes altered the existing Argyll and Bute constituency. All but three electoral wards of the Argyll and Bute council area were used in the creation of the new seat, namely:
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Election | Member | Party | |
---|---|---|---|
1999 | George Lyon | Liberal Democrats | |
2007 | Jim Mather | Scottish National Party | |
2011 | Michael Russell | ||
Election results
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Michael Russell | 13,561 | 46.0 | -4.6 | |
Liberal Democrats | Alan Reid | 7,583 | 25.7 | +13.5 | |
Conservative | Donald Cameron | 5,840 | 19.8 | +1.5 | |
Labour | Mick Rice | 2,492 | 8.5 | -6.8 | |
Majority | 5,978 | 20.3 | -12.0 | ||
Turnout | 29,476 | 60.4 | +6.7 | ||
SNP hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Michael Russell | 13,390 | 50.6 | ||
Conservative | Jamie McGrigor | 4,847 | 18.3 | ||
Labour | Mick Rice | 4,041 | 15.3 | ||
Liberal Democrats | Alison Hay | 3,220 | 12.2 | ||
Independent | George Doyle | 542 | 2.0 | ||
Liberal | George White | 436 | 1.6 | ||
Majority | 8,543 | 32.3 | |||
Turnout | 26,476 | 53.7 | |||
SNP win (new boundaries) |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SNP | Jim Mather | 9,944 | 34.5 | +14.9 | |
Liberal Democrats | George Lyon | 9,129 | 31.7 | -3.4 | |
Conservative | Jamie McGrigor | 5,571 | 19.4 | -0.7 | |
Labour | Mary Galbraith | 4,148 | 14.4 | -3.9 | |
Majority | 815 | 2.8 | N/A | ||
Turnout | 28,792 | 58.9 | +1.1 | ||
SNP gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +9.2 | |||
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | George Lyon | 9,817 | 35.1 | +0.2 | |
Conservative | Dave Petrie | 5,621 | 20.1 | +3.6 | |
SNP | Jim Mather | 5,485 | 19.6 | −8.9 | |
Labour | Hugh Raven | 5,107 | 18.3 | −1.8 | |
Scottish Socialist | Des Divers | 1,667 | 5.9 | N/A | |
Scottish Peoples Alliance | David Walker | 251 | 0.9 | N/A | |
Majority | 4,196 | 15.0 | +8.6 | ||
Turnout | 27,948 | 57.8 | −7.0 | ||
Liberal Democrats hold | Swing |
Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Liberal Democrats | George Lyon | 11,226 | 34.9 | ||
SNP | Duncan Hamilton | 9,169 | 28.5 | ||
Labour | Hugh Raven | 6,470 | 20.1 | ||
Conservative | David Petrie | 5,312 | 16.5 | ||
Majority | 2,057 | 6.4 | |||
Turnout | 32,177 | 64.8 | |||
Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |
Notes
- See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine