Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster). It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

Boundaries

The constituency was created in 1997 by merging Caithness and Sutherland with an area from Ross, Cromarty and Skye. The rest of Ross, Cromarty and Sky was merged into another new constituency, Ross, Skye and Inverness West.

In 1999 a Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) constituency was created with the name and boundaries of the Westminster constituency.

In 2005 the Westminster constituency was enlarged slightly, to include a small area from Ross, Skye and Inverness West. The rest of the latter was divided between two new constituencies, Ross, Skye and Lochaber and Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.

For representation at Holyrood, therefore, the area of the Westminster constituency is now divided between two constituencies, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (the Holyrood constituency) and Ross, Skye and Inverness West (the Holyrood constituency).

Local government area

See also Politics of the Highland council area

The constituency is one of three covering the Highland council area, the other two being the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency and the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, created in 2005. From 1997 to 2005 the other constituencies of the council area were the Ross, Skye and Inverness West constituency and the Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber constituency.

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is the most northerly of the constituencies, with Ross, Skye and Lochaber on its southern boundary.

As defined in 2005, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross covers 23 out of the 80 wards of the council area: all wards of the Caithness committee area, all wards of the Sutherland committee area and seven wards (Alness and Ardross, Invergordon, Ferindonald, Rosskeen and Saltburn, Seaboard, Tain East and Tain West) of the Ross and Cromarty committee area.

Ward and committee area boundaries are expected to change in April 2007, but these changes will not affect constituency boundaries.

Members of Parliament

• John Thurso, Liberal Democrat (2001−present)
• Robert Adam Ross Maclennan, Liberal Democrat (1997−2001)

Election results

2005

''Note: The constituency was slightly enlarged in 2005. Therefore +/- percentages are somewhat notional.

2001

1997

See also

• List of UK Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland

Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland (Westminster)