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- This article is about a Scottish Parliament electoral region. For other uses of Highlands and Islands please see Highlands and Islands area.
The Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Eight of the parliament's first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). The name Highlands and Islands is much older than the electoral region. The Highlands and Islands area has a large area of overlap with the Scottish Highlands, and the two names are often regarded as representing the same area.
The Highlands and Islands region is the largest of the eight electoral regions in terms of area, but the smallest in terms of population and electorate. It has boundaries with the North East Scotland, Mid Scotland and Fife and West of Scotland electoral regions.
= Constituencies and council areas = The constituencies were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies, as existing in at that timeScottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies in 2005. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland.. They cover all of four council areasCouncil areas are as defined in 1996, and may be subject to change after the next Scottish Parliament election., the Highland council area, Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles council area), the Orkney Isles council area and the Shetland Isles council area, and most of two others, the Argyll and Bute council area and the Moray council area:
- Argyll and Bute covers most of the Argyll and Bute council area
- Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross covers a northern portion of the Highland council area
- Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber covers a southern portion of the Highland council area
- Moray covers most of the Moray council area
- Orkney covers the Orkney Isles council area
- Ross, Skye and Inverness West covers a central portion of the Highland council area
- Shetland covers the Shetland Isles council area
- the Western Isles covers Na h-Eileanan Siar
A south-eastern portion of the Argyll and Bute area is covered by the Dumbarton constituency, which is in the West of Scotland region. An eastern portion of the Moray area is covered by the Gordon constituency, in the North East Scotland region.
= Election results =
2003 Scottish Parliament election
In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 5 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency MSPs)
- 4 Scottish National Party MSPs (two constituency MSPs and two additional members)
- 3 Labour MSPs (one constituency MSP and two additional mermbers)
- 2 Conservative MSPs (both additional members)
- 1 Green MSP (additional member)
Constituency results
Changes
Margaret Ewing, Scottish National Party MSP for Moray, died on 21st March 2006. The by-election was won by Richard Lochhead of the SNP.
Additional member results
Changes
- Dave Petrie replaced Mary Scanlon. Scanlon resigned as an MSP in April 2006 to contest the Moray by-election following the death of Margaret Ewing. Petrie was next on the Conservative list.
1999 Scottish Parliament election
In the 1999 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:
- 5 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency members)
- 4 Scottish National Party MSPs (two constituency and two additional members)
- 4 Labour MSPs (one constituency and three additional members)
- 2 Conservative MSP (one constituency and one additional member)
Constituency results
Additional member results
= Footnotes =
"Highlands and Islands (Scottish Parliament electoral region)"