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).
Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1801 onwards
In the 2014 Scottish independence referendum, 65.4% of the constituency's electors voted for Scotland to stay part of the United Kingdom.[2]
Creation
The British parliamentary constituency was created in 1708 following the Acts of Union, 1707 and replaced the former Parliament of Scotland shire constituency of Orkney & Zetland.
Boundaries
The constituency is made up of the two northernmost island groups of Scotland, 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. It is the most northerly of the 650 UK Parliament constituencies.
The constituency is one of five "protected constituencies", the others being Na h-Eileanan an Iar, two on the Isle of Wight, and Ynys Môn, defined exclusively by geography rather than by size of electorate.[3] 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.[4]
The constituency has the second smallest electorate of any UK parliamentary constituency, after Na h-Eileanan an Iar.[1]
History
The constituency has elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post since its creation in 1707.[5][6][7][8][9]
The constituency has remained unchanged since its creation.
Members of Parliament
The constituency has elected only Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs since 1950; the longest run of any British parliamentary constituency.[10][11] At each general election from 1955 until 1979, in 1987, 2010 and again in 2017 it was the safest Liberal Democrat seat in the UK. At the 2015 general election, it was the only seat in Scotland to return a Liberal Democrat MP. Two years later, in 2017, the Lib Dems gained three more seats in Scotland; increasing their Scottish seat tally to 4.
General election October 1974: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
9,877
56.2
−5.8
SNP
Howard Firth
3,025
17.2
New
Conservative
Raymond M. Fraser
2,495
14.2
−8.4
Labour
Jonathan W. G. Wills
2,175
12.4
−3.1
Majority
6,852
39.0
-0.4
Turnout
17,572
66.8
-4.3
Liberal hold
Swing
General election February 1974: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
11,491
62.0
+15.0
Conservative
John L. Firth
4,186
22.6
−9.3
Labour
Jonathan W. G. Wills
2,865
15.5
−5.6
Majority
7,305
39.4
+24.3
Turnout
18,542
71.1
+5.5
Liberal hold
Swing
General election 1970: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
7,896
47.0
−12.1
Conservative
John L. Firth
5,364
31.9
+9.6
Labour
William Macpherson Reid
3,552
21.1
+2.5
Majority
2,532
15.1
-21.7
Turnout
16,812
65.6
+0.4
Liberal hold
Swing
Elections in the 1960s
General election 1966: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
9,605
59.1
−3.5
Unionist
John L. Firth
3,630
22.3
+2.3
Labour
Hugh Lynch
3,021
18.6
+1.2
Majority
5,975
36.8
−5.8
Turnout
16,256
65.2
−7.5
Liberal hold
Swing
General election 1964: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
11,604
62.6
−1.5
Unionist
John L. Firth
3,704
20.0
+1.5
Labour
Ian MacInnes
3,232
17.4
±0.0
Majority
7,900
42.6
-3.0
Turnout
18,540
72.7
+1.4
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
Unionist
Robert Hunter Wingate Bruce
3,487
18.5
−1.9
Labour
Robert S. McGowan
3,275
17.4
+1.6
Majority
8,612
45.6
+2.2
Turnout
18,861
71.3
+5.2
Liberal hold
Swing
General election 1955: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo 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
+12.1
Turnout
18,427
66.1
-2.9
Liberal hold
Swing
General election 1951: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
11,745
57.5
+10.7
Unionist
Archibald Tennant
5,354
26.2
- 5.7
Labour
Magnus A. Fairnie
3,335
16.2
- 3.1
Majority
6,391
31.3
+16.4
Turnout
20,434
69.0
+1.4
Liberal hold
Swing
General election 1950: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Liberal
Jo Grimond
9,237
46.8
+12.6
Unionist
Basil Neven-Spence
6,281
31.9
- 4.1
Labour
Harald Leslie
3,335
21.3
- 8.5
Majority
2,956
14.9
N/A
Turnout
19,716
67.7
+12.2
Liberal gain from Unionist
Swing
Elections in the 1940s
General election 1945: Orkney and Shetland
Party
Candidate
Votes
%
±%
Unionist
Basil Neven-Spence
6,304
36.0
-21.6
Liberal
Jo Grimond
5,975
34.2
-8.2
Labour
Prophet Smith
5,208
29.8
New
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;
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 RulesArchived 2014-09-24 at the Wayback Machine This rule was added in the Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986 and retained in the Scotland Act 1998, which established the Scottish Parliament.
"Orkney and Shetland". History of Parliament Online (1690-1715). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
"Orkney and Shetland". History of Parliament Online (1715-1754). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
"Orkney and Shetland". History of Parliament Online (1754-1790). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
"Orkney and Shetland". History of Parliament Online (1790-1820). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
"Orkney and Shetland". History of Parliament Online (1820-1832). Retrieved 9 June 2019.
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