Na h-Eileanan an Iar (UK Parliament constituency)

Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Na h-Eileanan an Iar
County constituency; for the House of Commons
	Boundary of Na h-Eileanan an Iar in Scotland
Subdivisions of Scotland	Na h-Eileanan Siar
Electorate	20,887
Major settlements	Stornoway
Current constituency
Created	1918
Member of Parliament	Angus MacNeil (Independent)
Created from	Ross & Cromarty; Inverness-shire;

Na h-Eileanan an Iar (/nə ˈhɪlənən ən jɪər/; Scottish Gaelic pronunciation: [nəˈhelanən əˈɲiəɾ]), formerly Western Isles, is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created in 1918. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

With around 21,000 registered voters, it has the smallest electorate of any constituency in the United Kingdom. It is expressly protected from being combined with other constituencies by the 2011 Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act.

History

The constituency was formed by merging areas which were formerly within the Ross and Cromarty constituency and the Inverness-shire constituency.

Na h-Eileanan an Iar is Scottish Gaelic for the Western Isles, which was the constituency's name prior to the 2005 general election. An identical constituency with the same name is used by the Scottish Parliament.

Boundaries

The constituency area is that of the Outer Hebrides, known also as Na h-Eileanan Siar, and the constituency has the smallest electorate in the United Kingdom, one-fifth of the size of the largest, the Isle of Wight, which is also an island constituency. However, the Isle of Wight is a substantially smaller parliamentary constituency in geographical terms. It has been suggested that Na h-Eileanan an Iar could be combined with the Orkney and Shetland constituency: the resulting combined electorate would still be well below the average constituency quota. The seat's entire turnout at elections will be less than a winning candidate's vote in a rural English seat.

The Scottish Boundary Commission in 1980 proposed that the seat should be extended to include the Skye and Lochalsh areas; this was overturned at a public enquiry. Generally, considerations of geographical size, a disparate population and convenience for the MPs concerned, as well as tradition and identity, have tended to override the arguments about numerical imbalance. Furthermore, a change in the Boundary Commission's rules in 2000 added a rule which forbade Orkney or Shetland being combined with another council area. In 2011, the Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 was introduced, which prevented both Na h-Eileanan an Iar and Orkney and Shetland from being combined with any other constituency.^[2]

Local government areas

When created, the area of the constituency was divided between two local government areas: the counties of Ross and Cromarty and Inverness-shire. The division line was the Lewis-Harris boundary, with Lewis in Ross and Cromarty and Harris in Inverness-shire.

In 1975 the constituency area became also an island council area, known as the Western Isles council area. That same area became one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland in 1996. The council area is known also as Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Politics

The seat had been a two-way marginal between the Labour Party and the Scottish National Party for many years. In 2005 it became a safe seat for the Scottish National Party. This trend was reversed in the 2017 general election, when the SNP suffered a swing against them for the first time since 1997, but at the 2019 general election the constituency became a safe seat for the SNP again. For the Conservatives, their vote has increased in recent years, since losing their deposit in the 2005 and 2010 elections.

During the 2014 Scottish independence referendum the constituency voted against independence by a margin of 53.42% (10,544) to 46.58% (9,195) in favour on a turnout of 86.2%^[3]

The constituency is notable for having the highest percentage of Scottish Gaelic speakers of any Scottish constituency.^{[citation needed]}

Members of Parliament

	Member^[4]^[5]	Party
1918	Donald Murray	Liberal
1922	Sir William Cotts	National Liberal
1923	Alexander Livingstone	Liberal
1929	Thomas Ramsay	Liberal
1931	Thomas Ramsay	National Liberal
1935	Malcolm Macmillan	Labour
1970	Donald Stewart	SNP
1987	Calum MacDonald	Labour
2005	Angus MacNeil	SNP
2023	Angus MacNeil	Independent

Election results

Elections of the 2020s

Next general election: Na h-Eileanan an Iar
Party		Candidate	Votes
	Scottish Christian	Donald Boyd^[6]
	Labour	Torcuil Crichton^[7]
	Independent	Angus MacNeil^[8]
	SNP	Susan Thomson^[9]
Majority
Turnout
			Swing

Elections of the 2010s

General election 2019: Na h-Eileanan an Iar^[10]^[11]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	6,531	45.1	+4.5
	Labour	Alison McCorquodale	4,093	28.3	–5.5
	Conservative	Jennifer Ross	3,216	22.2	+5.7
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Mitchison	637	4.4	+2.7
Majority			2,438	16.8	+10.0
Turnout			14,447	68.6	–0.9
	SNP hold		Swing	+5.0

General election 2017: Na h-Eileanan an Iar^[12]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	6,013	40.6	–13.7
	Labour	Ealasaid MacDonald	5,006	33.8	+5.2
	Conservative	Daniel McCroskrie	2,441	16.5	+8.9
	Scottish Christian	John Cormack	1,108	7.5	+0.9
	Liberal Democrats	James Paterson	250	1.7	–1.2
Majority			1,007	6.8	–18.9
Turnout			14,818	69.7	–3.5
	SNP hold		Swing	–9.5

General election 2015: Na h-Eileanan an Iar^[13]^[14]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	8,662	54.3	+8.6
	Labour	Alasdair Morrison	4,560	28.6	−4.3
	Conservative	Mark Brown	1,215	7.6	+3.2
	Scottish Christian	John Cormack	1,045	6.6	New
	Liberal Democrats	Ruaraidh Ferguson	456	2.9	−4.6
Majority			4,102	25.7	+12.9
Turnout			15,938	73.2	+7.1
	SNP hold		Swing	+6.5

General election 2010: Na h-Eileanan an Iar^[15]^[16]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	6,723	45.7	+0.8
	Labour	Donald MacSween	4,838	32.9	−1.6
	Independent	Murdo Murray	1,412	9.6	New
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Davis	1,097	7.5	−0.4
	Conservative	Sheena Norquay	647	4.4	0.0
Majority			1,885	12.8	+2.4
Turnout			14,717	66.1	+2.0
	SNP hold		Swing	+1.2

Elections of the 2000s

General election 2005: Na h-Eileanan an Iar^[17]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	6,213	44.9	+8.0
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	4,772	34.5	−10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Davis	1,096	7.9	+1.4
	Christian Vote	George Hargreaves	1,048	7.6	New
	Conservative	Andy Maciver	610	4.4	−5.1
	Scottish Socialist	Joanne Telfer	97	0.7	−1.5
Majority			1,441	10.4	N/A
Turnout			13,836	64.1	+3.5
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

General election 2001: Western Isles^[18]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	5,924	45.0	−10.6
	SNP	Alasdair Nicholson	4,850	36.9	+3.5
	Conservative	Douglas Taylor	1,250	9.5	+2.9
	Liberal Democrats	John Horne	849	6.5	+3.4
	Scottish Socialist	Joanne Telfer	286	2.2	New
Majority			1,074	8.1	−14.1
Turnout			13,159	60.6	−9.5
	Labour hold		Swing	–7.1

Elections of the 1990s

General election 1997: Western Isles^[19]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	8,955	55.6	+7.8
	SNP	Anne Lorne Gillies	5,379	33.4	-3.8
	Conservative	Jamie McGrigor	1,071	6.6	-1.9
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Mitchison	495	3.1	-0.3
	Referendum	Ralph Lionel	206	1.3	New
Majority			3,576	22.2	+11.6
Turnout			16,106	70.1	-0.3
	Labour hold		Swing	+5.8

General election 1992: Western Isles^[20]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	7,664	47.8	+5.1
	SNP	Frances M. MacFarlane	5,961	37.2	+8.7
	Conservative	Robert J. Heany	1,362	8.5	+0.4
	Liberal Democrats	Neil Mitchison	552	3.4	-16.7
	Independent	Andrew R. Price	491	3.1	New
Majority			1,703	10.6	-3.6
Turnout			16,030	70.4	+0.2
	Labour hold		Swing	–1.8

Elections of the 1980s

General election 1987: Western Isles^[21]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	7,041	42.7	+12.6
	SNP	Ian Smith	4,701	28.5	−26.0
	SDP	Kenneth MacIver	3,419	20.7	+14.9
	Conservative	Murdo Morrison	1,336	8.1	−1.5
Majority			2,340	14.2	N/A
Turnout			16,497	70.2	+3.7
	Labour gain from SNP		Swing	+19.3

General election 1983: Western Isles^[22]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Donald Stewart	8,272	54.5	+2.0
	Labour	Brian Wilson	4,560	30.1	−2.2
	Conservative	Murdo Morrison	1,460	9.6	−1.0
	Liberal	Neil M. MacLeod	876	5.8	+1.2
Majority			3,712	24.4	+4.2
Turnout			15,168	66.5	−1.0
	SNP hold		Swing	+2.1

Elections of the 1970s

General election 1979: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Donald Stewart	7,941	52.5	−9.0
	Labour	Alexander Matheson	4,878	32.3	+7.6
	Conservative	Murdo Morrison^[23]	1,600	10.6	+2.3
	Liberal	Neil Munro MacLeod^[23]	700	4.6	−0.9
Majority			3,063	20.2	−16.6
Turnout			15,119	67.5	+4.1
	SNP hold		Swing

General election October 1974: Western Isles^[24]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Donald Stewart	8,758	61.5	−5.6
	Labour	Mary Doig	3,526	24.7	+5.5
	Conservative	Norman K. Wilson^[23]	1,180	8.3	+1.4
	Liberal	Neil Macmillan ^[23]	789	5.5	New
Majority			5,232	36.8	-11.1
Turnout			14,253	63.4	-2.9
	SNP hold		Swing

General election February 1974: Western Isles^[25]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Donald Stewart	10,079	67.1	+24.0
	Labour	Andrew W. Wilson^[23]	2,879	19.2	−19.2
	Conservative	John Mackay	1,042	6.9	−11.6
	United Labour Party	Malcolm Macmillan	1,031	6.9	New
Majority			7,200	47.9	+43.2
Turnout			15,031	66.3	-1.4
	SNP hold		Swing

General election 1970: Western Isles^[26]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Donald Stewart	6,568	43.1	*New*
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	5,842	38.4	−22.6
	Conservative	Roderick Murray MacLeod^[23]	2,812	18.5	−1.7
Majority			726	4.7	N/A
Turnout			23,533	64.7	+3.2
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing

Elections of the 1960s

General election 1966: Western Isles^[27]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,565	61.0	+5.9
	Conservative	Charles Alexander Cameron	2,832	20.2	+6.2
	Liberal	John Francis Matheson Macleod	2,638	18.8	-12.1
Majority			5,733	40.8	+16.6
Turnout			14,035	61.5	-5.4
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1964: Western Isles^[28]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,740	55.1	+1.5
	Liberal	Donny MacLeod	4,894	30.9	New
	Unionist	Charles Alexander Cameron	2,217	14.0	-32.4
Majority			3,846	24.2	+17.0
Turnout			15,851	66.9	+2.7
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections of the 1950s

General election 1959: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,663	53.6	+4.8
	National Liberal	Donny MacLeod	7,496	46.4	+3.7
Majority			1,167	7.2	+1.1
Turnout			16,159	64.2	+4.7
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1955: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,487	48.8	0.0
	National Liberal	John C Frame	6,315	42.7	+2.0
Majority			2,172	6.1	-2.0
Turnout			14,802	59.5	-1.0
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1951: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,039	48.8	-4.4
	National Liberal	John Mitchell	6,709	40.7	New
	Liberal	David Murray	916	5.6	-38.5
	SNP	Calum Maclean	820	5.0	New
Majority			1,330	8.1	-1.0
Turnout			15,664	60.5	+4.8
	Labour hold		Swing

General election 1950: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	8,387	53.2	+7.5
	Liberal	Huntley McDonald Sinclair	6,950	44.1	+11.1
	Scottish Home Rule	David Murray	425	2.7	New
Majority			1,437	9.1	-3.6
Turnout			15,762	55.7	+2.4
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections of the 1940s

General election 1945: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	5,914	45.7	+4.7
	Liberal	Huntly McDonald Sinclair	4,277	33.0	New
	Unionist	Iain Macleod	2,756	21.3	New
Majority			1,637	12.7	+2.6
Turnout			12,947	53.3	+6.5
	Labour hold		Swing

Elections of the 1930s

General election 1935: Western Isles^[29]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Malcolm Macmillan	5,421	41.0	*New*
	National Liberal	Thomas Ramsay	4,076	30.9	-23.9
	SNP	Alexander MacEwen	3,704	28.1	New
Majority			1,345	10.1	N/A
Turnout			12,947	46.8	+10.0
	Labour gain from National Liberal		Swing

General election 1931: Western Isles^[30]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	Thomas Ramsay	5,793	54.8	+10.7
	Unionist	Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt-Pender	4,785	45.2	+21.8
Majority			1,008	9.6	-2.0
Turnout			10,578	36.8	-3.7
	National Liberal hold		Swing

Elections of the 1920s

General election 1929: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Thomas Ramsay	4,877	44.1	-10.1
	Labour	John M MacDiarmid	3,589	32.5	+15.3
	Unionist	Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt-Pender	2,593	23.4	-5.2
Majority			1,288	21.6	-14.0
Turnout			11,059	40.5	+1.4
	Liberal hold		Swing	-12.7

General election 1924: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alexander Livingstone	4,579	54.2	+14.6
	Unionist	William Morrison	2,318	28.6	-8.3
	Labour	A. G. Burns	1,454	17.2	New
Majority			2,161	25.6	+22.9
Turnout			8,451	39.1	-1.0
	Liberal hold		Swing	+11.5

General election 1923: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Liberal	Alexander Livingstone	3,391	39.6	-6.3
	Unionist	William Morrison	3,158	36.9	New
	Independent Labour	Hugh McCowan	2,011	23.5	New
Majority			233	2.7	-5.5
Turnout			6,549	40.1	-14.0
	Liberal gain from National Liberal		Swing

General election 1922: Western Isles
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	National Liberal	William Cotts	6,177	54.1	+11.6
	Liberal	Donald Murray	5,238	45.9	-1.4
Majority			939	8.2	+3.4
Turnout			11,415	54.1	+10.5
	National Liberal gain from Liberal		Swing	+6.5

Elections of the 1910s

General election 1918: Western Isles^[31]
Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal	Donald Murray	3,765	47.3
	National Liberal	William Cotts	3,375	42.5
	Highland Land League	Hugh MacGowan	809	10.2
Majority			390	4.8
Turnout			7,949	43.6
	Liberal win (new seat)

References

Parliament of the United Kingdom
First	Constituency represented by the Leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster 1974-1987	Succeeded by Moray

57°40′16″N 6°57′11″W / 57.671°N 6.953°W / 57.671; -6.953

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