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.
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]
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.
^"Statutory Notices UK Parliamentary General Election - December 2019". Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Comhairle nan Eilean Siar. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
^"Na h-Eileanan an Iar (Western Isles) parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 14 December 2019.
^"Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). UK Parliamentary Election 8 June 2017 Na h-Eileanan an Iar Constituency. Retrieved 11 November 2019.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^. Cne-siar.gov.uk. Archived from the original on 5 March 2017. Retrieved 31 March 2017.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
^"Election 2010: Na H-Eileanan An Iar (Western Isles)". BBC.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^. Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
eileanan, parliament, constituency, confused, with, eileanan, scottish, parliament, constituency, eileanan, ɪər, scottish, gaelic, pronunciation, nəˈhelanən, əˈɲiəɾ, formerly, western, isles, constituency, house, commons, parliament, united, kingdom, created, . Not to be confused with Na h Eileanan an Iar Scottish Parliament constituency Na h Eileanan an Iar n e ˈ h ɪ l en en en j ɪer Scottish Gaelic pronunciation neˈhelanen eˈɲieɾ 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 Na h Eileanan an IarCounty constituencyfor the House of CommonsBoundary of Na h Eileanan an Iar in ScotlandSubdivisions of ScotlandNa h Eileanan SiarElectorate20 887 1 Major settlementsStornowayCurrent constituencyCreated1918Member of ParliamentAngus MacNeil Independent Created fromRoss amp CromartyInverness shireWith 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 Contents 1 History 2 Boundaries 3 Local government areas 4 Politics 5 Members of Parliament 6 Election results 6 1 Elections of the 2010s 6 2 Elections of the 2000s 6 3 Elections of the 1990s 6 4 Elections of the 1980s 6 5 Elections of the 1970s 6 6 Elections of the 1960s 6 7 Elections of the 1950s 6 8 Elections of the 1940s 6 9 Elections of the 1930s 6 10 Elections of the 1920s 6 11 Elections of the 1910s 7 ReferencesHistory editThe 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 editThe 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 editWhen 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 editThe 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 Members of Parliament editElection Member 4 5 Party1918 Donald Murray Liberal1922 Sir William Cotts National Liberal1923 Alexander Livingstone Liberal1929 Thomas Ramsay1931 National Liberal1935 Malcolm Macmillan Labour1970 Donald Stewart SNP1987 Calum MacDonald Labour2005 Angus MacNeil SNP2023 IndependentElection results edit nbsp Electoral results since 1918Elections of the 2010s edit General election 2019 Na h Eileanan an Iar 6 7 Party Candidate Votes SNP Angus MacNeil 6 531 45 1 4 5Labour Alison McCorquodale 4 093 28 3 5 5Conservative Jennifer Ross 3 216 22 2 5 7Liberal Democrats Neil Mitchison 637 4 4 2 7Majority 2 438 16 8 10 0Turnout 14 447 68 6 0 9SNP hold Swing 5 0General election 2017 Na h Eileanan an Iar 8 Party Candidate Votes SNP Angus MacNeil 6 013 40 6 13 7Labour Ealasaid MacDonald 5 006 33 8 5 2Conservative Daniel McCroskrie 2 441 16 5 8 9Scottish Christian John Cormack 1 108 7 5 0 9Liberal Democrats James Paterson 250 1 7 1 2Majority 1 007 6 8 18 9Turnout 14 818 69 7 3 5SNP hold Swing 9 5General election 2015 Na h Eileanan an Iar 9 10 Party Candidate Votes SNP Angus MacNeil 8 662 54 3 8 6Labour Alasdair Morrison 4 560 28 6 4 3Conservative Mark Brown 1 215 7 6 3 2Scottish Christian John Cormack 1 045 6 6 NewLiberal Democrats Ruaraidh Ferguson 456 2 9 4 6Majority 4 102 25 7 12 9Turnout 15 938 73 2 7 1SNP hold Swing 6 5General election 2010 Na h Eileanan an Iar 11 12 Party Candidate Votes SNP Angus MacNeil 6 723 45 7 0 8Labour Donald MacSween 4 838 32 9 1 6Independent Murdo Murray 1 412 9 6 NewLiberal Democrats Jean Davis 1 097 7 5 0 4Conservative Sheena Norquay 647 4 4 0 0Majority 1 885 12 8 2 4Turnout 14 717 66 1 2 0SNP hold Swing 1 2Elections of the 2000s edit General election 2005 Na h Eileanan an Iar 13 Party Candidate Votes SNP Angus MacNeil 6 213 44 9 8 0Labour Calum MacDonald 4 772 34 5 10 5Liberal Democrats Jean Davis 1 096 7 9 1 4Christian Vote George Hargreaves 1 048 7 6 NewConservative Andy Maciver 610 4 4 5 1Scottish Socialist Joanne Telfer 97 0 7 1 5Majority 1 441 10 4 N ATurnout 13 836 64 1 3 5SNP gain from Labour Swing 9 3General election 2001 Western Isles 14 Party Candidate Votes Labour Calum MacDonald 5 924 45 0 10 6SNP Alasdair Nicholson 4 850 36 9 3 5Conservative Douglas Taylor 1 250 9 5 2 9Liberal Democrats John Horne 849 6 5 3 4Scottish Socialist Joanne Telfer 286 2 2 NewMajority 1 074 8 1 14 1Turnout 13 159 60 6 9 5Labour hold Swing 7 1Elections of the 1990s edit General election 1997 Western Isles 15 Party Candidate Votes Labour Calum MacDonald 8 955 55 6 7 8SNP Anne Lorne Gillies 5 379 33 4 3 8Conservative Jamie McGrigor 1 071 6 6 1 9Liberal Democrats Neil Mitchison 495 3 1 0 3Referendum Ralph Lionel 206 1 3 NewMajority 3 576 22 2 11 6Turnout 16 106 70 1 0 3Labour hold Swing 5 8General election 1992 Western Isles 16 Party Candidate Votes Labour Calum MacDonald 7 664 47 8 5 1SNP Frances M MacFarlane 5 961 37 2 8 7Conservative Robert J Heany 1 362 8 5 0 4Liberal Democrats Neil Mitchison 552 3 4 16 7Independent Andrew R Price 491 3 1 NewMajority 1 703 10 6 3 6Turnout 16 030 70 4 0 2Labour hold Swing 1 8Elections of the 1980s edit General election 1987 Western Isles 17 Party Candidate Votes Labour Calum MacDonald 7 041 42 7 12 6SNP Ian Smith 4 701 28 5 26 0SDP Kenneth MacIver 3 419 20 7 14 9Conservative Murdo Morrison 1 336 8 1 1 5Majority 2 340 14 2 N ATurnout 16 497 70 2 3 7Labour gain from SNP Swing 19 3General election 1983 Western Isles 18 Party Candidate Votes SNP Donald Stewart 8 272 54 5 2 0Labour Brian Wilson 4 560 30 1 2 2Conservative Murdo Morrison 1 460 9 6 1 0Liberal Neil M MacLeod 876 5 8 1 2Majority 3 712 24 4 4 2Turnout 15 168 66 5 1 0SNP hold Swing 2 1Elections of the 1970s edit General election 1979 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes SNP Donald Stewart 7 941 52 5 9 0Labour Alexander Matheson 4 878 32 3 7 6Conservative Murdo Morrison 19 1 600 10 6 2 3Liberal Neil Munro MacLeod 19 700 4 6 0 9Majority 3 063 20 2 16 6Turnout 15 119 67 5 4 1SNP hold SwingGeneral election October 1974 Western Isles 20 Party Candidate Votes SNP Donald Stewart 8 758 61 5 5 6Labour Mary Doig 3 526 24 7 5 5Conservative Norman K Wilson 19 1 180 8 3 1 4Liberal Neil Macmillan 19 789 5 5 NewMajority 5 232 36 8 11 1Turnout 14 253 63 4 2 9SNP hold SwingGeneral election February 1974 Western Isles 21 Party Candidate Votes SNP Donald Stewart 10 079 67 1 24 0Labour Andrew W Wilson 19 2 879 19 2 19 2Conservative John Mackay 1 042 6 9 11 6United Labour Party Malcolm Macmillan 1 031 6 9 NewMajority 7 200 47 9 43 2Turnout 15 031 66 3 1 4SNP hold SwingGeneral election 1970 Western Isles 22 Party Candidate Votes SNP Donald Stewart 6 568 43 1 NewLabour Malcolm Macmillan 5 842 38 4 22 6Conservative Roderick Murray MacLeod 19 2 812 18 5 1 7Majority 726 4 7 N ATurnout 23 533 64 7 3 2SNP gain from Labour SwingElections of the 1960s edit General election 1966 Western Isles 23 Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 565 61 0 5 9Conservative Charles Alexander Cameron 2 832 20 2 6 2Liberal John Francis Matheson Macleod 2 638 18 8 12 1Majority 5 733 40 8 16 6Turnout 14 035 61 5 5 4Labour hold SwingGeneral election 1964 Western Isles 24 Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 740 55 1 1 5Liberal Donny MacLeod 4 894 30 9 NewUnionist Charles Alexander Cameron 2 217 14 0 32 4Majority 3 846 24 2 17 0Turnout 15 851 66 9 2 7Labour hold SwingElections of the 1950s edit General election 1959 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 663 53 6 4 8National Liberal Donny MacLeod 7 496 46 4 3 7Majority 1 167 7 2 1 1Turnout 16 159 64 2 4 7Labour hold SwingGeneral election 1955 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 487 48 8 0 0National Liberal John C Frame 6 315 42 7 2 0Majority 2 172 6 1 2 0Turnout 14 802 59 5 1 0Labour hold SwingGeneral election 1951 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 039 48 8 4 4National Liberal John Mitchell 6 709 40 7 NewLiberal David Murray 916 5 6 38 5SNP Calum Maclean 820 5 0 NewMajority 1 330 8 1 1 0Turnout 15 664 60 5 4 8Labour hold SwingGeneral election 1950 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 8 387 53 2 7 5Liberal Huntley McDonald Sinclair 6 950 44 1 11 1Scottish Home Rule David Murray 425 2 7 NewMajority 1 437 9 1 3 6Turnout 15 762 55 7 2 4Labour hold SwingElections of the 1940s edit General election 1945 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 5 914 45 7 4 7Liberal Huntly McDonald Sinclair 4 277 33 0 NewUnionist Iain Macleod 2 756 21 3 NewMajority 1 637 12 7 2 6Turnout 12 947 53 3 6 5Labour hold SwingElections of the 1930s edit General election 1935 Western Isles 25 Party Candidate Votes Labour Malcolm Macmillan 5 421 41 0 NewNational Liberal Thomas Ramsay 4 076 30 9 23 9SNP Alexander MacEwen 3 704 28 1 NewMajority 1 345 10 1 N ATurnout 12 947 46 8 10 0Labour gain from National Liberal SwingGeneral election 1931 Western Isles 26 Party Candidate Votes National Liberal Thomas Ramsay 5 793 54 8 10 7Unionist Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt Pender 4 785 45 2 21 8Majority 1 008 9 6 2 0Turnout 10 578 36 8 3 7National Liberal hold SwingElections of the 1920s edit General election 1929 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Liberal Thomas Ramsay 4 877 44 1 10 1Labour John M MacDiarmid 3 589 32 5 15 3Unionist Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt Pender 2 593 23 4 5 2Majority 1 288 21 6 14 0Turnout 11 059 40 5 1 4Liberal hold Swing 12 7General election 1924 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Liberal Alexander Livingstone 4 579 54 2 14 6Unionist William Morrison 2 318 28 6 8 3Labour A G Burns 1 454 17 2 NewMajority 2 161 25 6 22 9Turnout 8 451 39 1 1 0Liberal hold Swing 11 5General election 1923 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes Liberal Alexander Livingstone 3 391 39 6 6 3Unionist William Morrison 3 158 36 9 NewIndependent Labour Hugh McCowan 2 011 23 5 NewMajority 233 2 7 5 5Turnout 6 549 40 1 14 0Liberal gain from National Liberal SwingGeneral election 1922 Western Isles Party Candidate Votes National Liberal William Cotts 6 177 54 1 11 6Liberal Donald Murray 5 238 45 9 1 4Majority 939 8 2 3 4Turnout 11 415 54 1 10 5National Liberal gain from Liberal Swing 6 5Elections of the 1910s edit General election 1918 Western Isles 27 Party Candidate Votes Liberal Donald Murray 3 765 47 3National Liberal William Cotts 3 375 42 5Highland Land League Hugh MacGowan 809 10 2Majority 390 4 8Turnout 7 949 43 6Liberal win new seat References edit Parliamentary Electors by Parliamentary Constituencies 2010 2015 Office for National Statistics 24 February 2016 Retrieved 17 February 2017 The Parliamentary Voting System and Constituencies Act 2011 Section 11 Scotland Decides SCOTLAND VOTES NO Should Scotland be an independent country BBC 19 September 2014 Retrieved 31 March 2017 Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with W part 2 Leigh Rayment s Historical List of MPs Constituencies beginning with N part 1 Statutory Notices UK Parliamentary General Election December 2019 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Retrieved 15 November 2019 Na h Eileanan an Iar Western Isles parliamentary constituency Election 2019 Retrieved 14 December 2019 Statement of Persons Nominated and Notice of Poll PDF UK Parliamentary Election 8 June 2017 Na h Eileanan an Iar Constituency Retrieved 11 November 2019 Election Data 2015 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 17 October 2015 Retrieved 17 October 2015 Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Election Office UK Parliamentary Elections Cne siar gov uk Archived from the original on 5 March 2017 Retrieved 31 March 2017 Election Data 2010 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 26 July 2013 Retrieved 17 October 2015 Election 2010 Na H Eileanan An Iar Western Isles BBC Election Data 2005 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Election Data 2001 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Election Data 1997 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Election Data 1992 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Election Data 1987 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 Election Data 1983 Electoral Calculus Archived from the original on 15 October 2011 Retrieved 18 October 2015 a b c d e f Stornoway Gazette Kimber s UK General Election results 1974 Oct Kimber s UK General Election results 1974 Feb Kimber s UK General Election results 1970 Kimber s UK General Election results 1966 Kimber s UK General Election results 1964 Whitaker s Almanack 1939 Whitaker s Almanack 1934 Whitaker s Almanack 1920 Parliament of the United KingdomFirst Constituency represented by the Leader of the Scottish National Party in Westminster1974 1987 Succeeded byMoray 57 40 16 N 6 57 11 W 57 671 N 6 953 W 57 671 6 953 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Na h Eileanan an Iar UK Parliament constituency amp oldid 1186042221, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
