Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross
County constituency; for the Scottish Parliament
	Caithness, Sutherland and Ross shown within the Highlands and Islands electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	69,767 (2019)
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Scottish National Party
MSP	Maree Todd
Council area	Highland
Created from	Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross,; Ross, Skye & Inverness West

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Gaelic: Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The constituency was formed for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, and replaced Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and part of Ross, Skye and Inverness West.

The seat has been held by Maree Todd of the Scottish National Party since the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.

Electoral region

The Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are Argyll and Bute, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney, Shetland and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

The eight constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region cover most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney Islands council area, all of the Shetland Islands council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The Highland (council area) is represented in the Scottish Parliament by three constituencies. These are: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross; Inverness and Nairn and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

The electoral wards used to create the re-drawn Caithness, Sutherland and Ross are:

In full: North, West and Central Sutherland; Thurso and North West Caithness; Wick and East Caithness; East Sutherland and Edderton; Cromarty Firth; Tain and Easter Ross
In part: Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh (shared with Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch)

Member of the Scottish Parliament

	Member	Party
2011	Rob Gibson	SNP
2016	Gail Ross
2021	Maree Todd

Election results

2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross^[2]^[3]
Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Maree Todd^[a]	15,889	43.1	0.2	14,201	38.5	1.3
	Liberal Democrats	Molly Nolan	13,298	36.1	5.0	7,818	21.2	4.2
	Conservative	Struan Mackie	5,170	14.0	1.3	7,905	21.4	1.7
	Labour	Marion Donaldson	2,016	5.5	4.9	2,745	7.4	3.3
	Scottish Green					2,052	5.6	0.4
	Alba					640	1.7	New
	Independent	Andy Wightman^[b]				461	1.2	New
	Scottish Family					235	0.6	New
	All for Unity					227	0.6	New
	Freedom Alliance (UK)	Tina McCaffery	289	0.8	New	115	0.3	New
	Scottish Libertarian	Harry Christian	222	0.6	New	131	0.4	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					121	0.3	New
	Reform UK					103	0.3	New
	UKIP					67	0.2	2.9
	TUSC					54	0.1	New
	Restore Scotland					39	0.1	New
	Independent	Hazel Mansfield				17	0.0	New
Majority			2,591	7.0	5.2
Valid Votes			36,884			36,931
Invalid Votes			101			63
Turnout			36,985	64.8	6.2	36,994	64.9	6.2
	SNP hold		Swing		2.6
Notes ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency ^ Incumbent member on the list for Lothian region, having been elected as a member of the Scottish Greens in 2016

2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross^[4]
Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Gail Ross	13,937	43.3	5.1	12,853	39.8	6.3
	Liberal Democrats	Jamie Stone	10,024	31.1	8.8	5,499	17.0	2.7
	Conservative	Struan Mackie	4,912	15.3	5.0	6,361	19.7	10.5
	Labour	Leah Franchetti	3,334	10.4	8.6	3,467	10.7	5.1
	Scottish Green					1,951	6.0	1.4
	UKIP					1,005	3.1	1.5
	Scottish Christian					494	1.5	0.5
	Independent	James Stockan				380	1.2	New
	RISE					182	0.6	New
	Solidarity					110	0.3	0.2
Majority			3,913	12.2	17.2
Valid Votes			32,207			32,302
Invalid Votes			137			59
Turnout			32,344	58.6	6.5	32,361	58.7	6.6
	SNP hold		Swing		7.0

2011 Scottish Parliament election: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross^[5]
Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Rob Gibson^[a]	13,843	48.4	N/A	13,185	46.1	N/A
	Liberal Democrats	Robbie Rowantree	6,385	22.3	N/A	4,081	14.3	N/A
	Labour	John MacKay	5,438	19.0	N/A	4,523	15.8	N/A
	Conservative	Edward Mountain	2,934	10.3	N/A	2,647	9.2	N/A
	Scottish Green					1,327	4.6	N/A
	All-Scotland Pensioners Party					650	2.3	N/A
	Scottish Christian					583	2.0	N/A
	UKIP					469	1.6	N/A
	Socialist Labour					253	0.9	N/A
	BNP					179	0.6	N/A
	Scottish Socialist					77	0.3	N/A
	Solidarity					20	0.1	N/A
	Others					623	2.2	N/A
Majority			7,458	29.4	N/A
Valid Votes			28,600			28,617
Invalid Votes			142			126
Turnout			28,742	52.1	N/A	28,743	52.1	N/A
	SNP win (new seat)
Notes ^ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

Footnotes

^ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
^ Butlin, Heather. "Scottish Parliamentary Elections". www.highland.gov.uk.
^ "Scottish Parliamentary Elections: 2021 Results". The Highland Council. Retrieved 14 June 2021.
^ Council, The Highland. "The Highland Council download - Scottish Parliamentary election 2016 | Council and government | Politicians, elections and democracy | Elections and voting". www.highland.gov.uk.
^ "Results and turnout at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

External links

"Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 7 July 2021.

[fn3-4] Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

[5] Incumbent member on the list for Lothian region, having been elected as a member of the Scottish Greens in 2016

[fn3-8] Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency

[1] Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)

[2] Butlin, Heather. "Scottish Parliamentary Elections". www.highland.gov.uk.

[3] "Scottish Parliamentary Elections: 2021 Results". The Highland Council. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

[6] Council, The Highland. "The Highland Council download - Scottish Parliamentary election 2016 | Council and government | Politicians, elections and democracy | Elections and voting". www.highland.gov.uk.

[7] "Results and turnout at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 14 June 2021.

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