Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey is a constituency of the House of Commons of the UK Parliament. As with all seats since 1950 it elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.
| Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey | |
|---|---|
| Former County constituency for the House of Commons | |
 Boundary of Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey in Scotland | |
| Subdivisions of Scotland | Highland |
| Major settlements | Aviemore, Kingussie, Inverness, Nairn |
| 2005–2024 | |
| Created from | Inverness East, Nairn & Lochaber and Ross, Skye & Inverness West |
| Replaced by | Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire |
The seat covers a broad south-eastern portion of the Highland council area. It has four locations in its name, the most nationwide.
Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat will be subject to major boundary changes. Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey will be combined with the majority of the Moray constituency (to be renamed Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey). To compensate, parts of the disappearing seat of Ross, Skye and Lochaber will be added, including Fort William and the Isle of Skye. As a consequence of these changes, the constituency will be renamed Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire, to be first contested at the 2024 general election.[1]
Boundaries edit
The constituency was created in 2005 by merging an area from Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber with an area from Ross, Skye and Inverness West. The rest of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was merged with most of the rest of Ross, Skye and Inverness West to form Ross, Skye and Lochaber. A small area of Ross, Skye and Inverness West was merged into Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross.
For representation in the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) the area is divided between Inverness and Nairn and part of Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
Local government area edit
The Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency was one of three Westminster constituencies covering the Highland council area, the other two being Ross, Skye and Lochaber and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey covers a south-eastern portion of the council area, with Ross, Skye and Lochaber to its north and west, and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross further north.
When created in 2005, the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency covered 31 out of the 80 wards of the council area: 22 wards (all except Beauly and Strathglass) of the Inverness area committee, all four wards of the Nairn area committee and all five wards of the Badenoch and Strathspey area committee. Following ward boundary changes in 2007, the constituency covers all 5 Inverness wards, Culloden & Ardersier, Nairn and Badenoch & Strathspey. It contains part of Ard & Loch Ness and a few corners of Caol & Mallaig, Fort William & Ardnamurchan and Wester Ross, Strathpeffer & Lochalsh.
The City of Inverness, for which letters patent were granted in 2001, may be supposed to lie within the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency, but this city lacks clearly defined boundaries. The Highland Council management area of Inverness, as defined 1996 to 2007, included the former burgh of Inverness, as abolished in 1975, and the urban area centred on the burgh, and these do lie within the constituency. The management area included also a large rural area. As of 2007, the council has a city management area consisting of seven of the nine wards of its Inverness, Nairn and Badenoch and Strathspey corporate management area. The boundaries of his city management are similar to those of the older management area.
Members of Parliament edit
| Election | Member[2] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Danny Alexander | Liberal Democrats | |
| 2015 | Drew Hendry | SNP | |
Election results edit
Elections in the 2010s edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Drew Hendry | 26,247 | 47.9 | +8.0 | |
| Conservative | Fiona Fawcett | 15,807 | 28.8 | -1.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Rixson | 5,846 | 10.7 | -1.6 | |
| Labour | Lewis Whyte | 4,123 | 7.5 | -8.7 | |
| Scottish Green | Ariane Burgess | 1,709 | 3.1 | New | |
| Brexit Party | Les Durance | 1,078 | 2.0 | New | |
| Majority | 10,440 | 19.1 | +9.7 | ||
| Turnout | 54,810 | 70.2 | +1.5 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | +4.9 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Drew Hendry | 21,042 | 39.9 | -10.2 | |
| Conservative | Nicholas Tulloch | 16,118 | 30.5 | +24.6 | |
| Labour | Mike Robb | 8,552 | 16.2 | +8.7 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Richie Cunningham | 6,477 | 12.3 | -19.0 | |
| Scottish Christian | Donald Boyd | 612 | 1.2 | +0.5 | |
| Majority | 4,924 | 9.4 | -9.4 | ||
| Turnout | 52,801 | 68.7 | -5.5 | ||
| SNP hold | Swing | ||||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Drew Hendry[9] | 28,838 | 50.1 | +31.4 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Danny Alexander | 18,029 | 31.3 | -9.4 | |
| Labour | Mike Robb | 4,311 | 7.5 | -14.6 | |
| Conservative | Edward Mountain | 3,410 | 5.9 | -7.4 | |
| Scottish Green | Isla O'Reilly | 1,367 | 2.4 | +0.7 | |
| UKIP | Les Durance | 1,236 | 2.1 | +0.9 | |
| Scottish Christian | Donald Boyd[10] | 422 | 0.7 | -1.1 | |
| Majority | 10,809 | 18.8 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 57,613 | 74.2 | +9.3 | ||
| SNP gain from Liberal Democrats | Swing | +20.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Danny Alexander | 19,172 | 40.7 | +0.4 | |
| Labour | Mike Robb | 10,407 | 22.1 | −8.8 | |
| SNP | John Finnie | 8,803 | 18.7 | +5.2 | |
| Conservative | Jim Ferguson | 6,278 | 13.3 | +3.0 | |
| Scottish Christian | Donald Boyd | 835 | 1.8 | New | |
| Scottish Green | Donnie MacLeod | 789 | 1.7 | −0.7 | |
| UKIP | Ross Durance | 574 | 1.2 | New | |
| Solidarity (TUSC) | George MacDonald | 135 | 0.3 | New | |
| Joy of Talk | Kit Fraser | 93 | 0.2 | New | |
| Majority | 8,765 | 18.6 | +9.2 | ||
| Turnout | 47,086 | 64.9 | +1.3 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +4.6 | |||
Elections in the 2000s edit
- Note: The constituency was new in 2005 and +/- percentages are notional.
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Danny Alexander | 17,830 | 40.3 | +10.8 | |
| Labour | David Stewart | 13,682 | 30.9 | −1.3 | |
| SNP | David Thompson | 5,992 | 13.5 | −9.5 | |
| Conservative | Robert Rowantree | 4,579 | 10.3 | −2.0 | |
| Scottish Green | Donnie MacLeod | 1,065 | 2.4 | New | |
| Publican Party | Donald Lawson | 678 | 1.5 | New | |
| Scottish Socialist | George MacDonald | 429 | 1.0 | −1.1 | |
| Majority | 4,148 | 9.4 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 44,255 | 63.6 | +0.5 | ||
| Liberal Democrats gain from Labour | Swing | +6.0 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | 13,772 | 32.2 | |||
| Liberal Democrats | 12,638 | 29.5 | |||
| SNP | 9,836 | 23.0 | |||
| Conservative | 5,262 | 12.3 | |||
| Scottish Socialist | 885 | 2.1 | |||
| Others | 402 | 0.9 | |||
| Majority | 1,134 | 2.7 | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
References edit
- ^ Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report
- ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "I"
- ^ "Candidates confirmed for UK Parliamentary general election 2019". The Highland Council. The Highland Council. Retrieved 15 November 2019.
- ^ "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "General Election: SNP reselects 54 MPs". www.scotsman.com.
- ^ Butlin, Heather. "UK Parliamentary General Election". www.highland.gov.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ MacNeill, Alison. "Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituency - UK Parliamentary General Election result". www.highland.gov.uk.
- ^ "SNP pick Highland Council leader to fight for Danny Alexander's seat".
- ^ "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
- ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
- ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.