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Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Former county constituency
for the Scottish Parliament
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber shown within the Highlands and Islands electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Former constituency
Created1999
Abolished2011
Council areaHighland
Replaced byInverness & Nairn,
Skye, Lochaber & Badenoch

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It was one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

Boundaries were redrawn before the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, dividing the area between Inverness and Nairn and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

Electoral region

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The other seven constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region were: Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Moray, Orkney, Ross, Skye and Inverness West, Shetland and the Western Isles.

The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney council area, all of the Shetland council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Constituency boundaries

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The Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were generally replaced with new larger constituencies.[1] For representation at Westminster, the area of the Holyrood constituency is now divided between two constituencies: the Ross, Skye and Lochaber Westminster constituency and the Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Westminster constituency.

Council area

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Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was the most southerly of three Holyrood constituencies covering the Highland council area. The other two were Ross, Skye and Inverness West and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber has Ross, Skye and Inverness West on its northern boundary. Inverness East, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is further north. All three constituencies were within the Highlands and Islands electoral region.

When created in 1999 the constituency boundaries were definable with reference to council wards which were grouped, by the Highland Council, in relation to eight council management areas. Constituency and management area names have many elements in common, and the management areas had the boundaries of former districts of the Highland region, as abolished in 1996, namely Inverness, Nairn, Lochaber, Ross and Cromarty, Skye and Lochalsh, Badenoch and Strathspey, Caithness and Sutherland.

The management areas were abolished in 2007, and the council has now three new corporate management areas, defined as groups of new wards, also introduced in 2007. The boundaries of the corporate management areas are similar to those of Westminster constituencies created in 2005. One corporate management area, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross area, has boundaries, therefore, which are also similar to those of a Holyrood constituency. The boundaries of the other two corporate areas, the Ross, Skye and Lochaber area and the Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch and Strathspey area, are quite unlike those of any Holyrood constituency.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

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Election Member Party
1999 Fergus Ewing Scottish National Party
2011 constituency abolished: replaced by Inverness and Nairn

Election results

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2007 Scottish Parliament election: Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Fergus Ewing 16,443 41.5 +10.6
Liberal Democrats Craig Harrow 10,972 27.7 +11.5
Labour Linda Stewart 7,559 19.1 −8.8
Conservative Jamie Halcro Johnston 4,635 11.7 −6.1
Majority 5,471 13.8 +10.8
Rejected ballots 1,249
Turnout 36,609 55.3 +2.8
SNP hold Swing +0.5
2003 Scottish Parliament election: Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Fergus Ewing 10,764 30.9 −2.2
Labour Rhoda Grant 9,718 27.9 −4.1
Conservative Mary Scanlon 6,205 17.8 +3.2
Liberal Democrats Patsy Kenton 5,622 16.2 −4.1
Scottish Socialist Steven Arnott 1,661 4.8 New
Independent Thomas Lamont 825 2.4 New
Majority 1,046 3.0 +1.9
Turnout 34,795 52.5 −10.0
SNP hold Swing
1999 Scottish Parliament election: Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Fergus Ewing 13,825 33.1 N/A
Labour Joan Aitken 13,384 32.0 N/A
Liberal Democrats Donnie Fraser 8,508 20.3 N/A
Conservative Mary Scanlon 6,107 14.6 N/A
Majority 441 1.1 N/A
Turnout 41,824 62.5 N/A
SNP win (new seat)

Notes and references

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