Caithness and Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Caithness and Sutherland was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom
from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP)
by the first past the post system of election.
The constituency was created by merging together the constituencies of Caithness and Sutherland
and the Dornoch
and Wick
components of the Wick Burghs
constituency.
In 1997 the constituency was superseded by the creation of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
, which merged together Caithness and Sutherland and the Easter Ross
area of Ross, Cromarty and Skye
.
Caithness and Sutherland was geographically the largest constituency in the United Kingdom.
. The reform was the first since the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885
, and its main aim was to make constituencies more equal in terms of the sizes of their electorates.
When created the constituency covered the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland, including the burghs of Dornoch
, Thurso
and Wick.
1975 to 1983
In 1975 counties and burghs were abolished and the constituency became an area within the Highland region
. The region included two new local government districts, called Caithness and Sutherland. The Caithness district was entirely within the constituency. The Sutherland district had a small area, the Kincardine
electoral division, within the Ross and Cromarty
constituency.
1983 to 1996
Constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1983, and the Caithness and Sutherland constituency was enlarged to cover the whole of the Sutherland district.
1996 to 1997
In 1996 the districts were abolished and the Highland region became a unitary council area. Throughout the remainder of the life of the constituency the Highland Council had area committee
s representing the areas of the former districts.
At the time of the 1918 general election
Sir Robert Harmsworth had been, immediately before the election, MP for the constituency of Caithness.
In the general election of 1997
Robert Maclennan was elected MP for the then new constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
from 1918 to 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP)
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
by the first past the post system of election.
The constituency was created by merging together the constituencies of Caithness and Sutherland
Sutherland (UK Parliament constituency)
Sutherland was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain from 1708 to 1801 and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1801 to 1918. It represented essentially the traditional county of Sutherland, electing one Member of Parliament...
and the Dornoch
Dornoch
Dornoch is a town and seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east...
and Wick
Wick, Highland
Wick is an estuary town and a royal burgh in the north of the Highland council area of Scotland. Historically, it is one of two burghs within the county of Caithness, of which Wick was the county town. The town straddles the River Wick and extends along both sides of Wick Bay...
components of the Wick Burghs
Wick Burghs (UK Parliament constituency)
Wick Burghs, sometimes known as Northern Burghs, was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1918...
constituency.
In 1997 the constituency was superseded by the creation of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency)
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
, which merged together Caithness and Sutherland and the Easter Ross
Easter Ross
Easter Ross is a loosely defined area in the east of Ross, Highland, Scotland.The name is used in the constituency name Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, which is the name of both a British House of Commons constituency and a Scottish Parliament constituency...
area of Ross, Cromarty and Skye
Ross, Cromarty and Skye (UK Parliament constituency)
Ross, Cromarty and Skye was a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 to 1997. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election....
.
Caithness and Sutherland was geographically the largest constituency in the United Kingdom.
1918 constituency reform
The creation of Caithness and Sutherland as a single constituency was a part of a package of boundary reform also affecting many other parts of the United KingdomUnited Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The reform was the first since the Redistribution of Seats Act of 1885
Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equally populated constituencies, in an attempt to equalise representation across...
, and its main aim was to make constituencies more equal in terms of the sizes of their electorates.
Local government areas
1918 to 1975When created the constituency covered the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland, including the burghs of Dornoch
Dornoch
Dornoch is a town and seaside resort, and former Royal burgh in the Highlands of Scotland. It lies on the north shore of the Dornoch Firth, near to where it opens into the Moray Firth to the east...
, Thurso
Thurso
-Facilities:Offices of the Highland Council are located in the town, as is the main campus of North Highland College, formerly Thurso College. This is one of several partner colleges which constitute the UHI Millennium Institute, and offers several certificate, diploma and degree courses from...
and Wick.
1975 to 1983
In 1975 counties and burghs were abolished and the constituency became an area within the Highland region
Regions and districts of Scotland
The local government areas of Scotland were redefined by the Local Government Act 1973 and redefined again by the Local Government etc Act 1994....
. The region included two new local government districts, called Caithness and Sutherland. The Caithness district was entirely within the constituency. The Sutherland district had a small area, the Kincardine
Kincardine (disambiguation)
Kincardine or Kincardine-on-Forth is a town in Fife, Scotland.Kincardine may also refer to:Places in Scotland:*Kincardineshire or County of Kincardine, former county, and its defunct mediaeval county town...
electoral division, within the Ross and Cromarty
Ross and Cromarty (UK Parliament constituency)
Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1832 to 1983. The constituency elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency.
1983 to 1996
Constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1983, and the Caithness and Sutherland constituency was enlarged to cover the whole of the Sutherland district.
1996 to 1997
In 1996 the districts were abolished and the Highland region became a unitary council area. Throughout the remainder of the life of the constituency the Highland Council had area committee
Area committee
Many large local government councils in the United Kingdom have a system of area committees, with responsibility for services in a particular part of the area covered by the council....
s representing the areas of the former districts.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 United Kingdom general election, 1918 The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did... |
Sir Leicester Harmsworth, Bt Sir Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth, 1st Baronet , was a British businessman and Liberal politician.-Background:... |
Coalition Liberal | |
| 1922 United Kingdom general election, 1922 The United Kingdom general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John... |
Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt Archibald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso KT, CMG, PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, Bt between 1912 and 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a British politician and leader of the Liberal Party.... |
National Liberal National Liberal Party (UK, 1922) The National Liberal Party was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1922 to 1923. It was led by David Lloyd George and was, at the time, separate to the original Liberal Party.-History:... |
|
| 1922 | Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
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| 1945 United Kingdom general election, 1945 The United Kingdom general election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks. The results were counted and declared on 26 July, due in part to the time it took to... |
Eric Leslie Gandar Dower | Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1950 United Kingdom general election, 1950 The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five... |
Sir David Robertson David Robertson (UK politician) Sir David Robertson was a British accountant, company director and politician. From a Scottish family, he represented first a constituency in London and then the Scottish highlands constituency of Caithness and Sutherland... |
Conservative Conservative Party (UK) The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House... |
|
| 1959 United Kingdom general election, 1959 This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan... |
Independent Conservative Independent Conservative Independent Conservative is a description allowed in British politics to denote party affiliation. It is used to designate a politician is conservative, yet independent of any political party, particularly of the Conservative Party.... |
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| 1964 United Kingdom general election, 1964 The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after the preceding election, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had retaken power... |
George Y Mackie George Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie George Yull Mackie, Baron Mackie of Benshie CBE DSO DFC is a former British Liberal Party politician. He was elected Member of Parliament for Caithness and Sutherland in 1964. He lost his seat in 1966, when he was defeated by Labour candidate Robert Maclennan. Maclennan eventually became a... |
Liberal Liberal Party (UK) The Liberal Party was one of the two major political parties of the United Kingdom during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was a third party of negligible importance throughout the latter half of the 20th Century, before merging with the Social Democratic Party in 1988 to form the present day... |
|
| 1966 United Kingdom general election, 1966 The 1966 United Kingdom general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected a mere 17 months previously in 1964 had an unworkably small majority of only 4 MPs... |
Robert Maclennan Robert Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart Robert Adam Ross "Bob" Maclennan, Baron Maclennan of Rogart PC is a British Liberal Democrat life peer. He was the last leader of the Social Democratic Party , serving during the negotiations that led to its merger with the Liberal Party in 1988... |
Labour Labour Party (UK) The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after... |
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| 1981 | SDP Social Democratic Party (UK) The Social Democratic Party was a political party in the United Kingdom that was created on 26 March 1981 and existed until 1988. It was founded by four senior Labour Party 'moderates', dubbed the 'Gang of Four': Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams... |
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| 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945... |
SDP-Liberal Alliance SDP-Liberal Alliance The SDP–Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal... |
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| 1988 | Liberal Democrats Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the... |
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At the time of the 1918 general election
United Kingdom general election, 1918
The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which nearly all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did...
Sir Robert Harmsworth had been, immediately before the election, MP for the constituency of Caithness.
In the general election of 1997
United Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
Robert Maclennan was elected MP for the then new constituency of Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (UK Parliament constituency)
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . It elects one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election.-Boundaries:...
.
Election in the 1990s
Election in the 1980s
Elections in the 1970s
Elections in the 1960s
Elections in the 1950s
Election in the 1940s
Election in the 1930s
Election in the 1920s
Election in the 1910s
See also
- Former United Kingdom Parliament constituencies