Na h-Eileanan an Iar is a constituency

United Kingdom constituencies

In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...

 of the Scottish Parliament

Scottish Parliament

The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...

 (Holyrood

Scottish Parliament Building

The Scottish Parliament Building is the home of the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood, within the UNESCO World Heritage Site in central Edinburgh. Construction of the building commenced in June 1999 and the Members of the Scottish Parliament held their first debate in the new building on 7...

). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP)

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...

 by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region

Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions

Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions were first used in 1999, in the first general election of the Scottish Parliament , created by the Scotland Act 1998....

, which elects seven additional members, in addition to eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation

Proportional representation

Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...

 for the region as a whole.

Electoral region

See also Highlands and Islands Scottish Parliament region

The other seven constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region are Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Argyll and Bute is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, Moray

Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Moray is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, Orkney

Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

, Ross, Skye and Inverness West

Ross, Skye and Inverness West (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Ross, Skye and Inverness West is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

 and Shetland

Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the first past the post method of election...

.

The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area

Argyll and Bute

Argyll and Bute is both one of 32 unitary council areas; and a Lieutenancy area in Scotland. The administrative centre for the council area is located in Lochgilphead.Argyll and Bute covers the second largest administrative area of any Scottish council...

, all of the Highland council area

Highland (council area)

Highland is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom as a whole. It shares borders with the council areas of Moray, Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross, and Argyll and Bute. Their councils, and those of Angus and...

, most of the Moray council area

Moray

Moray is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland.- History :...

, all of the Orkney council area, all of the Shetland council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Constituency boundaries

The Western Isles constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999

Scottish Parliament election, 1999

The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...

, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005

United Kingdom general election, 2005

The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....

, however, the name of the Westminster (House of Commons) constituency was changed to Na h-Eileanan an Iar.

The Holyrood constituency covers Na h-Eileanan Siar (the Western Isles council area).

Geographically, the constituency consists of the Outer Hebridean

Outer Hebrides

The Outer Hebrides also known as the Western Isles and the Long Island, is an island chain off the west coast of Scotland. The islands are geographically contiguous with Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland...

 islands. The major islands include Lewis

Lewis

Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....

 and Harris, North Uist

North Uist

North Uist is an island and community in the Outer Hebrides of Scotland.-Geography:North Uist is the tenth largest Scottish island and the thirteenth largest island surrounding Great Britain. It has an area of , slightly smaller than South Uist. North Uist is connected by causeways to Benbecula...

, Benbecula

Benbecula

Benbecula is an island of the Outer Hebrides in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,249, with a sizable percentage of Roman Catholics. It forms part of the area administered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar or the Western...

, South Uist

South Uist

South Uist is an island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. In the 2001 census it had a usually resident population of 1,818. There is a nature reserve and a number of sites of archaeological interest, including the only location in Great Britain where prehistoric mummies have been found. The...

 and Barra

Barra

The island of Barra is a predominantly Gaelic-speaking island, and apart from the adjacent island of Vatersay, to which it is connected by a causeway, is the southernmost inhabited island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland.-Geography:The 2001 census showed that the resident population was 1,078...

. Because of the remoteness of the constituency from the rest of Scotland, and the difficulties involved in getting from island to island, there is a significantly smaller electorate than in the mainland Scottish Parliament constituencies..

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1999 Scottish Parliament election, 1999 The Scottish Parliament election, 1999 was the first general election of the Scottish Parliament, with voting taking place on 6 May 1999 to elect 129 members...	Alasdair Morrison Alasdair Morrison Alasdair Morrison is a Scottish Labour Party politician. He was born on 18 November 1968 in Stornoway in the Outer Hebrides. He was educated at Paible School, North Uist, and the Nicolson Institute, Isle of Lewis....	Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
	2003 Scottish Parliament election, 2003 The Scottish Parliament election, 2003, was the second general election of the Scottish Parliament. It was held on 1 May 2003 and it brought no change in terms of control of the Scottish Executive...
	2007 Scottish Parliament election, 2007 The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...	Alasdair Allan Alasdair Allan Dr Alasdair Allan is the Scottish Government's Minister for Learning and Skills and Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for the Na h-Eileanan an Iar.-Career:...	Scottish National Party Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
	2011 Scottish Parliament election, 2011 The 2011 Scottish Parliament general election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the mixed member proportional representation system is used to...

Election results

Conservative and Liberal Democrat both gained under 5% of the poll and thus lost their deposit