Na h-Eileanan an Iar (UK Parliament constituency)

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Na h-Eileanan an Iar (formerly Western Isles) is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, created in 1918. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election.

The constituency was formed by merging together areas which were formerly within the Ross and Cromarty constiruency and the Inverness-shire constituency.

Na h-Eileanan an Iar is derived from the Gaelic for Western Isles, which was the constituency's name prior to the 2005 general election. A similar constituency, called Western Isles, is used by the Scottish Parliament.

The constituency area is that of the Outer Hebrides, known also as Na h-Eileanan Siar, and the constituency has the smallest electorate in the United Kingdom, one-fifth of the size of the largest, the Isle of Wight, despite the latter also being an island constituency. It has been suggested that Na h-Eileanan an Iar could be combined with the Orkney and Shetland constituency: the resulting combined electorate would still be well below the average constituency quota. However, considerations of tradition and identity, and of convenience for the MPs concerned, have tended to override the arguments about numerical imbalance.

Local government areas

When created the area of the constituency was divided between two local government areas, the counties of Ross and Cromarty and Inverness-shire. The division line was the Lewis-Harris boundary, with Lewis in Ross and Cromarty and Harris in Inverness-shire.

In 1975 the constituency area became also an island council area, known as the Western Isles councils area. That same area became one of the 32 unitary council areas of Scotland in 1996. The council area is known also as Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Member of Parliament

• Angus MacNeil, SNP (2005–present)
• Calum MacDonald, Labour (1987–2005)
• Donald Stewart, SNP (1970–1987)
• Malcolm MacMillan, Labour (1935–1970)
• Thomas Bridgehill Wilson (1929–1935)
• Alexander Mackenzie Livingstone (1923–1929)
• Sir William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts (1922–1923)
• Donald Murray (1918–1922)

Election results

General Election 2005: Na h-Eileanan an Iar

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	SNP	Angus MacNeil	6,213	44.9	+8.0
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	4,772	34.5	−10.5
	Liberal Democrats	Jean Davis	1,096	7.9	+1.4
	Christian Vote	James Hargreaves	1,048	7.6	N/A
	Conservative	Andy Maciver	610	4.4	−5.1
	Scottish Socialist	Joanne Telfer	97	0.7	−1.5
Majority			1,441	10.4
Turnout			13,836	64.1	+4.0
	SNP gain from Labour		Swing	+9.3

General Election 2001: Western Isles

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Labour	Calum MacDonald	5,924	45.0	−10.6
	SNP	Alasdair Nicholson	4,850	36.9	+3.5
	Conservative	Douglas Taylor	1,250	9.5	+2.8
	Liberal Democrats	John Horne	849	6.5	+3.4
	Scottish Socialist	Joanne Telfer	286	2.2	N/A
Majority			1,074	8.1
Turnout			13,159	60.6	−9.5
	Labour hold		Swing

See also

• List of UK Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland