Orkney 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.

The former Deputy First Minister

Deputy First Minister of Scotland

The Deputy First Minister of Scotland is the deputy to the First Minister of Scotland.The post is not recognised in statute , and its holder is simply an ordinary member of the Scottish Government...

 Jim Wallace represented the constituency from 1999 to 2007.

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...

, 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...

, 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...

 and the Western Isles

Western Isles (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Na h-Eileanan an Iar 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 Isles council area, all of the Shetland Isles council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.

Constituency boundaries and council area

The Orkney 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...

, to cover the Orkney Isles council area. In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom

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...

 (Westminster), the council area is covered by the Orkney and Shetland

Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)

Orkney and Shetland 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...

 constituency, which also covers the Shetland Isles council area.

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...	Jim Wallace Jim Wallace The Rt. Hon. James Robert Wallace, Baron Wallace of Tankerness, PC, QC , is a British politician, currently a life peer in the House of Lords and the Advocate General for Scotland...	Liberal Democrat Scottish Liberal Democrats The Scottish Liberal Democrats are one of the three state parties within the federal Liberal Democrats; the others being the Welsh Liberal Democrats and the Liberal Democrats in England...
	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...	Liam McArthur Liam McArthur Liam McArthur MSP is a Scottish Liberal Democrat politician and Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney.-Background:He was brought up on the Orkney Island of Sanday...
	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