Ross and Cromarty was a county constituency of 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...

 from 1832 to 1983. The constituency 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,...

 using the first-past-the-post

First-past-the-post

First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...

 voting system.

When created in 1832 by the Scottish Reform Act 1832

Scottish Reform Act 1832

The Scottish Reform Act 1832 was an Act of Parliament that introduced wide-ranging changes to the election laws of Scotland. The act was passed at approximately the same time as the Reform Act 1832, which applied to England and Wales. The chief architects of the act were Francis Jeffrey and Henry...

 it combined in one constituency the former constituencies of Ross-shire

Ross-shire (UK Parliament constituency)

Ross-shire was a county 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 1832...

 and Cromartyshire.

In 1918 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 ....

 was taken from the constituency and merged into the then new Western Isles constituency, and the Fortrose

Fortrose

Fortrose is a burgh in the Scottish Highlands, located on the Moray Firth, approximately ten kilometres north east of Inverness. The town is known for its ruined 13th century cathedral, and as the home of the Brahan Seer. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the bishopric of Ross...

 component of the former Inverness Burghs constituency and the Dingwall

Dingwall

Dingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It was formerly an east-coast harbor but now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts...

 and Cromarty

Cromarty

The Royal Burgh of Cromarty is a burgh in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:It was previously the county town of the former county of Cromartyshire...

 components of the former Northern Burghs constituency

Northern Burghs

Northern Burghs may refer to:* Tain Burghs , a constituency of the Parliament of Great Britain, 1708 to 1801, and of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, 1801 to 1832...

 were merged into the Ross and Cromarty constituency.

In 1983 the area of the Ross and Cromarty constituency was merged with the Isle of Skye and Isle of Raasay areas of the former Inverness constituency

Inverness (UK Parliament constituency)

Inverness was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament by the first-past-the-post system of election....

 to form the then new Ross, Cromarty and Skye constituency

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....

.

As part of the 2011 Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies

The Sixth Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, also known as the 2013 Review, is an ongoing process by which parliamentary constituencies to the British House of Commons will be reformed, to comply with the revised rules for the number and size of constituencies introduced by the...

 the term "Ross and Cromarty" is proposed to return to the constituency map in an expanded seat called "Caithness, Sutherland, Ross and Cromarty"

Local government areas

1890 to 1918

County council

County council

A county council is the elected administrative body governing an area known as a county. This term has slightly different meanings in different countries.-United Kingdom:...

s were created in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 in 1890, and so the constituency area became also the county

Counties of Scotland

The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....

 council area of Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...

, minus the Fortrose

Fortrose

Fortrose is a burgh in the Scottish Highlands, located on the Moray Firth, approximately ten kilometres north east of Inverness. The town is known for its ruined 13th century cathedral, and as the home of the Brahan Seer. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the bishopric of Ross...

, Dingwall

Dingwall

Dingwall is a town and former royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,026. It was formerly an east-coast harbor but now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north of Stirling. On the town's present-day outskirts lies Tulloch Castle, parts...

 and Cromarty

Cromarty

The Royal Burgh of Cromarty is a burgh in Ross and Cromarty, Highland, Scotland.-History:It was previously the county town of the former county of Cromartyshire...

 parliamentary burghs.

1918 to 1975

When reformed in 1918 the constituency covered the county of Ross and Cromarty (including the former parliamentary burghs) minus 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 ....

.

1975 to 1983

County councils were abolished in 1975 and replaced with regions and districts

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....

 and island council areas. The constituency area was then that of the district of Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty

Ross and Cromarty is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use...

 plus the Lochalsh area of Skye and Lochalsh

Skye and Lochalsh

Skye and Lochalsh is one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region of Scotland. The main offices of the Skye and Lochalsh district council were in Portree, on the Isle of Skye.-History:...

. Both districts were within the Highland region.

See also

• Counties of Scotland
  Counties of Scotland
  The counties of Scotland were the principal local government divisions of Scotland until 1975. Scotland's current lieutenancy areas and registration counties are largely based on them. They are often referred to as historic counties....
  
  
• Regions and districts of Scotland
  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....
  
  

Members of Parliament

Election		Member	Party
	1832	James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie James Alexander Stewart-Mackenzie , was a Scottish politician and British colonial administrator.Born James Alexander Stewart, the son of Vice Admiral Keith Stewart , he assumed the surname Stewart-Mackenzie after his marriage on 21 May 1817 to Mary Elizabeth Frederica Mackenzie , daughter...	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...
	1837	Thomas Mackenzie	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...
	1847	Sir James Matheson James Matheson Sir James Nicolas Sutherland Matheson, 1st Baronet , born in Shiness, Lairg, Sutherland, Scotland, was the son of Captain Donald Matheson, a Scottish trader in India...	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...
	1868	Alexander Matheson Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet Sir Alexander Matheson, 1st Baronet , was a Scottish businessman and long-standing Liberal Member of Parliament.Matheson was the nephew of Sir James Matheson, 1st Baronet, and a partner in the family firm of Jardine Matheson...	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...
	1884	Ronald Crauford Munro-Ferguson Ronald Munro-Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar Ronald Craufurd Munro Ferguson, 1st Viscount Novar KT GCMG PC , was a Scottish politician and colonial governor. He served as the sixth Governor-General of Australia , and is considered as probably the most politically influential holder of this post...   Later Viscount Novar	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...
	1885 United Kingdom general election, 1885 -Seats summary:-See also:*List of MPs elected in the United Kingdom general election, 1885*Parliamentary Franchise in the United Kingdom 1885–1918*Representation of the People Act 1884*Redistribution of Seats Act 1885-References:...	Roderick Macdonald Roderick Macdonald (politician) Roderick Macdonald, MD, FRCS was a Scottish doctor and a Crofters Party politician. As a coroner he presided over the inquest of one of the victims in the Whitechapel murders....	Crofters' Party Highland Land League The first Highland Land League emerged as a distinct political force in Scotland during the 1880s, with its power base in the country's Highlands and Islands. It was known also as the Highland Land Law Reform Association and the Crofters' Party...
	1892 United Kingdom general election, 1892 The 1892 United Kingdom general election was held from 4 July to 26 July 1892. It saw the Conservatives, led by Lord Salisbury, win the greatest number of seats, but not enough for an overall majority as William Ewart Gladstone's Liberals won many more seats than in the 1886 general election...	James Galloway Weir James Galloway Weir James Galloway Weir was Liberal MP for Ross and Cromarty from 1892 to his death. In December 1910 he was returned unopposed....	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...
	1911	Ian Macpherson  Later Baron Strathcarron Baron Strathcarron Baron Strathcarron, of Banchor in the County of Inverness, is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1936 for the Liberal politician Sir Ian Macpherson, 1st Baronet. He had already been created a Baronet, of Drumalban, in 1933...	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...
	1931 United Kingdom general election, 1931 The United Kingdom general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was the...		National Liberal National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
	1936 Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936 The Ross and Cromarty by-election, 1936 was a parliamentary by-election for the British House of Commons constituency of Ross and Cromarty held on 10 February 1936. The by-election was triggered when Sir Ian Macpherson, a Liberal National was given a peerage...	Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm MacDonald Malcolm John MacDonald OM, PC was a British politician and diplomat.-Background:MacDonald was the son of Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald and Margaret MacDonald. Like his father he was born in Lossiemouth, Moray...	National Labour
	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...	Sir John MacLeod John MacLeod (politician) Sir John MacLeod TD was a British army officer, tweed designer and politician who was a Member of Parliament in the Scottish highlands for 19 years.-Family:...	Independent Liberal
	1947		National Liberal National Liberal Party (UK, 1931) The National Liberal Party, known until 1948 as the Liberal National Party, was a liberal political party in the United Kingdom from 1931 to 1968...
	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...	Alasdair Mackenzie Alasdair Mackenzie Alasdair Roderick Mackenzie was a Scottish farmer and politician who became a Liberal Member of Parliament....	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...
	1970 United Kingdom general election, 1970 The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...	Hamish Gray Hamish Gray, Baron Gray of Contin James Hector Northey Gray, Baron Gray of Contin, PC, DL, , known as Hamish Gray, was a Scottish politician and life peer....	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...
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...		constituency abolished

Election results

Constituency altered for United Kingdom general election, 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...

 as 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....

.

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1910s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1880s