Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

: ''Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros'') is a

constituency An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provi ...

of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

covering the northern part of the

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Ac ...

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

first past the post First-past-the-post (FPTP)—also called choose-one, first-preference plurality (FPP), or simply plurality—is a single-winner voting rule. Voters mark one candidate as their favorite, or First-preference votes, first-preference, and the cand ...

method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

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

proportional representation Proportional representation (PR) refers to any electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to political divisions (Political party, political parties) amon ...

for the region as a whole. The constituency was formed for the

2011 Scottish Parliament election The 2011 Scottish Parliament 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 Additional M ...

, and replaced Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross and part of Ross, Skye and Inverness West. The seat has been held by

Maree Todd Maree Todd is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Caithness, Sutherland and Ross since May 2021. She was previously an MSP for the Highlands and Islands from the election i ...

of the

Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party (SNP; ) is a Scottish nationalist and social democratic party. The party holds 61 of the 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament, and holds 9 out of the 57 Scottish seats in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, ...

since the

2021 Scottish Parliament election The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021 under the provisions of the Scotland Act 1998. It was the sixth Scottish Parliament election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. 129 Member of the Scottish Parliament, ...

Electoral region

The Caithness, Sutherland and Ross constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are

Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute (; , ) is one of 32 unitary authority, unitary council areas of Scotland, council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod ...

, Inverness and Nairn,

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

Na h-Eileanan an Iar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islands form part ...

Orkney Orkney (), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago off the north coast of mainland Scotland. The plural name the Orkneys is also sometimes used, but locals now consider it outdated. Part of the Northern Isles along with Shetland, ...

Shetland Shetland (until 1975 spelled Zetland), also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway, marking the northernmost region of the United Kingdom. The islands lie about to the ...

and

Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament ( Holyrood) covering part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one ...

. The eight constituencies of the Highlands and Islands electoral region cover most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the

Highland council area Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney Islands council area, all of the Shetland Islands council area and all of

Na h-Eileanan Siar The Outer Hebrides ( ) or Western Isles ( , or ), sometimes known as the Long Isle or Long Island (), is an Archipelago, island chain off the west coast of mainland Scotland. It is the longest archipelago in the British Isles. The islan ...

Constituency boundaries and council area

The

Highland (council area) Highland (, ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in both Scotland and the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the United Kingdo ...

is represented in the

by three constituencies. These are: Caithness, Sutherland and Ross; Inverness and Nairn and

. The electoral wards used to create the re-drawn Caithness, Sutherland and Ross are: *In full: North, West and Central Sutherland; Thurso and North West Caithness; Wick and East Caithness; East Sutherland and Edderton;

Cromarty Firth The Cromarty Firth (; ; literally "kyles

traits Trait may refer to: * Phenotypic trait in biology, which involve genes and characteristics of organisms * Genotypic trait, sometimes but not always presenting as a phenotypic trait * Personality, traits that predict an individual's behavior. ** ...

of Cromarty") is an arm of the Moray Firth in Scotland. Geography The entrance to the Cromarty Firth is guarded by two precipitous headlands; the one on the north high and the one on the ...

; Tain and Easter Ross *In part: Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh (shared with

)

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election results

2020s

2010s

Footnotes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Caithness, Sutherland And Ross (Scottish Parliament Constituency) Highland constituencies, Scottish Parliament Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011 2011 establishments in Scotland Constituencies established in 2011 Constituencies of the Scottish Parliament Politics of the county of Caithness Politics of the county of Sutherland Alness Invergordon Tain Thurso Wick, Caithness Dornoch Brora Golspie Helmsdale