Argyll and Bute (
Gaelic: ''Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd'') is a
constituency of the
Scottish Parliament (
Holyrood) covering most of the
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 Act. ...
of
Argyll and Bute
Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The current lord-lieutenant for Argyll and Bute is Jane Margaret MacLeod (14 July 2020) ...
. It elects one
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the
first past the post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
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 Outer Hebrides (Western Isles).
The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act of 18 ...
electoral region, which elects seven
additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
for the region as a whole.
The seat has been held by
Jenni Minto of the
Scottish National Party 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. All 129 Members of the Scottish Parliament were elected in the sixth election since the parliament was re-established in 1999. The e ...
.
Electoral region
The Argyll and Bute constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross,
Inverness and Nairn,
Moray,
Na h-Eileanan an Iar,
Orkney,
Shetland and
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
The region covers most of
Argyll and Bute council area, all of the
Highland council area
Highland ( gd, A' Ghàidhealtachd, ; sco, Hieland) is a council area in the Scottish Highlands and is the largest local government area in the United Kingdom. It was the 7th most populous council area in Scotland at the 2011 census. It shar ...
, most of the
Moray council area
Moray () gd, Moireibh or ') is one of the 32 local government 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.
Between 1975 ...
, all of the
Orkney Islands council area, all of the
Shetland Islands council area and all of
Na h-Eileanan Siar.
Constituency boundaries and council area
The Argyll and Bute constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in
1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing
Westminster constituency. In
2005, however, the Westminster (
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
) constituency was enlarged slightly.
[Se]
''The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland''
The Holyrood constituency covers most of the
Argyll and Bute council area. The rest of the council area (which includes the town of
Helensburgh
Helensburgh (; gd, Baile Eilidh) is an affluent coastal town on the north side of the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, situated at the mouth of the Gareloch. Historically in Dunbartonshire, it became part of Argyll and Bute following local gove ...
) is covered by the
Dumbarton
Dumbarton (; also sco, Dumbairton; ) is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. In 2006, it had an estimated population of 19,990.
Dumbarton was the ca ...
constituency in the
West Scotland electoral region. The Argyll and Bute Westminster constituency has covered the whole of the council area since 2005.
From 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 ...
, boundary changes altered the existing Argyll and Bute constituency. All but three electoral wards of the Argyll and Bute council area were used in the creation of the new seat, namely:
*
Cowal
Cowal ( gd, Còmhghall) is a peninsula in Argyll and Bute, in the west of Scotland, that extends into the Firth of Clyde.
The northern part of the peninsula is covered by the Argyll Forest Park managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. The Arroch ...
,
Dunoon
Dunoon (; gd, Dùn Omhain) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in the south of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is located on the western shore of the upper Firth of Clyde, to the south of the Holy Loch and to the north of Innellan. As wel ...
,
Isle of Bute
The Isle of Bute ( sco, Buit; gd, Eilean Bhòid or '), known as Bute (), is an island in the Firth of Clyde in Scotland, United Kingdom. It is divided into highland and lowland areas by the Highland Boundary Fault.
Formerly a constituent is ...
,
Kintyre and the Islands,
Mid Argyll,
Oban North and Lorn,
Oban South and the Isles,
South Kintyre.
As of 2019, Argyll and Bute's population (60,394) was the lowest among the 70 Holyrood mainland constituencies, barely two-thirds of the total of those at the top of the list, headed by
Linlithgow
Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...
which had over 95,000 within its boundaries.
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Election results
2020s
2010s
2000s
1990s
Notes
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Argyll And Bute (Scottish Parliament Constituency)
Constituencies of the Scottish Parliament
Politics of Argyll and Bute
1999 establishments in Scotland
Constituencies established in 1999
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions 1999–2011
Scottish Parliament constituencies and regions from 2011
Dunoon
Oban
Lochgilphead
Campbeltown
Isle of Bute
Islay
Jura, Scotland
Inveraray