Argyll and Bute (

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 ...

: ''Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd'') 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'. ...

( 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 Ac ...

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 ...

. It elects one

Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; ; ) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament. Electoral system The additional member system produces a form of proportional representation, where ...

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 the 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 seat has been held by

Jenni Minto Jennifer Margot Minto (born 1968) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who has been the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Argyll and Bute since 2021. She has been serving as Minister for Public Health and Women's Health since ...

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 Argyll and Bute constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are

Caithness, Sutherland and Ross Caithness, Sutherland and Ross (Gaelic: ''Gallaibh, Cataibh agus Ros'') is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament covering the northern part of the Highland council area. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past ...

, 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 region covers 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 Argyll and Bute constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

, however, the Westminster (

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the Bicameralism, 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 ...

) 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 ( ; ) is a 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 government reorganisation in 1996. Histo ...

) is covered by the

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

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 () is a rugged peninsula in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is connected to the mainland to the north, and is bounded by Loch Fyne to the west, by Loch Long and the Firth of Clyde to the east, and by the Kyles of Bute ...

Dunoon Dunoon (; ) is the main town on the Cowal peninsula in 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 well as forming part of the cou ...

Isle of Bute The Isle of Bute (; 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 island of the larger County of ...

, Kintyre and the Islands,

Mid Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area now forms part of t ...

, 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 ( ; ; ) 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 historic route between Edi ...

which had over 95,000 within its boundaries.

Member of the Scottish Parliament

Election results

2020s

2010s

2000s

1990s

Footnotes

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