Argyll and Bute was a

county constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

of the

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 ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, and may also legislate for the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace ...

. It was created for the 1983 general election, merging most of

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, 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 ...

with some of Bute and Northern Ayrshire, and then superseded by Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber in the

2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies The 2023 review of Westminster constituencies was the most recent cycle of the process to redraw the Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, constituency map for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The new constituency b ...

. Under the

, the constituency now comprises the vast majority of the new Argyll, Bute and South Lochaber constituency, first contested at the 2024 general election.

Boundaries

1983–2005: Argyll and Bute District. 2005–2024: The area of the Argyll and Bute Council. When created in 1983, the constituency covered the area of the Argyll and Bute district of the

Strathclyde region Strathclyde ( in Welsh language, Welsh; in Scottish Gaelic, Gaelic, meaning 'strath

alley An alley or alleyway is a narrow lane, footpath, path, or passageway, often reserved for pedestrians, which usually runs between, behind, or within buildings in towns and cities. It is also a rear access or service road (back lane), or a path, w ...

of the River Clyde') was one of nine former Local government in Scotland, local government Regions and districts of Scotland, regions of Scotland cre ...

. In 2005 it was enlarged to cover the Argyll and Bute council area, which had been created in 1996. Thus

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 ...

, already included within the new council area, was included in the constituency. Helensburgh had been within the Dunbarton district until 1996, and within the Dumbarton constituency until 2005.

Politics

Argyll and Bute was one of the few four-way marginal constituencies in the UK. The Liberal Democrats held the seat from

1987 Events January * January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency. * January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade. * January 3 – Afghan leader ...

, when they took it from the

Conservatives Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilizati ...

, until

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

when the SNP won the seat. The equivalent seat to Argyll and Bute in the Scottish Parliament was lost to the SNP in 2007, with Labour representing the overlapping constituency of

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. ...

to the southeast covering

and Lomond. Since 2017, the Scottish Conservatives have been the main challengers in the seat.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 2010s

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 1990s

Elections in the 1980s

References

External links

Argyll and Bute UK Parliament constituency
(boundaries April 2005 – May 2024) at ''MapIt UK'' {{coord, 55.933, -5.349, display=title, region:GB_scale:200000 Historic parliamentary constituencies in Scotland (Westminster) Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1983 Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom disestablished in 2024 Argyll and Bute