Politics
Shetlopedia - The Shetland Encyclopaedia
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Shetland's first representative in the British parliament was Sir Alexander Douglas, who was co-opted as the MP for Orkney & Shetland in 1707. However it was not until 1818 that voting was first recorded.
As of 2009, the electorate of Shetland have voted on 6 different major bodies. The UK Parliament seat has remained consistent throughout while local government has seen the largest changes. The Lerwick Town Council and Zetland County Council were formed in 1818 and 1890 respectively, and eventually merged in 1974 to form the current Shetland Islands Council. Also since 1979 and 1999, voting has occurred for the European and Scottish Parliaments respectively.
The most recent elections of the current electoral bodies are thus:
- UK Parliament: May 2005
- Scottish Parliment: May 2007
- Shetland Islands Council: May 2007
- European Parliament: May 2009
Newest Politics page on Shetlopedia: Records of Shetland's voting in Referendums.
History
Orkney and Shetland as a constituency is the longest, most consistent constituency since its boundaries were defined in the Treaty of the Union, which united the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland into one Parliament. Party Politics did not really take swing until the mid 19th century when George Trail became the first Whig to be elected. He was followed by Thomas Balfour who was Tory, but from 1837 to 1935, Shetland was a Liberal constituency. Between 1935 and 1950, Shetland was represented by a Conservative MP, Basil Neven-Spence, however since 1950 Shetland has been a Liberal or Liberal Democrat stronghold - another UK current record.
Currently, Shetland is represented in the Scottish Parliament by Tavish Scott and in the UK Parliament by Alistair Carmichael, both Liberal Democrats. In 2008, Scott was elected as leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats, while Carmichael is the Liberal Democrat spokesperson for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Election Results
Shetlopedia currently has the most comprehensive database on Shetland's political history available anywhere. Every* major election and by-election to occur in Shetland is available here. See below for more details.
*Missing are the European Parliament elections from 1979-1994
