# Orkney (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Orkney is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Orkney. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies in the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
Orkney has been held by the Liberal Democrats at all elections since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, with the current MSP being Liam McArthur, who won the seat at the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. The former Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace represented the constituency from 1999 to 2007.

## Electoral region

Orkney is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are: Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Shetland and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, 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.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The Orkney constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, to cover the Orkney Islands council area. The constituency is protected in law due to its geographical separation from other parts of Scotland, and therefore its boundaries are not subject to review.
In the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster), the council area is covered by the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which also covers the Shetland Islands council area.
It contains all six of the Orkney Council wards: East Mainland, South Ronaldsay and Burray; Kirkwall East; Kirkwall West and Orphir; North Isles; Stromness and South Isles; West Mainland.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1999 | Jim Wallace | Liberal Democrat |
| | 2007 | Liam McArthur | Liberal Democrat |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liam McArthur | 7,238 | 62.4 | 4.9 | 3,616 | 31.2 | 2.1 |
| | SNP | Robert Leslie | 3,369 | 29.1 | 4.7 | 3,384 | 29.2 | 5.6 |
| | Conservative | Sam Bown | 699 | 6.0 | 1.9 | 2,202 | 19.0 | 7.7 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,104 | 9.5 | 2.9 |
| | Labour | Coilla Drake | 290 | 2.5 | 0.4 | 725 | 6.3 | 1.5 |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 127 | 1.1 | New |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 98 | 0.8 | New |
| | Independent | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | 87 | 0.8 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 63 | 0.5 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 32 | 0.3 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 31 | 0.3 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 30 | 0.3 | 2.2 |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 28 | 0.2 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 22 | 0.2 | New |
| | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | 18 | 0.2 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 15 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | 4 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,869 | 33.3 | 9.7 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 11,596 | | | 11,586 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 25 | | | 27 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,621 | 65.6 | 3.4 | 11,613 | 65.5 | 3.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 4.9 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency ↑ Incumbent member on the list for Lothian region, having been elected as a member of the Scottish Greens in 2016 |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liam McArthur | 7,096 | 67.4 | 31.7 | 3,515 | 33.4 | 8.0 |
| | SNP | Donna Heddle | 2,562 | 24.3 | 0.8 | 2,491 | 23.6 | 12.2 |
| | Independent | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | 1,775 | 16.8 | New |
| | Conservative | Jamie Halcro Johnston | 435 | 4.1 | 4.3 | 1,193 | 11.3 | 0.5 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 696 | 6.6 | 0.4 |
| | Labour | Gerard McGarvey | 304 | 2.9 | 2.7 | 506 | 4.8 | 4.2 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 255 | 2.4 | 1.5 |
| | Independent | Paul Dawson | 137 | 1.3 | New | | | |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 49 | 0.5 | 1.0 |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 30 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 27 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,534 | 43.1 | 32.6 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 10,534 | | | 10,537 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 28 | | | 19 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 10,562 | 62.1 | 12.2 | 10,556 | 62.1 | 12.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 16.3 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liam McArthur | 2,912 | 35.7 | 11.8 | 2,062 | 25.4 | |
| | Independent | James Stockan | 2,052 | 25.2 | New | | | |
| | SNP | Donna Heddle | 2,044 | 25.1 | 6.2 | 2,906 | 35.8 | |
| | Conservative | Jamie Halcro Johnston | 686 | 8.4 | 10.5 | 875 | 10.8 | |
| | Labour | William Sharkey | 458 | 5.6 | 7.5 | 730 | 9.0 | |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 501 | 6.2 | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 316 | 3.9 | |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 128 | 1.6 | |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 123 | 1.5 | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 63 | 0.8 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 59 | 0.7 | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 30 | 0.4 | |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 18 | 0.2 | |
| | Others | Others | Others | Others | Others | 316 | 3.9 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 860 | 10.5 | 17.9 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 8,152 | | | 8,127 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 29 | | | 51 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,181 | 49.9 | 3.5 | 8,178 | 49.8 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 9.0 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Liam McArthur | 4,113 | 47.5 | +1.8 |
| | SNP | John Mowat | 1,637 | 18.9 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | Helen Gardiner | 1,632 | 18.9 | −4.9 |
| | Labour | Iain MacDonald | 1,134 | 13.1 | +7.2 |
| | Independent | Barrie Johnson | 137 | 1.6 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,476 | 28.6 | +6.7 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,653 | 53.4 | +1.7 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +3.4 | |
Scottish Parliament election 2003: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Wallace | 3,659 | 45.7 | −21.7 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Zawadski | 1,904 | 23.8 | +8.2 |
| | SNP | John Mowat | 1,056 | 13.2 | +2.9 |
| | Scottish Socialist | John Aberdein | 914 | 11.42 | New |
| | Labour | Richard Meade | 471 | 5.9 | −0.9 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,755 | 21.9 | −29.9 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,004 | 51.7 | −5.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -15.0 | |

### 1990s

Scottish Parliament election 1999: Orkney :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jim Wallace | 6,010 | 67.4 |
| | Conservative | Christopher Zawadski | 1,391 | 15.6 |
| | SNP | John Mowat | 917 | 10.3 |
| | Labour | Angus Macleod | 600 | 6.7 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,619 | 51.8 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,918 | 57.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |