# Shetland (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Shetland is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering the council area of Shetland. 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.
Shetland has been held by the Liberal Democrats at all elections since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, with the current MSP being Beatrice Wishart, who won the seat at a 2019 by-election held following the resignation of former party leader Tavish Scott.

## Electoral region

Shetland 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, Orkney 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 Shetland constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, to cover the Shetland Isles 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 British Parliament at (Westminster), the council area is covered by the Orkney and Shetland constituency, which also covers the Orkney Islands council area.
It contains all seven of the Shetland Council wards: North Isles; Shetland North; Shetland West; Shetland Central; Shetland South; Lerwick North; Lerwick South.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

The seat was represented by Tavish Scott, former Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, from the 1999 election until he stood down in June 2019. The subsequent by-election was won by Beatrice Wishart, who held the seat for the Liberal Democrats.
| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1999 | Tavish Scott | Liberal Democrats |
| | 2019 by-election | Beatrice Wishart | Liberal Democrats |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Beatrice Wishart | 5,803 | 48.6 | 18.8 | 3,157 | 26.5 | 9.1 |
| | SNP | Tom Wills | 4,997 | 41.9 | 18.8 | 4,108 | 34.5 | 7.9 |
| | Conservative | Nick Tulloch | 503 | 4.2 | 0.5 | 1,865 | 15.7 | 4.8 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,154 | 9.7 | 3.0 |
| | Labour | Martin Kerr | 424 | 3.6 | 2.3 | 1,003 | 8.4 | 0.7 |
| | Independent | Peter Tait | 116 | 1.0 | New | | | |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 104 | 0.9 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 93 | 0.8 | New |
| | Independent | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | 70 | 0.6 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 60 | 0.5 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 57 | 0.5 | New |
| | Restore Scotland | Brian Nugent | 90 | 0.8 | New | 53 | 0.4 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 49 | 0.4 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 48 | 0.4 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 38 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 25 | 0.2 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 13 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | 9 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 806 | 6.7 | 37.6 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 11,933 | | | 11,906 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 35 | | | 30 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,968 | 66.0 | 3.7 | 11,936 | 65.8 | 3.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 18.8 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Showing changes from 2016 general election. ↑ 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

2019 Shetland by-election :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Beatrice Wishart | 5,659 | 47.9 | 19.5 |
| | SNP | Tom Wills | 3,822 | 32.3 | 9.2 |
| | Independent | Ryan Thomson | 1,286 | 10.9 | New |
| | Conservative | Brydon Goodlad | 425 | 3.6 | 0.1 |
| | Scottish Green | Debra Nicolson | 189 | 1.6 | New |
| | Labour | Johan Adamson | 152 | 1.3 | 4.6 |
| | Independent | Michael Stout | 134 | 1.1 | New |
| | Independent | Ian Scott | 66 | 0.6 | New |
| | UKIP | Stuart Martin | 60 | 0.5 | New |
| | Independent | Peter Tait | 31 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,837 | 15.6 | 28.7 |
| Total valid votes | Total valid votes | Total valid votes | 11,824 | | |
| Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | Rejected ballots | 11 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,835 | 66.5 | 4.2 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | 14.4 | |
2016 Scottish Parliament election: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 7,440 | 67.4 | 19.9 | 3,937 | 35.7 | 3.8 |
| | SNP | Danus Skene | 2,545 | 23.1 | 11.0 | 2,932 | 26.6 | 2.2 |
| | Labour | Robina Barton | 651 | 5.9 | 0.7 | 1,003 | 9.1 | 1.4 |
| | Conservative | Cameron Smith | 405 | 3.7 | 0.2 | 1,197 | 10.8 | 4.5 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 736 | 6.7 | 0.8 |
| | Independent | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | 701 | 6.3 | New |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 301 | 2.7 | 1.2 |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 116 | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 85 | 0.8 | New |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 33 | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,895 | 44.3 | 27.1 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 11,041 | | | 11,041 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 46 | | | 46 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 11,087 | 62.3 | 8.5 | 11,087 | 62.3 | 8.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 15.5 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 4,462 | 47.5 | 19.2 | 2,975 | 31.9 | |
| | Independent | Billy Fox | 2,845 | 30.3 | New | | | |
| | SNP | Jean Urquhart | 1,134 | 12.1 | 4.5 | 2,688 | 28.8 | |
| | Labour | Jamie Kerr | 620 | 6.6 | 0.2 | 974 | 10.4 | |
| | Conservative | Sandy Cross | 330 | 3.5 | 6.4 | 595 | 6.4 | |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 699 | 7.5 | |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 362 | 3.9 | |
| | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | 319 | 3.4 | |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 196 | 2.1 | |
| | All Scotland Pensioners Party | All Scotland Pensioners Party | All Scotland Pensioners Party | All Scotland Pensioners Party | All Scotland Pensioners Party | 170 | 1.8 | |
| | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | 153 | 1.6 | |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 66 | 0.7 | |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 65 | 0.7 | |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 57 | 0.6 | |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 15 | 0.2 | |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 1,617 | 17.2 | 32.9 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 9,391 | | | 9,334 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 37 | | | 83 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,428 | 53.9 | 3.4 | 9,417 | 53.9 | |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | Swing | 7.4 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2000s

2007 Scottish Parliament election: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 6,531 | 66.7 | +20.6 |
| | SNP | Val Simpson | 1,622 | 16.6 | −3.4 |
| | Conservative | Mark Jones | 972 | 9.9 | −4.9 |
| | Labour | Scott Burnett | 670 | 6.8 | −3.4 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,409 | 50.1 | +24.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,795 | 57.3 | +5.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | +12.1 | |
Scottish Parliament Election 2003: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 3,989 | 46.1 | −8.4 |
| | SNP | Willie Ross | 1,729 | 20.0 | +5.7 |
| | Conservative | John Firth | 1,281 | 14.8 | +6.1 |
| | Labour | Peter Hamilton | 880 | 10.2 | −12.3 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Peter Andrews | 766 | 8.9 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,260 | 26.1 | −6.0 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 8,645 | 51.8 | −6.5 |
| | Liberal Democrats hold | Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | -7.0 | |

### 1990s

Scottish Parliament Election 1999: Shetland :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 5,455 | 54.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | Jonathan Wills | 2,241 | 22.4 | N/A |
| | SNP | Willie Ross | 1,430 | 14.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Gary Robinson | 872 | 8.7 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,214 | 32.1 | N/A |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 9,998 | 58.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) | Liberal Democrats win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
* ↑ "First Periodical Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries - Descriptive Booklet" (PDF). Boundary Commission for Scotland. January 2008. p. 3. Retrieved 23 November 2021.
* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "Former Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott to quit Holyrood". BBC News. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
* ↑ Brooks, Libby (30 August 2019). "Shetland byelection: Liberal Democrats retain Scottish parliament seat". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
* ↑ Kerr, Bob. "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2021". Shetland Islands Council.
* ↑ "Radio Shetland hosts by-election hustings". BBC News. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
* ↑ Sawkins, James. "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2016". Shetland Islands Council.
* ↑ "Results and turnout at the 2016 Scottish Parliament election". The Electoral Commission. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
* ↑ "Results and turnout at the 2011 Scottish Parliament election". Electoral Commission. Retrieved 3 June 2021.