Highlands And Islands (Scottish Parliament Electoral Region)
The Highlands and Islands is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Eight of the parliament's first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).
The name Highlands and Islands is much older than the electoral region. The Highlands and Islands area has a large area of overlap with the Scottish Highlands, and the two names are often regarded as representing the same area.
The Highlands and Islands region is the largest of the eight electoral regions in terms of area, but the smallest in terms of population and electorate. It has boundaries with the North East Scotland, Mid Scotland and Fife and West of Scotland electoral regions.
The most high-profile MSP for the region has been Winnie Ewing, the matriarch of the Ewing political family.
Read more about Highlands And Islands (Scottish Parliament Electoral Region): Boundary Changes, 2011 Scottish Parliament Election, 2007 Scottish Parliament Election, 2003 Scottish Parliament Election, 1999 Scottish Parliament Election
Famous quotes containing the words highlands, islands, parliament and/or electoral:
“My heart’s in the Highlands, my heart is not here;
My heart’s in the Highlands a-chasing the deer;
Chasing the wild deer, and following the roe:
My heart’s in the Highlands, wherever I go.”
—Robert Burns (1759–1796)
“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color-line—the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea. It was a phase of this problem that caused the Civil War.”
—W.E.B. (William Edward Burghardt)
“What is the historical function of Parliament in this country? It is to prevent the Government from governing.”
—George Bernard Shaw (1856–1950)
“Nothing is more unreliable than the populace, nothing more obscure than human intentions, nothing more deceptive than the whole electoral system.”
—Marcus Tullius Cicero (106–43 B.C.)