from 1918 to 1997. It elected one
The constituency was created by merging together the constituencies of Caithness and
Caithness and Sutherland was geographically the largest constituency in the United Kingdom.
The creation of Caithness and Sutherland as a single constituency was a part of a package of boundary reform also affecting many other parts of the
. The reform was the first since the
, and its main aim was to make constituencies more equal in terms of the sizes of their
When created the constituency covered the county of Caithness and the county of Sutherland, including the burghs of
In 1975 counties and burghs were abolished and the constituency became an area within the Highland
. The region included two new local government districts, called
. The Caithness district was entirely within the constituency. The Sutherland district had a small area, the
Constituency boundaries were redrawn in 1983, and the Caithness and Sutherland constituency was enlarged to cover the whole of the Sutherland district.
In 1996 the districts were abolished and the Highland region became a unitary council area. Throughout the remainder of the life of the constituency the Highland Council had
Sir Robert Harmsworth had been, immediately before the election, MP for the constituency of Caithness.
| Election |
Candidates |
Party |
Votes |
General election 1918The United Kingdom general election of 1918 was the first to be held after the Representation of the People Act 1918, which meant it was the first United Kingdom general election in which all adult men and some women could vote. Polling was held on 14 December 1918, although the count did not begin...
|
Robert Leicester Harmsworth
F J Robertson |
Coalition Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
(pro Lloyd GeorgeDavid Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor OM, PC was a British statesman and the only Welsh Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; he is also the only one to have spoken English as a second language, Welsh having been his first.During a long tenure of office, mainly as Chancellor of the...
)
Independent Coalition Liberal |
6769
4036 |
General election 1922The UK general election of 1922 was held on 15 November 1922. It was the first election held after most of the Irish counties left the United Kingdom to form the Irish Free State, and was won by Andrew Bonar Law's Conservatives, who gained an overall majority over Labour, led by John Robert Clynes...
|
Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
Sir Robert Leicester Harmsworth |
National Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
(pro Lloyd George)
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
7715
5803 |
General election 1923The United Kingdom general election of 1923 was held on 6 December 1923. The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin, won the most seats, but Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, and H. H. Asquith's reunited Liberal Party gained enough to produce a hung parliament...
|
Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
|
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
Unopposed |
General election 1924The 1924 UK general election was held on 29 October 1924. The Conservatives, led by Stanley Baldwin performed dramatically better, in electoral terms, than in the 1923 general election and obtained a large parliamentary majority. Labour, led by Ramsay MacDonald, lost 40 seats...
|
Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
|
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
Unopposed |
General election 1929The 1929 UK general election was held on 30 May 1929, and resulted in a hung parliament. It was the first of only three elections under universal suffrage in which a party lost the popular vote but gained a plurality of seats...
|
Sir Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
J A L Duncan
C G Oman |
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
|
13462
3041
1711 |
General election 1931The UK general election on Tuesday 27 October 1931 was the last in the United Kingdom not held on a Thursday. It was also the last election, and the only one under universal suffrage, where one party received an absolute majority of the votes cast.The 1931 general election was held in the middle...
|
Sir Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
|
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
Unopposed |
General election 1935The UK general election held on 14 November 1935 resulted in a large, though reduced, majority for the National Government now led by Conservative Stanley Baldwin. The greatest number of MPs, as before, were Conservative, while the National Liberal vote held steady...
|
Sir Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
William Bruce |
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
National Government |
12071
4621 |
General election 1945The United Kingdom General Election of 1945 was a general election held on 5 July 1945, with polls in some constituencies delayed until 12 July and in Nelson and Colne until 19 July, due to local wakes weeks...
|
Eric Leslie Gandar Dower
Robert MacInnes
Sir Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
|
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
5564
5558
5503 |
General election 1950The 1950 United Kingdom general election was the first general election ever after a full term of a Labour government. Despite polling over one and a half million votes more than the Conservatives, the election, held on 23 February 1950 resulted in Labour receiving a slim majority of just five...
|
David Robertson
Sir Archibald SinclairArchibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair, 1st Viscount Thurso Bt KT CMG PC , known as Sir Archibald Sinclair, 4th Baronet from 1912 until 1952, and often as Archie Sinclair, was a Scottish politician and leader of the British Liberal Party.Sinclair was the son of a Scottish father and an American mother...
Alasdair MacArthur |
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
|
6969
6700
5676 |
General election 1951The 1951 United Kingdom general election was held eighteen months after the.1950 general election, which the Labour Party won, but with a very slim majority of just five seats...
|
David Robertson
Richard Murray
Peter J M McEwan |
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
9814
6799
3299 |
General election 1955The 1955 United Kingdom general election was held on 26 May 1955, four years after the previous general election. It resulted in a substantially increased majority of 60 for the Conservative government under Sir Anthony Eden against the Labour Party under Clement Attlee...
|
Sir David Robertson
Hugh F Sutherland
John S Mowat |
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
|
10453
5364
2674 |
General election 1959This United Kingdom general election was held on 8 October 1959. It marked a third successive victory for the ruling Conservative Party, led by Harold Macmillan...
|
Sir David Robertson
Ronald King MurrayRonald King Prawn Murray, Lord Murray PC was a Scottish Labour politician and judge.Educated at George Watson's College, Edinburgh, the University of Edinburgh and Jesus College, Oxford, he served in the REME and SEAC from 1941 to 1946. He was admitted as an advocate in 1953, served as an Advocate...
|
Independent In politics, an independent is a politician who is not affiliated with any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do not feel that any major party addresses...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
|
12163
6438 |
| General election 1964 The United Kingdom general election of 1964 was held on 15 October 1964, more than five years after its predecessor, and thirteen years after the Conservative Party had first taken power...
|
George Y Mackie
John B Urquart
Patrick Maitland
John M Young |
Liberal The Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Independent Conservative |
7894
6619
4550
2795 |
General election 1966The 1966 UK general election on 31 March 1966 was called by sitting Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson. Wilson's decision to call an election turned on the fact that his government, elected only two years previously in 1964 had an unworkable small majority of only 4 MPs...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
George Y Mackie
Hamish WattHamish Watt is a Scottish politician, farmer and writer. The son of William Watt and Caroline Allan, he was educated at Keith Grammar School and at the University of St Andrews, and was involved in dairy and sheep farming and other business interests.He contested Caithness and Sutherland as the...
|
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
|
8308
8244
4662 |
General election 1970The United Kingdom general election of 1970 was held on 18 June 1970, and resulted in a surprise victory for the Conservative Party under leader Edward Heath, who defeated the Labour Party under Harold Wilson. The election also saw the Liberal Party and its new leader Jeremy Thorpe lose half their...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
George Y Mackie
John M Young
Donald G Barr |
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
|
8768
6063
5334
3690 |
General election February 1974The UK general election of February 1974 was held on 28 February 1974. It was the first of two United Kingdom general elections held that year, and the only election since the Second World War not to produce an overall majority in the House of Commons for the winning party, instead producing a hung...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
Michael R Burnett
G Susan Bell
Eric Alexander Sutherland |
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
|
8574
6222
5104
3814 |
General election October 1974The United Kingdom general election of October 1974 took place on 10 October 1974. It was the second of two United Kingdom general elections held that year. Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson, having taken power in a hung parliament after the February election, returned to the polls and won a tiny...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
Eric Alexander Sutherland
Michael R Burnett
Albert McQuarrie |
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
LiberalThe Liberal Party was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labour Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party to form a new party which would become...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
|
7491
5381
4949
4240 |
General election 1979The United Kingdom general election of 1979 was held on 3 May 1979 and is regarded as a pivotal point in 20th century British politics. The Conservatives under Margaret Thatcher defeated James Callaghan's incumbent Labour government in what would prove to be the first of four consecutive general...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
Richard H Wardrop
Robin Shaw |
Labour The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
|
9613
7074
6487 |
General election 1983The 1983 UK general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945.The opposition vote split almost evenly between the SDP/Liberal Alliance and Labour...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
Alistair Scouller
Danny Carrigan
Jim Ingram |
SDP-Liberal AllianceThe SDP-Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
|
12119
5276
3325
2568 |
General election 1987The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher...
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
R Hamilton
A Byron
Ker MacGregor
W A Mowat
B Planterose |
SDP-Liberal AllianceThe SDP-Liberal Alliance was an electoral pact formed by the Social Democratic Party and the Liberal Party in the United Kingdom which was in existence from 1981 to 1988, when the bulk of the two parties merged to form the Social and Liberal Democrats, later referred to as simply the Liberal...
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
Independent Liberal
GreenThe Green Party was a Green political party in the United Kingdom. It has been succeeded by three political parties:* the Green Party of England and Wales* the Green Party in Northern Ireland* the Scottish Green Party...
|
12338
3844
3437
2371
686
333 |
General election 1992The United Kingdom general election of 1992 was held on 9 April 1992, and was the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party.John Major had won the leadership election in November 1990 succeeding the outgoing PM Margaret Thatcher....
|
Robert Adam Ross Maclennan
George Bruce
Kerr MacGregor
Michael Coyne |
Liberal Democrat
ConservativeThe Conservative and Unionist Party, more commonly known as the Conservatives, the Conservative Party, or Tory Party is a conservative political party in the United Kingdom...
Scottish NationalistThe Scottish National Party is a centre-left political party which campaigns for Scottish independence. In the last few decades, the SNP has normally polled the second highest number of votes for a political party in Scotland. However, the 2009 European Election saw the party top the poll with...
LabourThe Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. Founded at the start of the 20th century, it has been seen since 1920 as the principal party of the Left in England, Scotland and Wales, but not Northern Ireland, where it has only recently begun to organise again...
|
10032
4667
4049
3483 |