Russell Johnston

[Glen Mhor]

BBC News is reporting that Lord Russell-Johnston who was the Liberal MP for Inverness for 33 years has died in Paris aged 75. As far as I recall he was first elected as the Inverness MP in 1964.

[tm4tj]

Shame, still quite young as well.  He was a very well respected politician in his day.

[Alex MacLeod]

Russell was MP for Inverness, Skye and Lochaber. The UK's biggest constituency by area yet he managed very well to frequently get around every corner of it as well as carry out his work in London.

[RDL]

Russell was MP for Inverness, Skye and Lochaber. The UK's biggest constituency by area yet he managed very well to frequently get around every corner of it as well as carry out his work in London.

Russell was MP for Inverness until 1983 and then Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber until 1997.

[Alex MacLeod]

Dont believe all thats written on Wiki. Inverness was never a parliamentary constituency on its own.

[Charles Bannerman]

It was originally Inverness shire as defined by the old Inverness shire County Council boundary, minus the Western Isles from Harris downwards which was, and still is, part of the WI constituency. At that time, until the 83 election, Nairn was part of Moray and Nairn for which the then Secretary of State for Scotland Gordon Campbell was MP.

I have to say that my own preference now is for Inverness and the area within about 4-6 miles of the city centre to comprise its own Parliamentary Constituency and have its own City Council.

[Alex MacLeod]

I know Lochaber was part of the old constituency because my aunt used Russells services to solve a problem she had around 1975. In the days of the old shires. Theres been a couple of boundary changes since then. I believe now its Inverness East, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. The other being Ross, Skye and Lochaber. Where does Inverness West fit in?

[nogbad the bad]

Mann4thejob! A shame indeed.....but more to the point, shame on you......"and still quite young"....really. You'll be telling us 75 is the new 55 next. You would'nt be careering through

your middle years by any chance would you.

[RDL]

Dont believe all thats written on Wiki. Inverness was never a parliamentary constituency on its own.

As has been said, the County of Inverness (minus its Western Isles portion) was.

[RDL]

I know Lochaber was part of the old constituency because my aunt used Russells services to solve a problem she had around 1975. In the days of the old shires. Theres been a couple of boundary changes since then. I believe now its Inverness East, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. The other being Ross, Skye and Lochaber. Where does Inverness West fit in?

It is now Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. It is the Scottish Parliamentary constituencies that still divide Inverness East (Nairn and Lochaber) and (Ross, Skye and) Inverness West.

[Alex MacLeod]

Dont believe all thats written on Wiki. Inverness was never a parliamentary constituency on its own.

As has been said, the County of Inverness (minus its Western Isles portion) was.

Yep, the county of Inverness which took in Skye and Lochaber. These boundaries now are very confusing. We've got UK parliament ones, Scottish parliament ones and ones for list candidates that cant win a seat anywhere else. All very confusing.

[Charles Bannerman]

Are the Scottish Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary constituency boundaries not the same? And do the list MSPs not include some people like Mary Scanlon who were also rejected by the electorate in the 1st past the post part of the election? Then there's that latter day Vicar of Bray, Peter Peacock, such a staunch Independent when he needed to be Vice Convener, then Convener of the Independent Highland Council. Then, when the Scottish Parliament comes along, suddenly, without as much even as a weekend break in Damascus, Labour is the only party he's ever wanted to be a member of and he pops up as a list MSP! Now, am I therefore correct in saying that Peter Peacock was Minister for Education in a Labour Holyrood administration without anyone, ever having put their "X" in a line that said "Peter Peacock - The Labour Party"? :33:

[Scotty]

Historically there have been seven Westminster constituencies covering Inverness or Inverness-shire:

    * One burgh constituency:

          Inverness Burghs, 1708 to 1918

    * Five county constituencies:

          o Inverness-shire, 1708 to 1918

          o Inverness, 1918 to 1983

          o Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber, 1983 to 1997

          o Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber, 1997 to 2005

          o Ross, Skye and Inverness West, 1997 to 2005

          o Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch & Strathspey 2005 onwards

1708 - 1918: Inverness Burghs was a district of burghs constituency, covering the parliamentary burghs of Inverness, Fortrose, Forres and Nairn. The Inverness-shire constituency covered, the county of Inverness minus the burgh of Inverness.

1918 - 1983:

[attach=1]

1983 - 1997:

[attach=2]

1997 - 2005:

[attach=3]

2005 - now:

[attach=4]

anyhoo. yes, Russell Johnston is a sad loss and I know both my mum and my uncle will be mourning him as both worked for him in (successful) election campaigns. When he was an MP, we used to get a Christmas card from the Commons every year and I used to enjoy listening to him speak as he was a good orator.

[RDL]

Are the Scottish Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary constituency boundaries not the same? And do the list MSPs not include some people like Mary Scanlon who were also rejected by the electorate in the 1st past the post part of the election?

[..]

Now, am I therefore correct in saying that Peter Peacock was Minister for Education in a Labour Holyrood administration without anyone, ever having put their "X" in a line that said "Peter Peacock - The Labour Party"

The constituencies for the Scottish and UK Parliaments haven't been the same since the number of Scottish MPs was reduced in 2005. And yes, the list MSPs are a wonderful selection of individuals who represent the 65% of Highlanders and Islanders who first-past-the-post fails to represent adequately.

In 1999 and 2003, a significant proportion of people put their cross beside a line that read "Labour Party: Peter Peacock..."