Ochil (Scottish Parliament constituency)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Ochil Scottish Parliament county constituency |
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| Ochil shown within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region |
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| Created: | 1999 |
| MSP: | George Reid (Scottish politician) |
| Party: | Presiding Officer |
| Council area: | Clackmannanshire Perth and Kinross (part) |
Ochil is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of nine constituencies in the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
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[edit] Electoral region
The other eight constituencies of the South of Scotland region are Dunfermline East, Dunfermline West, Fife Central, Fife North East, Kirkcaldy, Perth, Stirling and Tayside North.
The region covers all of the Clackmannanshire council area, all of the Fife council area, all of the Perth and Kinross council area, all of the Stirling council area and parts of the Angus council area.
[edit] Constituency boundaries and council areas
The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existing Westminster (House of Commons) constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies[1]. The Ochil Westminster constituency, was divided between the Ochil and South Perthshire Westminster constituency and the Stirling Westminster constituency.
The Holyrood constituency of Ochil covers the whole of the Clackmannanshire council area, a south-eastern portion of the Perth and Kinross council area and a south-eastern portion of the Stirling council area.
The rest of the Perth and Kinross council area is covered by two Mid Scotland and Fife constituencies, Perth and Tayside North, and one North East Scotland constituency, Angus. Tayside North also covers a northern portion of the Angus council area, and the Angus constituency also covers a southern portion of the Angus council area and north-western and north-eastern portions of the City of Dundee council area.
The rest of the Stirling council area is covered by another Mid Scotland and Fife constuency, the Stirling constituency.
[edit] Description of the constituency
Although a county constituency, Ochil is mostly industrial in character, with the main industries of the region being brewing, distilling, glass manufacture, bottling, tourism and agriculture. At local government level, more affluent areas are Conservative Party strongholds. Examples include Bridge of Allan, which is home to wealthy commuters to the city of Stirling and further afield, and Dollar, which has, in its Academy, one of Scotland's most renowned private schools. The majority of the constituency's inhabitants, however, are working-class.
[edit] Election results
| Scottish parliamentary election, 2003: Ochil | |||||
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| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Scottish National Party | George Reid | 11,659 | 38.3% | +0.1% | |
| Labour | Richard Simpson | 11,363 | 37.4% | -4.4% | |
| Conservative | Malcolm Parkin | 2,946 | 9.7% | -1.6% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Catherine Whittingham | 2,536 | 8.3% | -0.5% | |
| Scottish Socialist | Felicity Garvie | 1,102 | 3.6% | +3.6% | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Flash Gordon Approaching | 432 | 1.4% | +1.4% | |
| Independent | William Whyte | 378 | 1.2% | +1.2% | |
| Majority | 296 | 1.0% | -2.53% | ||
| Turnout | 30,416 | 54.7% | |||
| Scottish National Party gain from Labour | Swing | 4.5% | |||
| Scottish parliamentary election, 1999: Ochil | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Richard Simpson | 15,385 | 41.73% | N/A | |
| Scottish National Party | George Reid | 14,082 | 38.2% | N/A | |
| Conservative | Nick Johnston | 4,151 | 11.26% | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | The Earl of Mar & Kellie | 3,249 | 8.81% | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,301 | 3.53% | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 36,867 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |||
Note: Although George Reid was elected as a Scottish National Party candidate in 2003, he became independent the same year, as the Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
