Caithness and Sutherland — UK General Election Results
Caithness and Sutherland was won by Liberal Democrat at the 1992 general election, with a majority of 5,365 votes over Conservative. This page covers every general election in Caithness and Sutherland from 1918 to 1992.
Full Election History, 1918–1992
| Election | Elected | Votes | Vote Share | Runner-up | Majority | Turnout |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1918 | Robert Leicester Harmsworth (Liberal) | 6,769 | 62.6% | Francis John Robertson (Liberal (Local)) | 2,733 (25.3 pts) | 50.9% |
| 1922 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (National Liberal) | 7,715 | 57.1% | Robert Leicester Harmsworth (Liberal) | 1,912 (14.1 pts) | 60.1% |
| 1923 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1924 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1929 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | 13,462 | 73.9% | James Alexander Lawson Duncan (Unionist) | 10,421 (57.2 pts) | 66.5% |
| 1931 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record | 0.0% | |||
| 1935 | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | 12,071 | 72.3% | William Bruce (National) | 7,450 (44.6 pts) | 60.0% |
| 1945 | Eric Leslie Gandar-Dower (Unionist) | 5,564 | 33.5% | Robert Ian Aonas MacInnes (Labour) | 6 (0.0 pts) | 64.0% |
| 1950 | David Robertson (Unionist) | 6,969 | 36.0% | Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair (Liberal) | 269 (1.4 pts) | 76.5% |
| 1951 | David Robertson (Unionist) | 9,814 | 49.3% | Richard Murray (Labour) | 3,015 (15.1 pts) | 73.5% |
| 1955 | Sir David Robertson (Unionist) | 10,453 | 56.5% | Hugh F Sutherland (Labour) | 5,089 (27.5 pts) | 69.5% |
| 1959 | Sir David Robertson (Independent Unionist) | 12,163 | 65.4% | Ronald King Murray (Labour) | 5,725 (30.8 pts) | 69.6% |
| 1964 | George Yull Mackie (Liberal) | 7,894 | 36.1% | John B Urquart (Labour) | 1,275 (5.8 pts) | 80.1% |
| 1966 | Robert Maclennan (Labour) | 8,308 | 39.2% | George Mackie (Liberal) | 64 (0.3 pts) | 79.2% |
| 1970 | Robert Maclennan (Labour) | 8,768 | 36.8% | George Mackie (Liberal) | 2,705 (11.3 pts) | 83.1% |
| Feb 1974 | Robert Maclennan (Labour) | 8,574 | 36.2% | Michael Burnett (Liberal) | 2,352 (9.9 pts) | 83.0% |
| Oct 1974 | Robert Maclennan (Labour) | 7,941 | 35.3% | Eric Sutherland (SNP) | 2,560 (11.4 pts) | 78.1% |
| 1979 | Robert Maclennan (Labour) | 9,613 | 41.5% | Richard Wardrop (Conservative) | 2,539 (11.0 pts) | 78.4% |
| 1983 | Robert Maclennan (Social Democratic Party) | 12,119 | 52.0% | Alistair Scouller (Conservative) | 6,843 (29.4 pts) | 75.4% |
| 1987 | Robert Maclennan (Social Democratic Party) | 12,338 | 53.6% | Robert Hamilton (Conservative) | 8,494 (36.9 pts) | 73.6% |
| 1992 | Robert Maclennan (Liberal Democrat) | 10,032 | 45.1% | George Bruce (Conservative) | 5,365 (24.1 pts) | 71.9% |
Full Result Breakdown by Election
1918
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Leicester Harmsworth | Liberal | 6,769 | 62.6% | Yes |
| Francis John Robertson | Liberal (Local) | 4,036 | 37.4% | No |
1922
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | National Liberal | 7,715 | 57.1% | Yes |
| Robert Leicester Harmsworth | Liberal | 5,803 | 42.9% | No |
1923
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | Unopposed | Yes | |
1924
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | Unopposed | Yes | |
1929
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | 13,462 | 73.9% | Yes |
| James Alexander Lawson Duncan | Unionist | 3,041 | 16.7% | No |
| Charles Oman | Independent Labour | 1,711 | 9.4% | No |
1931
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | Unopposed | Yes | |
1935
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | 12,071 | 72.3% | Yes |
| William Bruce | National | 4,621 | 27.7% | No |
1945
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eric Leslie Gandar-Dower | Unionist | 5,564 | 33.5% | Yes |
| Robert Ian Aonas MacInnes | Labour | 5,558 | 33.4% | No |
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | 5,503 | 33.1% | No |
1950
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Robertson | Unionist | 6,969 | 36.0% | Yes |
| Archibald Henry Macdonald Sinclair | Liberal | 6,700 | 34.6% | No |
| Alasdair MacArthur | Labour | 5,676 | 29.3% | No |
1951
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| David Robertson | Unionist | 9,814 | 49.3% | Yes |
| Richard Murray | Labour | 6,799 | 34.1% | No |
| Peter McEwan | Liberal | 3,299 | 16.6% | No |
1955
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir David Robertson | Unionist | 10,453 | 56.5% | Yes |
| Hugh F Sutherland | Labour | 5,364 | 29.0% | No |
| John Stuart Mowat | Liberal | 2,674 | 14.5% | No |
1959
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sir David Robertson | Independent Unionist | 12,163 | 65.4% | Yes |
| Ronald King Murray | Labour | 6,438 | 34.6% | No |
1964
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| George Yull Mackie | Liberal | 7,894 | 36.1% | Yes |
| John B Urquart | Labour | 6,619 | 30.3% | No |
| Patrick Francis Maitland | Unionist | 4,550 | 20.8% | No |
| John M Young | Independent Unionist | 2,795 | 12.8% | No |
1966
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Labour | 8,308 | 39.2% | Yes |
| George Mackie | Liberal | 8,244 | 38.9% | No |
| Hamist Watt | Conservative | 4,662 | 22.0% | No |
1970
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Labour | 8,768 | 36.8% | Yes |
| George Mackie | Liberal | 6,063 | 25.4% | No |
| John Young | Conservative | 5,334 | 22.4% | No |
| Donald Barr | SNP | 3,690 | 15.5% | No |
Feb 1974
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Labour | 8,574 | 36.2% | Yes |
| Michael Burnett | Liberal | 6,222 | 26.2% | No |
| G Susan Bell | Conservative | 5,104 | 21.5% | No |
| Eric Sutherland | SNP | 3,814 | 16.1% | No |
Oct 1974
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Labour | 7,941 | 35.3% | Yes |
| Eric Sutherland | SNP | 5,381 | 23.9% | No |
| Michael Burnett | Liberal | 4,949 | 22.0% | No |
| Albert McQuarrie | Conservative | 4,240 | 18.8% | No |
1979
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Labour | 9,613 | 41.5% | Yes |
| Richard Wardrop | Conservative | 7,074 | 30.5% | No |
| Robin Shaw | SNP | 6,487 | 28.0% | No |
1983
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Social Democratic Party | 12,119 | 52.0% | Yes |
| Alistair Scouller | Conservative | 5,276 | 22.7% | No |
| Danny Carrigan | Labour | 3,325 | 14.3% | No |
| Jim Ingram | SNP | 2,568 | 11.0% | No |
1987
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Social Democratic Party | 12,338 | 53.6% | Yes |
| Robert Hamilton | Conservative | 3,844 | 16.7% | No |
| Allan Byron | Labour | 3,437 | 14.9% | No |
| Archibal MacGregor | SNP | 2,371 | 10.3% | No |
| William Mowat | Independent Liberal | 686 | 3.0% | No |
| Bernard Planterose | Green | 333 | 1.4% | No |
1992
| Candidate | Party | Votes | Share | Elected |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robert Maclennan | Liberal Democrat | 10,032 | 45.1% | Yes |
| George Bruce | Conservative | 4,667 | 21.0% | No |
| Kerr MacGregor | SNP | 4,049 | 18.2% | No |
| Michael Coyne | Labour | 3,483 | 15.7% | No |
Margin Over Time
Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.
Trend
Caithness and Sutherland has been contested at 21 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, National Liberal, Unionist, Independent Unionist, Labour, Social Democratic Party, Liberal Democrat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who won Caithness and Sutherland in the 1992 general election?
Liberal Democrat won Caithness and Sutherland in 1992 with 10,032 votes (45.1%), a majority of 5,365 votes over Conservative in second place.
Which parties have won Caithness and Sutherland since 1918?
Since 1918, Caithness and Sutherland has been won by: Independent Unionist, Labour, Liberal, Liberal Democrat, National Liberal, Social Democratic Party, Unionist.
What was the closest result in Caithness and Sutherland?
The closest result on record for Caithness and Sutherland was 1945, when Unionist beat Labour by just 6 votes (0.0 percentage points).