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Western Isles — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

Western Isles was won by Labour at the 2001 general election, with a majority of 1,074 votes over SNP. This page covers every general election in Western Isles from 1918 to 2001.

Full Election History, 1918–2001

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1918 Donald Murray (Liberal (Local)) 3,765 47.4% William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts (Liberal) 390 (4.9 pts) 43.6%
1922 William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts (National Liberal) 6,177 54.1% Donald Murray (Liberal) 939 (8.2 pts) 54.1%
1923 Alexander McKenzie Livingstone (Liberal) 3,391 39.6% William Shepherd Morrison (Unionist) 233 (2.7 pts) 40.1%
1924 Alexander McKenzie Livingstone (Liberal) 4,579 54.2% William Shepherd Morrison (Unionist) 2,161 (25.6 pts) 39.1%
1929 Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay (Liberal) 4,877 44.1% John MacDiarmid (Labour) 1,288 (11.7 pts) 40.5%
1931 Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay (National Liberal) 5,793 54.8% Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt-Pender (Unionist) 1,008 (9.5 pts) 36.8%
1935 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 5,421 41.1% Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay (National Liberal) 1,345 (10.2 pts) 46.8%
1945 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 5,914 45.7% Huntly McDonald Sinclair (Liberal) 1,637 (12.6 pts) 53.3%
1950 Malcom Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 8,387 53.2% Huntley McDonald Sinclair (Liberal) 1,437 (9.1 pts) 55.7%
1951 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 8,039 48.8% John Mitchell (Conservative) 1,330 (8.1 pts) 60.5%
1955 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 8,487 57.3% John Frame (Conservative) 2,172 (14.7 pts) 59.6%
1959 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 8,663 53.6% Donald B Macleod (Conservative) 1,167 (7.2 pts) 64.2%
1964 Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan (Labour) 8,740 55.1% Donald B Macleod (Liberal) 3,846 (24.3 pts) 66.9%
1966 Malcolm Macmillan (Labour) 8,565 61.0% Charles Cameron (Conservative) 5,733 (40.8 pts) 61.5%
1970 Donald Stewart (SNP) 6,568 43.1% Malcolm Macmillan (Labour) 726 (4.8 pts) 64.8%
Feb 1974 Donald Stewart (SNP) 10,079 67.1% Andrew Wilson (Labour) 7,200 (47.9 pts) 67.4%
Oct 1974 Donald Stewart (SNP) 8,758 61.4% Mary Doig (Labour) 5,232 (36.7 pts) 63.4%
1979 Donald Stewart (SNP) 7,941 52.5% Alexander Matheson (Labour) 3,063 (20.3 pts) 67.5%
1983 Donald Stewart (SNP) 8,272 54.5% Brian Wilson (Labour) 3,712 (24.5 pts) 66.5%
1987 Calum MacDonald (Labour) 7,041 42.7% Ian Smith (SNP) 2,340 (14.2 pts) 70.2%
1992 Calum MacDonald (Labour) 7,664 47.8% Frances MacFarlane (SNP) 1,703 (10.6 pts) 70.4%
1997 Calum MacDonald (Labour) 8,955 55.6% Anne Gillies (SNP) 3,576 (22.2 pts) 70.1%
2001 Calum MacDonald (Labour) 5,924 45.0% Alasdair Nicholson (SNP) 1,074 (8.2 pts) 60.3%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1918

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Murray Liberal (Local) 3,76547.4% Yes
William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts Liberal 3,37542.5% No
Hugh MacGowan Highland Land League 80910.2% No

1922

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Dingwall Mitchell Cotts National Liberal 6,17754.1% Yes
Donald Murray Liberal 5,23845.9% No

1923

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander McKenzie Livingstone Liberal 3,39139.6% Yes
William Shepherd Morrison Unionist 3,15836.9% No
Hugh McCowan Independent Labour 2,01123.5% No

1924

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander McKenzie Livingstone Liberal 4,57954.2% Yes
William Shepherd Morrison Unionist 2,41828.6% No
Alexander Galloway Burns Labour 1,45417.2% No

1929

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay Liberal 4,87744.1% Yes
John MacDiarmid Labour 3,58932.5% No
Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt-Pender Unionist 2,59323.4% No

1931

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay National Liberal 5,79354.8% Yes
Iain MacAlisdair Moffatt-Pender Unionist 4,78545.2% No

1935

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 5,42141.1% Yes
Thomas Bridgehill Wilson Ramsay National Liberal 4,07630.9% No
Alexander Malcolm MacEwan SNP 3,70428.1% No

1945

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 5,91445.7% Yes
Huntly McDonald Sinclair Liberal 4,27733.0% No
Iain Norman Macleod Unionist 2,75621.3% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcom Kenneth Macmillan Labour 8,38753.2% Yes
Huntley McDonald Sinclair Liberal 6,95044.1% No
David Murray Scottish Home Rule 4252.7% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 8,03948.8% Yes
John Mitchell Conservative 6,70940.7% No
David Murray Liberal 9165.6% No
Calum Iain Maclean SNP 8205.0% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 8,48757.3% Yes
John Frame Conservative 6,31542.7% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 8,66353.6% Yes
Donald B Macleod Conservative 7,49646.4% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan Labour 8,74055.1% Yes
Donald B Macleod Liberal 4,89430.9% No
Charles Alexander Cameron Unionist 2,21714.0% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Malcolm Macmillan Labour 8,56561.0% Yes
Charles Cameron Conservative 2,83220.2% No
John Macleod Liberal 2,63818.8% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Stewart SNP 6,56843.1% Yes
Malcolm Macmillan Labour 5,84238.4% No
Roderick MacLeod Conservative 2,82218.5% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Stewart SNP 10,07967.1% Yes
Andrew Wilson Labour 2,87919.2% No
John Mackay Conservative 1,0426.9% No
Malcolm Kenneth Macmillan United Labour Party 1,0316.9% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Stewart SNP 8,75861.4% Yes
Mary Doig Labour 3,52624.7% No
Norman Wilson Conservative 1,1808.3% No
Neil Macmillan Liberal 7895.5% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Stewart SNP 7,94152.5% Yes
Alexander Matheson Labour 4,87832.3% No
Murdo Morrison Conservative 1,60010.6% No
Neil MacLeod Liberal 7004.6% No

1983

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Donald Stewart SNP 8,27254.5% Yes
Brian Wilson Labour 4,56030.1% No
Murdo Morrison Conservative 1,4609.6% No
Neil MacLeod Liberal 8765.8% No

1987

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Calum MacDonald Labour 7,04142.7% Yes
Ian Smith SNP 4,70128.5% No
Kenneth MacIver Social Democratic Party 3,41920.7% No
Murdo Morrison Conservative 1,3368.1% No

1992

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Calum MacDonald Labour 7,66447.8% Yes
Frances MacFarlane SNP 5,96137.2% No
Robert Heany Conservative 1,3628.5% No
Neil Mitchison Liberal Democrat 5523.4% No
Andrew Price Independent 4913.1% No

1997

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Calum MacDonald Labour 8,95555.6% Yes
Anne Gillies SNP 5,37933.4% No
Jamie McGrigor Conservative 1,0716.6% No
Neil Mitchison Liberal Democrat 4953.1% No
Ralph Lionel Referendum Party 2061.3% No

2001

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Calum MacDonald Labour 5,92445.0% Yes
Alasdair Nicholson SNP 4,85036.9% No
Douglas Taylor Conservative 1,2509.5% No
John Home Liberal Democrat 8496.5% No
Joanne Telfer Scottish Socialist 2862.2% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1918: Liberal (Local) margin 4.9 pts 1922: National Liberal margin 8.2 pts 1923: Liberal margin 2.7 pts 1924: Liberal margin 25.6 pts 1929: Liberal margin 11.7 pts 1931: National Liberal margin 9.5 pts 1935: Labour margin 10.2 pts 1945: Labour margin 12.6 pts 1950: Labour margin 9.1 pts 1951: Labour margin 8.1 pts 1955: Labour margin 14.7 pts 1959: Labour margin 7.2 pts 1964: Labour margin 24.3 pts 1966: Labour margin 40.8 pts 1970: SNP margin 4.8 pts Feb 1974: SNP margin 47.9 pts Oct 1974: SNP margin 36.7 pts 1979: SNP margin 20.3 pts 1983: SNP margin 24.5 pts 1987: Labour margin 14.2 pts 1992: Labour margin 10.6 pts 1997: Labour margin 22.2 pts 2001: Labour margin 8.2 pts 1918 1922 1923 1924 1929 1931 1935 1945 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979 1983 1987 1992 1997 2001

Trend

Western Isles has been contested at 23 general elections on record since 1918. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal (Local), National Liberal, Liberal, Labour, SNP.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won Western Isles in the 2001 general election?

Labour won Western Isles in 2001 with 5,924 votes (45.0%), a majority of 1,074 votes over SNP in second place.

Which parties have won Western Isles since 1918?

Since 1918, Western Isles has been won by: Labour, Liberal, Liberal (Local), National Liberal, SNP.

What was the closest result in Western Isles?

The closest result on record for Western Isles was 1923, when Liberal beat Unionist by just 233 votes (2.7 percentage points).

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