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All Three Highland Constituency Election
Results
All three Highland seats are now Liberal
Democrat.
John Thurso Wins
Easily With Over 50% Of The Vote In
Caithness Sutherland and Easter Ross
John
Thurso (Lib Dem) 13957
Alan Jamieson (Lab) 5789
Karen Shirron (SNP) 3686
Angus Ross (Con) 2835
Gordon Campbell (Ind) 848
Luke Ivory (SSP) 548
Majority in 2005 -
8168
Majority in 2001 - 2744
2001
Result
John Thurso - Lib Dem - 9041
Majority 2,744
Michael Meighan Lab - 6297
John Macadam - SNP - 5273
Robbie Rowantree - Con - 3513
Karn Mabon - SSP - 544
Gordon Campbell - Independent - 199
Westminster Election 2005 - Three Candidates Hit Wick
Alan Jamieson Labour, John Thurso Lib Dem And Luke Ivory Scottish
Socialist Candidates
As the days tick by to election day on 5 May candidates are all out
trying to pull in a few more votes. On the last Saturday three
candidates were in Wick. A final round next week will see the
candidates all in Thurso and Wick for eve of poll hustings
meetings.
27 April 05
Electoral Information For The
Highlands
 
The election will cost �250,000 to run in Highland.
27 April 05
Postal Voting More Than Doubles In Highland
12,098 in 2005 from 5684 in 2001
The
deadline for postal voting, postal-proxy voting and voting by proxy was 5
pm on 26 April.
The number of
applications accepted by the Electoral Registration Officer across the
three constituencies are:
Postal � 12,098; postal-proxy � 76; proxy �
616
The breakdown is:
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, 2,878 postal; 6 postal-proxy and
142 proxy;
Ross, Skye and Lochaber, 3,262 postal; 15 postal-proxy and 201 proxy;
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, 5,958 postal; 55 postal-proxy
and 273 proxy.
The total number of postal
applications across the three constituencies at the General Election in
2001 was 5,684. The number of valid postal votes cast was 4,625.
27 April 05
SSP Attack Lib Dems over
Iraq
 Scottish
Socialist Party candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross, Luke
Ivory has joined his Party leader Colin Fox and attacked the Liberal
Democrats over the Iraq war as another example of their "two-faced"
politics; saying one thing on a UK wide basis and doing another in the
Scottish Parliament.
Luke Ivory is critical that the government has found the money to fight
the war in Iraq and compares the money spent on the war to the fact that
Caithness General Hospital has not had the money for a CT scanner.
22 April 05
MAKE POVERTY HISTORY
 John
Thurso, Scottish Liberal Democrat Westminster candidate for Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross, speaking at meetings on Saturday underlined
the importance of the UK Presidency of the G8 which meets later this year
in Scotland.
�9/11 changed the world. The immense
sympathy felt for the American people throughout the world in their grief
has largely been squandered in an ill-judged war in Iraq � probably
illegal � against which I voted. �This is now history and our
efforts must be to work for democracy and justice in Iraq as well as to
press for a just settlement to the problems of the Middle East, in
particular to achieving a resolution between Israel and Palestine.
19 April 05
NOMINATIONS FOR GENERAL ELECTION
ANNOUNCED
A total of 21 candidates are seeking election on
5 May in the three Highland UK Parliamentary constituencies.
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross Constituency has attracted six
candidates; Ross Skye and Lochaber Constituency, eight candidates; and
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey Constituency, seven candidates.
Voting takes place between 7.00 a.m. and 10 p.m. on Thursday 5 May
at 283 polling stations -
76 in Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
108 Ross Skye and Lochaber
99 in Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Full Details of Nominated Candidates
18 April 05
Alan Jamieson Labour - New York Trip
23 March 05
LABOUR SETS OUT VISION FOR ECONOMIC
REGENERATION IN THE FAR NORTH
 Labour's
Alan Jamieson has said restructuring the north Highland economy to take
advantage of the huge Government decommissioning programme at Dounreay
will be one of the highest priorities for the next MP for Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross. The party's prospective parliamentary
candidate was speaking after a fact-finding visit to the plant, where a
�2.7 billion decommissioning and clean-up programme is being driven by
Labour Energy Minister Mike O'Brien.
22 March 05
CAITHNESS, SUTHERLAND & EASTER ROSS SNP CONSTITUENCY ASSOCIATION AGM
REPORT
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross SNP Consitituency meeting held a
successful Annual General meeting on Saturday in Helmsdale Community
Centre. Niall Smith was elected as Convenor and Ken Mackay elected
as Vice Convenor. Lily Byron continues for another year as Secretary with
Ian Clark as the Minute Secretary. Bill Brown was re-elected as the
Treasurer. Speaking after the meeting from Helmsdale, Karen Shirron,
SNP candidate for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross for the
forthcoming Westminster elections said:
"The meeting was very well attended and its great to hear that our
membership in the area continues to grow. Our members are very dedicated
and in good form for the work that lies ahead. There is definitely a
positive feeling among the CA and the local branches and we are looking
forward to this campaign where we will be asking the people of Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross to make Scotland matter by voting SNP".
18 March 05
Gordon Campbell Independent Candidate For
Westminster Checks Out East Caithness
 Gordon Campbell is well underway with his
canvassing around Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross. On Thursday he set out to
see East Caithness and meet people along the
way. He checked out many aspects from
businesses, harbours, museums and even
public toilets at Dunbeath. He chatted
with ladies at Laidhay croft and Latheron
Post Office and other people he met along
the way. He has been round before and
has stood in several elections without
success but this has not dampened his
enthusiasm for campaigning. He lives
in Dornoch but often lives for few days
locally when campaigning. He based
himself at the Portland Arms Hotel for his
East Caithness days.
16 March 05
Angus Ross Conservative Candidate Visit
 Angus
Ross, Westminster Conservative Party Representative for Caithness,
Sutherland & Easter Ross recently visited Dounreay. This was Mr Ross's
first visit to Dounreay during which he received a presentation on the
decommissioning of Dounreay followed by a tour of the site. He is pictured
here outside Dounreay Fast Reactor with his assistant David Peach (left).
7 March 05
Scottish Socialists Select Luke Ivory As
Candidate For North
Luke
Ivory, 21, from Brora, is the SSP candidate for Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross.
Other SSP candidates selected so far are
Anne MacLeod - Ross, Skye and Lochaber
George MacDonald - Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey
Norma Anderson - Moray
Joanne Telfer - Western Isles
Deirdre Henderson - Argyll & Bute
Yet To Announce - Orkney/Shetland
7 March 05
Everyone Will Have Chance To Vote SSP - say Highlands and Islands
Socialists
The Scottish Socialist Party this week announced that they will
contest every seat in the Highlands and Islands in the forthcoming General
Election. The party's Regional Council, consisting of delegates from
branches across the region, confirmed the decision this Sunday at a
planning meeting held in Inverness. The party will contest the election in
the Moray, Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey, Ross, Skye and
Lochaber, the Western Isles, Argyll & Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and
Easter Ross, and Orkney and Shetland. Candidates are in place in six out
of seven of the seats with Orkney and Shetland expected to announce their
candidate in the next couple of weeks.
The party will
campaign around the broad theme of "for socialism, independence, the
environment and peace," - citing its commitment to public ownership and
wealth redistribution, it's vision of an independent socialist Scotland,
it's commitment to serious strategic planning to combat climate change and
public investment over a wide range of renewables, and its consistent
opposition to what it has called "Bush and Blair's bogus and illegal
wars."
 Socialists
believe that standing in every seat gives them a trump card over the Green
Party who will contest only a couple of seats in the region. Highlands and
Islands spokesperson Steve Arnott said, "we are the real radical
alternative to Blairism and establishment politics. We know that these
elections are not proportional and that even if we get 5% of the vote we
will not get 5% of the seats. But we believe it would be unprincipled not
to offer voters a socialist alternative to the Blair/Howard circus. We are
building to win an MSP seat here in the Highlands and Islands in 2007, and
to have Socialist councillors elected across the region, so it's important
for this party to keep momentum and make sure our core vote has the
opportunity to support us again, from Campbeltown to Shetland and from the
Hebrides to the Grampians.
"But we will also be
saying to disillusioned Labour voters - don't be panicked by the spectre
of the Tories into voting again for a party you are disgusted with. New
Labour will win the election across the UK so make a meaningful protest
vote here in Scotland by voting Socialist."
Socialists say it has
taken a huge fundraising effort to be one of the five parties that will
contest every seat, but that already the gamble is paying off in terms of
new recruits to the party. Tens of thousands of pre-election bulletins
introducing prospective candidates will be delivered through doors in the
next few weeks.
24 February 05
Alan Jamieson - Comes In For Labour
 Alan
Jamieson is the labour party selection for the coming Westminster election
for Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. A member of the Labour
party since 2000 is by way of the fact that he is still at university and
has an intense interest in politics. This can be seen by his rise to
be chair of Scottish Young Labour. Currently he is completing a
Masters degree in Human Resource Management at the University of Stirling
and enjoy participating in a wide range of interests including various
sporting activities, reading and with bent for playing the bagpipes.
18
February 05
SNP CANDIDATE SLAMS GOVERNMENT AS TAX RISES AT TWICE INFLATION RATE
The SNP candidate for
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross has attacked the Scottish Executive
after Scotland�s local authorities announced an average 3.9% increase in
their Council Tax rates.
Ms Shirron added:
�Since 1997 Council Tax in the Highlands has increased by 65%. The
average B and D Council Tax in the Highlands has risen from �659 in 1997
to �1086 in 2005; an increase of �427.
�English Councils have been given a �1
billion package from Gordon Brown to cut Council Tax rises. The Lib-Lab
coalition in Edinburgh has refused to give Scottish Councils their share
of the cash.
�The SNP believes that the Council tax
is unjust and unfair. It hits working families and pensioners the
hardest. The SNP are committed to abolishing the Council Tax as soon as
we can and we will replace it with a Local Income Tax based on ability to
pay. This is a much fairer and equitable system as it spreads the burden
of taxation across all those who can afford it and lifts the burden from
the shoulders of those who can�t. It�s time to axe the tax.�
10 February 05
Angus Ross - Conservative
Backs Nuclear Investment At Dounreay
 Conservative Candidate Angus Ross welcomes the news that stalwart
independent candidate Gordon Campbell has hit the campaign trail once
more. The Conservative campaign is well under way - with delivery of
IN TOUCH to places all over the constituency during late 2004 and to the
new area of mid-Ross during January of this year.
Angus Ross was responsible for arranging the recent
visit of Sir Bernard Ingham to Thurso and welcomes the great boost he gave
to the case for 'commissioning as well as decommissioning' at Dounreay. We
need to use the General Election campaign to ensure that the great
groundswell of public opinion is heard as 'Caithness says YES' to new
nuclear investment at Dounreay - to provide real hope for the future of
the Caithness economy.
Good to hear that Gordon Campbell is also behind this
vital issue - and nobody should forget that the Lib Dems and the SNP are
entirely opposed to nuclear power.
For a change, it is the Conservatives making all the
running just now in terms of policy announcements and media coverage.
Response from Labour has been muted at Westminster and inaudible in the
North.
Conservative Action - More Police, Cleaner Hospitals,
Lower Taxes, School Discipline, Controlled Immigration and Accountability.
7 February 05
Gordon Campbell Independent
Sets Out On Campaign Trail
Gordon Campbell is once again on the election campaign trail. He
had been out an about for months in advance of any announcement and is
portraying himself as "The Northern Voice".
7 February 05
Karen Shirron SNP Sasy "Make Scotland Matter"
While campaigning in
Caithness, the SNP�s parliamentary candidate for the forthcoming
Westminster general election, Karen Shirron, urged voters in Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross to vote for the only party that puts Scotland
first; the Scottish National Party. Speaking from Wick Ms Shirron urged:
�If Scotland matters to
you then make it matter in May and vote for the Scottish National Party,
the only party that puts Scotland first and always. At the forthcoming
election every vote for the SNP will be a vote for a Citizens� Pension
based on residency rights irrespective of savings accrued or contributions
made over the years. This non-means-tested Citizens� Pension will bring
at least �110 for a single person and �168 for couples.
In a week when local authorities around
Scotland will be setting their Council Tax increases, the SNP will
continue to campaign for this unfair and regressive tax to be abolished
and replaced by a local income tax based on ability to pay.
If you want Scotland to prosper then
independence is the only way forward. Only the SNP can deliver
independence. If you believe that our pensioners deserve better and that
the Council Tax should be scrapped then vote SNP at the election and make
Scotland matter�
See Highland Council Proposals For Council Tax 2005/06
These proposals are on the agenda for the Highland Council meeting on 10
February 2005.
2 February 05
Kilroy goes solo with Veritas launch
Guardian
Kilroy-Silk launches Veritas
Telegraph.co.uk
Kilroy-Silk Starts Veritas, UK Party Named `Truth'
Bloomberg
24 January 05
Karen Shirron -
SNP Candidate Selected
 The SNP
have announced that their candidate for the 2005 Westminster election will
be Karen Shirron. The announcement was made in Helmsdale.
Karen Shirron is currently a local councillor with Aberdeen City
Council where she is the SNP Deputy Group Leader and a Parliamentary
Assistant to Brian Adam, SNP MSP for Aberdeen North. First elected to the
Council in 1999 with a majority of 7, she was re-elected in 2003 with a
majority of 336.
21 July 04
2005 Westminster Election Race Is On As Conservatives Get Going Early With
New Candidate
If an early start and planning are going to help then Angus Ross is
leaving nothing to chance as he is already visiting groups and businesses
in the north and getting ready to set up his campaign office in the Autumn
well ahead of the announcement of the date for the election expected to be
called in 2005.
21 July 04
Local Conservatives name Westminster
Parliamentary Candidate
 Caithness,
Sutherland and Easter Ross conservative Association have selected Angus
Ross as their Prospective Parliamentary Candidate to contest the seat in
the General Election � widely expected to be called early next year.
Angus Ross will be returning to his family roots in the Highlands.
Sitting Candidate Is
John Thurso - Lib Dem |
