The 2019 Shetland by-election was held on 29 August 2019 to elect a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the constituency of Shetland.[1] It was held following the resignation of Liberal Democrat MSP Tavish Scott upon taking a new role at Scottish Rugby.[2][3] The Liberal Democrats held the seat, with Beatrice Wishart being elected for the party.[4]
Candidates edit
The Liberal Democrats' Beatrice Wishart was deputy convener of the Shetland Islands Council.[5][6] The Scottish National Party fielded Shetland-born Tom Wills, an engineer with an offshore renewables company.[5] Two Shetland Islands Council members, Ian Scott and Ryan Thomson, ran as independent candidates.[7] A former Shetland Islands Council member, Michael Stout, also ran as an independent candidate.[8]
Campaign edit
The campaign was hard-fought; the SNP spent £100,000 on the by-election - more money than the party spent during the entire EU referendum - and there was a swing of over 14% to their candidate.[9]
Result edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Beatrice Wishart | 5,659 | 47.86 | −19.52 | |
| SNP | Tom Wills | 3,822 | 32.32 | +9.27 | |
| Independent | Ryan Thomson | 1,286 | 10.88 | New | |
| Conservative | Brydon Goodlad | 425 | 3.59 | −0.07 | |
| Scottish Green | Debra Nicolson | 189 | 1.60 | New | |
| Labour | Johan Adamson | 152 | 1.29 | −4.61 | |
| Independent | Michael Stout | 134 | 1.13 | New | |
| Independent | Ian Scott | 66 | 0.56 | New | |
| UKIP | Stuart Martin | 60 | 0.51 | New | |
| Independent | Peter Tait | 31 | 0.26 | New | |
| Majority | 1,837 | 15.54 | −28.76 | ||
| Turnout | 11,824 | 66.39 | +4.31 | ||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | −14.40 | |||
Previous result edit
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Liberal Democrats | Tavish Scott | 7,440 | 67.4 | +19.9 | |
| SNP | Danus Skene | 2,545 | 23.1 | +11.0 | |
| Labour | Robina Barton | 651 | 5.9 | −0.7 | |
| Conservative | Cameron Smith | 405 | 3.7 | +0.2 | |
| Majority | 4,895 | 44.3 | +27.1 | ||
| Turnout | 11,041 | ||||
| Liberal Democrats hold | Swing | ||||
References edit
- ^ "New MSP vote to be held in late August". The Shetland Times. 2 July 2019.
- ^ Davidson, Jenni (26 June 2019). "Shetland MSP Tavish Scott to stand down from Scottish Parliament". Holyrood Magazine. Archived from the original on 11 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Former Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott to quit Holyrood". BBC News. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Lib Dems hold off SNP to win Shetland by-election". BBC News. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ a b Woods, Emily (19 July 2019). "SNP announces Shetland by-election candidate". Holyrood Magazine. Archived from the original on 29 August 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "SIC deputy convener Wishart will fight seat for Liberal Democrats". The Shetland Times. 14 July 2019.
- ^ "Ukip names candidate for Holyrood by-election". The Shetland Times. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ Matter, Hans J (29 July 2019). "Former Councillor Stands on Transport Ticket". Shetland News. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "SNP spent more on Shetland byelection than EU referendum". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
- ^ Speare-Cole, Rebecca (30 August 2019). "Shetland by-election results: Lib Dems see off SNP challenge to retain seat". Evening Standard. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
- ^ "Shetland Islands". BBC News. 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
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