2019 Shetland by-election

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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]

2019 Shetland by-election[10] 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]

Tavish Scott 2016 Scottish Parliament election: Shetland[11] 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]

1. ^ "New MSP vote to be held in late August". The Shetland Times. 2 July 2019.
2. ^ 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.
3. ^ "Former Lib Dem leader Tavish Scott to quit Holyrood". BBC News. 26 June 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
4. ^ "Lib Dems hold off SNP to win Shetland by-election". BBC News. 30 August 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
5. ^ 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.
6. ^ "SIC deputy convener Wishart will fight seat for Liberal Democrats". The Shetland Times. 14 July 2019.
7. ^ "Ukip names candidate for Holyrood by-election". The Shetland Times. 10 July 2019. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
8. ^ Matter, Hans J (29 July 2019). "Former Councillor Stands on Transport Ticket". Shetland News. Retrieved 5 January 2021.
9. ^ "SNP spent more on Shetland byelection than EU referendum". HeraldScotland. Retrieved 5 August 2021.
10. ^ 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.
11. ^ "Shetland Islands". BBC News. 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2021.

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By-elections to the Scottish Parliament

1st|

* 2000: Ayr
* Glasgow Anniesland
* 2001: Strathkelvin and Bearsden
* Banff and Buchan

2nd|

* 2005: Glasgow Cathcart
* 2006: Moray

3rd|

* None

4th|

* 2013: Aberdeen Donside
* Dunfermline
* 2014: Cowdenbeath

5th|

* 2017: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire
* 2019: Shetland

Regional member changes

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