Election 97

Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber
Result 97 gain
from LibDem
Current MP 97 Sir Russell Johnston (Retiring)
Majority 0 ( 0.0%)
Conservative 97 8,355 (17.5%)
Labour 97 16,187 (33.9%)
LibDem 97 8,364 (17.5%)
Nationalist 97 13,848 (29.0%)
Other 97 1,014 ( 2.1%)
Elected party 97
Electorate 97 65,701
Turnout 97 47,768 (72.7%)



1992 MP Sir Russell Johnston (Retiring)
Old constituency name Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber
Majority 92 736 ( 1.6%)
Conservative 92 10,777 (23.5%)
Labour 92 10,633 (23.2%)
LibDem 92 12,249 (26.7%)
Nationalist 92 11,513 (25.1%)
Other 92 720 ( 1.6%)
Elected party 92 LibDem
Electorate 92 63,321
Turnout 92 45,892 (72.5%)
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber



Tory change -6.0%
Labour change +10.7%
Lib Dem change -9.2%
Nationalist change +3.9%
Other change +0.6%
Electorate change +3.8%
Turnout Change +0.2%
Robert Waller wrote

The result in the Scottish Highlands seat of Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber in the 1992 general election was extraordinary. It was an ultra-close four-way contest! The Conservatives finished fourth with 22.6 per cent of the vote. The SNP polled 24.7 per cent. Labour were runners-up with 25.1 per cent. The winner was the veteran Liberal Democrat Inverness MP Sir Russell Johnston - with 26.0 per cent, far and away the lowest winning proportion of any of the 651 seats contested that year. A total of 1,741 votes separated the four leading candidates.

Now, though, the situation is likely to be transformed by the retirement of Sir Russell Johnston. Politics in these vast and thinly populated far northern constituencies are very personal, and it is unlikely that the new young Liberal Democrat candidate Stephen Gallagher will be able to inherit a sufficient wedge of party support to hold the seat. So, who will win? The Conservatives are generally held to be going backwards nationally. But both the Labour and Scottish Nationalist parties are looking strong at the moment. The next battle in Inverness, Nairn and Lochaber is likely to be as interesting as the last one.


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