Ochil and South Perthshire (UK Parliament constituency)

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Ochil and South Perthshire
Former county constituency
for the House of Commons
Outline map
Boundary of Ochil and South Perthshire in Scotland
Subdivisions of ScotlandClackmannanshire/Perth and Kinross
Major settlementsAlloa, Auchterarder, Tullibody, Blackford
2005–2024
Created fromOchil and Perth
Replaced byAlloa and Grangemouth, Perth and Kinross-shire, Stirling and Strathallan, Dollar to Dunfermline and Dollar, Angus and Perthshire Glens

Ochil and South Perthshire was a county constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election.

The constituency was created for the 2005 general election as a result of the Fifth Review of the Boundary Commission for Scotland.[1] It has been represented since 2019 by John Nicolson of the Scottish National Party (SNP).

The seat was abolished prior to the 2024 general election and replaced by parts of five other constituencies.[2]

Constituency profile and voting patterns

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Constituency profile

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The Ochil and South Perthshire constituency covered the rural south of the Perth and Kinross council area south of the River Tay, running down through the Ochil Hills into the more industrial Clackmannanshire council area to the south. It was an affluent constituency.

Agriculture and tourism formed an important part of the local economy in the north of the constituency in southern Perth and Kinross-shire, housing affluent resort towns such as Auchterarder, Crieff and Kinross. Clackmannanshire is better known for its light industry and breweries dotted along the course of the River Forth and its northern tributary streams.

Voting patterns

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The Ochil and South Perthshire constituency was formed from elements of the old Ochil and Perth constituencies. Perth was traditionally a strong area of support for the Conservative Party until the party's wipeout in Scotland at the 1997 general election, from then onwards; the area usually voted SNP. Ochil covered the counties of Kinross-shire and Clackmannanshire, alongside some of the more industrialised parts of Stirlingshire, traditionally an SNP-Labour marginal. When Ochil and South Perthshire was first formed, it was thought of as an SNP-Labour marginal; however, the SNP failed to win the constituency when it was created in 2005, and at the subsequent general election in 2010. Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh gained the seat from Gordon Banks of the Labour Party in a landslide victory across Scotland at the 2015 general election as they won 56 of Scotland's 59 parliamentary seats. At the 2017 general election, Ahmed-Sheikh lost the constituency to Luke Graham of the Conservative Party, and in 2019, Graham lost the seat to John Nicolson, former SNP MP for East Dunbartonshire.

At the 2017 local election, all wards in southern Perth and Kinross-shire voted Conservative by a good margin. The result in Clackmannanshire was mixed, with the SNP forming the largest party across the county as a whole but missing out to the Conservatives in Dollar to the north-east of the council area and missing out to Labour in northern Alloa. The Conservatives came first across Ochil and South Perthshire on the whole, with the SNP in second place.

Boundaries

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Map
Map of boundaries 2005-2024

The constituency is composed of the Clackmannanshire council area (all five wards), and the Perth and Kinross council wards of Strathtay, Strathearn, Strathallan, Almond and Earn, and Kinross-shire.[3]

The constituency was created to cover Clackmannanshire and a southern portion of Perth and Kinross; the Perth and North Perthshire constituency was created at the same time to cover the rest of the Perth and Kinross council area.

Prior to the 2005 election, the council areas had been covered by the Angus, Ochil, Perth and North Tayside constituencies. The Perth constituency was entirely within the Perth and Kinross council area, the North Tayside constituency covered a northern portion of Perth and Kinross and a northern portion of the Angus council area, the Angus constituency covered a small southeastern portion of Perth and Kinross, a southern portion of Angus and northern portions of the Dundee City council area, and the Ochil constituency covered another southeastern portion of the Perth and Kinross, the whole of Clackmannanshire and a southeastern portion of the Stirling council area.

Abolition

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Further to the completion of the 2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies, the seat was abolished for the 2024 general election, with its contents distributed to five new constituencies:[2]

Members of Parliament

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Election Member[4] Party
2005 Gordon Banks Labour
2015 Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh Scottish National Party
2017 Luke Graham Conservative
2019 John Nicolson Scottish National Party

Elections

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Elections in the 2010s

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General election 2019: Ochil and South Perthshire[5][6][7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP John Nicolson 26,882 46.5 +11.2
Conservative Luke Graham 22,384 38.7 −2.8
Labour Lorna Robertson 4,961 8.6 −11.4
Liberal Democrats Iliyan Stefanov 3,204 5.5 +2.3
UKIP Stuart Martin 382 0.7 New
Majority 4,498 7.8 N/A
Turnout 57,813 73.4 +2.8
SNP gain from Conservative Swing +7.0
General election 2017: Ochil and South Perthshire[8][9][10][11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Conservative Luke Graham 22,469 41.5 Increase20.8
SNP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh 19,110 35.3 Decrease10.7
Labour Joanne Ross 10,847 20.0 Decrease8.4
Liberal Democrats Iliyan Stefanov 1,742 3.2 Increase0.6
Majority 3,359 6.2 N/A
Turnout 54,168 70.6 Decrease4.2
Conservative gain from SNP Swing Increase15.8
General election 2015: Ochil and South Perthshire[12][13][14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
SNP Tasmina Ahmed-Sheikh 26,620 46.0 +18.4
Labour Gordon Banks 16,452 28.4 −9.5
Conservative Luke Graham 11,987 20.7 +0.2
Liberal Democrats Iliyan Stefanov 1,481 2.6 −8.8
UKIP Martin Gray 1,331 2.3 +0.9
Majority 10,168 17.6 N/A
Turnout 57,871 74.8 +7.6
SNP gain from Labour Swing +13.9
General election 2010: Ochil and South Perthshire[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Banks 19,131 37.9 +6.5
SNP Annabelle Ewing 13,944 27.6 −2.3
Conservative Gerald Michaluk 10,342 20.5 −1.0
Liberal Democrats Graeme Littlejohn 5,754 11.4 −1.9
UKIP David Bushby 689 1.4 +0.8
Scottish Green Hilary Charles 609 1.2 −0.9
Majority 5,187 10.3 +8.8
Turnout 50,469 67.2 +1.2
Labour hold Swing +4.4

Elections in the 2000s

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General election 2005: Ochil and South Perthshire[16][17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±%
Labour Gordon Banks 14,645 31.4 −2.0
SNP Annabelle Ewing 13,957 29.9 −1.7
Conservative Liz Smith 10,021 21.5 −0.6
Liberal Democrats Catherine Whittingham 6,218 13.3 +2.8
Scottish Green George Baxter 978 2.1 New
Scottish Socialist Iain Campbell 420 0.9 −0.9
UKIP David Bushby 275 0.6 New
Free Scotland Party Maitland Kelly 183 0.4 New
Majority 688 1.5 −0.3
Turnout 46,697 66.0 +3.6
Labour hold Swing −0.2

References

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  1. ^ "Boundary Commission for Scotland website". Archived from the original on 21 September 2007.
  2. ^ a b Boundary Commission Scotland 2023 Review Report
  3. ^ "Seat Details". www.electoralcalculus.co.uk. Archived from the original on 27 June 2018. Retrieved 24 June 2017.
  4. ^ Leigh Rayment's Historical List of MPs – Constituencies beginning with "O"
  5. ^ "UK Parliamentary election: Ochil and South Perthshire constituency". Clackmannanshire Council. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
  6. ^ "Ochil & South Perthshire parliamentary constituency - Election 2019". Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  7. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 8749. General Election 2019: results and analysis" (PDF). London: House of Commons Library. 28 January 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 November 2021. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
  8. ^ "General Election: SNP reselects 54 MPs". www.scotsman.com.
  9. ^ "General Election 2017 Candidates". www.scottishlabour.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
  10. ^ "Lee Scott back for Ilford North. Vicky Ford in final Chelmsford three. Tatton finalists named. The latest candidate selections and shortlists. - Conservative Home". 24 April 2017.
  11. ^ "Commons Briefing Paper 7979. General Election 2017: results and analysis" (PDF) (Second ed.). House of Commons Library. 29 January 2019 [7 April 2018]. Archived (PDF) from the original on 12 November 2019.
  12. ^ "Election Data 2015". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 17 October 2015. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ Council, Depute Returning Officer, Clackmannanshire. "Westminster Parliament election - 2015-05-07". www.clacks.gov.uk.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  14. ^ "UK Polling Report". ukpollingreport.co.uk.
  15. ^ "Election Data 2010". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  16. ^ "Election Data 2005". Electoral Calculus. Archived from the original on 15 October 2011. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
  17. ^ "Election 2005; Result: Ochil and South Perthshire". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. 6 May 2005. Retrieved 26 July 2008.
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56°16′52″N 3°32′42″W / 56.281°N 3.545°W / 56.281; -3.545

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