15 Candidates Seeking Election Across Three Highland Constituencies

28th March 2011

A total of 15 candidates across the three Highland constituencies are seeking election to the Scottish Parliament on Thursday 5 May.

In Caithness Sutherland and Ross, four candidates are seeking election. They are:- Rob Gibson (Scottish National Party (SNP)), John MacKay (Scottish Labour Party), Edward Mountain (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), and Robbie Rowantree (Scottish Liberal Democrats).

Five candidates are vying to represent Skye Lochaber and Badenoch. They are:- Ronnie Campbell (no affiliation), Kerensa Carr (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), Alan MacRae, (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Linda Stewart (Scottish Labour Party), and Dave Thompson (Scottish National Party (SNP).

The Inverness and Nairn Constituency will be a six-cornered contest involving:- Donald Boyd (Scottish Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship"), Ross Durance, (UK Independence Party), Fergus Ewing (Scottish National Party (SNP)), Christine Jardine (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Mary Scanlon (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party), and David Stewart (Scottish Labour Party).

A total of 14 parties or individual candidates are nominated for election via the Highland and Islands Regional List. Seven candidates will be elected to represent the region on the Scottish Parliament. They are:-

1. All Scotland Pensioners Party - Scottish Senior Citizens Party
2. Ban Bankers Bonuses
3. British National Party
4. Christian Party "Proclaiming Christ's Lordship" - Scottish Christian Party
5. Liberal Party (The)
6. Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
7. Scottish Green Party - Eleanor Scott for MSP
8. Scottish Labour Party
9. Scottish Liberal Democrats
10. Scottish National Party (SNP) - Alex Salmond for First Minister
11. Scottish Socialist Party
12. Socialist Labour Party
13. Solidarity - Scotland's Socialist Movement
14. UK Independence Party - UKIP

Across the three constituencies there are 177,614 electors. Voting will take place between 7.00 am - 10.00 pm on Thursday 5 May. A total of 306 polling stations are being used in the elections. The counts will be held the following day at the Highland Football Academy, Dingwall.

Also taking place on Thursday 5 May is a national referendum on the voting system to be adopted by the UK Parliament.

The next key date in the election timetable is Thursday 14 April, which is the deadline for postal vote applications. To date, more than 25,500 electors in Highland have applied for a postal vote.