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

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

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

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

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

  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. 1 2 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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