Politics

The Shetland Politics History Project is an ongoing body of work aimed at building a comprehensive and easily accessible database of the history of politics in the Shetland Islands.

The information was compiled by James Stewart (james-at-jastewart.co.uk) with help from the Shetland Museum and Archives Archives, Bayanne, Shetland Library and countless other contributors who have supplied information. All contributions from the public are welcomed.

The best place to get started is the table of contents on the right which links to the various areas of research. Alternatively, you can search for specific elections or people with the search bar at the top right. Please see here for advice on finding specific people, as the database has a specific way of naming the pages of people.

As of 2016, the electorate of Shetland have voted on six different major elected bodies. In the present day, Shetlanders vote on the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the Scottish and European Parliaments and the Shetland Islands Council. Former representative bodies include the Parliament of Great Britain, the Parliament of Scotland, the Lerwick Town Council and Zetland County Council.

The most recent full elections of the current electoral bodies and next election dates in brackets:

• UK Parliament: May 2015 (can be called anytime up to 2020)
• Scottish Parliment: May 2016 (2021)
• Shetland Islands Council: May 2012 (2017)
• European Parliament: May 2014 (2019)

History

The earliest recorded history of political ongoings in Shetland dates to the Picts and the Viking eras, with pre-parliament and council deliberation taking part in the ancient Tings, the viking name for an assembly site. Such wass the importance of Tings, areas of Shetland were named to include 'ting' in their name. This is still true to the present day, with areas such as Tingwall, Lunnasting and Westing still carrying the suffix 'ting'. It was at these Norse parliaments that a group of select representatives would meet with the Earl, such as the Law Ting Holm in Tingwall, the site of Shetland's parliament until the 16th century.

In the 13th Century, Shetland fell under the rule of the Parliament of Scotland. However, Shetlanders were entirely disenfranchised from the process of selecting their representatives Scotland's Parliament. Instead, their neighbouring Island, Orkney, held the reigns. From 1235 until 1999, Shetland was inextricably connected to Orkney in national parliaments. Orcadians elected, appointed, and were appointed to represent both Islands in first the Parliament of Scotland, and in the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of the United Kingdom (Westminster).

Shetland in the 18th century was a society which was made up of a small number of elite, and large quantities of poor, uneducated citizens. The Lairds of the land had rule, but even the Shetland Lairds couldn't influence the appointment of the Member of Parliament; it was all choreographed from Orkney by around 40 men.

In 1832, Westminster passed a law which reformed the British electoral system, known as the Great Reform Act. It came as a response to criticism of the existing system, which put the power of voting into the hands of the few. There previously no secret ballot and votes were bought and sold. The reforms still meant that only men who owned property worth at least £10 (close to £1,000 in 2016 money), but these reforms meant that for the first time, some members of the Shetland community were finally able to have a say in electing their own representatives.

This was to the annoyance of the Orkney elite whose power had been weakened significantly. To further compound the anger of Orkney's elite's, the first general election that Shetlanders were able to participate in, the 1832 election, saw the Shetland-preferred candidate, George Traill, win the election again the Orkney preferred candidate.

Starting from 1826, everyone election was contested on party grounds. Despite George Traill being replaced by Thomas Balfour, who was a Tory, Orkney and Shetland was a Liberal constituency for 98 years until 1935. The Conservative party (Unionist) represented the Isles from 1935 until it was reclaimed by the Liberals in 1950. The seat has remained Liberal (and Liberal Democrat since 1983) since then.

The Town Hall in Shetland's capital, Lerwick. A hub of political activity in the Isles since the end of the 19th century.
Photo kindly supplied by the Shetland Museum and Archives: R02614

On a local level, formal political representation did not begin until the 19th century, with the establishment of the Lerwick Town Council in 1815. An agreement was reached in 1815 to turn Lerwick into a Burgh of Barony, and in 1818, the first meeting and election of the Lerwick Town Council occurred. The early Town Council elected 11 members and within that group, two were elected as Senior and Junior Baillies. The growing pains of the early councils meant that they were not particularly effective, and the electing of councillors was hardly a democratic process. The Lerwick Town Council minute book lists those eligible to vote for each election, with the numbers well under 60 men. Almost every single councillor was a member of Shetland's noble class, or was related to the elite. Elections were held every three years until 1876 when they moved to a yearly election cycle, with a total of 12 councillors serving 3-year terms, and four vacancies to fill every year.

Between the years of 1818 to 1833, the Town Council recognised things which they wanted to change - the poor sanitary conditions, the rowdy sailors - but it wasn't until 1833 when they founded the Commissioners of Police of the Burgh that they began to get a grip on the situation - albeit a very loose one. The problems continued throughout the 1800's, but the Town Council did begin to effect a change, with such things as improved schooling, sanitary conditions, regular water and policing all improving towards the latter part of the century.

In 1889, Westminster passed the Local Government (Scotland) Act which provided that a county council should be established in each county. In 1890, the Zetland County Council held its first ever election, electing 27 councillors to represent the various wards Shetland had been subdivided into. For many in the peripheral communities of Shetland, this was the first real representation that they had experienced. The ZCC was less dominated by elites than the Town Council had been, but initially landowners and other wealthy Shetlanders still held most of the power. The ZCC wards included three seats for different areas of Lerwick, which means that Lerwick was doubly represented. This anomaly was eventually corrected in 1929, when the Lerwick seats were converted into a Parish District Council with much reduced powers.

Both the ZCC and the LTC continued to operate until August 1975 when both were replaced by the Shetland Islands Council. This was a body created under the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and had 22 constituencies (6 of which were Lerwick's, causing upsets to some). The SIC underwent various boundary changes and at the most recent election had 7 constituency areas which elected 22 members.

Shetland Election Results

ShetlandHistory.com currently has the most comprehensive database of Shetland's political history available anywhere. Every major election and by-election to occur in Shetland is available here. See below for more details.

Local Elections

Lerwick Town Council (1818-1975)

Lerwick Town Council

1818 - 1820 - 1823 - 1826 - 1829 - 1832 - 1835 - 1838 - 1841 - 1844(by) - 1844 - 1847 - 1850 - 1853 - 1856 - 1859 - 1862 - 1865 - 1868 - 1871 - 1874 - 1876 - 1877 - 1878(by) - 1878 - 1879 - 1880 - 1880(by) - 1881 - 1882 - 1883 - 1884 - 1884(by) - 1885 - 1886 - 1886(by) - 1887(by) - 1887 - 1888 - 1889 - 1890 - 1891 - 1892 - 1893 - 1894 - 1895 - 1896 - 1897 - 1898 - 1899(by) - 1899 - 1900 - 1901 - 1902 - 1903 - 1904 - 1905(by) - 1905 - 1906 - 1907 - 1908 - 1909 - 1910 - 1911 - 1912 - 1913- 1914 - 1915(by) - 1915(by) - 1916(by) - 1916(by) - 1916(by) - 1919 - 1920 - 1921(by) - 1921 - 1922 - 1923 - 1924(by) - 1924 - 1925 - 1926 - 1927 - 1928 - 1929 - 1930 - 1931 - 1932(by) - 1932 - 1933 - 1934 - 1935 - 1936(by) - 1936 - 1936(by) - 1937 - 1938(by) - 1938 - 1940(by) - 1941(by) - 1941(by) - 1941(by) - 1942(by) - 1943(by) - 1944(by) - 1945(by) - 1945 - 1945(by) - 1946(by) - 1946 - 1947 - 1949 - 1949(by) - 1950 - 1950(by) - 1951 - 1952 - 1953 - 1954 - 1955 - 1955(by) - 1956 - 1957 - 1958 - 1958(by) - 1959 - 1959(by) - 1960 - 1961 - 1961(by) - 1962 - 1962(by) - 1963 - 1964 - 1965 - 1966 - 1967 - 1967(by) - 1967(by) - 1968 - 1969 - 1970 - 1970(by) - 1971 - 1972 - 1973

Zetland County Council (1890-1975)

Zetland County Council

1890 - 1890(by) - 1890(by) - 1890(by) - 1890(by) - 1890(by) - 1890(by) - 1891(by) - 1892(by) - 1892 - 1893(by) - 1893(by) - 1893(by) - 1895 - 1896(by) - 1896(by) - 1897(by) - 1898(by) - 1898(by) - 1898 - 1899(by) - 1901 - 1902(by) - 1902(by) - 1902(by) - 1902(by) - 1903(by) - 1903(by) - 1904 - 1905(by) - 1906(by) - 1907(by) - 1907(by) - 1907 - 1909(by) - 1909(by) - 1910(by) - 1910 - 1911(by) - 1911(by) - 1911(by) - 1913 - 1914(by) - 1915(by) - 1917(by) - 1919(by) - 1919(by) - 1919(by) - 1919 - 1920(by) - 1920(by) - 1920(by) - 1921(by) - 1921(by) - 1921(by) - 1921(by) - 1921(by) - 1922 - 1924(by) - 1924(by) - 1924(by) - 1925(by) - 1925 - 1927(by) - 1927(by) - 1928 - 1929 - 1930(by) - 1930(by) - 1931(by) - 1932(by) - 1932(by) - 1932 - 1933(by) - 1934(by) - 1934(by) - 1935 - 1936(by) - 1936(by) - 1937(by) - 1937(by) - 1937(by) - 1937(by) - 1938(by) - 1938 - 1940(by) - 1940(by) - 1942(by) - 1945(by) - 1945 - 1946(by) - 1947(by) - 1948(by) - 1948(by) - 1949 - 1950(by) - 1950(by) - 1951(by) - 1951(by) - 1952(by) - 1952 - 1952(by) - 1955 - 1955(by) - 1955(by) - 1955(by) - 1958 - 1958(by) - 1959(by) - 1959(by) - 1960(by) - 1960(by) - 1961 - 1962(by) - 1963(by) - 1963(by) - 1964 - 1964(by) - 1964(by) - 1966(by) - 1966(by) - 1967 - 1967(by) - 1967(by) - 1970 - 1970(by) - 1970(by) - 1970(by) - 1971(by) - 1972(by) - 1972(by) - 1973 - 1974(by)

Shetland Islands Council (1974-present)

Shetland Islands Council
1974 - 1976(by) - 1977(by) - 1978 - 1980(by) - 1982 - 1982(by) - 1983(by) - 1986 - 1987(by) - 1990 - 1991(by) - 1993(by) - 1993(by) - 1993(by) - 1994 - 1996(by) - 1999 - 2002(by) - 2003 - 2007 - 2008(by) - 2011(by) - 2012

National Elections

Parliament of Great Britain (1707-1801)

Parliament of Great Britain
1707 - 1708 - 1710 - 1713 - 1715 - 1722 - 1727 - 1730(by) - 1734 - 1741 - 1747(by) - 1747 - 1754 - 1761 - 1768 - 1771(by) - 1774 - 1780 - 1784 - 1790 - 1796

Parliament of the United Kingdom (1801-present)

Parliament of the United Kingdom

1801 - 1802 - 1806 - 1807 - 1812 - 1818 - 1820 - 1826 - 1830 - 1831 - 1832 - 1835 - 1837 - 1841 - 1847 - 1852 - 1857 - 1859 - 1865 - 1868 - 1873(by) - 1874 - 1880 - 1885 - 1886 - 1892 - 1895 - 1900 - 1902(by) - 1906 - 1910(Jan) - 1910(Dec) - 1918 - 1921(by) - 1922 - 1923 - 1924 - 1929 - 1931 - 1935 - 1939-40 - 1945 - 1950 - 1951 - 1955 - 1959 - 1964 - 1966 - 1970 - 1974(Feb) - 1974(Oct) - 1979 - 1983 - 1987 - 1992 - 1997 - 2001 - 2005 - 2010 - 2015

Scottish Parliament (1999-present)

Scottish Parliament
1999 - 2003 - 2007 - 2011 - 2016

European Parliament (1979-present)

European Parliament
1999 - 2004 - 2009 - 2014

Local Politics

Council Leaders

Lerwick Town Council (1818-1975)

Years	Name	Title
1818-1823	Arthur Edmondston	Senior Bailie
1823-1827	Charles Ogilvy Snr	Senior Bailie
1827-1829	William Spence	Junior Bailie Acting as Senior Bailie
1829-1832	William Spence	Senior Bailie
1832-1844	Charles Ogilvy Jr	Senior Bailie
1844-1847	Joseph Leask	Junior Bailie Acting as Senior Bailie
1847-1856	William Sievwright Snr	Senior Bailie
1856-1862	Charles Gilbert Duncan	Senior Bailie
1862-1865	Joseph Leask	Senior Bailie
1865-1874	Charles Gilbert Duncan	Senior Bailie
1874-1876	William Sievwright Jr	Senior Bailie
1876-1883	Major Thomas Cameron	Chief Magistrates
1883-1890	John Robertson	Chief Magistrates
1890-1895	Charles Robertson	Provost/Chief Magistrate
1895-1904	John Leisk	Provost
1904-1907	James M. Goudie	Provost
1907-1910	Arthur Porteous	Provost
1910-1913	Arthur Laing	Provost
1913-1915	Robert Stout	Provost
1915-1920	Peter Goodlad	Provost
1920-1924	Robert D. Ganson	Provost
1924-1927	James Laing	Provost
1927-1930	John T. J. Sinclair	Provost
1930-1933	William Sinclair	Provost
1933-1936	Robert Ollason	Provost
1936-1941	James A. Smith	Provost
1941-1946	Magnus Shearer	Provost
1946-1950	James Aitken	Provost
1950-1953	Robert A. Anderson	Provost
1953-1956	George Burgess	Provost
1956-1959	William Conochie	Provost
1959-1962	Robert Blance	Provost
1962-1965	Harry Gray	Provost
1965-1967	Andrew Nicolson	Provost
1967-1971	Eric Gray	Provost
1971-1974	Bill Smith	Provost
1974-1975	James Taylor	Provost

All images from 1891-1975 kindly supplied by the Shetland Islands Council.

Zetland County Council Conveners (1890-1975)

Years	Name	Title
1890-1907	John Bruce	Convener
1907-1910	John B. Anderson	Convener
1911-1913	James C. Grierson	Convener
1914-1917	Robert D. Ganson	Convener
1918-1923	John W. Robertson	Convener
1924-1927	Henry Mouat	Convener
1928-1929	James A. Smith	Convener
1930-1935	Magnus Shearer	Convener
1935-1936	Thomas Johnston	Convener
1936-1937	William McDougall	Convener
1937-1938	Adam Halcrow	Convener
1938-1943	Edward Adie	Convener
1944-1947	Robert J. H. Ganson	Convener
1947-1955	William Thomson	Convener
1955-1960	Prophet Smith	Convener
1960-1963	Tom Henderson	Convener
1963-1967	William Hamilton	Convener
1967-1970	Robert A. Johnson	Convener
1970-1973	Edward Thomason	Convener
1973-1975	George Blance	Convener

Shetland Islands Council (1974-)

Years	Name	Title
1975-1986	Alexander Tulloch	Convener
1986-1994	Edward Thomason	Convener
1994-1999	Lewis Shand Smith	Convener
1999-2003	Thomas Stove	Convener
2003-2012	Alexander Cluness	Convener
2012-	Malcolm Bell	Convener

Local Government Constituencies

Constituencies of Shetland
Status	Constituencies
Active Constituencies	Lerwick North - Lerwick South - North Isles - Shetland North - Shetland West - Shetland Central - Shetland South
Former Shetland Islands Council Constituencies	Aithsting, Sandsting And Weisdale - Aithsting, Sandsting And Whiteness - Aithsting And Sandsting - Bressay - Burra - Cunningsburgh And Sandwick - Delting - Delting East - Delting North - Delting South - Delting West - Dunrossness - Dunrossness North - Dunrossness South - Gulberwick, Quarff And Cunningsburgh - Lerwick Breiwick - Lerwick Central - Lerwick Clickimin - Lerwick Harbour - Lerwick Harbour And Bressay - Lerwick Lower Sound - Lerwick North - Lerwick North Central - Lerwick Sound - Lerwick South Central - Lerwick Staney Hill - Lerwick Twageos - Lerwick Upper Sound - Lerwick Upper Sound, Gulberwick And Quarff - Lerwick West - Nesting - Nesting, Whiteness, Girlsta And Gott - Northmavine - Sandness And Walls - Sandwick - Scalloway - Unst - Whalsay And Skerries - Whiteness, Weisdale & Tingwall - Yell - Yell North And Fetlar - Yell South
Former County Council Constituencies	Aithsting - Bressay - Burra - Cunningsburgh - Delting North - Delting South - Dunrossness North - Dunrossness South - Fetlar - Gulberwick - Lerwick Central - Lerwick North - Lerwick South - Nesting And Lunnasting - Northmavine North - Northmavine South - Sandness - Sandsting - Sandwick - Tingwall - Unst North - Unst South - Walls - Whalsay And Skerries - Whiteness And Weisdale - Yell North - Yell South

National Politics

Great Britain and the United Kingdom

List of Members of Parliament (1707-)

Note: Members are mentioned upon their first win but not subsequent wins (re-elections).

Year Elected		Name	Born	Died	Party
	1707	Sir Alexander Douglas		January 1718
	1713	George Douglas	1662	4 January 1738
	1715	James Moodie		4 February 1724
	1722	George Douglas	1662	4 January 1738
	1730	Robert Douglas	c.1703	30 April 1745
	1747	John Halyburton		10 May 1765
	1754	James Douglas	1703	2 November 1787
	1768	Thomas Dundas	c.1708	16 April 1786
	1771	Thomas Dundas (2nd)	30 June 1750	3 June 1794
	1780	Robert Baikie		4 April 1817
	1781	Charles Dundas	5 August 1751	7 July 1832
	1784	Thomas Dundas (2nd)	30 June 1750	3 June 1794
	1790	John Balfour	6 November 1750	15 October 1842
	1796	Robert Honyman	c.1765	31 July 1848
	1806	Robert Honyman (2nd)	c.1781	20 November 1808
	1807	Malcolm Laing	1762	16 November 1818
	1812	Richard Bempde Johnstone Honyman	4 May 1787	23 February 1842
	1818	George Heneage Laurence Dundas	8 September 1778	7 October 1834
	1820	John Balfour	6 November 1750	15 October 1842
	1826	George Heneage Laurence Dundas	8 September 1778	7 October 1834
	1830	George Traill	5 November 1787	29 September 1871	Whig
	1835	Thomas Balfour	2 April 1810	1838	Tory
	1837	Frederick Dundas	14 June 1802	26 October 1872	Liberal
	1847	Arthur Anderson	1792	28 February 1868	Liberal
	1852	Frederick Dundas	14 June 1802	26 October 1872	Liberal
	1873	Samuel Laing	12 December 1812	6 August 1897	Liberal
	1885	Leonard Lyell	21 October 1850	18 September 1926	Liberal
	1900	Cathcart Wason	17 November 1849	19 April 1921	Liberal Unionist
	1902	Cathcart Wason	17 November 1849	19 April 1921	Independent Liberal
	1906	Cathcart Wason	17 November 1849	19 April 1921	Liberal
	1918	Cathcart Wason	17 November 1849	19 April 1921	Coalition Liberal
	1921	Malcolm Smith	1 December 1856	12 March 1935	Coalition Liberal
	1922	Robert Hamilton	26 August 1867	15 July 1944	Liberal
	1935	Basil Neven-Spence	12 June 1888	13 September 1974	Conservative
	1950	Jo Grimond	29 July 1913	24 October 1993	Liberal	70px
	1983	Jim Wallace	25 August 1954		Liberal
	1988	Jim Wallace	25 August 1954		Liberal Democrat
	2001	Alistair Carmichael	15 July 1965		Liberal Democrat

Scotland

List of Members of the Scottish Parliament (1999-)

Note: Members are mentioned upon their first win but not subsequent wins.

Year Elected	Member	Party
1999	Tavish Scott	Liberal Democrat	70px

List of Parliament of Scotland Commissioners (1235-1707)

Below is a list of members for the ancient Parliament for Scotland. There are some gaps, as the information is quite erratic. The information is from both The Parliaments of Scotland - Burgh and Shire Commissioners, M. Young, (Edinburgh, 1992-3) and http://rps.ac.uk.

Year	Member
1617	Robert Henderson of Holland Edward Sinclair of Essenquoy
1652	Hugh Craigie of Gairsay Arthur Buchanan of Sound
1661-2	Hugh Craigie of Gairsay
1663	Patrick Blair of Littleblair
1667	Arthur Buchanan of Sound William Douglas of Egilshay
1669-72	Patrick Blair of Littleblair
1678	Captain Andrew Dick
1681-2	Sir William Craigie of Gairsay
1685-6	Henry Graham of Breckness Charles Murray of Hadden
1689-90 1696-1701	Sir William Craigie of Gairsay
1703	Alexander Douglas of Egilshay
1703-5	Sir Archibald Stewart of Burray
1705-7	Alexander Douglas of Egilshay

Referenda

• 1975 European Economic Community Membership Referendum
• 1979 Scottish Devolution Referendum
• 1997 Scottish Devolution Referendum
• 2011 Alternative Vote Referendum
• 2014 Scottish Independence Referendum
• 2016 European Union Membership Referendum

External Links

• Shetland Islands Council website
• Alistair Carmichael, MP for Orkney and Shetland
• Tavish Scott, MSP for Shetland