Argyll & Bute LD Hold

Scottish Parliament election

constituency

	Argyll & Bute	LD Hold

	CANDIDATE	PARTY	VOTES	%	+/-%
	George Lyon	LD	9817	35.1	+0.2
	David Petrie	CON	5621	20.1	+3.6
	Jim Mather	SNP	5485	19.6	-8.9
	Hugh Raven	LAB	5107	18.3	-1.8
	Des Divers	SSP	1667	6.0	+6.0
	David Walker	SPA	251	0.9	+0.9
		MAJORITY	4196	15.0
		TURNOUT	27948	57.8

ELECTORATE	48330

Top-up region: Highlands and Islands

DESCRIPTION: Argyll & Bute

This is one of the most beautiful constituencies in the UK. It covers nearly two million acres of mainland Scotland and includes islands such as Mull, Islay, Jura, Tiree and Bute. The region is famous for its whisky with eight distilleries on Islay alone. Other industries are forestry, farming, boat building, fishing and fish farming.

In many of Scotland's remoter regions, personalities are often as important as parties when it comes to elections. Argyll and Bute has been in the hands of three different parties in the last 20 years: SNP 1974-79, the Conservatives in 1979-87 and the Liberal Democrats from 1987. In 1999 the Lib Dem George Lyon, a farmer from Bute and former president of the Scottish NFU, won the Holyrood seat with a majority of 2,000.

PREVIOUS RESULTS

	1999 SCOTTISH PARLIAMENT ELECTION		LD WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LD	11226	34.9
	SNP	9169	28.5
	LAB	6470	20.1
	CON	5312	16.5

	2001 GENERAL ELECTION		LD WIN
	PARTY	VOTES	%
	LD	9245	29.9
	LAB	7592	24.5
	CON	6436	20.8
	SNP	6433	20.8
	SSP	1251	4