The constituency was created in
1997 by merging
Caithness and Sutherland with an area from
Ross, Cromarty and Skye which was abolished.
1997–2005: Caithness District, Sutherland District, and the Ross and Cromarty District electoral divisions of Easter Ross, Invergordon, and Tain.
2005–2024: The Highland Council wards of Alness and Ardross, Brora, Caithness Central, Caithness North East, Caithness North West, Caithness South East, Dornoch Firth, Ferindonald, Golspie and Rogart, Invergordon, Pulteneytown, Rosskeen and Saltburn, Seaboard, Sutherland Central, Sutherland North West, Tain East, Tain West, Thurso Central, Thurso East, Thurso West, Tongue and Farr, Wick, and Wick West. In
2005 the Westminster constituency was enlarged slightly, to include a small area from
Ross, Skye and Inverness West. The rest of the latter was divided between two new constituencies,
Ross, Skye and Lochaber and
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey.
2024–present: The
Highland Council wards of
North, West and Central Sutherland,
Thurso and Northwest Caithness,
Wick and East Caithness,
East Sutherland and Edderton, northern and eastern parts of
Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh,
Cromarty Firth,
Tain and Easter Ross,
Dingwall and Seaforth,
Black Isle, and a small part of
Aird and Loch Ness. Further to the
2023 review of Westminster constituencies which came into effect for the
2024 general election, the seat was enlarged again, this time significantly, to include the
Black Isle,
Dingwall and part of
Wester Ross, primarily added from the abolished constituency of
Ross, Skye and Lochaber. This made it the largest UK constituency by area, covering 11,632 km2.
Local government area :
See also Politics of the Highland council area Since it was created in 1997 the constituency has been one of three covering the
Highland council area. Since 2005 the other two have been
Ross, Skye and Lochaber and
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. From 1997 to 2005 the other constituencies of the
council area were
Ross, Skye and Inverness West and
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber. Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross is the most northerly of the constituencies, and it now has the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency on its southern boundary. As enlarged in 2005, the Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross constituency covered 23 out of the 80 wards of the council area: all ten wards of the Caithness area committee, all six wards of the Sutherland area committee and seven (Alness and Ardross,
Invergordon, Ferindonald, Rosskeen and Saltburn, Seaboard, Tain East and Tain West) out of the 18 wards of the Ross and Cromarty area committee. Ward boundaries were redrawn again in 2007, and the management areas were abolished in favour of three new corporate management areas. The new areas consist of groups of the new wards, and boundaries are similar to those of the Westminster constituencies, as defined in 2005. Two areas, the
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross area and the
Ross, Skye and Lochaber area, have the names of Westminster constituencies. The name of the third area, the
Inverness, Nairn, and Badenoch and Strathspey area, is very similar to that of the third constituency.
Scottish Parliament In
1999 a
Scottish Parliament (
Holyrood) constituency was created with the name and boundaries of the Westminster constituency. At Holyrood the area of the Westminster constituency is represented by an even larger constituency,
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross. == Members of Parliament ==