The constituency was created in
2005 by merging an area from
Ross, Skye and Inverness West with an area from
Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber. Most of the rest of Ross, Skye and Inverness West was merged with the rest of Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber to form
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey. A small area of Ross, Skye and Inverness West was merged into
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. For representation in the
Scottish Parliament (
Holyrood) the area of the Westminster constituency is divided between
Caithness, Sutherland and Ross and
Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
Local government area The Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency was one of three Westminster constituencies covering the
Highland council area, the other two being
Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey and
Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross. Ross, Skye and Lochaber covers a central portion of the
council area, with Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey to its south and east and Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross to its north. Ross, Skye and Lochaber included the
Black Isle on the east coast of Scotland and, in the west, the
Hebridean island of
Skye. When created in 2005, the Ross, Skye and Lochaber constituency covered 26 out of the 80 wards of the council area: 11 wards (
Avoch and Fortrose,
Black Isle North,
Conon and Maryburgh,
Dingwall North,
Dingwall South,
Gairloch,
Knockbain and Killearnan,
Lochbroom,
Lochcarron,
Muir of Ord and
Strathpeffer and Strathconon) out of the 18 wards of the
Ross and Cromarty committee area, all of the six wards of the
Skye and Lochalsh area committee, all of the eight wards of the
Lochaber committee area and one ward (
Beauly and Strathglass) out of the 23 wards of the
Inverness 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 created 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. == Abolition ==