| Ochil | |
|---|---|
| Former countyconstituency for theScottish Parliament | |
 | |
.svg) Ochil shown within theMid Scotland and Fife electoral region and the region shown withinScotland | |
| Former constituency | |
| Created | 1999 |
| Abolished | 2011 |
| Council area | Clackmannanshire Perth and Kinross (part) |
Ochil was aconstituency of theScottish Parliament. It elected oneMember of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by theplurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, it was one of nine constituencies in theMid Scotland and Fifeelectoral region, which elected sevenadditional members, in addition to the nine constituency MSPs, to produce a form ofproportional representation for the region as a whole.
The formerPresiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament George Reid represented the constituency from 2003 to 2007.
For the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Ochil was abolished, with the majority of the seat forming the newly createdClackmannanshire and Dunblane seat.
The region covered all of theClackmannanshire council area, all of theFife council area, all of thePerth and Kinross council area, all of theStirling council area and parts of theAngus council area.
The constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in1999, with the name and boundaries of a pre-existingUK House of Commons constituency. Ahead of the2005 United Kingdom general election Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.[1] TheOchil Westminster constituency, was divided between theOchil and South Perthshire Westminster constituency and theStirling Westminster constituency.
From the Scottish Parliament election, 2011, Ochil was largely replaced by an expanded constituency ofClackmannanshire and Dunblane.
Although acounty constituency, Ochil was mostly industrial in character, with the main industries of the region beingbrewing,distilling,glass production,bottling,tourism andagriculture. The majority of the constituency's inhabitants were working-class. There are however affluent areas, includingBridge of Allan, home to wealthy commuters to thecity of Stirling and further afield;Dollar, which has, in itsAcademy, one of Scotland's most renownedprivate schools; and ruralKinross.
| Election | Member | Party | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Richard Simpson | Labour | ||
| 2003 | George Reid | Scottish National Party | ||
| Presiding Officer | ||||
| 2007 | Keith Brown | Scottish National Party | ||
| 2011 | Constituency abolished: seeClackmannanshire and Dunblane | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | Keith Brown | 12,147 | 38.5 | +0.2 | |
| Labour | Brian Fearon | 11,657 | 36.9 | −0.5 | |
| Conservative | George Murray | 4,284 | 13.6 | +3.9 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Lorraine Caddell | 3,465 | 11.0 | +2.7 | |
| Majority | 490 | 1.6 | +0.7 | ||
| Turnout | 31,553 | 54.9 | +0.2 | ||
| SNPhold | Swing | +0.4 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SNP | George Reid | 11,659 | 38.3 | +0.1 | |
| Labour | Richard Simpson | 11,363 | 37.4 | −4.3 | |
| Conservative | Malcolm Parkin | 2,946 | 9.7 | −1.6 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Catherine Whittingham | 2,536 | 8.3 | −0.5 | |
| Scottish Socialist | Felicity Garvie | 1,102 | 3.6 | New | |
| Monster Raving Loony | Flash Gordon Approaching | 432 | 1.4 | New | |
| Independent | William Whyte | 378 | 1.2 | New | |
| Majority | 296 | 0.9 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 30,416 | 54.7 | |||
| SNPgain fromLabour | Swing | +4.5 | |||
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Richard Simpson | 15,385 | 41.7 | N/A | |
| SNP | George Reid | 14,082 | 38.2 | N/A | |
| Conservative | Nick Johnston | 4,151 | 11.3 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | The Earl of Mar & Kellie | 3,249 | 8.8 | N/A | |
| Majority | 1,301 | 3.5 | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 36,867 | N/A | |||
| Labourwin (new seat) | |||||
Note: Although George Reid was elected as aScottish National Party candidate in 2003, he became independent the same year, as thePresiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament.
| Preceded by | Constituency or Region represented by the Presiding Officer 2003 – 2007 | Succeeded by |