The Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire constituency has been won by the Liberal Democrats, the final seat in the UK to declare its general election result. Candidate Angus MacDonald gained a 2,160 vote majority over the SNP’s Drew Hendry. The SNP candidate had already conceded defeat after a recount delayed the result. The Liberal Democrats have now won 72 Westminster seats, with six of those in Scotland, overtaking the Scottish Conservatives.
Originally expected on Friday at 5am, the result was delayed due to a discrepancy between the verified votes total and the provisional number of counted votes. Local businessman Angus MacDonald was elected after receiving 18,159 votes while SNP candidate Hendry had already conceded defeat. The seat is new under boundary changes and is made up of the previous Ross, Skye and Lochaber and Inverness and Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey constituencies, both of which were held by the SNP.
Labour won a landslide victory in Scotland, with 37 seats – a gain of 36. The SNP, who won 48 seats in 2019, have been reduced to nine, while the Scottish Conservatives have five seats, down one from their previous total. Speaking after his election, MacDonald said that the Highlands had been left behind, but he hoped to “play a key role in delivering substantial infrastructure and improvements.”
For the Scottish Liberal Democrats, winning the seat in an area formerly held by Lib Dem stalwart Charles Kennedy was the icing on the cake of a successful election, according to party leader Alex Cole-Hamilton. The party outperformed its expectations in this and other seats, he said, giving them momentum heading into the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections. The party now has 72 MPs, making it the third biggest in the House of Commons
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