Orkney and Shetland

MP

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Alistair Carmichael

Liberal Democrats

Data from TheyWorkForYou.

MP contact details

Data from UK Parliament, TheyWorkForYou, and Wikipedia.

Positions and memberships

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Stances

Topic	Position
MP stance on greater regulation of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) to extract shale gas	Consistently voted against
MP stance on the preservation of environmental protections after withdrawal from the EU	Generally voted for
MP stance on improving environmental water quality	Consistently voted for
MP stance on improving air quality	Consistently voted for
MP stance on increasing windfall tax on oil and gas companies	Generally voted for
MP stance on higher taxes on plane tickets	Almost always voted for
MP stance on financial incentives for low carbon emission electricity generation methods	Consistently voted for
MP stance on measures to prevent climate change	Voted a mixture of for and against
MP stance on lower taxes on fuel for motor vehicles	Generally voted for
MP stance on improving biodiversity	Consistently voted for

Data from TheyWorkForYou Votes. See this MP’s full voting record on TheyWorkForYou.

Votes and EDMs

Vote	Position
MP vote on Ban on Fracking for Shale Gas Bill	Aye
MP vote on Environment Bill	No
MP support for Cumbria coal mine court appeal	Did not support
MP support for Accelerating construction work and lower carbon construction vehicles	Supporter
MP support for Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty	Did not support
MP support for Zero carbon homes	Did not support

Data from UK Parliament and TheyWorkForYou. Votes and EDMs selected for indicating support for climate/nature movement. See this MP’s full voting record on TheyWorkForYou.

Written Answers

Department	Topic	Date
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero	Tidal Power	2024-07-23
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero	Tidal Power	2024-07-23
Department for Energy Security and Net Zero	Tidal Power: Finance	2024-07-23

Data from TheyWorkForYou. Recent Written Answers to questions submitted by the MP to departments relevant to climate and nature. See this MP’s full record on TheyWorkForYou.

2024 majority

7,807

Data from UK Parliament. This information is provided because in the UK electoral system, political parties and the media will be paying more attention to marginal seats and therefore the voices of the people within them can have greater national impact.

Date elected

7th Jun 2001

Data from UK Parliament.

More MP data

Public opinion

Should government policy on climate change be going faster or slower?

	This area	National average
Go faster	60.1%	54.1%
Neither	11.8%	12.0%
Go slower	28.1%	30.9%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Predicted winning party at next general election

Liberal Democrats

FocalData MRP polling for HOPE not hate. Updated January 2025.

Results of last election

Party	Votes
Liberal Democrats	11392
Scottish National Party	3585
Green Party	2046
Reform UK	1586
Labour Party	1493
Conservative Party	586

Data from UK Parliament. The results of the last parliamentary election held in this constituency Updated 2024-07-29.

EU (Brexit) leave vote percentage

40%

50.5% national average

Data from UK Parliament. Percentage of constituents who voted to leave the EU in the 2016 referendum Updated February 2017.

Likelihood to take action such as voting for a particular candidate or lobbying an MP to tackle climate change and protect nature

	This area	National average
Net likely	37%	39.7%
Net unlikely	30%	27.8%
Very likely	11%	12.2%
Quite likely	26%	27.5%
Neither likely nor unlikely	33%	32.5%
Quite unlikely	14%	12.6%
Very unlikely	16%	15.3%

Focaldata 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by HOPE not hate. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated April 2023.

Should the UK have closer economic ties with the EU, even if that means giving up some sovereignty?

	This area	National average
Closer ties with the EU	66.9%	51.5%
Neither	5.5%	6.1%
No closer with the EU	27.6%	39.5%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Would you support or oppose the building of onshore wind farms in your area?

	This area	National average
Neither	15.8%	18.6%
Oppose	15.8%	12.2%
Support	68.5%	66.3%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Do you think immigration has generally enriched or undermined society?

	This area	National average
Enriched	46.6%	37.2%
Neither	14.1%	12.5%
Undermined	39.2%	47.3%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Should the welfare system be expanded to help more people, or reduced to make benefits harder to get?

	This area	National average
Expanded	34.8%	34.1%
Neither	13.4%	11.5%
Reduced	51.8%	51.5%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Would you be comfortable paying more tax, if it meant more money were invested in public services like the NHS and education?

	This area	National average
Comfortable	52.4%	44.3%
Neither	6.9%	6.0%
Uncomfortable	40.7%	46.8%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Would you be comfortable with government debt going up, provided that money were invested in the economy and local services?

	This area	National average
Comfortable	56.9%	52.5%
Neither	7.3%	7.6%
Uncomfortable	35.7%	37.0%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Would you support or oppose the building of new housing in your area?

	This area	National average
Neither	19.4%	21.1%
Oppose	14.0%	17.8%
Support	66.6%	58.2%

FocalData MRP polling for Persuasion UK. Updated July 2024.

Consider climate change a high priority

52%

53.6% national average

Public First MRP Polling, commissioned by Onward UK, adjusted for the demographics of the local area by mySociety. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Estimated percentage of constituents who consider climate change a high priority. Updated July 2022.

Second placed party at most recent election

Scottish National Party

Data from UK Parliament. The parliamentary party who came second in this constituency’s most recent election or by-election Updated 2024-07-29.

Loss of nature and destruction of the environment should be one of the most important concerns for the country

	This area	National average
Net agree	75%	72.6%
Net disagree	9%	8.7%
Strongly agree	36%	33.8%
Partly agree	39%	38.8%
Neither agree nor disagree	17%	18.7%
Partly disagree	6%	5.9%
Strongly disagree	3%	2.7%

Focaldata 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by HOPE not hate. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated April 2023.

Policies for tackling the cost of living crisis should go hand in hand with policies to tackle the climate crisis

	This area	National average
Net agree	59%	58.9%
Net disagree	19%	17.6%
Strongly agree	24%	24.2%
Somewhat agree	35%	34.7%
Neither agree nor disagree	21%	23.4%
Somewhat disagree	11%	10.5%
Strongly disagree	9%	7.1%

Focaldata 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by HOPE not hate. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated April 2023.

Tackling climate change should / should not be one of the Government’s biggest priorities right now

	This area	National average
Should be a priority	58%	57.5%
Should not be a priority	42%	42.5%

Focaldata 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by HOPE not hate. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated April 2023.

Neither support nor oppose Net Zero

26%

26.2% national average

Public First MRP Polling, commissioned by Onward UK, adjusted for the demographics of the local area by mySociety. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Estimated percentage of constituents who neither support nor oppose net zero. Updated July 2022.

Oppose Net Zero

12%

12.4% national average

Support Net Zero

62%

60.4% national average

Support nuclear energy

67%

57.4% national average

Survation MRP polling, commissioned by RenewableUK, adjusted for the demographics of the local area by mySociety. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated September 2022.

Support offshore wind

91%

85.3% national average

Support renewable energy projects in their local area

74%

85.1% national average

Support solar power

91%

87.6% national average

Support tidal energy

92%

86.0% national average

Support wave energy

96%

86.7% national average

Believe that the government should continue the block on onshore wind development

28%

24.3% national average

Survation MRP polling, commissioned by RenewableUK. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated September 2022.

Believe that the government should use wind and solar farms to reduce energy bills

85%

84.3% national average

Survation MRP polling, commissioned by RenewableUK. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated September 2022.

Believe the government has increased investment in renewables over the past 5 years

51%

52.0% national average

Survation MRP polling, commissioned by RenewableUK. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated September 2022.

More public opinion data

Place

Constituency history

This constituency was introduced at the July 2024 general election, and replaced the previous constituency:

Orkney and Shetland

Covered approximately 100% of this new constituency’s population, and 100% of this new constituency’s area.

Mental health has been impacted by the cost of living crisis

40%

41.5% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Estimated child poverty

16.4%

29.3% national average

Data from End Child Poverty, based on data from DWP/HMRC. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Percentage of children living in households with a net income (after housing costs) below 60% of the national median. Updated June 2024.

Worried about not being able to pay their energy bills in the next year

49%

53.5% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Constituency age distribution

	This area	National average
Ages 0 - 15	17.1%	18.3%
Ages 16 - 24	8.0%	10.5%
Ages 25 - 34	11.1%	13.2%
Ages 35 - 49	17.5%	19.1%
Ages 50 - 64	22.9%	19.8%
Ages 65 and over	23.3%	19.1%

Data from ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland), and NISRA (Northern Ireland), collated by House of Commons Library. Updated May 2024.

Constituency Population

44,900

102,977.2 national average

Data from ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland), and NISRA (Northern Ireland), collated by House of Commons Library. Updated May 2024.

Number of onshore windfarms

0.7 national average

Data from Wikipedia. Updated 2024-04-24.

Ethnicity

	This area	National average
Asian / Asian British	2.5%	8.1%
African, Caribbean or Black	0.6%	1.3%
Mixed / Multiple ethnic groups	0.8%	2.8%
Other ethnic groups	0.5%	1.8%
Other White	0.2%	6.3%
White British	95.2%	77.5%

Data from ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland), and NISRA (Northern Ireland), collated by House of Commons Library. Updated May 2024.

Have missed a bill payment in the last six months

29%

31.5% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Have missed a credit payment in the last six months

26%

23.6% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Have missed a rent payment in the last six months

18%

19.0% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Have not been able to afford to turn the heating on at home when they have felt cold in the past month

34%

37.5% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Worried about having to use a foodbank in the next year

24%

28.7% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Worried about not being able to afford their mortgage or rent in the next year

33%

40.0% national average

Survation 2023 MRP polling, commissioned by 38Degrees. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Updated March 2023.

Country of the UK

Scotland

Data from mySociety. Updated 2024-04-24.

Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD)

2.8 national average

Data from ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland), and NISRA (Northern Ireland), collated and standardised by mySociety. This dataset has been automatically converted from 2010 parliamentary constituencies. Deciles of deprivation, from 1 (most deprived) to 10 (least deprived). This uses a composite measure of deprivation (including income, employment, education, skills, health, crime, and housing) standardised across the countries of the UK.

More place data

Movement

Churches that have declared a climate emergency

0.2 national average

Data from Tearfund. Updated July 2023.

Constituents pledged to meet MP as part of Common Grounds 2024

0.7 national average

Data from The Climate Coalition. Updated October 2024.

Number of Great Big Green Week 2022 events

1.8 national average

Data from The Climate Coalition. Number of Great Big Green Week 2022 events Updated October 2022.

Number of Great Big Green Week 2023 events

2.2 national average

Data from The Climate Coalition. Number of Great Big Green Week 2023 events Updated July 2023.

Number of Great Big Green Week 2024 events

1.9 national average

Data from The Climate Coalition. Number of public Great Big Green week 2024 events held in the area. This exludes any private events that were held. Updated September 2024.

Number of RSPB Reserves

Data from the RSPB. Updated September 2023.

Number of Save the Children shops

0.2 national average

Data from Save the Children. Updated July 2023.

Number of Trussell Trust foodbanks

2.2 national average

Data from Trussell Trust. Updated December 2022.

Number of Wildlife Trusts Reserves

Data from the Wildlife Trusts. Number of Wildlife Trusts Reserves Updated 2024-07-02.

More movement data