I wrote this document on the 2nd July before the 4th July election session. We can now see the results which list that Torcuil Crichton who is the Labour MP for “Na h-Eileanan an Iar” and the second person was Susan Thomson who was the SNP member and the third person was Angus MacNeil who sadly has not become the MP for the Lewis and Harris Isle location. So here is the comment I wrote on 2nd July and I hope that Angus will be able to assist in that area in the future. Here was the earlier options:

I was delighted to visit the Isle of Lewis and Harris in 2014 and 2019 and have great holiday memories of that location. I became aware on both of these occasions that the “Na h-Eileanan an Iar” MP was Angus MacNeil who had been the SNP MP since 2005. I have observed and valued some of the contributions of the SNP.  

The support of Angus MacNeil has been very positive but back in 2023 after 18 years as the SNP member “He was re-elected for the party at the subsequent four elections, but was suspended for one week from the party’s Parliamentary group in July 2023, after which he decided not to rejoin, leading to his suspension and later expulsion from the party”

Angus is standing in this Election as an Independent member and the SNP candidate is Susan Thomson. Back in 1970 the SNP first proposed an MP to be set against the Labour Party which had always had an MP previously as far back as 1935.Calum MacDonald was the Labour MP in 1987 who replaced the proposes SNP member who was replacing Donald Stewart the SNP MP from 1970 to the end of 1987. However, Angus replaced Calum in 2005 and subsequently the Labour Party has been second every time since then.

So, this year there is Angus as Independent, Susan for SNP or Torcuil Crichton for Labour. There are here are five other Candidates participatingfor Conservative (Kenny Barker), for Scottish Christian (Donald Boyd), for Liberal Democrats (Jamie Dobson), for Reform UK (Tony Ridden) and for Scottish Family (Steven Welsh).It will be interesting to see which direction the people of the Outer Hebrides vote in this Election and what happens for “Na h-Eileanan an Iar” in 2024