Shetland has been held by the Liberal Democrats at all elections since the formation of the Scottish Parliament in 1999, with the current MSP being Beatrice Wishart, who won the seat at a 2019 by-election held following the resignation of former party leader Tavish Scott.

Shetland is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are: Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Moray, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.

The constituency is protected in law due to its geographical separation from other parts of Scotland, and therefore its boundaries are not subject to review.

The seat was represented by Tavish Scott, former Scottish Liberal Democrats leader, from the 1999 election until he stood down in June 2019.

[4] The subsequent by-election was won by Beatrice Wishart, who held the seat for the Liberal Democrats.