The Island, as it is known to residents, is the largest constituency in the country in population terms with over 100,000 electors, and remained undivided after the last boundary review.
The islanders suffer for their semi-detached status: the very high price of ferry journeys to the mainland is a running sore, and economic development has often been slower here the rest of the country. That has changed in the last five years, however, with unemployment declining faster than the national average. Still, at fewer than 4% the constituency has the lowest proportion of top-rate taxpayers in the country. It has its own Benedictine monastery in Quarr Abbey with its distinctive Byzantine architectural style and Osborne House was a favourite retreat for Queen Victoria. The island is also home to Parkhurst Prison.
The Liberals won the seat in 1974 and held it until 1987. The 1997 Lib Dem gain came despite their share of the vote actually falling compared with the previous election: the result of third-placed Labour tearing a great chunk out of the Conservative vote which enabled the Lib Dems to slip through the middle and take the seat.