Region Overview

The North East covers four Council Areas in full – Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus and Dundee City. It also includes a very small chunk of Moray around Buckie and Cullen. The original version didn’t have that bit of Moray but did include the area around Keith, and was also lacking the northern chunk of Angus including Forfar. Formal administrative boundaries aside, you could think of this region as consisting of three very distinct areas.

There’s the big cities, with Aberdeen the 3rd largest in Scotland and Dundee the 4th. As major industrial centres, both cities experienced substantial growth through the early 20th century, but have very individual stories. Dundee has followed the Glasgow route of industrial decline followed by cultural revival, whilst Aberdeen is more akin to Edinburgh in terms of affluence, having been the centre of Scotland’s oil boom. Both have had areas of strength for Labour, though Dundee has a long history of SNP success whereas Aberdeen saw stronger Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.

Then there are the coastal burghs, stretching up from the likes of Arbroath and Montrose in Angus through Stonehaven, Peterhead, Fraserburgh and Banff in Aberdeenshire, and terminating in that Moray chunk at Buckie. All of these have strong ties to Scotland’s fisheries, and have been SNP-Conservative battlegrounds for decades.

The third and final area would be the rural farming inland. More than almost any other part of Scotland, rural Aberdeenshire is extremely well and densely populated. These are the areas that by the latter part of the 20th century were driving Conservative-Lib Dem contests.

By the 1997 election which eliminated the Conservatives across all of Scotland, the SNP had settled into dominance of Angus and the Banff and Buchan area, Labour commanded the big cities, and the Lib Dems held sway over rural Aberdeenshire.

This region saw one of the changes from the 1997 UK Election in terms of constituencies, as the Lib Dems also picked up Aberdeen South to give them three constituencies. Labour won four, and the SNP the remaining two. Despite the constituency distribution, the SNP had a clear lead in terms of the list vote, landing them four regional seats, whilst the other three went Conservative.


6 SNP (4 Regional, 2 Constituency)
4 Labour (all Constituency)
3 Conservative (all Regional)
3 Liberal Democrat (all Constituency)

One of the regions the Rainbow Parliament was more muted, 2003 saw the SNP gain Aberdeen North and Dundee East from Labour, reversing their constituency totals. Whilst Labour picked up two regional seats to balance them out, the SNP’s loss of support saw them only win a single list seat this time. The space vacated by the SNP went to the Greens, which was the requisite Rainbow diversity, whilst the Conservatives held steady on three.


5 SNP (4 Constituency, 1 Regional)
4 Labour (2 Constituency, 2 Regional)
3 Conservative (all Regional)
3 Liberal Democrat (all Constituency)
1 Green (Regional)

2007 brought further constituency success for the SNP, winning Gordon from the Liberal Democrats and Dundee West from Labour, giving them six constituencies to two and one, respectively. Though the Lib Dems made up their loss on the regional list, Labour didn’t. The Conservatives lost one of their seats and the Greens dropped out, whilst the SNP picked up a second list seat.


8 SNP (6 Constituency, 2 Regional)
3 Labour (2 Regional, 1 Constituency)
3 Liberal Democrat (2 Constituency, 1 Regional)
2 Conservative (all Regional)

In their already remarkable 2011 majority, the SNP really swept the board in the redrawn North East region. Not only did they will all ten constituencies, but such was their strength they won a list seat as well. With Labour on three regional seats and the Conservatives on two, it was effectively the Lib Dems who lost out, winning only a single list seat whilst being wiped out of the constituencies.


11 SNP (10 Constituency, 1 Regional)
3 Labour (all Regional)
2 Conservative (all Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)

What goes up must come down, the saying goes, and that proved true for the SNP in the North East at the last election. Facing somewhat resurgent Conservatives, though the SNP maintained their clear lead in the region, they lost Aberdeenshire West to their foes, as well as too many list votes to keep that seat. The Conservatives also managed to win four of the regional seats, with Labour dropping to two and the Lib Dems remaining on one, whilst the Greens had a narrow miss.


9 SNP (all Constituency)
5 Conservative (4 Regional, 1 Constituency)
2 Labour (all Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)

(Note: This section is based on the national polling averages as of the 1st of April.)

Aberdeenshire West is a highly marginal seat, and if the SNP deliver on recent polling then it’s one they are in with a shot at winning. If the Conservative revival had kept up a full head of steam, seats in Angus and Aberdeenshire may have been within their grasp, but those may be difficult gains for them at the moment.

In fact, on current polling they might be at risk of losing one of their list seats, even if they hold their sole constituency. The Greens are currently polling well enough to pick up a seat here, and are possibly the only party in with a particularly strong shot at a gain overall in this region. If the Conservatives do hold all of their current seats, Labour would be next in the firing line, which would reduce them to just one MSP in this region.

Although the SNP have been polling higher than their 2011 result, bear in mind their vote began to redistribute from the North East at the last election, when they suffered an 8.1% drop in regional vote versus a 2.3% drop nationally. As such, they might struggle to replicate their previous feat of winning a list seat and every constituency.

Speaking of redistributed votes, the Lib Dems might need to watch out here too, as this isn’t an area they have a Westminster constituency, which likely means it hasn’t been receiving the same influxes of cash and campaigning before the pandemic ground that to a half. Just like the South in 2016, if they aren’t careful they could lose this seat despite holding up well nationally – though I’d be quite surprised if they did.

One final spanner in the works to watch for here is the newly-launched Alba Party. Though it’s unclear how their vote will be spread and how well they’ll do overall, the general expectation is that as Salmond’s region, they’ll do best here. Even on a poor day overall for the newly born party, they could find themselves with enough support to get him across the line.

Region Map

Overall Regional Result 2016

Regional List Vote and MSPs Elected


#1: Conservative - Alex Johnstone
#2: Labour - Jenny Marra
#3: Conservative - Ross Thomson
#4: Conservative - Peter Chapman
#5: Labour - Lewis MacDonald
#6: Liberal Democrat - Mike Rumbles
#7: Conservative - Liam Kerr

Constituency Vote

Image Version

Total MSPs Elected


9 SNP (all Constituency)
5 Conservative (4 Regional, 1 Constituency)
2 Labour (all Regional)
1 Liberal Democrat (Regional)

Changes Since 2016


Conservative Regional MSP Alex Johnstone sadly died in December 2016. He was replaced by Bill Bowman

Conservative Regional MSP Ross Thomson resigned after being elected as MP for Aberdeen South in June 2017. He was replaced by Tom Mason .

SNP Constituency MSP for Aberdeen Donside Mark McDonald was suspended in November 2017 then resigned from the party following a sexual harrassment scandal. He has since continued to sit as an Independent .

Regional List Candidates 2021

  1. Fatima Joji
  2. Christian Allard
  3. Fergus Mutch
  4. William Duff
  5. Nadia El-Nakla
  6. John Cooke
  7. Lynne Short
  8. Gillian Al-Samarai
  9. Josh Mennie
  1. Liam Kerr
  2. Alexander Burnett
  3. Douglas Lumsden
  4. Maurice Golden
  5. Tess White
  6. Gillian Tebberen
  7. Stewart Whyte
  8. Mark Findlater
  9. Harriet Cross
  10. Philip Scott
  11. Eleanor Price
  12. Mason Mcilreavy
  1. Michael Marra
  2. Mercedes Villalba
  3. Barry Black
  4. Lynn Thomson
  5. Richard McCready
  6. Georgia Strachan
  7. Kaamal Bola
  8. Heather Herbert
  9. Owen Wright
  1. Maggie Chapman
  2. Guy Ingerson
  3. Rachel Shanks
  4. Leòdhas Massie
  5. Sylvia Hardie
  6. Peter Kennedy
  7. Bradley Booth
  1. Rosemary Bruce
  2. John Waddell
  3. Ben Lawrie
  4. Ian Yuill
  5. Conrad Wood
  6. Isobel Davidson
  7. Alison Simpson
  8. Michael Crichton
  1. Alex Salmond
  2. Heather McLean
  3. Brian Topping
  4. Dot Jessiman
  1. Arthur Keith
  2. Scott Fenwick
  3. Bobby Ferguson
  4. Danielle Millar
  5. Richard Kelbie
  6. Ben Stones
  7. John McPhee
  1. Kirsty Miller
  2. Jason Duncan
  3. Diane Mathieson
  4. Sadie Cubitt
  1. John Cox
  2. James Whitelaw
  3. Greig Mair
  4. Samantha Evans
  5. Carol MacDonald
  1. David Bestwick
  2. John Donaldson
  3. William Strachan
  4. George Arthur
  5. Shehla Arthur
  1. Duncan Odgers
  2. David Mackay
  3. William Morren
  4. Gerald Haddrell
  5. Albert Emery
  6. Kathleen Rowham
  1. Richard Tallach
  1. David McHutchon
  2. Ewan Gurr
  1. Colin McFadyen
  • Geoffrey Farquharson
  • Laura Marshall

Aberdeen Central

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Kevin Stewart
Majority: 4349 (16.3%)
Turnout: 46.9%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Kevin Stewart
Conservative: Douglas Lumsden
Labour: Barry Black
Green: Guy Ingerson
Liberal Democrat: Desmond Bouse

Aberdeen Donside

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Mark McDonald
Majority: 11630 (37.5%)
Turnout: 50.7%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Jackie Dunbar
Conservative: Harriet Cross
Labour: Heather Herbert
Liberal Democrat: Isobel Davidson
TUSC: Lucas Grant

Aberdeen South and North Kincardine

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Maureen Watt
Majority: 2775 (8.5%)
Turnout: 54.2%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Audrey Nicoll
Conservative: Liam Kerr
Labour: Lynn Thomson
Liberal Democrat: Ian Yuill
Libertarian: Stephen Jamieson

Aberdeenshire East

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Gillian Martin
Majority: 5837 (16.8%)
Turnout: 55.5%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Gillian Martin
Conservative: Stewart Whyte
Labour: Graeme Downie
Liberal Democrat: Conrad Wood

Aberdeenshire West

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


Conservative: Alexander Burnett
Majority: 900 (2.6%)
Turnout: 59.1%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Fergus Mutch
Conservative: Alexander Burnett
Labour: Andrew Brown
Liberal Democrat: Rosemary Bruce

Angus North and Mearns

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Mairi Gougeon
Majority: 2472 (8.4%)
Turnout: 54.3%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Mairi Gougeon
Conservative: Braden Davy
Labour: Cindy Douglas
Liberal Democrat: Michael Turvey

Angus South

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Graeme Dey
Majority: 4304 (13.5%)
Turnout: 56.7%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Graeme Dey
Conservative: Maurice Golden
Labour: Graeme McKenzie
Liberal Democrat: Ben Lawrie

Banffshire and Buchan Coast

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Stewart Stevenson
Majority: 6683 (23.0%)
Turnout: 48.7%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Karen Adam
Conservative: Mark Findlater
Labour: Georgia Strachan
Liberal Democrat: Alison Simpson
Freedom Alliance: Jason Duncan
Restore Scotland: David McHutchon

Dundee City East

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Shona Robison
Majority: 10898 (38.4%)
Turnout: 51.6%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Shona Robison
Conservative: Philip Scott
Labour: Owen Wright
Liberal Democrat: Michael Crichton
TUSC: Wayne Scott

Dundee City West

2016 Results

Image Version

2016 MSP & Majority


SNP: Joe Fitzpatrick
Majority: 8828 (31.8%)
Turnout: 51.7%

2021 Candidates

SNP: Joe FitzPatrick
Conservative: Tess White
Labour: Mercedes Villalba
Liberal Democrat: Daniel Coleman
Restore Scotland: Ewan Gurr
TUSC: Jim McFarlane