North East Scotland (Scottish Parliament electoral region)

North East Scotland
electoral region for the Scottish Parliament
North East Scotland shown within Scotland
Population	768,973 (2019) [1]
Current electoral region
Created	1999
MSPs	Scottish National Party 9 Conservative 5 Labour 2 Scottish Greens 1
Council areas	Aberdeen City Aberdeenshire Angus Dundee City Moray (part)
Constituencies	Aberdeen Central Aberdeen Donside Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Aberdeenshire East Aberdeenshire West Angus North and Mearns Angus South Banffshire and Buchan Coast Dundee City East Dundee City West

North East Scotland is one of the eight electoral regions of the Scottish Parliament which were created in 1999. Ten of the parliament's 73 first past the post constituencies are sub-divisions of the region and it elects seven of the 56 additional-member Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). Thus it elects a total of 17 MSPs.

The North East Scotland region shares boundaries with the Highlands and Islands and Mid Scotland and Fife regions.

Constituencies and local government areas

2026–present

Map of boundaries from 2011

As a result of the Second Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries for the region and constituencies were redrawn for the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

Map of boundaries from 2011

2011–2026

As a result of the First Periodic Review of Scottish Parliament Boundaries the boundaries of the region and constituencies were redrawn for the 2011 Scottish Parliament election.

Region	Constituencies
		Aberdeen Central Aberdeen Donside Aberdeen South and North Kincardine Aberdeenshire East Aberdeenshire West Angus North and Mearns Angus South Banffshire and Buchan Coast Dundee City East Dundee City West

1999–2011

In terms of first past the post constituencies the region covered:

Region	Constituencies
		Aberdeen Central Aberdeen North Aberdeen South Angus Banff and Buchan Dundee East Dundee West Gordon West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

The constituencies were created in 1999 with the names and boundaries of Westminster constituencies, as existing in at that time. Scottish Westminster constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies in 2005 ^[2]

In terms of local government areas the region covers:

• Aberdeenshire
• Aberdeen City
• Dundee City
• part of Angus (otherwise within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region)
• a small part of Moray (otherwise within the Highlands and Islands electoral region)
• a small part of Perth and Kinross (otherwise within the Mid Scotland and Fife electoral region)

Members of the Scottish Parliament

Constituency MSPs

Term	Election	Aberdeen Central		Aberdeen North		Aberdeen South		Gordon		West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine		Angus				Banff and Buchan		Dundee East		Dundee West
1st	1999		Lewis MacDonald (Labour)		Elaine Thomson (Labour)		Nicol Stephen (LD)		Nora Radcliffe (LD)		Mike Rumbles (LD)		Andrew Welsh (SNP)				Alex Salmond (SNP)		John McAllion (Labour)		Kate Maclean (Labour)
	2001 by																Stewart Stevenson (SNP)
2nd	2003				Brian Adam (SNP)														Shona Robison (SNP)
3rd	2007								Alex Salmond (SNP)												Joe FitzPatrick (SNP)
Term	Election	Aberdeen Central		Aberdeen Donside		Aberdeen South and North Kincardine		Aberdeenshire East		Aberdeenshire West		Angus North and Mearns		Angus South		Banffshire and Buchan Coast		Dundee City East		Dundee City West
4th	2011		Kevin Stewart (SNP)		Brian Adam (SNP)		Maureen Watt (SNP)		Alex Salmond (SNP)		Dennis Robertson (SNP)		Nigel Don (SNP)		Graeme Dey (SNP)		Stewart Stevenson (SNP)		Shona Robison (SNP)		Joe FitzPatrick (SNP)
	2013 by				Mark McDonald (SNP) (later independent)
5th	2016								Gillian Martin (SNP)		Alexander Burnett (Conservative)		Mairi Evans (SNP)
	2018
6th	2021				Jackie Dunbar (SNP)		Audrey Nicoll (SNP)										Karen Adam (SNP)

Regional list MSPs

N.B. This table is for presentation purposes only

Parliament	Year	MSP		MSP		MSP		MSP		MSP		MSP		MSP
1st	1999		Shona Robison (SNP)		Brian Adam (SNP)		Irene McGugan (SNP)		Richard Lochhead (SNP)		Alex Johnstone (Conservative)		Ben Wallace (Conservative)		David Davidson (Conservative)
2nd	2003		Marlyn Glen (Labour)		Shiona Baird (Green)		Richard Baker (Labour)						Nanette Milne (Conservative)
	2006								Maureen Watt (SNP)
3rd	2007				Nigel Don (SNP)										Alison McInnes (Lib Dem)
4th	2011		Jenny Marra (Labour)		Lewis MacDonald (Labour)				Mark McDonald (SNP)
	2013								Christian Allard (SNP)
	2016						Lesley Brennan (Labour)
5th	2016						Ross Thomson (Conservative)		Peter Chapman (Conservative)				Liam Kerr (Conservative)		Mike Rumbles (Lib Dem)
	2016										Bill Bowman (Conservative)
	2017						Tom Mason (Conservative)
6th	2021		Michael Marra (Labour)		Mercedes Villalba (Labour)		Douglas Lumsden (Conservative)		Maurice Golden (Conservative)		Tess White (Conservative)				Maggie Chapman (Green)

Election results

North East Scotland election results 1999-2021

2026 Scottish Parliament election

Main article: 2026 Scottish Parliament election

2026 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
List		Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP
	Conservative
	Labour
	Scottish Green	Guy Ingerson, Maggie Chapman, Esme Houston, William Linegar, Sylvia Hardie, Kathryn Vincent, Charlotte Horne, Remi Salvan
	Liberal Democrats	Yi-pei Chou Turvey, Michael Turvey
	Reform UK
	Alba
	Sovereignty	Moira Brown, David McHutchon and Kelly Wilson

2021 Scottish Parliament election

Constituency results

2021 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland

Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Kevin Stewart	SNP hold
	Aberdeen Donside	Jackie Dunbar	SNP hold
	Aberdeen South and North Kincardine	Audrey Nicoll	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire East	Gillian Martin	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire West	Alexander Burnett	Conservative hold
	Angus North and Mearns	Mairi Gougeon	SNP hold
	Angus South	Graeme Dey	SNP hold
	Banffshire and Buchan Coast	Karen Adam	SNP hold
	Dundee City East	Shona Robison	SNP hold
	Dundee City West	Joe FitzPatrick	SNP hold

Additional member results

2021 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland [3] [4] [5]
List		Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP	Fatima Joji, Christian Allard, Fergus Mutch, William Duff, Nadia El-Nakla, John Cooke, Lynne Short, Gillian Al-Samarai, Joshua Mennie	147,910	40.9	3.8
	Conservative	Liam Kerr , Alexander Burnett , Douglas Lumsden , Maurice Golden , Tess White , Gillian Tebberen, Stewart White, Mark Findlater, Harriet Cross, Philip Scott, Eleanor Price, Mason McIlreavy, Alan Fakley	110,555	30.6	2.6
	Labour	Michael Marra , Mercedes Villalba , Barry Black, Lynn Thomson, Richard McCready, Georgia Strachan, Kaamal Bola, Heather Herbert, Owen Wright	41,062	11.4	1.2
	Scottish Green	Maggie Chapman , Guy Ingerson, Rachel Shanks, Leòdhas Iain Massie, Sylvia Hardie, Peter Kennedy, Bradley Booth	22,735	6.3	1.4
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Bruce, John Waddell, Ben Lawrie, Ian Yuill, Conrad Wood, Isobel Davidson, Alison Simpson, Michael Crichton	18,051	5.0	1.0
	Alba	Alex Salmond, Heather McLean, Brian Topping, Dot Jessiman	8,269	2.3	2.3
	All for Unity	Scott Fenwick, Arthur Keith, Bobby Ferguson, Danielle Millar, Richard Kelbie, Ben Stones, John McPhee	2,591	0.7	0.7
	Scottish Family	David Bestwick, John Donaldson, William Strachan, George Arthur, Shehla Arthur	2,311	0.6	0.6
	Independent Green Voice	Richard Tallach	2,019	0.6	0.6
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament	Callum Buchanan	1,218	0.3	0.3
	Reform UK	John Cox, James Whitelaw, Greig Mair, Samantha Evans, Carol MacDonald	1,056	0.3	0.3
	Freedom Alliance	Kirsty Miller, Jason Duncan, Diane Mathieson, Sadie Cubitt	1,011	0.3	0.3
	Restore Scotland	David McHutchon, Ewan Gurr	712	0.2	0.2
	Scottish Libertarian	Bryce Hope	653	0.2	0.0
	UKIP	Duncan Odgers, David Mackay, William Morren, Gerald Haddrell, Albert Emery, Kathleen Rowham	599	0.2	1.9
	Independent	Laura Marshall	354	0.1	0.1
	Independent	Geoffrey Alexander Farquharson	156	0.04	0.0
	Renew	Colin McFadyen	95	0.0	0.0

2016 Scottish Parliament election

In the 2016 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:

• 9 Scottish National Party MSPs (nine constituency members)
• 5 Conservative MSPs (one constituency member, four additional members)
• 2 Labour MSPs (all additional members)
• 1 Liberal Democrat MSP (additional member)

Constituency results

2016 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Kevin Stewart	SNP hold
	Aberdeen Donside	Mark McDonald	SNP hold
	Aberdeen South and North Kincardine	Maureen Watt	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire East	Gillian Martin	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire West	Alexander Burnett	Conservative gain from SNP
	Angus North and Mearns	Mairi Evans	SNP hold
	Angus South	Graeme Dey	SNP hold
	Banffshire and Buchan Coast	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee City East	Shona Robison	SNP hold
	Dundee City West	Joe Fitzpatrick	SNP hold

Additional member results

Candidates elected on the regional list are shown in bold; candidates elected in a constituency who also stood on a list are shown in italics.

2016 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland [6]
List		Candidates	Votes	Of total (%)	± from prev.
	SNP	Christian Allard, Fergus Mutch, Vari McDonald, Kevin Stewart , Nigel Don, Nadia El-Nakla, Maureen Watt , Mark McDonald , Bill Duff, Bryan Stuart, Gill Samarai, Donald Morrison	137,086	44.7%	−8.1%
	Conservative	Alex Johnstone (died in office), Alexander Burnett , Ross Thomson , Peter Chapman , Liam Kerr , Bill Bowman, Nicola Ross, Colin Clark, Kirstene Hair, Tom Mason	85,848	28.0%	+13.9%
	Labour	Jenny Marra , Lewis MacDonald , Lesley Brennan, Richard McCready, Sarah Duncan, Willie Young, Alison Evision, Nathan Morrison, Joanne McFadden, John Ruddy	38,791	12.6%	−3.8%
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Rumbles , Alison McInnes, Sheila Thomson, Scott Martin Rennie, Craig Robertson Duncan, Euan Robert Davidson, David Ronald Evans	18,444	6.0%	−0.8%
	Scottish Green	Maggie Chapman, Dan Yeats, Morag Hannah, David Officer, Anne Mansfield, Morgan Petrie	15,123	4.9%	+1.0%
	UKIP	Calum David Alexander Walker, Emily Ruth Santos, John William Stephen	6,376	2.1%	+1.1%
	Scottish Christian	Tom Morrow, Norman Alexander Ogston	2,068	0.7%	−0.1%
	Solidarity	James Edmund Rodgerson Irving-Lewis, Darren Thomas Ferguson, Brett Matthew Harper, Gareth Desmond Norman, Isobel Alvey	992	0.3%	+0.2%
	National Front	Dave MacDonald	617	0.2%	0.0%
	RISE	Connor Beaton, Marty Smith, Sean Paul O'Connor & Hanne-Lisbeth Paterson	599	0.2%	+0.2%
	Scottish Libertarian	Derek Graham Scott	552	0.2%	+0.2%
	Communist	Raymond Mennie	510	0.2%	+0.2%

2011 Scottish Parliament election

In the 2011 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:

• 11 Scottish National Party MSPs (ten constituency members and one additional members)
• 3 Labour MSPs (all additional members)
• 2 Conservative MSPs (all additional members)
• 1 Liberal Democrat MSP (additional member)

Constituency results

2011 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Kevin Stewart	SNP hold
	Aberdeen Donside	Brian Adam	SNP hold
	Aberdeen South and North Kincardine	Maureen Watt	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Aberdeenshire East	Alex Salmond	SNP hold
	Aberdeenshire West	Dennis Robertson	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	Angus North and Mearns	Nigel Don	SNP hold
	Angus South	Graeme Dey	SNP hold
	Banffshire and Buchan Coast	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee City East	Shona Robison	SNP hold
	Dundee City West	Joe Fitzpatrick	SNP hold

Additional member results

2011 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Mark McDonald	1	-1	140,749	52.7%	+12.2%
	Labour	Richard Baker Jenny Marra Lewis MacDonald	3	+1	43,893	16.4%	-3.2%
	Conservative	Alex Johnstone Nanette Milne	2	±0	37,681	14.1%	−1.1%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison McInnes	1	±0	18,178	6.8%	−8.4%
	Scottish Green		0	±0	10,407	3.9%	+0.7%
	Scottish Senior Citizens		0	±0	4,420	1.7%	+0.1%
	UKIP		0	±0	2,477	0.9%	+0.5%
	Scottish Christian		0	±0	2,159	0.8%	+0.1%
	BNP		0	±0	1,925	0.7%	−0.3%
	Socialist Labour		0	±0	1,459	0.5%	±0
	Scottish Socialist		0	±0	1,115	0.4%	−0.1%
	Independent		0	±0	758	0.3%	±0
	National Front		0	±0	640	0.2%	N/A
	Angus Independents Representatives		0	±0	471	0.2%	N/A
	Solidarity		0	±0	286	0.1%	−0.7%
	Independent		0	±0	237	0.1%	±0
	Independent		0	±0	190	0.1%	±0

2007 Scottish Parliament election

In the 2007 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:

• 8 Scottish National Party MSPs (six constituency members and two additional members)
• 3 Labour MSPs (one constituency members and two additional members)
• 3 Liberal Democrat MSPs (two constituency members and one additional member)
• 2 Conservative MSPs (all additional members)

Constituency results

2007 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Lewis Macdonald	Labour hold
	Aberdeen North	Brian Adam	SNP hold
	Aberdeen South	Nicol Stephen	Liberal Democrats hold
	Angus	Andrew Welsh	SNP hold
	Banff and Buchan	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee East	Shona Robison	SNP hold
	Dundee West	Joe Fitzpatrick	SNP gain from Labour
	Gordon	Alex Salmond	SNP gain from Liberal Democrats
	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Mike Rumbles	Liberal Democrats hold

Additional member results

2007 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Maureen Watt Nigel Don	2	+1	105,265	40.5%	+13.2%
	Labour	Richard Baker Marlyn Glen	2	±0	52,125	20.0%	-0.1%
	Conservative	Alex Johnstone Nanette Milne	2	−1	37,666	14.5%	-2.9%
	Liberal Democrats	Alison McInnes	1	+1	40,934	15.7%	−3.1%
	Scottish Green		0	−1	8,148	3.1%	−2.1%
	Scottish Senior Citizens		0	0	3,874	1.5%	+1.5%
	BNP		0	0	2,764	1.1%	N/A
	Solidarity		0	0	2,004	0.8%	N/A
	Scottish Christian		0	0	1,895	0.7%	N/A
	Socialist Labour		0	0	1,331	0.5%	−0.5%
	CPA		0	0	1,113	0.4%	N/A
	Scottish Socialist		0	0	1,051	0.4%	−3.8%
	UKIP		0	0	1,045	0.4%	-0.2%
	Scottish Voice		0	0	569	0.2%	N/A
	Scottish Enterprise		0	0	222	0.1%	N/A

2003 Scottish Parliament election

In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:

• 5 Scottish National Party MSPs (four constituency members and one additional member)
• 4 Labour MSPs (two constituency members and two additional members)
• 3 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency members)
• 3 Conservative MSPs (all additional members)
• 1 Green MSP (additional member)

Constituency results

2003 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Lewis Macdonald	Labour hold
	Aberdeen North	Brian Adam	SNP gain from Labour
	Aberdeen South	Nicol Stephen	Liberal Democrats hold
	Angus	Andrew Welsh	SNP hold
	Banff and Buchan	Stewart Stevenson	SNP hold
	Dundee East	Shona Robison	SNP gain from Labour
	Dundee West	Kate Maclean	Labour hold
	Gordon	Nora Radcliffe	Liberal Democrats hold
	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Mike Rumbles	Liberal Democrats hold

Additional member results

2003 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Richard Lochhead	1	−3	66,463	27.3%	-5.0%
	Labour	Marlyn Glen Richard Baker	2	+2	49,189	20.2%	-5.3%
	Liberal Democrats		0	0	45,831	18.8%	+1.3%
	Conservative	David Davidson Nanette Milne Alex Johnstone	3	±0	42,318	17.4%	-0.9%
	Scottish Green	Shiona Baird	1	+1	12,724	5.2%	+2.4%
	Scottish Socialist		0	0	10,226	4.2%	+3.1%
	Scottish Pensioners		0	0	5,584	2.3%	N/A
	Fishing		0	0	5,566	2.3%	N/A
	Socialist Labour		0	0	2,431	1.0%	-0.2%
	UKIP		0	0	1,498	0.6%	N/A
	Scottish People's		0	0	941	0.4%	N/A
	Independent		0	0	902	0.4%	N/A

Changes:

• Maureen Watt replaced Richard Lochhead, who resigned as an MSP in April 2006 to contest the Moray by-election following the death of Margaret Ewing. Watt was the next available candidate on the SNP list.

1999 Scottish Parliament election

In the 1999 Scottish Parliament election the region elected MSPs as follows:

• 6 Scottish National Party MSPs (two constituency members four additional members)
• 4 Labour MSPs (all constituency members)
• 3 Liberal Democrat MSPs (all constituency members)
• 3 Conservative MSPs (all additional members)

Constituency results

1999 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Constituency		Elected member	Result
	Aberdeen Central	Lewis Macdonald	Scottish Labour win (new seat)
	Aberdeen North	Elaine Thomson	Scottish Labour win (new seat)
	Aberdeen South	Nicol Stephen	Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	Angus	Andrew Welsh	Scottish National Party win (new seat)
	Banff and Buchan	Alex Salmond	Scottish National Party win (new seat)
	Dundee East	John McAllion	Scottish Labour win (new seat)
	Dundee West	Kate Maclean	Scottish Labour win (new seat)
	Gordon	Nora Radcliffe	Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat)
	West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine	Mike Rumbles	Scottish Liberal Democrats win (new seat)

Changes:

• 2001 Banff and Buchan by-election : Stewart Stevenson replaced Alex Salmond, who had resigned. Salmond was elected as the Member of Parliament for the Banff and Buchan constituency of the United Kingdom Parliament the same day as the Scottish Parliament by-election.

Additional member results

1999 Scottish Parliament election: North East Scotland
Party		Elected candidates	Seats	+/−	Votes	%	+/−%
	SNP	Brian Adam Richard Lochhead Shona Robison Irene McGugan	4	N/A	93,329	32.3%	N/A
	Labour		0	N/A	72,666	25.5%	N/A
	Conservative	David Davidson Ben Wallace Alex Johnstone	3	N/A	52,149	18.3%	N/A
	Liberal Democrats		0	N/A	49,843	17.5%	N/A
	Scottish Green		0	N/A	8,067	2.8%	N/A
	Socialist Labour		0	N/A	3,557	1.2%	N/A
	Scottish Socialist		0	N/A	3,016	1.1%	N/A
	Independent		0	N/A	2,303	0.8%	N/A
	Independent		0	N/A	770	0.3%	N/A
	Natural Law		0	N/A	746	0.3%	N/A

References

1. Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
2. See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
3. "Scottish Parliamentary election – regional contest North East Scotland Region – Statement of persons and parties nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Aberdeenshire Council . 31 March 2021. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 April 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
4. "Elections 2021: North East Scotland [region],". BBC News . Archived from the original on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
5. Bell, Fraser (8 May 2021). "Scottish Parliament election – North East Scotland Thursday 6 May 2021 – Declaration of result" (PDF). Aberdeenshire Council. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 May 2021. Retrieved 26 May 2021.
6. "Scottish Parliamentary election - regional contest: North East Scotland Region: Statement of persons and parties nominated and Notice of Poll" (PDF). Aberdeen City Council. Retrieved 22 February 2020.