Aberdeenshire West (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Aberdeenshire West
County constituency for the Scottish Parliament
Aberdeenshire West shown within the North East Scotland electoral region and the region shown within Scotland
Population	76,516 (2019)[1]
Current constituency
Created	2011
Party	Conservative
MSP	Alexander Burnett
Council area	Aberdeenshire
Created from	Gordon, West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine

Aberdeenshire West (Gaelic: Siorrachd Obar Dheathain an Iar) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering part of the council area of Aberdeenshire. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the North East Scotland electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.

The seat has been held by Alexander Burnett of the Scottish Conservatives since the 2016 Scottish Parliament election.

The other nine constituencies of the North East Scotland region are: Aberdeen Central, Aberdeen Donside, Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Aberdeenshire East, Angus North and Mearns, Angus South, Banffshire and Buchan Coast, Dundee City East and Dundee City West.

The region covers all of the Aberdeen City council area, Aberdeenshire, Angus, the Dundee City council area and part of Moray.

Outline of the constituency

Aberdeenshire is represented by five constituencies in the Scottish Parliament: Aberdeen South and North Kincardine, Aberdeenshire East, Aberdeenshire West, Angus North and Mearns and Banffshire and Buchan Coast.

The electoral wards used in the creation of Aberdeenshire West are:

• In full: West Garioch; Westhill and District; Huntly, Strathbogie and Howe of Alford; Aboyne, Upper Deeside and Donside; Banchory and Mid-Deeside
• In part: East Garioch (shared with Aberdeenshire East), Stonehaven and Lower Deeside (shared with Angus North and Mearns)

The Aberdeenshire West constituency is an affluent rural constituency located along the western side of the Aberdeenshire council area. To the south of the constituency is Royal Deeside, located along the Valleys of the River Dee, which includes the affluent towns of Aboyne and Banchory and their surrounding rural areas. Along the western end of Royal Deeside is the Cairngorms National Park, covering Queen Elizabeth II's estate of Balmoral Castle. North-east of Deeside is the town of Westhill, which functions as a suburb to the city of Aberdeen. North of here, along the Valleys of the River Don in the area known as "Gordon", is Huntly, home to the Gordon Highlanders, and the former Royal Burgh of Kintore, which has developed into an Aberdonian suburb, with a near doubling of the town's population throughout the 2000s. The constituency is among the least deprived parts of Scotland, with slight deprivation in the south-west of Huntly, and high rates of affluence elsewhere.^[2]

Oil and agriculture form a significant part of the local economy, with tourist interests around Royal Deeside. The constituency also covers the Royal Lochnagar distillery located to the west of Royal Deeside.

The Aberdeenshire West constituency was formed in 2011 from parts of the former constituencies of Gordon and West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine. From the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1999 until 2007 these constituencies were both represented by the Liberal Democrats. In 2007, Gordon was gained by the SNP's Alex Salmond, who served as the First Minister of Scotland from 2007 until 2014.

In the 2012 local council election, the Conservative vote in areas covered by the Aberdeenshire West constituency tended to be strongest around Royal Deeside, covering the villages of Aboyne, Ballater and Banchory, and to a lesser extent around Westhill and its surrounding areas. The rural region of Garioch, situated along the River Don and its tributary streams, tended to be better for the SNP and Liberal Democrats.

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Aberdeenshire West^[3][4][5]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Burnett[a]	19,709	47.2	9.1	17,700	42.4	3.7
	SNP	Fergus Mutch	16,319	39.1	3.6	13,379	32.0	1.5
	Liberal Democrats	Rosemary Bruce	3,363	8.1	12.5	3,375	8.1	5.6
	Labour	Andy Brown	2,382	5.7	0.1	2,856	6.8	0.6
	Scottish Green					2,569	6.2	1.3
	Alba					668	1.6	New
	All for Unity					214	0.5	New
	Independent Green Voice					212	0.5	New
	Scottish Family					205	0.5	New
	Abolish the Scottish Parliament					140	0.3	New
	Reform UK					119	0.3	New
	Freedom Alliance (UK)					108	0.3	New
	Scottish Libertarian					101	0.2	0.1
	UKIP					57	0.1	1.6
	Restore Scotland					54	0.1	New
	Independent	Laura Marshall				31	0.1	New
	Independent	Geoffrey Farquharson				16	0.0	New
	Renew					10	0.0	New
Majority			3,390	8.1	5.6
Valid Votes			41,773			40,761
Invalid Votes			116			79
Turnout			41,889	69.7	10.5	41,893	69.7	10.5
	Conservative hold		Swing		10.8
Notes ^ Incumbent member for this constituency

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Aberdeenshire West^[6][7]

Party		Candidate	Constituency			Regional
			Votes	%	±%	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Alexander Burnett	13,400	38.1	17.0	13,606	38.6	18.9
	SNP	Dennis Robertson[a]	12,500	35.5	7.0	11,807	33.5	13.7
	Liberal Democrats	Mike Rumbles	7,262	20.6	7.6	4,804	13.6	1.6
	Labour	Sarah Duncan	2,036	5.8	2.4	2,184	6.2	1.7
	Scottish Green					1,719	4.9	0.3
	UKIP					613	1.7	0.6
	Scottish Christian					214	0.6	0.1
	National Front					78	0.2	0.0
	Solidarity					70	0.2	0.2
	RISE					49	0.1	New
	Scottish Libertarian					48	0.1	New
	Communist					41	0.1	New
Majority			900	2.6	N/A
Valid Votes			35,198			35,233
Invalid Votes			83			51
Turnout			35,281	59.2	5.8	35,284	59.2	5.8
	Conservative gain from SNP		Swing		12.0
Notes ^ Incumbent member for this constituency

• "Aberdeenshire West constituency map" (PDF). Boundaries Scotland. Retrieved 28 June 2021.