Aberdeen North is a

burgh constituency A burgh constituency is a type of parliamentary constituency in Scotland. It is a constituency which is predominantly urban, and on this basis has been designated as a burgh constituency. They are the successors of the historic parliamentary bur ...

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

of the

Parliament of the United Kingdom The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...

and it elects one

Member of Parliament (MP) A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members often ...

by the

first past the post In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...

system of election. It was first used in the 1885 general election, but has undergone various boundary changes since that date. There was also an Aberdeen North Holyrood constituency, a constituency of the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyr ...

, created in 1999 with the boundaries of the Westminster constituency of at that time. It was abolished in 2011 by the new constituencies of Aberdeen Donside and Aberdeen Central.

Constituency profile

The seat covers the northern half of Aberdeen including the city centre and the North Sea oil companies at the harbour.

Boundaries

Current

As redefined by the Fifth Review of the

Boundary Commission for Scotland The boundary commissions in the United Kingdom are non-departmental public bodies responsible for determining the boundaries of constituencies for elections to the House of Commons. There are four boundary commissions: * Boundary Commission fo ...

, and subsequently first used in the 2005 general election, Aberdeen North is entirely within the

Aberdeen City council area Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and one of five constituencies covering that

council area {{Unreferenced, date=May 2019, bot=noref (GreenC bot) A council area is one of the areas defined in Schedule 1 of the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 and is under the control of one of the local authorities in Scotland created by that Act. ...

and the Aberdeenshire council area. To the south of Aberdeen North there is Aberdeen South, which is also entirely within the Aberdeen City area. To the west there is West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, which is entirely within the Aberdeenshire area, and to the north there is

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Clan Gordon, ...

, which covers part of the Aberdeen City area and part of the Aberdeenshire area. Further north there is

Banff and Buchan Banff and Buchan is a committee area of the Aberdeenshire Council, Scotland. It has a population of 35,742 (2001 Census). Fishing and agriculture are important industries, together with associated processing and service activity. Banff and Bucha ...

which, like West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, is entirely within the Aberdeenshire area. Fifth Review changes include the transfer of

Bridge of Don Bridge of Don is a suburb in the north of Aberdeen, Scotland. In , the Bridge of Don electoral ward was estimated to have a population of 19,545. Bridge of Don is split into four areas for statistical purposes by Aberdeen City Council and Poli ...

Dyce Dyce ( gd, Deis) is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, situated on the River Don about northwest of the city centre. It is best known as the location of Aberdeen Airport. History Dyce is the site of an early medieval church dedicated to the 8 ...

and

Danestone Danestone is a small, village-like area of Aberdeen, Scotland, located next to the suburb of Bridge of Don. Located North of Aberdeen City Centre, ''Danestone'' is a relatively new area of Aberdeen. The area was all farmland until the 1980s whe ...

areas from Aberdeen North to Gordon, and the new Aberdeen North has boundaries which are very different from those of the earlier constituency. The northern boundary of the earlier constituency coincided with the northern boundary of the Aberdeen City area. At that time, Aberdeen Central and Aberdeen South covered the rest of the Aberdeen City area, and all three ''Aberdeen'' constituencies were entirely within the council area.

Historic

1885 to 1918

From 1832 to 1885 there was a single

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), a ...

constituency. Prior to 1832, the burgh of Aberdeen had been represented as a component of the

Aberdeen Burghs Aberdeen Burghs was a district of burghs constituency which was represented from 1708 to 1800 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain, and from 1801 to 1832 in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Cr ...

constituency. When Aberdeen North was created by the

Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 The Redistribution of Seats Act 1885 (48 & 49 Vict., c. 23) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It was a piece of electoral reform legislation that redistributed the seats in the House of Commons, introducing the concept of equal ...

and first used in the 1885 general election, so was Aberdeen South. Aberdeen North then consisted of the municipal wards of St Clement, St Andrew, St Machar and Greyfriars, and the 10th and 11th Parliamentary Polling Districts. The rest of the

county of Aberdeen Aberdeenshire or the County of Aberdeen ( sco, Coontie o Aiberdeen, gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. The area of the county, excluding the city of Aberdeen itself, is also a lieutenancy ...

was covered by the

county constituencies In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constitue ...

of Eastern Aberdeenshire and Western Aberdeenshire.''

Boundaries of Parliamentary Constituencies 1885-1972 Boundary or Boundaries may refer to: * Border, in political geography Entertainment * ''Boundaries'' (2016 film), a 2016 Canadian film * ''Boundaries'' (2018 film), a 2018 American-Canadian road trip film *Boundary (cricket), the edge of the pla ...

'' (), F. W. S. Craig 1972 The same boundaries were used in the 1886 general election, the 1892 general election, the 1895 general election, the 1900 general election, the

1906 general election The following elections occurred in the year 1906. Asia * 1906 Persian legislative election Europe * 1906 Belgian general election * 1906 Croatian parliamentary election * Denmark ** 1906 Danish Folketing election ** 1906 Danish Landsting electi ...

, the

January 1910 general election The January 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 15 January to 10 February 1910. The government called the election in the midst of a constitutional crisis caused by the rejection of the People's Budget by the Conservative-dominat ...

and the

December 1910 general election The December 1910 United Kingdom general election was held from 3 to 19 December. It was the last general election to be held over several days and the last to be held before the First World War. The election took place following the efforts o ...

1918 to 1950

In 1918 constituency boundaries were redefined by the

Representation of the People Act 1918 The Representation of the People Act 1918 was an Act of Parliament passed to reform the electoral system in Great Britain and Ireland. It is sometimes known as the Fourth Reform Act. The Act extended the franchise in parliamentary elections, al ...

. By then the

City of Aberdeen gd, Comhairle Cathair Obar Dheathain , native_name_lang = , other_name = , image_skyline = Town House, Municipal Offices and Court Houses in Aberdeen.jpg , image_caption ...

had been created and, together with Aberdeen North, Aberdeen South became one of two constituencies covering the

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

(which was one of four counties of cities in Scotland) and entirely within the city. The new boundaries were first used in the 1918 general election, and Aberdeen North then consisted of the wards of Greyfriars, St Andrew, St Clement, St Machar, Torry and Woodside. The county of Aberdeen was covered by Aberdeen and Kincardine East, Central Aberdeenshire and Kincardine and West Aberdeenshire. Aberdeen and Kincardine East and Central Aberdeenshire were entirely within the county of Aberdeen. Kincardine and West Aberdeenshire covered the

county of Kincardine Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and w ...

minus the burgh of Inverbervie, which was covered by Montrose Burghs, and part of the county of Aberdeen. The same boundaries were used in the 1922 general election, the 1923 general election, the 1924 general election, the 1929 general election, the

1931 general election Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – ...

, the 1935 general election and the 1945 general election.

1950 to 1955

For the 1950 general election boundaries were redefined again, by the House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949. A new list of wards defined Aberdeen North - Glimonston, Greyfriars, St Clement, St Machar, St Nicholas and Woodside - but the City of Aberdeen remained a two-constituency city, divided between Aberdeen South and Aberdeen North, with both constituencies entirely within the city. The county of Aberdeen was now again divided between East Aberdeenshire and West Aberdeenshire, with both of these constituencies entirely within the county. The same boundaries were used for the 1951 general election.

1955 to 1983

By the time of the 1955 general election, a boundary review had taken account of a small enlargement of the city area, and Aberdeen North was defined as consisting of the wards of Cairncry, St Andrews, St Clement's, St Machar, St Nicholas and Woodside. The same boundaries were used for the 1959 general election, the 1964 general election, the 1966 general election and the 1970 general election. For the February 1974 general election there was, again, no change to the boundaries of Aberdeen North, but a review had defined the constituency in terms of a new list of wards. The new wards were Mastrick, Northfield, St Clement's, St Machar, St Nicholas, and Woodside. February 1974 boundaries were used also for the October 1974 general election. In 1975, throughout Scotland, under the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 (c. 65) is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom that altered local government in Scotland on 16 May 1975. The Act followed and largely implemented the report of the Royal Commission on Local Gove ...

, counties were abolished, and the City of Aberdeen was enlarged to include areas formerly within the

and the

. Also, the city became a district within the

Grampian region Grampian ( gd, Roinn a' Mhonaidh) was one of nine former local government regions of Scotland created in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and abolished in 1996 by the Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994. The region t ...

. The enlarged city included areas covered by the constituencies of West Aberdeenshire and

North Angus and Mearns Angus North and Mearns was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1950 to 1983. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system. It was unsucces ...

. North Angus and Mearns had been created in 1950 to cover the county of Kincardine and part of the

county of Angus Angus ( sco, Angus; gd, Aonghas) is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Dundee City and Perth and Kinross. Main industries include agr ...

. The 1979 general election was held before a review of constituency boundaries took account of new local government boundaries.

1983 to 1997

In this period the constituency was made up of the City of Aberdeen District electoral divisions of Ashgrove, Brimmond, Kittybrewster, Mastrick, Northfield East, Northfield West, St Machar, Seaton, Summerfield, and Woodside. The 1983 general election, the 1987 general election and the 1992 general election took place during this period. In 1996, under the

Local Government etc (Scotland) Act 1994 The Local Government etc. (Scotland) Act 1994 (c. 39) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which created the current local government structure of 32 unitary authorities covering the whole of Scotland. It abolished the two-tier st ...

, local government regions and districts were abolished and the city became one of 32

unitary Unitary may refer to: Mathematics * Unitary divisor * Unitary element * Unitary group * Unitary matrix * Unitary morphism * Unitary operator * Unitary transformation * Unitary representation In mathematics, a unitary representation of a grou ...

council areas of Scotland For local government purposes, Scotland is divided into 32 areas designated as "council areas" ( gd, comhairlean), which are all governed by single-tier authorities designated as "councils". They have the option under the Local Government (Ga ...

. Also, the name of the city became, officially, ''Aberdeen City''.

1997 to 2005

In this period the constituency was made up of the City of Aberdeen District electoral divisions of Balgownie, Brimmond, Danestone, Mastrick, Middleton, Northfield, Summerfield, and West Don, as provided for by the Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 1995. Since 2005 the constituency is made up of the Aberdeen City Council wards of Auchmill, Berryden, Castlehill, Cummings Park, Donmouth, Hilton, Kittybrewster, Mastrick, Midstocket, Newhills, Pittodrie, St Machar, Seaton, Sheddocksley, Springhill, Stockethill, Summerhill, Sunnybank, and Woodside, as provided for by the Parliamentary Constituencies (Scotland) Order 2005. As redefined for the 1997 general election Aberdeen North was one of three constituencies covering and entirely within the Aberdeen City area, the other two being Aberdeen South and Aberdeen Central. Aberdeen South shared boundaries with both of the other two constituencies.

Members of Parliament

Election results

Elections in the 1880s

Elections in the 1890s

Elections in the 1900s

Elections in the 1910s

Pirie was endorsed by the Coalition Government but refused to give it his support.

Elections in the 1920s

Elections in the 1930s

Elections in the 1940s

Elections in the 1950s

Elections in the 1960s

Elections in the 1970s

Elections in the 1980s

Elections in the 1990s

*1997 result based on new boundaries

Elections in the 2000s

Elections in the 2010s

This was the largest SNP vote share and majority in percentage terms at the 2019 general election, although the party had a higher numerical majority in other seats.

References

;Specific ;General * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aberdeen North (Uk Parliament Constituency) Westminster Parliamentary constituencies in Scotland Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom established in 1885 Politics of the county of Aberdeen 1885 establishments in Scotland