Aberdeen South is a
burgh constituency 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
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 o ...
(MP) 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 the ...
system of election.
The constituency was first used in the
1885 general election, but has undergone boundary changes since then. There was also an
Aberdeen South 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 at that time. In
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
the Scottish Parliament constituency of Aberdeen South was abolished and replaced with the
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency.
Constituency profile
Aberdeen South is an affluent suburban constituency located along the south of the
Aberdeen City Council area. The seat covers most of Aberdeen's affluent
West End and the outer villages of
Bieldside
Bieldside is a suburb to the west of Aberdeen City Centre, Scotland. Together with the neighbouring suburb of Cults, it is the wealthiest area in Scotland. It has one pub/restaurant, The Bieldside, a foodstore, a hairdresser, a tea room and a ch ...
,
Cults
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
,
Milltimber
Milltimber is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, around west of Aberdeen city centre. From 1854 to 1937 the area was served by Milltimber railway station on the Aberdeen suburban railway.
Along with the nearby settlements of Cults and Bieldsid ...
and
Peterculter
Peterculter ( sco, Petercouter), also known as Culter (Scots: ''Couter''), is a suburb of Aberdeen, Scotland, about inland from Aberdeen city centre. Peterculter is on the northern banks of the River Dee, near the confluences with Crynoch ...
. Situated within the constituency are some of Scotland's most affluent neighbourhoods, including
Broomhill,
Rubislaw
Rubislaw is an area of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located in the area between Queen's Road and King’s Gate, including Rubislaw Den North and South. It is close to Rubislaw Quarry and the Rubislaw Playing Fields used by Aberdeen Grammar School ...
and
Queen's Cross
Queen's Cross is an area in the West End of Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located just west of the main thoroughfare of Union Street and about from the geographical town centre at Mercat Cross.
Queen's Cross itself is the intersection of Fountai ...
, which was named the wealthiest part of Scotland in 2003. The seat also extends south-east across the River Dee to cover the suburb of
Cove Bay and the more deprived neighbourhoods of
Torry
Torry is an area within the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Torry’s origins
People have been living in Torry since at least the 12th century. The place name first appears in written records in 1484 and was erected a Burgh of barony by Royal Cha ...
and
Kincorth
Kincorth is a suburb located to the south of Aberdeen, Scotland. The name is a corruption of the Scottish Gaelic "Ceann Coirthe", which probably refers to an old pillar or standing stone (''coirthe''). Kincorth is known as the garden estate of A ...
.
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 South is entirely within the
Aberdeen City council area and one of five constituencies covering that
council area and the
Aberdeenshire council area.
To the south and west of Aberdeen South there is
West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine, which is entirely within the Aberdeenshire area. To the north there is
Aberdeen North which, like Aberdeen South is entirely within the Aberdeen City area. Further north there is
Gordon, which covers part of the Aberdeen City area and part of the Aberdeenshire area. To the north of Gordon 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.
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 constituency.
When Aberdeen South 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 North. Aberdeen South then consisted of the municipal wards of St Nicholas, Rosemount, Rubislaw and Ferryhill, and the 9th Parliamentary Polling District. 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'' (), 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
January 1910 general election and the
December 1910 general election.
1918 to 1950
In 1918 constituency boundaries were redefined by the
Representation of the People Act 1918. By then the
City of Aberdeen had been created; Aberdeen North and Aberdeen South became the 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 South then consisted of the wards of Ferryhill, Rosemount, Rubislaw, Ruthrieston and St Nicholas.
The county of Aberdeen was covered by
Aberdeen and Kincardine East,
Central Aberdeenshire and
Kincardine and West Aberdeenshire. East Aberdeenshire and West Aberdeenshire were entirely within the county of Aberdeen. Kincardine and West Aberdeenshire covered the
county of Kincardine (minus the
burgh of Inverbervie, which was included in
Montrose Burghs) and part of the county of Aberdeen.
The same boundaries were used in the
1922
Events
January
* January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes.
* January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
,
1923
Events
January–February
* January 9 – Lithuania begins the Klaipėda Revolt to annex the Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory).
* January 11 – Despite strong British protests, troops from France and Belgium occupy the Ruhr area, t ...
,
1924
Events
January
* January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after.
* January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
,
1929
This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
,
1931
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 – Sir I ...
,
1935 and
1945
1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat.
Events
Below, ...
general elections.
1950 to 1955
For the
1950 general election boundaries were redefined again, by the
House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949
The House of Commons (Redistribution of Seats) Act 1949 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provided for the periodic review of the number and boundaries of parliamentary constituencies.
The Act amended the rules for the dist ...
. A new list of wards defined Aberdeen South – Ferryhill, Holburn, Rosemount, Rubislaw, Ruthrieston and Torry
– 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 then 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. However, the same list of wards – Ferryhill, Holburn, Rosemount, Rubislaw, Ruthrieston and Torry
– continued to define Aberdeen South, and the same boundaries were used for the
1959 general election, the
1964 general election, the
1966 general election, the
1970 general election, the
February 1974 general election and the
October 1974 general election.
In 1975, throughout Scotland, under the
Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, counties were abolished, and the City of Aberdeen was enlarged to include areas formerly within 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 ...
and the
county of Kincardine. 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.
The
1979 general election was held before a review of constituency boundaries took account of new local government boundaries.
1983 to 1997
For the 1983 election, the electoral wards used to create this seat were Rosemount,
Rubislaw, St Clements, St Nicholas, Hazlehead, Holburn, Ferryhill,
Torry
Torry is an area within the city of Aberdeen, Scotland.
Torry’s origins
People have been living in Torry since at least the 12th century. The place name first appears in written records in 1484 and was erected a Burgh of barony by Royal Cha ...
, Nigg.
The
1983 general election, the
1987 general election and the
1992 general election took place during this period. At the 1992 general election the constituency was the only seat which Labour had won at the 1987 election to be gained by the Conservatives.
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
* Unitarity (physics)
* ''E''-unitary inverse semigrou ...
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
As redefined for the
1997 general election Aberdeen South was one of three constituencies covering and entirely within the Aberdeen City area, the other two being Aberdeen North and
Aberdeen Central. Aberdeen South shared boundaries with both of the other two constituencies.
The same boundaries were used for the
2001 general election.
Voting patterns
Aberdeen South was traditionally a strong
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
constituency until it was won by the
Unionist Party at the
1918 general election. The constituency subsequently went on to return Unionist MPs to Parliament until the party amalgamated with the
Conservatives
Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
in 1965. The constituency developed into a Unionist-
Labour marginal in
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
and was gained by Labour's
Donald Dewar
Donald Campbell Dewar (21 August 1937 – 11 October 2000) was a Scottish politician who served as the inaugural First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Labour Party in Scotland from 1999 until his death in 2000. He previously served as ...
in
1966, who went on to become the leader of the
Scottish Labour Party and later the first-ever
First Minister of Scotland in
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
. From the
1970 general election onwards, Aberdeen South returned Conservative MPs to Parliament. The seat was gained by Labour in
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...
and regained by the Conservatives in
1992. At Labour's
1997 landslide election victory Aberdeen South fell to Labour's
Anne Begg
Dame Margaret Anne Begg DBE (born 6 December 1955) is a Scottish politician who served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Aberdeen South from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Labour Party, she was Chair of the Work and Pensions Select Committee ...
, who represented the constituency until the
2015 general election when the constituency was gained by Callum McCaig of the
Scottish National Party.
Throughout the 2000s, the
Liberal Democrats emerged as the main challenger to Labour in Aberdeen South, taking second place in
2005 behind Labour by just 3.2% of the vote. In 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 ...
the equivalent
Aberdeen South constituency was represented by the Liberal Democrats from 1999 until
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrates ...
, when the constituency of
Aberdeen South and North Kincardine was gained by the SNP. Recently the Conservatives have made a set of substantial advances in Aberdeen South, making gains in the constituency at the 2015 UK general election despite seeing a drop in their national vote share across Scotland. At the
2016 Scottish Parliament election the Conservatives finished in second place in the Aberdeen South and North Kincardine constituency, more than doubling their vote share in the constituency and coming behind the SNP by 8.5% of the vote.
Ross Thomson of the Conservatives went on to gain the seat at the
2017 snap general election with a majority of 4,752 votes (10.6%) ahead of the sitting SNP MP
Callum McCaig
Callum McCaig (born 6 January 1985) is a Scottish National Party (SNP) politician who was Member of Parliament for Aberdeen South from May 2015 until 2017. During his period in the Westminster parliament, he was the SNP's Energy and Climate C ...
.
In 2019, the seat went back to the SNP when Thomson declined to stand again after controversy.
Stephen Flynn became the MP with a majority of 3,990 votes with 44.7% of the vote. This means that in the 10 years between 2010 and 2019, four MPs from three different parties had represented the seat. Notably, since 1964 no candidate has ever managed to secure an absolute majority - 50% of the vote or more.
Members of Parliament
Election results
Elections in the 1880s
Elections in the 1890s
Elections in the 1900s
Elections in the 1910s
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
Elections in the 2000s
Elections in the 2010s
References
;Specific
;General
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aberdeen South (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