# Moray (Scottish Parliament constituency)

Moray (/ˈmʌri/ MURR-ee; Scots: Moray; Scottish Gaelic: Moireibh or Moireabh) is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood) covering most of the council area of Moray. It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the first past the post method of election. It is also one of eight constituencies within the Highlands and Islands electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to the eight constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
The seat has been held since 2006 by Richard Lochhead of the Scottish National Party. Lochhead won the seat in a by-election held following death of the previous incumbent, Margaret Ewing of the SNP, from breast cancer.

## Electoral region

The Moray constituency is part of the Highlands and Islands electoral region; the other seven constituencies are Argyll and Bute, Caithness, Sutherland and Ross, Inverness and Nairn, Na h-Eileanan an Iar, Orkney, Shetland and Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch.
The region covers most of Argyll and Bute council area, all of the Highland council area, most of the Moray council area, all of the Orkney Islands council area, all of the Shetland Islands council area and all of Na h-Eileanan Siar.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

The Moray constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, the Westminster (House of Commons) constituency was enlarged slightly.
The Holyrood constituency covers most of the Moray council area; the rest of the council area is covered by the Banffshire and Buchan Coast constituency, which is in the North East Scotland electoral region. The Moray Westminster constituency covered the whole of the council area from 2005 until 2024; it was succeeded by Moray West, Nairn and Strathspey, which includes most of the council area (but less than the Scottish Parliament constituency), and Aberdeenshire North and Moray East, which includes some north-eastern parts (Keith and Cullen, Buckie, and part of Fochabers Lhanbryde).
The electoral wards used in the creation of the Moray constituency are:
* In full: Elgin City North, Elgin City South, Fochabers Lhanbryde, Forres, Heldon & Laich, Speyside Glenlivet
* In part: Keith and Cullen (shared with Banffshire and Buchan Coast)

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 1999 | Margaret Ewing | SNP |
| | 2006 by-election | Richard Lochhead | SNP |
* ↑ Died March 2006

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Richard Lochhead | 19,987 | 48.6 | 1.5 | 16,600 | 40.3 | 0.9 |
| | Conservative | Tim Eagle | 16,823 | 40.9 | 2.4 | 15,890 | 38.6 | 4.0 |
| | Labour | Jo Kirby | 2,972 | 7.2 | 3.4 | 3,207 | 7.8 | 2.3 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,531 | 6.1 | 0.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Sheila Ritchie | 1,165 | 2.8 | 1.0 | 1,133 | 2.8 | 0.3 |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 538 | 1.3 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 238 | 0.6 | New |
| | Independent | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | Andy Wightman | 204 | 0.5 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 191 | 0.5 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 151 | 0.4 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 148 | 0.4 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 83 | 0.2 | New |
| | UKIP | Robert Stephenson | 188 | 0.5 | New | 77 | 0.2 | 2.8 |
| | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | 67 | 0.2 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 42 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | Hazel Mansfield | 33 | 0.1 | New |
| | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | TUSC | 29 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,164 | 7.7 | 0.9 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 41,135 | | | 41,162 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 122 | | | 65 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,257 | 65.2 | 11.1 | 41,227 | 65.1 | 11.0 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | 0.5 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency ↑ Incumbent member on the list for Lothian region, having been elected as a member of the Scottish Greens in 2016 |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Richard Lochhead | 15,742 | 47.1 | 11.7 | 13,809 | 41.2 | 12.0 |
| | Conservative | Douglas Ross | 12,867 | 38.5 | 18.0 | 11,571 | 34.6 | 16.1 |
| | Labour | Sean Morton | 3,547 | 10.6 | 1.9 | 3,376 | 10.1 | 1.8 |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,053 | 6.1 | 1.8 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jamie Paterson | 1,265 | 3.8 | 0.9 | 1,043 | 3.1 | 1.2 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 1,006 | 3.0 | 0.4 |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 223 | 0.7 | 0.0 |
| | Independent | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | James Stockan | 164 | 0.5 | New |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 136 | 0.4 | 0.3 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 105 | 0.3 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 2,875 | 8.6 | 29.7 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 33,421 | | | 33,486 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 123 | | | 62 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,544 | 54.1 | 3.1 | 33,548 | 54.1 | 3.0 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | Swing | 14.9 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Richard Lochhead | 16,817 | 58.8 | N/A | 15,226 | 53.2 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Douglas Ross | 5,873 | 20.5 | N/A | 5,302 | 18.5 | N/A |
| | Labour | Kieron Green | 3,580 | 12.5 | N/A | 3,411 | 11.9 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,244 | 4.3 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Jamie Paterson | 1,327 | 4.6 | N/A | 1,220 | 4.3 | N/A |
| | UKIP | Donald Gatt | 999 | 3.5 | N/A | 732 | 2.6 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 445 | 1.6 | N/A |
| | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | Ban Bankers Bonuses | 278 | 1.0 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 229 | 0.8 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 208 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 118 | 0.4 | N/A |
| | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | Liberal | 99 | 0.3 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 59 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 28 | 0.1 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 10,944 | 38.3 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 28,596 | | | 28,599 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 112 | | | 114 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,708 | 51.1 | N/A | 28,703 | 51.1 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) | SNP win (new boundaries) |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||
2007 Scottish Parliament election: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Richard Lochhead | 15,045 | 49.7 | +7.5 |
| | Conservative | Mary Scanlon | 7,121 | 23.5 | +1.0 |
| | Labour | Lee Butcher | 4,580 | 15.1 | −4.0 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Dominique Rommel | 3,528 | 11.6 | −0.6 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 7,924 | 26.2 | +6.5 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 30,274 | 50.1 | +3.8 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | | |
Scottish Parliament by-election, 2006: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Richard Lochhead | 12,653 | 46.1 | +3.9 |
| | Conservative | Mary Scanlon | 6,268 | 22.8 | +0.3 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Linda Gorn | 5,310 | 19.3 | +7.1 |
| | Labour | Sandy Keith | 2,696 | 9.9 | −9.2 |
| | NHS First Party | Melville Brown | 493 | 1.8 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 6385 | 23.3 | +3.6 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 27,420 | 45.5 | −0.8 |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | +1.8 | |
Scottish Parliament Election 2003: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Margaret Ewing | 11,384 | 42.2 | +4.4 |
| | Conservative | Tim Wood | 6,072 | 22.5 | −3.1 |
| | Labour | Peter Peacock | 5,157 | 19.1 | −6.4 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Linda Gorn | 3,283 | 12.2 | +3.1 |
| | Scottish Socialist | Norma Anderson | 1,015 | 4.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 5,312 | 19.7 | +7.4 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 26,911 | 46.3 | |
| | SNP hold | SNP hold | Swing | | |

### 1990s

Scottish Parliament Election 1999: Moray :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
| | SNP | Margaret Ewing | 13,027 | 38.8 |
| | Labour | Ali Farquharson | 8,898 | 26.5 |
| | Conservative | Andrew Findlay | 8,595 | 25.6 |
| | Liberal Democrats | Patsy Kenton | 3,056 | 9.1 |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,129 | 12.3 |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 33,576 | |
| | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) |

## Footnotes

* ↑ Scottish Parliamentary Constituency (SPC) Population Estimates (2011 Data Zone based), National Records of Scotland; retrieved 6 May 2021 (accompanying summary notes)
* ↑ See The 5th Periodical Report of the Boundary Commission for Scotland Archived 21 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
* ↑ "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2021 - Results". Moray Council. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
* ↑ "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2016 - Results". Moray Council. 16 September 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2021.
* ↑ "Scottish Parliamentary Election 2011 - Results". Moray Council. 3 May 2011. Retrieved 15 June 2021.