# Aberdeenshire West (Scottish Parliament constituency)

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.

## Electoral region

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.

## Constituency boundaries and council area

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)

## Constituency profile and voting patterns
### Constituency profile

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.
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.

### Voting patterns

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.

## Member of the Scottish Parliament

| Election | Election | Member | Party |
| | 2011 | Dennis Robertson | SNP |
| | 2016 | Alexander Burnett | Conservative |

## Election results
### 2020s

2021 Scottish Parliament election: Aberdeenshire West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alexander Burnett | 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 | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 2,569 | 6.2 | 1.3 |
| | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | Alba | 668 | 1.6 | New |
| | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | All for Unity | 214 | 0.5 | New |
| | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | Independent Green Voice | 212 | 0.5 | New |
| | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | Scottish Family | 205 | 0.5 | New |
| | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | Abolish the Scottish Parliament | 140 | 0.3 | New |
| | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | Reform UK | 119 | 0.3 | New |
| | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | Freedom Alliance (UK) | 108 | 0.3 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 101 | 0.2 | 0.1 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 57 | 0.1 | 1.6 |
| | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | Restore Scotland | 54 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Laura Marshall | Laura Marshall | Laura Marshall | Laura Marshall | 31 | 0.1 | New |
| | Independent | Geoffrey Farquharson | Geoffrey Farquharson | Geoffrey Farquharson | Geoffrey Farquharson | 16 | 0.0 | New |
| | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | Renew | 10 | 0.0 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 3,390 | 8.1 | 5.6 | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 41,773 | | | 40,761 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 116 | | | 79 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 41,889 | 69.7 | 10.5 | 41,893 | 69.7 | 10.5 |
| | Conservative hold | Conservative hold | Swing | Swing | 10.8 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||

### 2010s

2016 Scottish Parliament election: Aberdeenshire West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Regional | Regional | Regional |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | Conservative | Alexander Burnett | 13,400 | 38.1 | 17.0 | 13,606 | 38.6 | 18.9 |
| | SNP | Dennis Robertson | 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 | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,719 | 4.9 | 0.3 |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 613 | 1.7 | 0.6 |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 214 | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| | National Front | National Front | National Front | National Front | National Front | 78 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 70 | 0.2 | 0.2 |
| | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | RISE | 49 | 0.1 | New |
| | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | Scottish Libertarian | 48 | 0.1 | New |
| | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | Communist | 41 | 0.1 | New |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 900 | 2.6 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 35,198 | | | 35,233 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 83 | | | 51 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 35,281 | 59.2 | 5.8 | 35,284 | 59.2 | 5.8 |
| | Conservative gain from SNP | Conservative gain from SNP | Swing | Swing | 12.0 | | | |
| Notes ↑ Incumbent member for this constituency |||||||||
2011 Scottish Parliament election: Aberdeenshire West :
| Party | Party | Candidate | Constituency | Constituency | Constituency | Region | Region | Region |
| Party | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | Votes | % | ±% |
| | SNP | Dennis Robertson | 12,186 | 42.6 | N/A | 13,528 | 47.2 | N/A |
| | Liberal Democrats | Mike Rumbles | 8,074 | 28.2 | N/A | 4,375 | 15.3 | N/A |
| | Conservative | Nanette Milne | 6,027 | 21.1 | N/A | 5,666 | 19.8 | N/A |
| | Labour | Jean Morrison | 2,349 | 8.2 | N/A | 2,267 | 7.9 | N/A |
| | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | Scottish Green | 1,494 | 5.2 | N/A |
| | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | All-Scotland Pensioners Party | 358 | 1.2 | N/A |
| | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | UKIP | 324 | 1.1 | N/A |
| | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | Scottish Christian | 202 | 0.7 | N/A |
| | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | BNP | 151 | 0.5 | N/A |
| | Independent | John Cox | John Cox | John Cox | John Cox | 70 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | National Front | National Front | National Front | National Front | National Front | 63 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | Scottish Socialist | 59 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | Socialist Labour | 53 | 0.2 | N/A |
| | Independent | David Henderson | David Henderson | David Henderson | David Henderson | 31 | 0.1 | N/A |
| | Independent | Andrew McBride | Andrew McBride | Andrew McBride | Andrew McBride | 14 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | Solidarity | 8 | 0.0 | N/A |
| | Angus Independents | Angus Independents | Angus Independents | Angus Independents | Angus Independents | 6 | 0.0 | N/A |
| Majority | Majority | Majority | 4,112 | 14.4 | N/A | | | |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 28,636 | | | 28,669 | | |
| Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | Invalid Votes | 113 | | | 77 | | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 28,749 | 53.5 | N/A | 28,746 | 53.5 | N/A |
| | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) | SNP win (new seat) |
| Notes 1 2 Incumbent member on the party list, or for another constituency |||||||||