Aberdeenshire

The Result

Electorate: 172,846
Area (Hectares): 631,736

This covers the mainly rural region around Aberdeen, but not the city itself. It comprises a long stretch of North Sea coastline, with agricultural areas inland and the Cairngorm Mountains to the south east. The main industries are tourism, agriculture and fishing - Peterhead, the largest white-fish port in Europe, lies within the authority. The oil and gas industries are also major employers.

Labour are not a force in this area and they do not hold any of the Parliamentary seats, or any seats on the council. There is no overall control on the council, the SNP and the Liberal Democrats have 15 councillors each, the Conservatives have 4, and there are 13 Independents. The political culture in this area could be described as conservative (with a small 'c'), however the Conservative Party have not benefited from this in recent years.

All three parliamentary seats in the area have been held by Conservatives at some point in the last 15 years, with George Kynoch only losing Aberdeenshire West and Kincardine to the Liberal Democrats at the last election. At local elections much of the right-wing vote goes to Independents or to the SNP, who, despite their official stance as a socialist party, have retained their appeal to traditionalist nationalists. The constituency of the SNP leader, Alex Salmond, Banff & Buchan, lies along the northern coastal area of the authority.

Results of 1979 referendum:

ICM/Scotsman poll published on 22 August 1997:

		Yes		No		Don't know
All Scotland		68%		21%		11%
Highland, Grampian & Tayside		63%		26%		11%

Question:Should a Scottish Parliament have tax-varying powers?

		Yes		No		Don't know
All Scotland		56%		36%		8%
Highland, Grampian & Tayside		48%		41%		11%

(Total Sample Size: 1,001, Fieldwork: 19-20 August 1997)