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East Aberdeenshire — UK General Election Results

Compiled by EveryElectionResult.com's data team · Last updated 2026-08-30

East Aberdeenshire was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 558 votes over SNP. This page covers every general election in East Aberdeenshire from 1868 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1868–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1868 William Dingwall Fordyce (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1874 William Dingwall Fordyce (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1880 Alexander Hamilton-Gordon (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1885 Peter Esslemont (Liberal) 6,509 67.4% Henry Wolrige-Gordon (Conservative) 3,354 (34.7 pts) 77.2%
1886 Peter Esslemont (Liberal) 4,952 66.1% William Harry Lumsden (Conservative) 2,408 (32.1 pts) 59.9%
1892 Peter Esslemont (Liberal) 5,116 59.4% Fraser Russell (Conservative) 1,624 (18.9 pts) 72.9%
1895 Thomas Ryburn Buchanan (Liberal) 4,723 58.8% William Smith (Liberal Unionist) 1,415 (17.6 pts) 66.1%
1900 Archibald White Maconochie (Liberal Unionist) 4,173 50.4% Thomas Ryburn Buchanan (Liberal) 73 (0.9 pts) 66.7%
1906 James Annand (Liberal) 6,149 58.7% Archibald White Maconochie (Liberal Unionist) 1,830 (17.5 pts) 83.7%
Jan 1910 William Henry Cowan (Liberal) 6,600 62.5% Charles Rosdew Burn (Liberal Unionist) 2,638 (25.0 pts) 83.6%
Dec 1910 William Henry Cowan (Liberal) 6,152 62.0% William Craighead (Conservative) 2,380 (24.0 pts) 78.5%
1950 Robert John Graham Boothby (Unionist) 24,971 66.0% James Gregor Mackenzie (Labour) 12,085 (31.9 pts) 75.6%
1951 Robert John Graham Boothby (Unionist) 24,985 68.1% Alexander Whipp (Labour) 13,255 (36.1 pts) 70.0%
1955 Sir Robert John Graham Boothby (Unionist) 18,600 68.5% Charles Ross (Labour) 10,057 (37.0 pts) 59.8%
1959 Patrick Wolrige-Gordon (Unionist) 18,982 63.4% John B Urquhart (Labour) 8,002 (26.7 pts) 67.1%
1964 Patrick Wolrige-Gordon (Unionist) 14,621 48.0% Norman King (Liberal) 7,533 (24.7 pts) 70.1%
1966 Patrick Wolrige-Gordon (Conservative) 12,067 41.5% Robin Sinclair (Liberal) 4,033 (13.9 pts) 68.2%
1970 Patrick Wolrige-Gordon (Conservative) 12,866 40.9% Alex Farquhar (SNP) 3,489 (11.1 pts) 68.8%
Feb 1974 Douglas Henderson (SNP) 18,333 50.8% Patrick Wolrige-Gordon (Conservative) 5,699 (15.8 pts) 76.5%
Oct 1974 Douglas Henderson (SNP) 16,304 48.5% Keith Raffan (Conservative) 4,371 (13.0 pts) 70.5%
1979 Albert McQuarrie (Conservative) 16,827 42.8% Douglas Henderson (SNP) 558 (1.4 pts) 72.4%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Dingwall Fordyce Liberal Unopposed Yes

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Dingwall Fordyce Liberal Unopposed Yes

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Hamilton-Gordon Liberal Unopposed Yes

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Esslemont Liberal 6,50967.4% Yes
Henry Wolrige-Gordon Conservative 3,15532.6% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Esslemont Liberal 4,95266.1% Yes
William Harry Lumsden Conservative 2,54433.9% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Peter Esslemont Liberal 5,11659.4% Yes
Fraser Russell Conservative 3,49240.6% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Ryburn Buchanan Liberal 4,72358.8% Yes
William Smith Liberal Unionist 3,30841.2% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Archibald White Maconochie Liberal Unionist 4,17350.4% Yes
Thomas Ryburn Buchanan Liberal 4,10049.6% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Annand Liberal 6,14958.7% Yes
Archibald White Maconochie Liberal Unionist 4,31941.3% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Henry Cowan Liberal 6,60062.5% Yes
Charles Rosdew Burn Liberal Unionist 3,96237.5% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William Henry Cowan Liberal 6,15262.0% Yes
William Craighead Conservative 3,77238.0% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert John Graham Boothby Unionist 24,97166.0% Yes
James Gregor Mackenzie Labour 12,88634.0% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert John Graham Boothby Unionist 24,98568.1% Yes
Alexander Whipp Labour 11,73031.9% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Sir Robert John Graham Boothby Unionist 18,60068.5% Yes
Charles Ross Labour 8,54331.5% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Wolrige-Gordon Unionist 18,98263.4% Yes
John B Urquhart Labour 10,98036.6% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Wolrige-Gordon Unionist 14,62148.0% Yes
Norman King Liberal 7,08823.3% No
David McGibbon Labour 6,84022.4% No
Bruce Mavor Cockie SNP 1,9256.3% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Wolrige-Gordon Conservative 12,06741.5% Yes
Robin Sinclair Liberal 8,03427.6% No
Ian Davidson Labour 6,42222.1% No
Bruce Cockie SNP 2,5848.9% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Patrick Wolrige-Gordon Conservative 12,86640.9% Yes
Alex Farquhar SNP 9,37729.8% No
Harold Grimes Labour 5,65618.0% No
Gurth Hoyer-Millar Liberal 3,54811.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Douglas Henderson SNP 18,33350.8% Yes
Patrick Wolrige-Gordon Conservative 12,63435.0% No
William Ruxton Cruikshank Liberal 2,7277.6% No
Sarah Sissons Labour 2,4166.7% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Douglas Henderson SNP 16,30448.5% Yes
Keith Raffan Conservative 11,93335.5% No
Sarah Sissons Labour 3,1739.4% No
C Alistair Dow Liberal 2,2326.6% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Albert McQuarrie Conservative 16,82742.8% Yes
Douglas Henderson SNP 16,26941.4% No
Norman Leonard Bonney Labour 6,20115.8% No

Margin Over Time

Winning margin (percentage points) at each election, coloured by the winning party.

1885: Liberal margin 34.7 pts 1886: Liberal margin 32.1 pts 1892: Liberal margin 18.9 pts 1895: Liberal margin 17.6 pts 1900: Liberal Unionist margin 0.9 pts 1906: Liberal margin 17.5 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 25.0 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 24.0 pts 1950: Unionist margin 31.9 pts 1951: Unionist margin 36.1 pts 1955: Unionist margin 37.0 pts 1959: Unionist margin 26.7 pts 1964: Unionist margin 24.7 pts 1966: Conservative margin 13.9 pts 1970: Conservative margin 11.1 pts Feb 1974: SNP margin 15.8 pts Oct 1974: SNP margin 13.0 pts 1979: Conservative margin 1.4 pts 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

East Aberdeenshire has been contested at 21 general elections on record since 1868. Parties that have won a seat here over that span: Liberal, Liberal Unionist, Unionist, Conservative, SNP.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won East Aberdeenshire in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won East Aberdeenshire in 1979 with 16,827 votes (42.8%), a majority of 558 votes over SNP in second place.

Which parties have won East Aberdeenshire since 1868?

Since 1868, East Aberdeenshire has been won by: Conservative, Liberal, Liberal Unionist, SNP, Unionist.

What was the closest result in East Aberdeenshire?

The closest result on record for East Aberdeenshire was 1900, when Liberal Unionist beat Liberal by just 73 votes (0.9 percentage points).

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