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West Aberdeenshire — UK General Election Results

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

West Aberdeenshire was won by Conservative at the 1979 general election, with a majority of 2,766 votes over Liberal. This page covers every general election in West Aberdeenshire from 1868 to 1979.

Full Election History, 1868–1979

Election Elected Votes Vote Share Runner-up Majority Turnout
1868 William McCombie (Liberal) Elected unopposed — no other candidate stood, no vote count on record 0.0%
1874 William McCombie (Liberal) 2,401 88.0% Edward Ross (Conservative) 2,075 (76.1 pts) 69.0%
1880 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 2,390 69.6% William Forbes (Conservative) 1,348 (39.3 pts) 82.6%
1885 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 4,248 54.5% Francis Hugh Irvine (Conservative) 2,238 (28.7 pts) 76.8%
1886 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 3,854 69.9% Francis Hugh Irvine (Conservative) 2,197 (39.9 pts) 54.3%
1892 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 3,720 50.5% Arthur Henry Grant (Conservative) 80 (1.1 pts) 73.4%
1895 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 4,187 51.3% Arthur Henry Grant (Conservative) 220 (2.7 pts) 79.9%
1900 Robert Farquharson (Liberal) 4,352 57.5% Arthur Henry Grant (Conservative) 1,139 (15.1 pts) 71.0%
1906 John McDonald Henderson (Liberal) 5,949 68.1% Ronald John McNeill (Conservative) 3,158 (36.1 pts) 81.7%
Jan 1910 John McDonald Henderson (Liberal) 5,901 64.9% George Smith (Conservative) 2,707 (29.8 pts) 83.8%
Dec 1910 John McDonald Henderson (Liberal) 5,415 62.6% George Smith (Conservative) 2,183 (25.2 pts) 79.2%
1950 Henry Reginald Spence (Unionist) 17,550 55.6% Thomas Oswald (Labour) 10,252 (32.5 pts) 80.9%
1951 Henry Reginald Spence (Unionist) 17,761 55.2% Norman Hogg (Labour) 10,483 (32.6 pts) 78.3%
1955 Henry Reginald Spence (Unionist) 20,216 59.1% Mary MacNeil (Labour) 10,928 (31.9 pts) 72.6%
1959 Alexander Forbes Hendry (Unionist) 22,937 68.5% William Kemp (Labour) 12,395 (37.0 pts) 72.1%
1964 Alexander Forbes Hendry (Unionist) 16,429 46.4% James Duncan Gordon Davidson (Liberal) 4,675 (13.2 pts) 77.4%
1966 James Davidson (Liberal) 15,151 43.1% Alexander Hendry (Conservative) 1,195 (3.4 pts) 76.3%
1970 Colin Mitchell (Conservative) 18,396 46.6% Laura Grimond (Liberal) 5,549 (14.1 pts) 75.8%
Feb 1974 Thomas Fairgrieve (Conservative) 17,256 38.9% David Gracie (Liberal) 1,640 (3.7 pts) 81.0%
Oct 1974 Thomas Fairgrieve (Conservative) 15,111 35.7% David Gracie (Liberal) 2,468 (5.8 pts) 76.5%
1979 Thomas Fairgrieve (Conservative) 21,086 40.9% Malcolm Bruce (Liberal) 2,766 (5.4 pts) 75.9%

Full Result Breakdown by Election

1868

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William McCombie Liberal Unopposed Yes

1874

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
William McCombie Liberal 2,40188.0% Yes
Edward Ross Conservative 32612.0% No

1880

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 2,39069.6% Yes
William Forbes Conservative 1,04230.4% No

1885

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 4,24854.5% Yes
Francis Hugh Irvine Conservative 2,01025.8% No
Quintin Kerr Scottish Farmers' Alliance 1,53019.6% No

1886

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 3,85469.9% Yes
Francis Hugh Irvine Conservative 1,65730.1% No

1892

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 3,72050.5% Yes
Arthur Henry Grant Conservative 3,64049.5% No

1895

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 4,18751.3% Yes
Arthur Henry Grant Conservative 3,96748.7% No

1900

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Robert Farquharson Liberal 4,35257.5% Yes
Arthur Henry Grant Conservative 3,21342.5% No

1906

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John McDonald Henderson Liberal 5,94968.1% Yes
Ronald John McNeill Conservative 2,79131.9% No

Jan 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John McDonald Henderson Liberal 5,90164.9% Yes
George Smith Conservative 3,19435.1% No

Dec 1910

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
John McDonald Henderson Liberal 5,41562.6% Yes
George Smith Conservative 3,23237.4% No

1950

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Reginald Spence Unionist 17,55055.6% Yes
Thomas Oswald Labour 7,29823.1% No
Ivor Davies Liberal 6,74821.4% No

1951

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Reginald Spence Unionist 17,76155.2% Yes
Norman Hogg Labour 7,27822.6% No
Maitland Mackie Liberal 7,12822.2% No

1955

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Henry Reginald Spence Unionist 20,21659.1% Yes
Mary MacNeil Labour 9,28827.2% No
Thomas Ronald Leslie Fraser Liberal 4,70513.8% No

1959

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Forbes Hendry Unionist 22,93768.5% Yes
William Kemp Labour 10,54231.5% No

1964

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Alexander Forbes Hendry Unionist 16,42946.4% Yes
James Duncan Gordon Davidson Liberal 11,75433.2% No
Kenneth A Munro Labour 7,20320.4% No

1966

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
James Davidson Liberal 15,15143.1% Yes
Alexander Hendry Conservative 13,95639.7% No
John Henderson Labour 6,00817.1% No

1970

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Colin Mitchell Conservative 18,39646.6% Yes
Laura Grimond Liberal 12,84732.5% No
Walter Hay Labour 6,14115.5% No
John McKinlay SNP 2,1125.3% No

Feb 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Fairgrieve Conservative 17,25638.9% Yes
David Gracie Liberal 15,61635.2% No
Nicol Suttar SNP 6,82715.4% No
Charles William Ellis Labour 4,66110.5% No

Oct 1974

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Fairgrieve Conservative 15,11135.7% Yes
David Gracie Liberal 12,64329.9% No
Nicol Suttar SNP 9,40922.2% No
Charles William Ellis Labour 5,18512.2% No

1979

CandidatePartyVotesShareElected
Thomas Fairgrieve Conservative 21,08640.9% Yes
Malcolm Bruce Liberal 18,32035.5% No
George Grant Labour 7,90715.3% No
John Kenneth Macdonald Hulbert SNP 4,2608.3% No

Margin Over Time

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

1874: Liberal margin 76.1 pts 1880: Liberal margin 39.3 pts 1885: Liberal margin 28.7 pts 1886: Liberal margin 39.9 pts 1892: Liberal margin 1.1 pts 1895: Liberal margin 2.7 pts 1900: Liberal margin 15.1 pts 1906: Liberal margin 36.1 pts Jan 1910: Liberal margin 29.8 pts Dec 1910: Liberal margin 25.2 pts 1950: Unionist margin 32.5 pts 1951: Unionist margin 32.6 pts 1955: Unionist margin 31.9 pts 1959: Unionist margin 37.0 pts 1964: Unionist margin 13.2 pts 1966: Liberal margin 3.4 pts 1970: Conservative margin 14.1 pts Feb 1974: Conservative margin 3.7 pts Oct 1974: Conservative margin 5.8 pts 1979: Conservative margin 5.4 pts 1874 1880 1885 1886 1892 1895 1900 1906 Jan 1910 Dec 1910 1950 1951 1955 1959 1964 1966 1970 Feb 1974 Oct 1974 1979

Trend

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

Frequently Asked Questions

Who won West Aberdeenshire in the 1979 general election?

Conservative won West Aberdeenshire in 1979 with 21,086 votes (40.9%), a majority of 2,766 votes over Liberal in second place.

Which parties have won West Aberdeenshire since 1868?

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

What was the closest result in West Aberdeenshire?

The closest result on record for West Aberdeenshire was 1892, when Liberal beat Conservative by just 80 votes (1.1 percentage points).

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