SNP toppled in tight Gordon and Buchan election, as Richard Thomson will not return to Westminster to represent Huntly and Inverurie
RICHARD Thomson will not return to Westminster, after the Conservatives beat the incumbent MP in the new Gordon and Buchan seat.
Conservative candidate Harriet Cross is set to become the MP for the constituency, which includes both Huntly and Inverurie, with a majority of 878.
Ms Cross received 14,418 votes, to Mr Thomson’s 13,540.
Earlier in the night, Mr Thomson said the race was too close to call, and indicated that changed constituency boundaries had made for an uphill battle.
This General Election is the first in which Gordon and Buchan has been contested, after the Gordon constituency had its boundaries altered to include parts of Central Buchan and Turriff wards.
Mr Thomson, incumbent Gordon MP, won the seat in the 2019 General Election by overturning a Conservative majority of 2607 into an SNP majority of 819 - nearly the exact majority now held by Ms Cross.
“The fact it has been seen as competitive is a tribute to the type of campaign we have been contesting,” he said.
Mr Thomson added: “The north east always goes its own way.”
After she was declared the winner, Ms Cross thanked the constituents for voting, along with of all those who helped organise the election.
She also praised Mr Thomson’s work as an MP since 2019.
“To the people of Gordon and Buchan, thank you so much for putting your faith in me,” Ms Cross said.
“I know that politics has not been in the best place and I know that a lot of people feel disillusioned.
“And it is up to me, in this new parliament, to put that right and to serve you as our prime focus, and that is what I promise to do.
“I made pledges to you and I mean those pledges, I made those after speaking to you on doors for more than a year now.
“And I know they are important to you and that means that they are important to me.
“I am so honoured to be given this opportunity to serve you and represent you and I will do my very best for you every day.“
In total, the contest saw a 63 per cent turnout, with a total of 44,040 votes cast.
Liberal Democrat candidate Conrad Wood beat Labour and Reform to the third place spot, with 7307 votes.
Labour candidate Nurul Hoque Ali received 4686 votes, above Reform candidate Kris Callander’s 3897.