 | 'In September 2002 there was a by-election in Durn ward, Aberdeenshire. ... The turnout in a postal ballot was 66 per cent, the highest ever in a postal pilot. That was in contrast to another election that day to the same council, in which the turnout was a mere 36 per cent.' Russell Brown MP in Hansard, 21 st October 2003. |  |
A by-election was held in the Gamrie King Edward ward of Aberdeenshire Councilon the 19 th September 2002. The ward was held by Tory John Duncan, who had stood as an Independent in 1999.
Gamrie King Edward is in the Banff & Buchan Westminster parliamentary seat (held by the Scottish National Party's Alex Salmond MP) and in the Banff & Buchan Scottish parliamentary seat (held by the Scottish National Party's Stewart Stevenson MSP).
Tory gain from Scottish National Party. Swing: 24.4 % from Liberal Democrat to Conservative. ( 2.2 % from Scottish National Party to John Duncan)
| 19 th September 2002 By-election Turnout 36.0 % (- 14.1 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Duncan |  |
Conservative | 430 | 50.0 % | (+ 50.0 %) / + 5.7 % |
| David K. Benzie |  |
Scottish National Party | 404 | 47.0 % | + 1.3 % |
| John Picken |  |
Liberal Democrat | 17 | 2.0 % | - 8.1 % |
| Erik R. S. Davidson |  |
UK Independence Party | 9 | 1.0 % | (+ 1.0 %) |
| Conservative gain from Scottish National Party | |
Conservative majority | 26 | 3.0 % | |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 50.1 % (+ 18.7 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander Buchan | |
Scottish National Party | 547 | 45.7 % | - 4.8 % |
| John Duncan |  |
Independent | 530 | 44.3 % | (+ 44.3 %) |
| Elsie Murphy | |
Liberal Democrat | 120 | 10.0 % | (+ 10.0 %) |
| Scottish National Party hold | |
Scottish National Party majority | 17 | 1.4 % | + 0.5 % |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 31.4 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kenneth Benzie | |
Scottish National Party | 554 | 50.5 % | |
| Robert Bremner | |
Independent | 544 | 49.5 % | |
| Scottish National Party win | |
Scottish National Party majority | 10 | 0.9 % | |
Mr. Russell Brown (Dumfries): I shall briefly consider three previous postal pilots in Scotland. In April 2002 the first pilot took place in a ward of Stirling council. The turnout was more than 63 per cent., far higher than the turnout at the other council by-election held on the same day. In September 2002 there was a by-election in Durn ward, Aberdeenshire. The hon. Member for West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine (Sir Robert Smith) has left the Chamber, but he will know about that one. The turnout in a postal ballot was 66 per cent, the highest ever in a postal pilot. That was in contrast to another election that day to the same council, in which the turnout was a mere 36 per cent. In November 2002 in a ward in the Scottish Borders, there was a turnout of 65.8 per cent., which was up 3.1 per cent. on the turnout for the 1999 election.
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