Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'In a speech to the Scottish Trades Union Congress in Dundee, Mr McConnell reminded voters seven years of Labour had produced a 5% rise in waiting lists in Scotland. Although better than the last Tory government, the increase was in stark contrast to the situation south of the border, where lists have fallen 20%.' Tom Gordon, Scottish Political Correspondent, in the Herald, 20 th April 2005.

Aberdeen North

Candidates

	Labour	Frank Doran MP
	Scottish National Party	Cllr Kevin Stewart
	Conservative & Unionist	David Anderson
	Liberal Democrat	Cllr Steven Delaney
	Scottish Socialist Party	John Connan

Candidates

The Labour candidate is Frank Doran, currently MP for Aberdeen Central. He was born in Edinburgh in 1949 and educated at Ainslie Park and Edinburgh Academy before graduating with a law degree from Dundee University. Doran worked as a solicitor before winning Aberdeen South from the Tories in 1987, only to lose it again in 1992. He then worked as a researcher for Joan Ruddock and was selected as Labour candidate for Aberdeen Central beating Bob Hughes who had represented half the new seat, as Aberdeen North, since 1970. In 1997 he won Aberdeen Central for Labour, but the new seat disappears in the current boundary revision and Doran has succeeded in replacing Malcolm Savidge as Labour candidate for the new Aberdeen North seat. Doran also stood for the North East Scotland Euro constituency in 1984, coming second with 28.4 %.

The SNP candidate is Cllr Kevin Stewart. He was born and bred in the Aberdeen North Constituency. He joined the SNP in 1992 and has been the Councillor for Auchmill and Leader of the Aberdeen City Council SNP Group since May 1999. Kevin is also currently the Chairperson of the Great Northern Social Inclusion Partnership and is a member of Grampian Police Board. The Scottish National Party were only 357 votes behind Labour in Aberdeen North in 2003. Following the SNP gain of the Scottish parliamentary seat in 2003, Kevin Stewart will be hoping to build on these two results and win the Westminster seat from Labour.

Conservative candidate David Anderson was born and brought up in the North East and on leaving college in 1985 set up his own IT Solutions Business. David has been a member of the Conservative Party since 1990 and has been involved in campaigns at council, Westminster, Hollyrood and Euro levels. He has contested local elections on four different occasions.

Lib Dem candidate, Steve Delaney, was born in 1961 and educated at Northfield Academy in Aberdeen. He is married with one daughter and has worked as a freelance journalist and in computing. He is a past editor of Ferryhill Focus Magazine and his interests include computers & technology, current affairs, history, travel, walking and films. He has been an Aberdeen City Councillor since 2002 when he won the Langside ward from Labour.

The SSP candidate is John Connan.

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Labour	19,365	49.29 %		17,973	47.43 %
	Scottish National Party	10,071	25.63 %		10,035	26.48 %
	Liberal Democrat	4,806	12.23 %		4,809	12.69 %
	Conservative & Unionist	4,111	10.46 %		4,195	11.07 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	935	2.38 %		878	2.40 %
Notional Labour win	Notional Labour majority	9,294	23.66 %		7,938	21.37 %

Local Government wards in the constituency

This new constituency consists of eight of the 14 wards from the old Aberdeen North constituency plus 11 of the 14 wards from the old Aberdeen Central constituency.