Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'The Conservative Party is a lost cause. Its leader is not popular, its policies have all been aped by New Labour, and its personalities are still mired in sleaze'. From the website of Nigel Hastilow, former editor of the Birmingham Post, and Conservatite candidate for Birmingham Edgbaston, January 2001.

Gordon

Candidates

	Labour	Iain Brotchie
	Scottish National Party	Cllr Joanna Strathdee
	Conservative & Unionist	Philip Atkinson
	Liberal Democrat	Malcolm Bruce MP
	Scottish Socialist Party	Tommy Paterson

Candidates

The Labour candidate is Iain Brotchie. At the Scottish parliamentary election of 2003, he contested Banff & Buchan, coming third with 11.03 %.

The SNP candidate is Cllr Joanna Strathdee. Joanna is local Councillor for Huntly West in Aberdeenshire, convenor of SNP Gordon Constituency Association and Secretary to Huntly & District Branch and Aberdeenshire Council Group. Joanna contested Huntly West Ward in 1999 and won by 78 votes from the Liberals. In 2003 she increased her share of the vote to 54% leaving the Liberals with 18%. Joanna was born in 1954 and has spent most of her life in and around the Huntly area, she lives in Huntly with her long time partner, and has two daughters. In her spare time away from council duties and the fight for Scottish independence she enjoys Scottish Culture and Music and spends her holidays touring Scotland on her Harley Davidson.

The Tory candidate, Philip Atkinson, has lived and worked in the North East region of Scotland for over five years. Philip was National Vice-Chairman of the Scottish Conservative Students from 1999-2000 and at present is a Scottish Parliamentary Assistant to an MSP. In addition to his political work he is also a Junior Partner on his family's farm.

The Lib Dem candidate is Malcolm Bruce MP, who was born in 1944 and educated at Wrekin College in Shropshire and at St Andrews, Strathclyde and Middlesex universities. He worked as a journalist, as a buyer, before moving to reserarch and information and finally publishing before he won Gordon from the Tories in 1983. Amongst the positions held in the party, he was leader of the Scottish Lib Dems from 1988 until 1992. Married twice with a son and a daughter from each marrige, his interests include music, theatre and walking.

The SSP candidate is Tommy Paterson who has lived and worked in the north east for the last twelve years. A former member of the Labour Party, he is outraged that, after eight years of New Labour, poverty is still one of the main issues facing Scottish people today. The gap between the richest and poorest is wider now than when Blair came to power. He is passionate about energy issues and believes that massive public investment needs to go into wave and tidal development now for when the oil runs out.

Notional 2001 result

Logo	Party	Denver			Baxter
		Votes	%		Votes	%
	Liberal Democrat	15,304	38.82 %		15,822	38.78 %
	Labour	8,459	21.45 %		8,878	21.68 %
	Scottish National Party	7,612	19.31 %		7,476	18.25 %
	Conservative & Unionist	7,472	18.95 %		8,132	19.85 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	580	1.47 %		589	1.44 %
Notional Liberal Democrat win	Notional Liberal Democrat majority	6,845	17.36 %		7,004	17.10 %

Local Government wards in the constituency

This new constituency is based on the old seat Gordon which loses four wards to Banff & Buchan and five to West Aberdeenshire & Kincardine. It also gains five wards (and over a third of its electorate) from the old Aberdeen North seat.