Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'In America, it is called pork barrel politics, and typically involves tacking blatant electoral bribes on to budget legislation. In Holyrood politics, it is only slightly less subtle, and it is mainly the domain of the Liberal Democrats.' Douglas Fraser in the Herald, 14 th June 2006.

Roxburgh & Berwickshire (South of Scotland Region)

Candidates

	John Lamont (Also number 3 on South of Scotland list)
	Conservative & Unionist
	Local man, John Lamont has been re-selected by Conservatives in the Borders as their candidate for the Scottish parliamentary constituency of Roxburgh and Berwickshire. John contested the Westminster constituency of Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk in the 2005 General Election where he increased the Conservative vote by a massive 6.8% (second biggest increase in the Tory vote in Scotland) and secured a 5.9% swing from the LibDems. The swing from the LibDems to the Conservatives was the 5th biggest in the United Kingdom. John has a tremendous track record of community campaigning - for example, he has been fighting hard against the Lib-Dem/Labour hospital closure plans and has been campaigning for road improvements in the Borders. It is the first time that local Conservatives have selected the same candidate for a parliamentarian election for over 30 years. Recent electoral experience. 2005 Westminster Parliament election, Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, 13,092 votes (28.9 %)
	Mary Lockhart (Not standing on South of Scotland list)
	Labour
	Mary Lockhart is a campaigner on fair trade, the abolition of Third World debt and renewable energies. She worked for the Scotsman and was on the short list of three for the Dunfermline by-election but lost out to MSP Catherine Stihler who lost the seat to the Lib Dems. Recent electoral experience
	Aileen Orr (Also number 6 on South of Scotland list)
	Scottish National Party
	Aileen Orr has been a member of the SNP for over 30 years and although standing for the Scottish Parliament for the first time, has been a campaign manager for many other candidates over Scotland. She co-founded the Independence Convention which has attracted support from Sir Sean Connery, Elaine C. Smith, Dougie MacLean and the Proclaimers. Aileen said: "I am delighted to represent Roxburgh and Berwickshire in 2007, I am already inundated with requests for assistance and information regarding problems within Berwickshire especially, every problem will be researched. "On the back of our success in Moray last week, I have asked Richard Lochead to come down and speak to supporters about adding to the winning formula in the Borders. With the assistance of my two worthy council candidates Alex Thomson and Donald Moffat, we will be a formidable team." SBC candidate Alex Thomson lives with his wife Joy in Coldstream. A former rugby player and now golfer, he is also agent to Aileen. Recent electoral experience 2005 Westminster Parliament election, Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk, 3,885 votes (8.6 %) 2004 Local Government by-election, Scottish Borders, Kelso & District North, 157 votes (18.5 %)
	Jesse Rae (Not standing on South of Scotland list)
	Independent
	Jesse Rae is 55 and comes from St Boswells. He is instantly recognisable from his Highland dress, claymore and helmet. He is perhaps best known for "Over the Sea" which got to number 65 in the UK charts in 1985. He said"I just want to make things a bit better for the young people in the Borders and the older residents. I was born in the area and love the place but I want to make sure there is something for people to come back to if they move away." Recent electoral experience.
	Euan Robson MSP (Not standing on South of Scotland list)
	Liberal Democrat
	Euan Robson was born in 1954 in the North of England and educated at Trinity College in Glenalmond, Newcastle University where he graduated with a BA (Hons) in History and Strathclyde University where he obtained an MSc in Political Science. In 1979 he worked as a tecaher at King Edward VI School in Morpeth. He was appointed Deputy Secretary of the Gas Consumers' Northern Council in 1981 and was the Scottish Manager from 1986 until 1999. He is married and is a member of the Church of Scotland. Euan Robson was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 and was appointed Deputy Minister for Parliament in March 2001 following the resignation of Tavish Scott over the executive's failure to protect the fishing industry. In May 2003, he became Deputy Minister for Education and in October 2004 he was appointed Deputy Minister for Education & Young People. In June 2005 Euan Robson was sacked by Jack McConnell and his portfolio was given to Robert Brown. He is currently Lib Dem spokesman for Communities and Health. Ministerial positions March 2001 - May 2003 - Deputy Minister for Parliamentary Business May 2003 - June 2005 - Deputy Minister for Education & Young People Recent electoral experience 2003 Scottish Parliamentary election, Roxburgh & Berwickshire, 9,280 (41.2 %) (elected) 1999 Scottish Parliamentary election, Roxburgh & Berwickshire, 11,320 votes (40.6 %) (elected)

Constituency Analysis

Assessment:

This assessment is based on the 2003 election results

Rank on Conservative hit list: 7 (12 in 2003)
Swing required for Conservative gain: 5.53 % from Liberal Democrat to Conservative

Rank on Scottish National Party hit list: 47 (52 in 2003)
Swing required for Scottish National Party gain: 14.36 % from Liberal Democrat to Scottish National Party

Rank on Labour hit list: 20 (16 in 2003)
Swing required for Labour gain: 14.39 % from Liberal Democrat to Labour

Correlation to the new Westminster constituencies

The electorate of 44,846 was split between the new Westminster constituencies of:
Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk 44,846 (100.0 %)

Local Government wards in the constituency

Previous results

1 st May 2003 Holyrood Election - Constituency result

Electorate 45,625. Turnout 22,511, 49.34 % (- 9.18 %)
Logo	Party	Candidate	Votes	%	% change
	Liberal Democrat	Euan Robson MSP	9,280	41.22 %	+ 0.61 %
	Conservative & Unionist	Sandy Scott	6,790	30.16 %	+ 2.41 %
	Scottish National Party	Roderick Campbell	2,816	12.51 %	- 4.42 %
	Labour	Sam Held	2,802	12.45 %	- 2.27 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	Graeme McIver	823	3.66 %	(+ 3.66 %)
	Liberal Democrat hold	Liberal Democrat majority	2,490	11.06 %	- 1.80 %

1 st May 2003 Holyrood Election - Regional list result

Electorate 45,625. Turnout 22,559, 49.44% 256 rejected ballot papers
Logo	Party	Votes	%	% change
	Conservative & Unionist	6,417	28.45 %	+ 3.81 %
	Liberal Democrats	5,992	26.56 %	- 3.81 %
	Scottish National Party	3,172	14.06 %	- 4.84 %
	Labour	3,036	13.46 %	- 1.12 %
	Scottish Green Party	1,725	7.65 %	+ 4.11 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	817	3.62 %	+ 3.04 %
	Pensioners Party	740	3.28 %	(+ 3.28 %)
	UK Independence Party	355	1.57 %	(+ 1.57 %)
	Socialist Labour Party	103	0.46 %	(+ 0.46 %)
	Scottish Peoples Alliance	144	0.64 %	(+ 0.64 %)
	Am Partaidh Dhuthchail The Rural Party	58	0.26 %	(+ 0.26 %)
	Conservative & Unionist majority	425	1.88 %

6 th May 1999 Holyrood Election - Constituency Result

Logo	Party	Candidate	Votes	%	% change
	Liberal Democrat	Euan Robson	11,320	40.61 %	- 5.89 %
	Conservative & Unionist	Alasdair Hutton	7,735	27.75 %	+ 3.88 %
	Scottish National Party	Stuart Crawford	4,719	16.93 %	+ 5.60 %
	Labour	Suzanne Macleod	4,102	14.72 %	- 0.24 %
	Liberal Democrat win	Liberal Democrat majority	3,585	12.86 %	- 9.77 %

6 th May 1999 Holyrood Election - Regional list result

Logo	Party	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrats	8,475	30.37 %
	Conservative & Unionist	6,876	24.64 %
	Scottish National Party	5,274	18.90 %
	Labour	4,069	14.58 %
	Scottish Green Party	988	3.54 %
	Liberal Party	980	3.51 %
	Socialist Labour Party	812	2.91 %
	UK Independence Party	191	0.68 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	161	0.58 %
	Natural Law Party	76	0.27 %
	Liberal Democrat majority	1,599	5.73 %

1 st May 1997 Westminster Election

Logo	Party	Candidate	Votes	%
	Liberal Democrat	Archie Kirkwood MP	16,243	46.50 %
	Conservative & Unionist	Douglas Younger	8,337	23.87 %
	Labour	Helen Eadie	5,226	14.96 %
	Scottish National Party	Malcolm Balfour	3,959	11.33 %
	Referendum	John Curtis	922	2.64%
	UK Independence	Peter Neilson	202	0.58%
	Natural Law	David Lucas	42	0.12%
	Liberal Democrat hold	Liberal Democrat majority	7,906	22.63 %

Links

• Borders Lib Dems