THE SNP HAS held the Moray constituency at the Scottish Parliament Elections – but the biggest smile in the Elgin Town Hall belonged to Tory candidate Douglas Ross.
Douglas Ross pushed the sitting MSP all the way and recorded a massive reduction in the majority held by Richard Lochhead, slashing it from almost 11,000 in 2011 to less than 3000 this time around.
The win for Mr Lochhead was achieved on a turnout of 54.1% – up from the 50.5% who turned out last time.
Speaking of his victory, Mr Lochhead pledged to represent all of the people of Moray and not just those who voted for him – adding that in Douglas Ross, the No.1 list candidate for the Highlands and Islands, the Parliament would have one of the best emerging young talents.
Douglas Ross, a sitting councillor for Fochabers/Lhanbryde, said that the result “felt like a victory” and thanked his team for their efforts and the people of Moray for showing their trust by increasing his vote from 5875 in 2011 to 12867 this time around.
Labour trailed in at third place after polling just 33 votes fewer than they did in 2011, while the stay-away Lib Dem candidate Jamie Paterson managed to gather support from 1265 party followers despite his never setting foot in the constituency.
The Moray Result
Richard Lochhead (SNP) – 15,742
Douglas Ross – (Conservative) 12,867
Sean Morton – (Labour) 3547
Jamie Paterson – (Lib Dem) 1265
Majority: 2875
Turnout: 54.1%
Moray Result for Highlands and Islands List
SNP – 13,809
Conservative – 11,571
Labour – 3376
Green – 2053
Lib Dem – 1043
Others – 1634
More election reaction later on insideMoray.