2017 Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election

The Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election, 2017 was a by-election held on 8 June 2017 for the Scottish Parliament constituency of Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire. It was triggered by the resignation of John Lamont.

Background

Conservative politician John Lamont was elected as MSP for the constituency at the 2016 election, having first been elected in 2007. Lamont announced on 25 April 2017 that he would be standing in the 2017 UK general election and submitted his resignation as MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire with effect from 4 May, which triggered a by-election.[1] Ken Macintosh, the Presiding Officer scheduled the by-election for 8 June, the same date as the UK general election.[2]

Four candidates were nominated: Conservative Rachael Hamilton, Gail Hendry for the Scottish National Party, Sally Prentice for Labour and Catriona Bhatia for the Liberal Democrats.[3] Hamilton, who had been a regional MSP for South Scotland, resigned her seat in advance of the by-election.[4]

Result

Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire by-election, 2017[5]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%	±%
	Conservative	Rachael Hamilton	20,658	53.55	-1.65
	SNP	Gail Hendry	11,320	29.34	-2.46
	Labour	Sally Prentice	3,406	8.83	+3.53
	Liberal Democrats	Catriona Bhatia	3,196	8.28	+0.58
Majority			9,338	24.20
Turnout			38,580	69.8%[6]
	Conservative hold		Swing	+0.4

2016 result

Scottish Parliament election, 2016: Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire [7]
Notes:		Blue background denotes the winner of the electorate vote. Pink background denotes a candidate elected from their party list. Yellow background denotes an electorate win by a list member, or other incumbent. A or N denotes status of any incumbent, win or lose respectively.
Party		Candidate		Votes	%	±%	Party votes	%	±%
	Conservative	John Lamont		18,257	55.2	+10.3	15,452	46.65	+15.16
	SNP	Paul Wheelhouse		10,521	31.8	+5.4	10,068	30.40	-4.45
	Liberal Democrats	Jim Hume		2,551	7.7	-9.6	2,851	8.61	-6.14
	Labour	Barrie Cunning		1,766	5.3	-5.0	2,251	6.80	-4.23
	Scottish Green						1,481	4.47	+1.11
	UKIP						771	2.33	+0.66
	Independent						112
	RISE						68
	Solidarity						67
Informal votes				88			68
Total Valid votes				33,095			33,121
	Conservative hold		Majority	7,736	23.4	+4.9

References

1. "Tory MSP to quit Holyrood to stand for Westminster". BBC News. 25 April 2017. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
2. "Presiding Officer sets by-election date for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire". Scottish Parliament. 27 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2017.
3. "Four candidates to fight Borders by-election". BBC News. BBC. 5 May 2017. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
4. "MSP Rachael Hamilton quits to fight Holyrood by-election". BBC News. BBC. 3 May 2017. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
5. "WATCH: Rachael Hamilton wins Holyrood by-election". Border Telegraph.
6. Border Telegraph (8 June 2017). "Holyrood By-election 2017: Rachael Hamilton is elected" – via YouTube.
7. "Election 2016. Scotland. Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire constituency". BBC News. Retrieved 25 April 2017.