Scottish Conservatives Bridge of Don seat held despite criticism over previous councillor
- Donald Turvill
- Oct 7, 2019
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 8, 2019
Bridge of Don's by-election last Friday (October 4th) saw the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party taking in the most votes, with the SNP just 60 ballots behind.
Both parties hold onto their seats in the ward following the death of Cllr Sandy Stuart (SNP) and the resignation of Cllr. Brett Hunt (Conservatives).
The result increases the Conservative's vote share by ten percent, and for the most part, is unsurprising. One SNP councillor branded the Tories' victory in the Bridge of Don ward as a "busted flush", blaming incompetence in the Scottish Labour Party. Tory Cllr. Douglas Lumsden said he felt "a little bit of relief" after the count, possibly down to questions raised over the Conservatives' previous representative for the ward, Brett Hunt.
Hunt, who resigned in July just two months after being elected, came under criticism after he was found to be working abroad for six of the weeks he held the position. Defending his capability of carrying out ward duties overseas, Hunt said: "I maintain a 100% attendance record at all council meetings, and deal with all casework and constituent enquiries as would be expected".
Stephen Flynn, SNP group leader at Aberdeen City Council, pointed out that "attending three meetings was not an achievement", demanding that Mr. Hunt apologise to the people of Bridge of Don for prioritising his position in an oil and gas company and travelling to the Middle East, Europe, Russia and Africa whilst he had responsibilities representing them.
The scrutiny and eventual resignation of Brett Hunt did not, however, seem to affect Friday's result. The Scottish Conservative and Unionist party's new candidate, Sarah Cross, said she been "out for the last 10 weeks, three nights a week canvassing"; voters can now hope for such a track record to be retained, or at least that their councillor is in the area during her tenure.
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