I have been reflecting on the election results overnight. It is no secret I am a Liberal Democrat. So you would expect me to be over the moon with the results overall. To a certain extent yes. But in the main I am disappointed.

Not that we didn’t top the 71 seats total (so far; news awaited from Dingwall tomorrow). No, the seat where I live … we had a good long campaign but it didn’t fire the imagination of the voters in West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine.

So congratulations to Andrew Bowie, re-elected as our MP. I didn’t see that coming. We will see if he can deliver on his seven promises (buses, investment, roads and bridges, fair share of funding for our council, stopping the pylons, protecting oil and gas jobs, and defending the union).

My consolation is that our share of the vote went up. We must await another day to take back the seat we held for 18 years.

You can find the Aberdeenshire results here: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/council-and-democracy/elections/results/uk-general-election-2024

Westminster hopeful Michael Turvey flanked by former Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie, North Kincardine LD councillor Mel Sullivan and supporters.