SEAMUS Logan saw off competition from Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross in the new Aberdeenshire North and Moray East seat to claim victory for the SNP.
He won 13,455 votes to Ross’s 12,513, with Reform UK coming in third with 5562 votes.
Logan’s victory came as a shock for many after an exit poll suggested Ross was all but certain to win, as Reform UK appeared to severely dent the Tories’ chances.
Who is Seamus Logan?
Born in North Antrim in Northern Ireland, Logan studied in Stirling but he spent most of his life in Belfast where he worked in health and social care for around 33 years.
He later became a coach driver and tour guide, taking American tourists all over Ireland and Scotland.
He told the Press and Journal a few weeks ago he had never pictured becoming an MP. Apart from being a student in politics, he said he hadn’t really been involved until 2003 when he protested the Iraq War on the streets.
At this time his brother also stood for the Northern Ireland Assembly, for which he was campaign manager.
He moved to Fraserburgh with his wife in the summer of 2018 and after holding a number of leadership positions in the town, such as on the community council, he was elected as an SNP councillor in Aberdeenshire in 2022.
An unexpected contest
Logan may not have been expecting his seat to receive the attention it did on election night but it became a key focus when former Moray MP Ross suddenly announced he was going to run, after previously saying he wouldn’t.
He was controversially selected to stand ahead of David Duguid, who had been representing much of the area prior to the boundary changes. Duguid was effectively de-selected while he was ill in hospital.
Ross announced during the election campaign he would quit as an MSP if he had won the seat. He will still step down as Scottish Tory leader.
