Harbouring ambition: Voters' hopes ahead of Aberdeen South by-election

Here is the latest breaking news from around the world: Harbouring ambition: Voters' hopes ahead of Aberdeen South by-election8 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleLouise Hosie , ScotlandandKen Banks ,North east Scotland reporter, AberdeenBBCBob Sanguinetti is the Port of Aberdeen's chief executiveAberdeen South is at the heart of the offshore energy industry - but voters care about what happens on dry land too. The constituency covers part of the city's commuter belt - Peterculter, Milltimber and Bieldside - as well as the more urban areas near the harbour, such as Torry. That's where many residents are still dealing with the fallout from the discovery that their homes were built with a potentially dangerous building material.

Meanwhile, £420m has been invested into the South Harbour development at the nearby Port of Aberdeen in recent years. It now means many large cruise ships can dock in the Granite City, but the port has still been affected by the fall in oil and gas activity. Bosses say the South Harbour has yet to reach its full potential, and hope that whoever becomes Aberdeen South's new MP will fight their corner.

The Details

Candidates for by-elections to replace former MPs announcedVoters in Aberdeen South will head to the polls on Thursday 18 June. It is one of three UK by-elections that day. There is another in nearby Arbroath and Broughty Ferry, as well as a high-profile one in Makerfield, Greater Manchester.

That final contest could have big political ramifications, with Andy Burnham trying to get into Westminster to rock the Labour Party boat. But the importance of Aberdeen South should not be underplayed. It has been held by the SNP's Stephen Flynn since 2019.

In the 2024 General Election, he took 32. 8% of the vote, ahead of Labour and the Conservatives. However, after he became an MSP last month, the seat was up for grabs.

What Experts Say

Bob Sanguinetti, the Port of Aberdeen's chief executive, wants the successful candidate to call for a more "robust and holistic energy strategy". "We could increase the number of jobs in the region by 9,000, but we need that all-inclusive energy strategy to work right the way across from oil and gas all the way to renewables," he told Scotland News. "Last year we saw a drop in oil and gas activity of between 15% and 20%, that's quite significant.

"And at the same time, we're seeing that renewable energy - offshore wind - remains over the horizon, and we're unlikely to see activity at scale in offshore wind for a number of years yet. "So, we've got the challenge of trying to pull those two together and what we're seeing is significant job losses in the region. "Energy strategyOil and gas production in the North Sea has been in decline for more than 25 years since it peaked in 1999.

There has been a growing focus on alternative energies but many of those new roles have been created outside the north east in places like Glasgow, Edinburgh and further afield.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.