SNP candidate Seamus Logan was out campaigning as normal in the north-east when the “shock” news hit him that Scottish Tory leader Douglas Ross was his new general election rival.
The surprise twist makes Aberdeenshire North and Moray East one of the biggest electoral battles in Scotland – and puts the region at the top of John Swinney’s priority list in this election.
It all changed when Mr Ross was parachuted in as candidate with just two days to spare before the deadline.
The Conservative party’s original pick, David Duguid, was dropped after suffering a spinal illness which left him seriously unwell in hospital.
With the race in full swing already, the P&J caught up with Mr Logan in Peterhead and Mr Ross in Fraserburgh to take the temperature in a contest with big repercussions for both parties.
Who is Seamus Logan?
Speaking at a cafe in the Blue Toon, Mr Logan said he never pictured he would become an MP and couldn’t be further from a career politician.
Born in North Antrim, Northern Ireland, he studied in Stirling, but spent most of his life in Belfast, where he worked in health and social care for about 33 years.
He would later become a coach driver and tour guide, and take American tourists all over Ireland and Scotland, which “revived his connection” to Scotland.
“I was only involved in student politics and then there was this huge gap where I got married, had children and didn’t really get involved in politics”, the 66-year-old said.
“In 2003, I came back onto the street again in protest at Tony Blair’s Iraq War. Also that year my brother decided to stand for the Northern Ireland Assembly and I was his campaign manager for that election and a number of subsequent elections.”
He married his second wife, Anne, a former TV journalist in 2018. He is also the proud father of two daughters, Aislinn, 30, and Eimear, 28, from his first marriage.
The pair moved to Fraserburgh, where Anne is from, to look after her elderly mother in summer 2018 and he’s fallen in love with the Broch.
After holding a number of leadership positions in the town, from the golf club, to the community council, he was elected as an SNP councillor for the area in 2022.
‘Not about taking down Douglas Ross’
Now, he’s the SNP’s pick in Aberdeenshire North and Moray East and going head to head with Mr Ross in what the Scottish Tory chief even admits is a “very close race”.
Polling company Survation published results at the weekend showing the SNP is ahead in 37 of the 57 seats in Scotland, including right across the north-east.
But there is a degree of uncertainty in the newly redrawn constituency, which includes towns such as Peterhead, Fraserburgh, Banff and Keith.
There is optimism from Mr Logan’s camp about the chances of winning the seat yet he said it depends on whether SNP voters show up on the day.
On whether he’s been boosted by the thought of taking the seat off Mr Ross in particular, he said: “For me personally, not really.
“But for the party, yes. I think the party would be absolutely delighted to see Douglas Ross forced onto the backbenches at Holyrood.
“I think he deserves it. But for me personally no, there’s no great glory in that, the prize for me is representing these folks and trying to do a good job for them.
“It’s not about taking down Mr Ross.”
Douglas Ross: ‘I was not expecting any sympathy’
In nearby Fraserburgh, Mr Ross positions himself as the tactical pro-unionist choice.
He said he put himself forward for the seat because he “loves” the area and has “always been very proudly focused on the north-east, Moray and this part of the world”.
The Tory chief had a bruising time since announcing his new intention to stand.
But he says the decision was to taken to help his former colleague’s recovery.
Asked if criticism had a personal impact, he said: “I do have a thick skin and I knew what I was getting into. And I was not expecting any sympathy.
“Where it does have an impact is on my family. My wife and my parents read things about me and that’s the same for every politician so I’m not trying to pick myself out with this one.
“We were promised there would be a better discourse in Scottish politics when John Swinney took over. I think most people are still waiting to see that.”
Other candidates standing in the seat are Ian Bailey (Scottish Liberal Democrats), Andy Brown (Scottish Labour) and Jo Hart (Reform).
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