Moore is engulfed in SNP landslide as Kerr celebrates and Lamont is left to lament

THE transformation, beyond all recognition, of the political complexion of the Borders was confirmed at 7.21am on Friday when Calum Kerr was declared the new MP for Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk.

The 42-year-old father of three and erstwhile telecommunications consultant became the 56th Scottish National Party candidate to win a seat in a momentous General Election.

Mr Kerr prevailed by just 328 votes from the Conservative John Lamont whose request for a recount meant the Borders constituency was the last in Scotland to declare.

Back in third place, nearly 10,000 votes adrift, was Michael Moore, the Lib Dem who had been a Borders MP for the past 18 years and whose party had enjoyed a half century of unbroken Westminster dominance since a 27-year-old David Steel won a by-election for Roxburgh, Selkirk and Peebles in 1965.

Back in 2010, the SNP had come fourth with just 4,497 votes and a share of 9.2%.

On Friday, Mr Kerr, who had chaired the Yes Borders campaign ahead of the Independence referendum, completed a remarkable turnaround polling 20,145 and grabbing 36.6% of the vote on a high turnout of 74.2% - a massive swing from the Lib Dems to the SNP of 27.1%.

For Mr Lamont, who is already the MSP for Ettrick, Roxburgh and Berwickshire, it was a case of third successive defeat in a Westminster election.

In 2005, when the current seat was created, he was 5,901 votes adrift of Mr Moore having taken 28% of the vote.

In 2010, he cut that deficit marginally to 5,685 while increasing his share of the vote to 34%.

And last week his share rose to again to 36% although this time it was Mr Kerr and not Mr Moore who rained on his parade.

While the Tories had the consolation of having made at least some electoral progress in a Scottish seat, the same could not be said of the Lib Dems whose decimation was as spectacular as the SNP’s surge.

As the count in Kelso’s cavernous Springwood Hall got under way, it was evident from the expressions on the faces of Mr Moore’s supporters that his reign was over.

With the television screens charting the party’s demise across the country, Mr Moore, who celebrates his 50th birthday next month, told the media just before 2am: “It’s a two horse race – and I’m not one of them.” According to former Lib Dem councillor John Paton-Day from Earlston, the Moore team knew its time had come “for days” before the election.

“The polls showed that, this time round, the SNP and not the Lib Dems would benefit from anti-Tory tactical voting, while many of our supporters simply could not forgive us for going into coalition with the Conservatives in 2010,” said Mr Paton-Day.

“They say revenge is a dish best served cold and they waited five years to punish us and who can blame them? After all, we have been Tories for the past five years. Unfortunately, Michael, a great guy and a superb MP, has paid the price” Others among the crestfallen Lib Dem camp at the count shared Lord Steel’s view that the party had been wrong to sacrifice its traditional identity by portraying itself as little more than willing coalition partners.

After Mr Moore’s typically magnanimous unofficial concession of defeat, it became clear it was a close run thing between Kerr and Lamont, with the former camp looking the cheerier as the counted votes piled up.

And any hopes among angle-seeking media representatives that the seat could produce Scotland’s only Tory MP were quashed soon afterwards with the news that David Mundell had successfully held on in neighbouring Dumfriesshire, Clydesdale and Tweeddale.

It was approaching 5am when the announcement came from Returning Officer Tracey Logan that a recount would take place, it later emerging the request had come from Mr Lamont.

It was also announced that counting staff, some of whom looked far from delighted, would work until 7am and, if the outcome remain unresolved, another team would continue the process after 9am.

In the event, the recount was completed in time with Ms Logan making the declaration result at 7.21am.

Acknowledging his victory, Mr Kerr hailed the SNP’s performance across Scotland – claiming 56 of the 59 seats – as “the biggest transformation in our country’s democratic and political history”.

“This result shows that democracy is alive and well and flourishing here in the Borders,” said Mr Kerr.

“I want to offer my genuine commiserations to Michael Moore who we all respect as a hard working and diligent MP and I wish him all the best in the future.

“This has been a fair, decent and courteous campaign and we can all take enormous pride for that.

“I will be an MP for all the people of the Borders no matter who they voted for yesterday. I will fight to end austerity and bring more powers to Scotland.” Mr Moore said: “We have campaigned really hard locally, but the national picture affects us. I congratulate Calum for a fantastic campaign.

“It has been a great privilege to represent this beautiful part of the world for the past 18 years.” Mr Lamont, who had been the bookies’ favourite to take the seat, also congratulated Mr Kerr and apologised to count staff for their “prolonged stay”.

Later, he told the Border Telegraph: “I would be lying if I said I wasn’t disappointed...I put my all into the campaign.” Kenryck Lloyd-Jones, the Edinburgh-based public affairs consultant who stood for Labour and who came fourth with 2,700 votes – down from 5003 in 2010 – told us: “While it is a great shame we lost the election, the Labour party will always be here to support working people in the Borders.

“I want to thank everyone who voted for us and assure them we will continue to fight for a more just society.” Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk result Calum Kerr (SNP) 20,145; John Lamont (Con) 19,817; Michael Moore (Lib Dem) 10,294; Kenryck Lloyd-Jones (Lab) 2,700; Peter Neilson (UKIP) 1,316; Pauline Stewart (Green) 631; Jesse Rae (Ind) 134.

SNP majority 328, Turnout 74.24 per cent