Aberdeen North's boundaries were significantly redrawn for the 1997 election. It now includes the northern part of the city and some of its rural hinterland.
The city areas are mainly residential and largely made up of council estates such as Northfield, Mastrick and Summerfield. The rest of the seat is quite rural in character, save for Dyce and Bridge of Don - both also home to sizeable industrial estates.
Aberdeen North has been held by Labour since 1935, although the the seat now includes several areas that used to be in the Liberal Democrat seat of Gordon.
Labourís Malcolm Savidge won the seat in 1997 with a majority of 10,010 (26.1%), an increase on that achieved by his predecessor Bob Hughes under the old boundaries.
Despite the fact that 43% of the electorate came from a Liberal Democrat constituency,
the LibDems slipped from second to fourth place at the 1997 general election,
with the SNP climbing to second place.
Elaine Thomson won the seat for Labour by the skin of her teeth at the 1999 Scottish Parliament Elections, with a majority of 398 (1.14%).