Glasgow Rutherglen (Scottish Parliament constituency)
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| Glasgow Rutherglen Scottish Parliament burgh constituency |
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.svg/220px-Glasgow_(Scottish_Parliament_electoral_region).svg.png) |
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| Glasgow Rutherglen shown within the Glasgow electoral region and the region shown within Scotland |
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| Created: | 1999 |
| MSP: | James Kelly (Scottish politician) |
| Party: | Labour |
| Council area: | Glasgow City (part) South Lanarkshire (part) |
Glasgow Rutherglen is a constituency of the Scottish Parliament (Holyrood). It elects one Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) by the plurality (first past the post) method of election. Also, however, it is one of ten constituencies in the Glasgow electoral region, which elects seven additional members, in addition to ten constituency MSPs, to produce a form of proportional representation for the region as a whole.
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[edit] Electoral region
- See also Glasgow Scottish Parliament region
The other nine constituencies of the Glasgow region are Glasgow Anniesland, Glasgow Baillieston, Glasgow Cathcart, Glasgow Govan, Glasgow Kelvin, Glasgow Maryhill, Glasgow Pollok, Glasgow Shettleston and Glasgow Springburn.
The region covers the Glasgow City council area and a north-western portion of the South Lanarkshire council area.
[edit] Constituency boundaries and council areas
The Glasgow Rutherglen constituency was created at the same time as the Scottish Parliament, in 1999, with the name and boundaries of an existing Westminster constituency. In 2005, however, Scottish Westminster (House of Commons) constituencies were mostly replaced with new constituencies.
The Holyrood constituency is east of the Cathcart constituency and south of the Shettleston and Baillieston constituencies, which are all entirely within the Glasgow City council area. The Rutherglen constituency, however, covers a south-eastern portion of the city area and a north-western portion of the South Lanarkshire council area.
In the South Lanarkshire area, Glasgow Rutherglen is one of five constituencies covering the area: Glasgow Rutherglen, East Kilbride, Hamilton South, Hamilton North and Bellshill and Clydesdale. Glasgow Rutherglen borders the East Kilbride and Hamilton South constituencies.
The East Kilbride constituency, the Hamilton constituency and the Hamilton North and Bellshill constituency are all in the Central Scotland electoral region. The Clydesdale constituency is in the South of Scotland region.
[edit] Characteristics
The town of Rutherglen is the oldest burgh in Scotland, and 500 years older than the burgh of Glasgow. It was traditionally a Conservative seat, and has always striven to maintain some autonomy since it was absorbed by Glasgow in the 1970s. However, the changes in the 1970s led the Westminster constituency to be mostly made up of vast council estates south-east of the Glasgow city centre and it became a Labour safe seat. At its northern border it blends into Glasgow's suburbs and the vast Castlemilk housing scheme. The seat includes not only Rutherglen itself but also the town of Cambuslang, and the housing scheme at Fernhill and Whitlawburn. Steel and pottery have been major industries in the past, but both have been in decline over the last 30 years. Although now mostly outside Glasgow local government area, the constituency is still seen as a safe Labour seat. There were no surprises in the 1999 elections, which saw Janis Hughes win the seat with a majority of 25% of the vote. The SNP increased its vote in 1999, establishing a firm second place.
[edit] Member of the Scottish Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Janis Hughes | Labour | |
| 2003 | |||
| 2007 | James Kelly | Labour | |
[edit] Election results
| Scottish Parliament election, 2007: Glasgow Rutherglen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | James Kelly | 10,237 | 42.2 | -3.6 | |
| Scottish National Party | Margaret Park | 5,857 | 24.2 | +9.2 | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Brown | 5,516 | 22.7 | +3.6 | |
| Conservative | Christina Harcus | 2,094 | 8.6 | -2.0 | |
| Scottish Christian | Tom Greig | 548 | 2.3 | +2.3 | |
| Majority | 4,380 | 18.1 | |||
| Turnout | 24,252 | 48.5 | +0.9 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | -6.5% | |||
| Scottish Parliament election, 2003: Glasgow Rutherglen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Janis Hughes | 10,794 | 45.8% | -0.5% | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Brown | 4,491 | 19.1% | -0.9% | |
| Scottish National Party | Anne McLaughlin | 3,517 | 14.9% | -6.3 | |
| Conservative | Gavin Brown | 2,499 | 10.6% | +2.6% | |
| Scottish Socialist | Bill Bonnar | 2,259 | 9.6% | +6.7% | |
| Majority | 6,303 | 26.8% | +1.7% | ||
| Turnout | 23,560 | 47.6% | |||
| Labour hold | Swing | -0.5% | |||
| Scottish Parliament election, 1999: Glasgow Rutherglen | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Janis Hughes | 13,442 | 46.31% | N/A | |
| Scottish National Party | Tom Chalmers | 6,155 | 21.21% | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrats | Robert Brown | 5,798 | 19.98% | N/A | |
| Conservative | Iain Stewart | 2,315 | 7.98% | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist | William Bonnar | 832 | 2.87% | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | James Nisbet | 481 | 1.66% | N/A | |
| Majority | 7,287 | 25.10% | N/A | ||
| Turnout | 15,583 | ||||
| Labour hold | Swing | N/A | |||
