Glasgow Govan (UK Parliament constituency)

Glasgow Govan
Former Burgh constituency
for the House of Commons
Subdivisions of Scotland City of Glasgow
Major settlements Govan
18852005
Number of members One
Replaced by Glasgow Central
Glasgow South
Glasgow South West

Glasgow Govan was a parliamentary constituency in the Govan district of Glasgow. It was represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1885 until 2005, returning one Member of Parliament (MP) elected by the first-past-the-post system.

It was a Conservative-Liberal marginal seat for the first three decades of its existence, before being won by the Labour Party in 1918. It remained a Labour seat for the next 55 years, except for a five-year Conservative interlude from 1950 to 1955, before being seized by the SNP at a 1973 by-election, only to be regained by Labour the following year. The SNP regained the seat at a 1988 by-election, only to lose it again to Labour in 1992. It remained a Labour seat until its abolition 13 years later.

The area which the constituency represented is now covered by Glasgow Central, Glasgow South and Glasgow South West.

Boundaries

1885-1918: "That part of the parish of Govan which lies south of the Clyde beyond the boundary of the Municipal Burgh of Glasgow".[1]

1918-1945: "That portion of the city which is bounded by a line commencing at a point on the municipal boundary at the centre of the River Clyde in line with the continuation of the centre line of Balmoral Street, thence eastward along the centre line of the River Clyde to a point in line with the continuation of the centre line of the portion of Govan Road to the west of Princes Dock, thence southward to and along the centre line of the said portion of Govan Road, Whitefield Road, Church Road and continuation thereof to the centre, of the Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway, thence westward along the centre line of the said Glasgow and Paisley Joint Railway to the municipal boundary, thence north-westward, northward, and eastward along the municipal boundary to the point of commencement."

1945-1974: The Glasgow wards of Govan, Kinning Park, part of Fairfield, and part of Kingston.

1974-1983: The Glasgow wards of Fairfield, Govan, Kingston, and Kinning Park.

1983-1997: The City of Glasgow District electoral divisions of Drumoyne/Govan, Mosspark/Bellahouston, and Penilee/Cardonald.

1997-2005: The City of Glasgow District electoral divisions of Govan/Drumoyne, Kingston/Pollokshields, and Langside/Shawlands.

Members of Parliament

Election Member Party
1885 Sir William Pearce Conservative
1889 John Wilson Liberal
1900 Robert Hunter Craig Liberal
1906 Robert Duncan Unionist
1910 William Hunter Liberal
1911 Daniel Turner Holmes Liberal
1918 Neil Maclean Labour and Independent Labour Party
1931[2] Labour
1950 Jack Browne Unionist
1955 John Rankin Labour Co-operative
1973 by-election Margo MacDonald SNP
Feb 1974 Harry Selby Labour
1979 Andy McMahon Labour
1983 Bruce Millan Labour
1988 by-election Jim Sillars SNP
1992 Ian Davidson Labour Co-operative
1997 Mohammad Sarwar Labour
1997 Independent[3]
1999 Labour
2005 constituency abolished

Elections

Elections in the 1880s

General Election 1885: Glasgow Govan[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Pearce 3,677
Liberal Bennet Graham Burley 3,522
Liberal David George Hoey 11
General Election 1886: Glasgow Govan[4]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative William Pearce 3,574 52.7
Liberal T. A. Dickson 3,212 47.3
Majority 362 5.4
Conservative hold Swing +1.6
Govan by-election, 18 January 1889
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Wilson 4,420 56.9
Liberal Unionist Sir John Pender 3,349 43.1
Majority 1,071 13.8
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing N/A

Elections in the 1890s

General Election 1892: Glasgow Govan[5]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Wilson 44,829
Conservative Nathaniel Spens 3,829
General Election 1895: Glasgow Govan[6]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal John Wilson 4,290
Liberal Unionist George Ferguson 4,029
Ind. Labour Party Alexander Haddow 430

Elections in the 1900s

General Election 1900: Glasgow Govan[7]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Robert Hunter Craig 5,744 50.7 +1.7
Liberal Unionist Robert Duncan 5,580 49.3 +3.2
Majority 1.4 -1.5
Turnout 76.5 -0.1
Liberal hold Swing -0.7
John Hill
General Election 1906: Glasgow Govan[8]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Conservative Robert Duncan 5,224 35.9
Liberal H. S. Murray 5,096 35.1
Ind. Labour Party John Hill 4,212 29.0 n/a
Majority
Turnout
Conservative gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1910s

General Election Jan 1910: Glasgow Govan[9]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Hunter 6,556 43.0
Conservative Robert Duncan 5,127 33.7
Labour James Thomas Brownlie 3,545 23.3
Majority 1,429 9.3
Turnout 84.6
Liberal gain from Conservative Swing

At a by-election on 28 April 1910, following his appointment as Solicitor General for Scotland, William Hunter was returned unopposed.

General Election Dec 1910: Glasgow Govan[10]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal William Hunter 8,409 56.9
Conservative George Balfour 6,369 43.1
Majority 2,040 13.8
Turnout 79.9
Liberal hold Swing
Glasgow Govan by-election, 1911[11]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Liberal Daniel Turner Holmes 7,508 53.5 -3.4
Conservative George Balfour 6,522 46.5 +3.4
Majority 7.0 -6.8
Turnout 76.3 -3.6
Liberal hold Swing -3.4
General Election 1918: Glasgow Govan[12]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 9,577 47.8 n/a
Unionist Alexander McClure 8,762 43.8
Liberal Daniel Turner Holmes 1,678 8.4
Majority
Turnout
Labour gain from Liberal Swing

Elections in the 1920s

Helen Fraser
General Election 1922: Glasgow Govan[13]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 15,441 62.3 +14.5
National Liberal Helen Miller Fraser 9,336 37.7 +29.3
Majority 6,105 24.6 +20.6
Turnout 24,777 78.3
Labour hold Swing -7.4
General Election 1923: Glasgow Govan [14]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 13,987
Liberal Henry Anderson Watt 7,095
Majority
Turnout
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1924: Glasgow Govan[15]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 15,132
Unionist H. Stanley 8,815
Majority 6,317
Turnout
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1929: Glasgow Govan[16]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Independent Labour 17,384 57.7
Unionist Marquess of Clydesdale 12,738 42.3
Majority 4,646 15.4
Turnout 30,122
Independent Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1930s

General Election 1931: Glasgow Govan[17]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour 15,047 51.0
Unionist Alexander McClure 14,442 49.0
Majority 605 2.0
Turnout 75.4
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1935: Glasgow Govan[18]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 15,791 51.0
Unionist Alexander McClure 10,211 33.0
Ind. Labour Party Thomas Johnston Taylor 4,959 16.0
Majority 5,580 18.0
Turnout 74.7
Labour hold Swing

Election in the 1940s

General Election 1945: Glasgow Govan[19]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Neil Maclean 18,668 66.1
Unionist Jack Nixon Browne 9,586 33.9
Majority 9,082 32.14
Turnout 64.08
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1950s

General Election 1950: Glasgow Govan[20]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Jack Nixon Browne 19,267 46.6
Labour John Davis 18,894 45.7
Liberal Thomas Ronald Leslie Fraser 1,628 3.9
Communist William Lauchlan 1,547 3.8
Majority 373 0.90
Turnout 84.03
Unionist gain from Labour Swing
General Election 1951: Glasgow Govan[21]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Unionist Jack Nixon Browne 20,936 50.3
Labour John Davis 20,695 49.7
Majority 241 0.58
Turnout 84.92
Unionist hold Swing
General Election 1955: Glasgow Govan[22]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Rankin 24,818 62.0
Unionist Alexander G Hutton 15,216 38.0
Majority 9,602 23.98
Turnout 71.82
Labour gain from Unionist Swing
General Election 1959: Glasgow Govan[23]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Rankin 23,139 60.4
Unionist Alexander G Hutton 13,319 34.7
Communist Gordon McLennan 1,869 4.9
Majority 9,820 25.62
Turnout 75.03
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1960s

General Election 1964: Glasgow Govan[24][25][26]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Rankin 20,326 64.99
Unionist Peter Breuer 9,571 30.60
Communist Gordon McLennan 1,378 4.41
Majority 10,755 34.39
Turnout 31,275 70.25
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1966: Glasgow Govan[27]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Rankin 18,533 67.8
Conservative Peter Breuer 7,677 28.1
Communist Gordon McLennan 1,103 4.0
Majority 10,856 39.75
Turnout 67.47
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1970s

General Election 1970: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour John Rankin 13,443 60.1
Conservative Gerald F. Belton 6,301 28.2
SNP James Michael Trevlyn Grieve 2,294 10.3
Communist Thomas Biggam 326 1.5
Majority 7,142 31.9
Turnout 22,364 63.2
Labour hold Swing
Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973
Party Candidate Votes % ±
SNP Margo MacDonald 6,360 41.5 +31.2
Labour Harry Selby 5,789 38.2 -21.9
Conservative John Mair 1,780 11.7 -16.5
Liberal Peter McMillan 1,239 8.2
Majority 571 3.5
Turnout 15,168
SNP gain from Labour Swing 26.7
General Election February 1974: Glasgow Govan[28]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Harry Selby 10,326 43.17
SNP Margo MacDonald 9,783 40.90
Conservative J Mair 3,049 12.75
Liberal P McMillan 763 3.19
Majority 543 2.27
Turnout 23,920 74.92
Labour gain from SNP Swing
General Election October 1974: Glasgow Govan[29]
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Harry Selby 11,392 49.50
SNP Margo MacDonald 9,440 41.02
Conservative M Todd 1,623 7.05
Liberal E Mason 444 1.93
National Front MA Brooks 86 0.37
More Prosperous Britain T Clyde 27 0.12
Majority 1,952 8.48
Turnout 23,011 71.70
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1979: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Andy McMahon 11,676 67.9
Conservative John Harrison Walker 3,188 18.5
SNP Thomas Wilson 2,340 13.6
Majority 8,488 49.3
Turnout 75.7
Labour hold Swing

Elections in the 1980s

General Election 1983: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Bruce Millan 20,370 55.0 -12.9
Social Democratic I. Mcdonald 7,313 19.7
Conservative A. McKenzie 7,180 19.4 +0.9
SNP P.M. Kindlen 2,207 5.9 -7.7
Majority 13,057 35.3
Turnout 37, 070 71.6
Labour hold Swing
General Election 1987: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Bruce Millan 24,071 64.8 +9.8
Social Democratic Alasdair Ferguson 4,562 12.3 -7.4
Conservative Mrs Janet Ruth Girsman 4,411 11.9 -7.5
SNP Felix McCabe 3,851 10.4 +4.5
Communist Douglas Chalmers 237 0.6 N/A
Majority 19,509 52.5
Turnout 37,132 73.4
Labour hold Swing +8.6
By-election 1988: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
SNP Jim Sillars 14,677 48.8 +38.4
Labour Bob Gillespie 11,123 36.9 -27.8
Conservative Graeme Hamilton 2,207 7.3 -4.6
Social and Liberal Democrats Bernard Ponsonby 1,246 4.1 -8.2
Green George Campbell 345 1.1 N/A
Communist Douglas Chalmers 281 0.9 +0.3
Monster Raving Loony Lord Sutch 174 0.6 N/A
Independent Fraser Clark 51 0.2 N/A
Majority 3,554 11.8
Turnout 30,104 60.2
SNP gain from Labour Swing +33.1

Elections in the 1990s

General Election 1992: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Ian Davidson 17,051 49.0 -15.8
SNP Jim Sillars 12,926 37.1 +26.7
Conservative James Alan Donnelly 3,458 9.9 -2.0
Liberal Democrat Bob Stewart 1,227 3.5 -8.8
Scottish Green David Spaven 181 0.5 +0.5
Majority 4,125 11.8 -40.7
Turnout 34,843 75.9 N/A
Labour gain from SNP Swing N/A
General Election 1997: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Mohammad Sarwar 14,216 44.1 -4.9
SNP Nicola Sturgeon 11,302 35.1 N/A
Conservative William Thomas 2,839 8.8 N/A
Liberal Democrat Bob Stewart 1,918 5.9 N/A
Scottish Socialist Alan McCombes 755 2.3 N/A
Independent Peter Paton 325 1.0 N/A
Independent Islam Badar 319 1.0 N/A
Independent Zahid Jamil Abbasi 221 0.7 N/A
Referendum Kenneth MacDonald 201 0.6 N/A
BNP James White 149 0.5 N/A
Majority 2,914 9.0 N/A
Turnout 32,245 64.5 N/A
Labour hold Swing N/A

Elections in the 2000s

General Election 2001: Glasgow Govan
Party Candidate Votes % ±
Labour Mohammad Sarwar 12,464 49.3 +5.2
SNP Karen Neary 6,064 24.0 -11.1
Liberal Democrat Bob Stewart 2,815 11.1 +5.2
Conservative Mark Menzies 2,167 8.6 -0.2
Scottish Socialist Wullie McGartland 1,531 6.1 N/A
Communist John Foster 174 0.7 N/A
Independent Badar Mirza 69 0.3 N/A
Majority 6,400 25.3
Turnout 25,284 46.8 -17.7
Labour hold Swing 8.2

Notes and references

  1. Redistribution of Seats Act 1885
  2. Neil Maclean was elected at the 1918 general election as a member of both the Independent Labour Party and the Labour Party. He was expelled from the ILP for deviancy from the party line in 1931.
  3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/special/politics97/news/06/0625/sarwar.shtml
  4. 1 2 Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1889
  5. Whitaker's Almanack, 1893
  6. Debrett's House of Commons and the Judicial Bench, 1901
  7. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918, FWS Craig
  8. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 by FWS Craig
  9. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 by FWS Craig
  10. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 by FWS Craig
  11. British Parliamentary Election Results 1885-1918 by FWS Craig
  12. Whitaker's Almanack, 1920
  13. F W S Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918-1949; Political Reference Publications, Glasgow 1949
  14. The Times, 8 December 1923
  15. Oliver & Boyd's Edinburgh Almanac, 1927
  16. The Times House of Commons, 1929
  17. The Times House of Commons, 1931
  18. The Times House of Commons, 1935
  19. Whitaker's Almanack, 1939
  20. Whitaker's Almanack, 1950
  21. Whitaker's Almanack, 1951
  22. Whitaker's Almanack, 1955
  23. Whitaker's Almanack, 1959
  24. Whitaker's Almanack, 1964
  25. Kimber, Richard. "UK General Election results 1964". Political Science Resources. Retrieved 20 April 2016.
  26. Whitaker's Almanack, 1966
  27. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74a/i09.htm
  28. http://www.politicsresources.net/area/uk/ge74b/i09.htm
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