1973 Glasgow Govan by-election

UK parliamentary by-election 1973 Glasgow Govan by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Glasgow Govan no 1970 United Kingdom general election 1970 February 1974 United Kingdom general election Feb. 1974 8 November 1973 Margo MacDonald x160px Scottish National Party 6,360 41.5% 31.2% Harry Selby Lab Labour Party (UK) 5,789 38.2% 21.9% John Mair Con Conservative Party (UK) 1,780 11.7% 16.5% Peter McMillan Lib Liberal Party (UK) 1,239 8.2% grey N/A MP John Rankin Labour Party (UK) Margo MacDonald Scottish National Party January 2020 November 2013 The 1973 Glasgow Govan by-election was held on 8 November 1973,http://www.alba.org.uk/timeline/1967to1979.html alba.org.uk following the death of John Rankin, Labour Party Member of Parliament for the Glasgow Govan constituency. Rankin had died one month earlier, on 8 October 1973. Rankin had held the seat since 1955. With the exception of a narrow Conservative victory in 1950, the seat had been solidly Labour-held since 1918. For the by-election the Labour Party nominated Harry Selby, a veteran activist in Glasgow and a former Trotskyist. It was later reported that Selby's selection had been controversial with some Labour members who felt that at the age of 61 he was too old to be starting a parliamentary career.Clark William SNP celebrate their new status in parliament https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19731109&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 22 April 2021 The Glasgow Herald 10 November 1973 The Conservative Party, long the main opposition in the constituency, nominated John Mair, but as they were in mid-term government, they expected little from the election. Party support had also suffered after refusing the important local employer Upper Clyde Shipbuilders a government loan to continue operations. The Scottish National Party (SNP) had barely won 10% of the vote in the constituency at the 1970 general election. Nonetheless, nationalist sentiment had increased following the discovery of North Sea oil, and the party had performed very well in the 1971 Stirling and Falkirk by-election, and the 1973 Dundee East by-election. The SNP nominated the young teacher Margo MacDonald. The Liberal Party, despite having held the constituency for considerable periods prior to 1918, had little base in Glasgow and had not even contested it in 1970. They stood Peter McMillan. The withdrawal of the Liberal Party allowed the Communist Party of Great Britain to poll fourth in 1970, with only 326 votes. With such a low count, they chose not to contest the 1973 by-election. Result MacDonald won a shock victory for the SNP; this was the party's fourth Parliamentary election victory, following the 1945 Motherwell by-election, the 1967 Hamilton by-election, and the Western Isles seat in 1970. The party gained an additional 31.2% of the vote, and MacDonald sat alongside Donald Stewart, SNP MP for the Western Isles, in the House of Commons. The Glasgow Herald described the result as a "debacle" for Labour, which proved that "no Labour seat is safe from Nationalist assault." An editorial in the same newspaper on the morning after the result was announced said that the defeat in Govan, which had been thought to be a safe seat, and the failure of Labour to make up ground on the Conservatives in the Edinburgh North by-election on the same day, "were the worst ever" by-election results "for the Labour Party in Scotland."Labour humiliated https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19731109&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 22 April 2021 The Glasgow Herald 9 November 1973 14 The Labour vote fell sharply, in an ominous defeat for the party, given that a general election was expected soon. The Conservative vote halved, and the party lost its deposit, placing only just ahead of the Liberals. however the Conservative performance in Govan was eclipsed by the party holding Edinburgh North fairly comfortably.Tories hold North Edinburgh and Hove – SNP shock for Labour in Govan https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19731109&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 22 April 2021 The Glasgow Herald 9 November 1973 1 In the aftermath of the defeat it was reported that there was criticism of the Labour members of Glasgow Corporation for failing to support Selby's campaign. The leader of the Labour group on the Council, the Rev. Geoffrey Shaw conceded that there had been an element of complacency about the campaign, though argued that this was among the Labour Party as a whole, rather than just among councillors. MacDonald lost the seat at the February 1974 general election to Selby, who himself stood down after only five years. However, the SNP were able to win seven other seats at the 1974 election, and established themselves as a permanent grouping in the British Parliament. Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973http://by-elections.co.uk/73.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034602/http://by-elections.co.uk/73.html 1973 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Scottish National Party Margo MacDonald 6,360 41.5 +31.2 Labour Party (UK) Harry Selby 5,789 38.2 -21.9 Conservative Party (UK) John Mair 1,780 11.7 -16.5 Liberal Party (UK) Peter McMillan 1,239 8.2 New 571 3.3 N/A 15,168 Scottish National Party Labour Party (UK) +26.7 Previous election General election 1970: Glasgow Govan Labour Party (UK) John Rankin 13,443 60.1 -7.7 Conservative Party (UK) G. F. Belton 6,301 28.2 +0.1 Scottish National Party Michael Grieve 2,294 10.3 New Communist Party of Great Britain T. Biggam 326 1.5 -2.5 7,142 31.9 -7.8 22,364 63.2 -4.3 Labour Party (UK) See also 1889 Govan by-election 1988 Glasgow Govan by-election Bibliography Gerry Hassan, "Glasgow Govan 1973", pp. 374-381, in British By-Elections: 1769-2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns that shaped our Politics, edited by Iain Dale, Biteback Publishing: London, 2025. References Category:1973 in Scotland Category:1970s elections in Scotland Category:1973 elections in the United Kingdom Category:November 1973 in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Glasgow constituencies Category:Govan Category:1970s in Glasgow