1997 Paisley South by-election

1997 UK Parliamentary by-election 1997 Paisley South by-election United Kingdom parliamentary no 1997 United Kingdom general election May 1997 2001 United Kingdom general election 2001 6 November 1997 Douglas Alexander 150x150px Labour Party (UK) 10,346 44.1% 13.4% Ian Blackford 150x150px Scottish National Party 7,615 32.5% 9.1% Eileen McCartin Liberal Democrats (UK) 2,582 11.0% 1.6% Sheila Laidlaw Conservative Party (UK) 1,643 7.0% 1.6% MP Gordon McMaster Douglas Alexander Labour Party (UK) Labour Party (UK) December 2020 August 2012 A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Paisley South was held on 6 November 1997 following the death of incumbent Member of Parliament (MP) Gordon McMaster of the Labour Party. It was won by Douglas Alexander, who retained the seat for Labour despite a swing of 11% to the Scottish National Party. Background Gordon McMaster, the incumbent MP for the constituency, committed suicide in the garage of his home in Johnstone on 28 July 1997, at the age of 37.1997-10-27 BBC News Politics Labour defends Paisley South amid allegations of 'sleaze' http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk/politics/13267.stm 2026-08-09 news.bbc.co.uk He had been robbed in London shortly before his death. His suicide note named neighbouring MP Tommy Graham as being responsible for smearing him over an alleged homosexual relationship with Graham's employee, 17-year-old Scott Anderson. As the legal age of consent was 18 at that time, McMaster would have been accused of statutory rape. Graham denied being behind the leak, however was subsequently expelled from the Labour Party.1997-09-18 Gordon McMaster was not my enemy, says suspended MP, Euan McColm and Peter Macmahon The Scotsman Result 1997 Paisley South by-electionhttp://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1997.html Results of Byelections in the 1997-2002 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-10-05 United Kingdom Election Results Labour Party (UK) Douglas Alexander 10,346 44.1 -13.4 Scottish National Party Ian Blackford 7,615 32.5 +9.1 Liberal Democrats (UK) Eileen McCartin 2,582 11.0 +1.6 Conservative Party (UK) Sheila Laidlaw 1,643 7.0 -1.6 ProLife Alliance John Deighan 578 2.5 New Scottish Socialist Alliance Frances Curran 306 1.3 +0.9 Independent politician C. McLauchlan 155 0.7 New Socialist Labour Party (UK) Christopher Herriot 153 0.7 New Natural Law Party Kenneth Blair 57 0.2 New 2,731 11.7 -22.4 23,435 42.9 -26.2 Labour Party (UK) -11.3 1997 general election result General Election 1997: Paisley South Labour Party (UK) Gordon McMaster 21,482 57.5 +6.8 Scottish National Party William Martin 8,732 23.4 -0.7 Liberal Democrats (UK) Eileen McCartin 3,500 9.4 +0.3 Conservative Party (UK) Robin Reid 3,237 8.6 -7.3 Referendum Party James Lardner 254 0.7 New Scottish Socialist Alliance Sean Clerkin 146 0.4 New 12,750 34.1 +7.5 37,351 69.1 -5.9 Labour Party (UK) See also Elections in Scotland Lists of United Kingdom by-elections References External links Scottish Election Results 1997 - present Paisley South by-election Category:1990s elections in Scotland Paisley South by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Paisley South by-election Category:Politics of Paisley, Renfrewshire