2008 Glenrothes by-election

UK parliamentary by-election March 2025 November 2013 2008 Glenrothes by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Glenrothes parliamentary seat no 2005 United Kingdom general election 2005 2010 United Kingdom general election 2010 6 November 2008 File:Lindsay Roy, Glenrothes MP (cropped).jpg Lindsay Roy Labour Party (UK) 19,946 55.1% 3.2% File:Official portrait of Peter Grant crop 2.jpg Peter Grant Scottish National Party 13,209 36.5% 13.1% MP Subsequent MP John MacDougall Labour Party (UK) Lindsay Roy Labour Party (UK) A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of Glenrothes was held on 6 November 2008, following the death of incumbent Labour Party MP John MacDougall. It was won by Lindsay Roy, who held the seat for Labour. Background Fife is traditionally a stronghold for the Labour Party. MacDougall had held Glenrothes and its forerunner, Central Fife, since 2001, when he succeeded Henry McLeish. Willie Hamilton had previously represented the area, which has elected Labour MPs since Hamilton won West Fife from the Communist Party of Great Britain in 1950. MacDougall died of pleural mesothelioma on 13 August 2008, aged 60.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/scotland_politics/7557933.stm MP MacDougall dies after illness BBC News 2008-08-13 2008-08-13 Pleural Mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer caused by prolonged exposure to asbestos. The writ to trigger a by-election was moved on 7 October. By tradition, the polling date was decided by the vacating MP's party—Labour—and set for Thursday, 6 November. https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7655805.stm Glenrothes by-election date set BBC News 6 October 2008 4 January 2010 Had the writ been moved immediately the by-election could have been held as early as mid-September, although this coincided with the Trades Union Congress annual conference and the following weeks were filled with various party conferences. A Labour loss during this period could have provided a particular boost for their opponents, or for dissident elements within the party.Iain Watson, "Don't expect an early by-election", BBC News, 13 August 2008 The SNP may have favoured a quick by-election, noting that Labour called the Glasgow East by-election rapidly, when commentators believed it was to Labour's advantage. The poll followed a run of poor by-election results for the Labour Party, which included a loss to the Scottish National Party (SNP) in Glasgow East, formerly the party's twenty-fifth safest seat in Britain. Glenrothes has a considerably smaller Labour majority than Glasgow East had.Gerri Peev, "New Scots vote gives Brown three months to save political skin", The Scotsman, 14 August 2008 According to the Financial Times, Labour privately admitted that they expected to lose Glenrothes to the SNP.George Parker and Jim Pickard, "Brown faces new by-election battle", Financial Times, 13 August 2008 The Guardian described the constituency's main town, Glenrothes, as a "core area" for the SNP.Severin Carrell, "From working class loyalty to new town aspiration", The Guardian, 14 August 2008 The SNP were in second place in the seat in the 2005 general electionNigel Morris, "Brown loses a friend – and faces another daunting Scottish by-election", The Independent, 14 August 2008 and won the nearest equivalent seat in the 2007 Scottish Parliament election. The SNP also ran Fife Council, which covers the constituency, in coalition with the Scottish Liberal Democrats. The Scottish Liberal Democrats won the last by-election to be held in Fife from Labour on a swing of 16%. Candidates The Labour party candidate was Kirkcaldy High School rector Lindsay Roy.Top 40 Scottish Blogs, Ian Dale's Diary, 27 August 2008https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7591769.stm BBC News Labour picks by-election hopeful 1 September 2008 3 May 2010 The SNP selected the leader of Fife Council, Peter Grant.SNP reveals by-election candidate, BBC News, 22 August 2008 The Conservative Party selected Maurice Goldenhttps://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7586471.stm Tories pick by-election candidate 2008-08-28 2008-08-28 BBC News while the Liberal Democrats chose Harry Wills.Steve Bargeton, "MP's death leaves battle for Brown https://web.archive.org/web/20081202140931/http://www.thecourier.co.uk/output/2008/08/14/newsstory11804002t0.asp 2 December 2008 ", The Courier The Scottish Socialist Party stood Morag Balfour, their national co-chair, who lived in Glenrothes and had been a candidate in the constituency before.Simon Johnson, "John MacDougall was suing Government over disease that killed him", The Daily Telegraph, 24 August 2008 Solidarity stood Louise McLeary, a community activist who lived in the part of Kirkcaldy which lies inside the constituency. The UKIP candidate was Kris Seunarine a specialist in the science of biophotonics at Dundee university, and chairman of the Fife branch of UKIP. Two of the minor party candidates had disabilities: Balfour was a wheelchair user and McLeary was visually impaired. Result Glenrothes by-election, 2008https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/edinburgh_and_east/7710999.stm Labour victorious in Glenrothes 6 November 2008 BBC News 2008-11-06https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/politics/7714670.stm Glenrothes result in full BBC News 2008-11-07 2008-11-07 Labour Party (UK) Lindsay Roy 19,946 55.1 +3.2 Scottish National Party Peter Grant 13,209 36.5 +13.1 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Maurice Golden 1,381 3.8 -3.3 Scottish Liberal Democrats Harry Wills 947 2.6 -10.1 Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party Jim Parker 296 0.8 -1.1 Scottish Socialist Party Morag Balfour 212 0.6 -1.3 UK Independence Party Kris Seunarine 117 0.3 -0.9 Solidarity (Scotland) Louise McLeary 87 0.2 New 6,737 18.61 -9.89 36,195 52.37 -3.7 Labour Party (UK) -4.96 2005 general election result Glenrothes, 5 May 2005 Labour Party (UK) John MacDougall 19,395 51.9 -6.0 Scottish National Party John Beare 8,731 23.4 -0.6 Scottish Liberal Democrats Elizabeth Riches 4,728 12.7 +4.8 Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Belinda Don 2,651 7.1 -0.4 Scottish Pensioners Party George Rodger 716 1.9 New Scottish Socialist Party Morag Balfour 705 1.9 -0.8 UK Independence Party Paul Smith 440 1.2 +1.1 10,664 28.5 -5.4 37,366 56.1 Labour Party (UK) Marked register Some months after the election, the marked register (on which the electors who had cast their vote were marked) was discovered to be missing. In law the register ought to have been preserved for a year and a day; the Returning Officer from Fife Council had transmitted the marked register to the Sheriff Court as required by law and obtained a receipt. The SNP Constituency Organiser, Cllr John Beare, had asked for a copy of the marked register on 19 November 2008; after ten weeks, the Scottish Court Service admitted the marked register was lost.https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7867022.stm By-election registers go missing BBC News 3 February 2009 27 October 2009 An inquiry by the Scottish Court Service identified significant failings in its handling of election documents, which had been placed in a room at the court office in Kirkcaldy to which outside contractors had access.http://www.heraldscotland.com/glenrothes-documents-lost-due-to-failures-in-handling-1.849426 Glenrothes documents lost due to 'failures in handling' The Herald 6 March 2009 27 October 2009 In October 2009, the Scotland Office agreed a protocol to create a substitute marked register for the election.Votes and Proceedings of the House of Commons, 19 October 2009. References External links Scottish Election Results 1997 - present http://www.fifetoday.co.uk/news/local-headlines/mystery_of_the_glenrothes_by_election_missing_papers_1_153322 https://web.archive.org/web/20120504153408/http://scotcourts.gov.uk/docs/report/Report_Investigation_into_Missing_Electoral_Register2009.pdf Category:2008 elections in the United Kingdom Category:2008 in Scotland 2008 Glenrothes Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Category:Politics of Fife Category:21st century in Fife Category:November 2008 in the United Kingdom