1978 Hamilton by-election

UK parliamentary by-election April 2025 November 2013 1978 Hamilton by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Hamilton no October 1974 United Kingdom general election Oct. 1974 1979 United Kingdom general election 1979 31 May 1978 George Robertson x160px Labour Party (UK) 18,880 51.0% 3.4% Margo MacDonald x160px Scottish National Party 12,388 33.4% 5.6% Alexander Scrymgeour 160px Conservative Party (UK) 4,818 13.0% 3.5% MP Alexander Wilson Labour Party (UK) George Robertson Labour Party (UK) There was a 1978 by-election for the House of Commons of the United Kingdom in Hamilton on Wednesday 31 May 1978. It was caused by the death of the incumbent Labour Party Member of Parliament Alex Wilson on 23 March of that year. Within days of Wilson's death, The Glasgow Herald described the by-election as 'the biggest battle the Government has faced in Scotland since the last General Election'.A Staff Reporter Labour faces crunch battle with the SNP https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=GGgVawPscysC&dat=19780325&printsec=frontpage&hl=en 20 June 2018 The Glasgow Herald 25 March 1978 The SNP, which had previously won the seat in a by-election in 1967, were reported to see the contest as an important test of where political opinion in Scotland stood. The SNP's prospective candidate, Margo MacDonald, had a high profile as a former MP and had been working in the constituency for three years. There was also initial uncertainty as to whom Labour would select as a candidate. Wilson's death was unexpected and it had been assumed he would fight the seat at the next general election. John Maxton, nephew of James Maxton, who lived in the constituency, was suggested as a possibility, but he had already been selected to fight Glasgow Cathcart for Labour at the next election. As the opening game of the 1978 FIFA World Cup was on Thursday 1 June, the by-election was held one day earlier, on the Wednesday. All by-elections since then have been held on a Thursday. The Labour candidate was George Robertson, who defeated SNP candidate Margo MacDonald, with an increased majority. It was one of a series of significant Labour victories over the SNP in 1978 which halted their rise at that time. Hamilton by-election, 1978http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html https://web.archive.org/web/20120314034520/http://by-elections.co.uk/78.html 1978 By Election Results 2012-03-14 dead 2015-09-17 Labour Party (UK) George Robertson 18,880 51.0 +3.4 Scottish National Party Margo MacDonald 12,388 33.4 -5.6 Conservative Party (UK) Alexander Scrymgeour 4,818 13.0 +3.5 Liberal Party (UK) Fred McDermid 949 2.6 -1.4 6,492 17.6 +9.0 37,035 37.0 -40.2 Labour Party (UK) +4.5 See also Hamilton (UK Parliament constituency) List of United Kingdom by-elections (1950–1979) References External links Report on the by-election by Thames TV Hamilton by-election Category:1970s elections in Scotland Category:Politics of South Lanarkshire Hamilton by-election Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Hamilton by-election