1988 Glasgow Govan by-election

UK parliamentary by-election December 2020 March 2012 1988 Glasgow Govan by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Glasgow Govan constituency no 1987 United Kingdom general election 1987 1992 United Kingdom general election 1992 10 November 1988 Jim Sillars Scottish National Party 14,677 48.8% 38.4% Bob Gillespie Labour Party (UK) 11,123 36.9% 27.8% Graeme Hamilton Conservative Party (UK) 2,207 7.3% 4.6% MP Subsequent MP Bruce Millan Labour Party (UK) Jim Sillars Scottish National Party The 1988 Glasgow Govan by-election, for the UK House of Commons constituency of Glasgow Govan, Scotland, was held on 10 November 1988. It was caused by the resignation of Bruce Millan as Member of Parliament for the constituency following his appointment as a European commissioner.The Times Guide to the House of Commons April 1992 1992 Times Books London 0-7230-0497-8 286–287 The result of the election provided the first major upset of the by-elections in the 1987-92 Parliament and was seen as embarrassing for the Labour Party, with the former Labour MP Jim Sillars winning the seat for the Scottish National Party with a majority of 3,554 votes and a large swing from Labour to the SNP. However, it would soon be the Tories who were suffering losses in by-elections, although the 1987-1992 Parliament would ultimately end with a fourth consecutive Conservative victory. Previous result and background Bruce Millan had first been elected as MP for Govan in the 1983 general election, having previously represented Glasgow Craigton, a constituency which was abolished in that year and partly merged into the redrawn Govan.The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1983 1983 Times Books Ltd London 0-7230-0255-X 119 At the previous general election Millan, a former Scottish Secretary, had easily held the seat for the Labour Party, increasing his vote share from 55% in 1983 to 64.9%. In contrast, his main rivals, the SDP and the Conservatives, had both seen their shares of the vote drop by over 7%. Meanwhile, the SNP had managed to increase their share of the vote by over 4%. While Millan had been the clear winner, less than 1,000 votes separated the SDP in second and the SNP in fourth place, a significant change from 1983 when the SNP had been over 5,000 votes behind the SDP.The Times Guide to the House of Commons June 1987 1987 Times Books Ltd London 0-7230-0298-3 120 https://archive.org/details/timesguidetohous0000unse_e1c3/page/120 Result 1988 Glasgow Govan by-electionhttp://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1987.html Results of Byelections in the 1987-92 Parliament Boothroyd David 1 October 2015 United Kingdom Election Results https://web.archive.org/web/20151120002350/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1987.html 20 November 2015 0 Scottish National Party Jim Sillars 14,677 48.8 +38.4 Labour Party (UK) Bob Gillespie 11,123 36.9 -27.8 Conservative Party (UK) Graeme Hamilton 2,207 7.3 -4.6 Social and Liberal Democrats Bernard Ponsonby 1,246 4.1 -8.2 Green Party (UK) George Campbell 345 1.1 New Communist Party of Great Britain Douglas Chalmers 281 0.9 +0.3 Official Monster Raving Loony Party Lord Sutch 174 0.6 New Independent (politician) Fraser Clark 51 0.2 New 3,554 11.9 N/A 30,104 60.2 -13.2 Scottish National Party Labour Party (UK) +33.1 See also 1889 Govan by-election 1973 Glasgow Govan by-election Govan Elections in Scotland Lists of United Kingdom by-elections References Bibliography Gerry Hassan, "Glasgow Govan 1988", pp. 509-516, in British By-Elections: 1769-2025: The 88 By-Election Campaigns that shaped our Politics, edited by Iain Dale, Biteback Publishing: London, 2025. Category:1988 in Scotland Category:1980s elections in Scotland Category:Govan Category:1988 elections in the United Kingdom Category:November 1988 in the United Kingdom Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Glasgow constituencies Category:Scottish National Party Category:1980s in Glasgow