1994 Monklands East by-election

UK parliamentary by-election December 2020 November 2013 1994 Monklands East by-election parliamentary United Kingdom Constituency of Monklands East no 1992 United Kingdom general election 1992 1997 United Kingdom general election 1997 30 June 1994 70.0% 5.0% Helen Liddell x160px Scottish Labour 16,950 49.8% 11.5% Kay Ullrich x160px Scottish National Party 15,320 44.9% 26.9% Map showing the Tottenham constituency within Greater London. MP John Smith Scottish Labour Helen Liddell Scottish Labour The 1994 Monklands East by-election was held on 30 June 1994, following the death of the Leader of the Labour Party John Smith, Member of Parliament (MP) for Monklands East in Scotland, on 12 May. Monklands East was considered a safe Labour seat; John Smith had held it since its creation in 1983, and had previously held the predecessor seat of North Lanarkshire, which had been held by Labour since the 1945 general election. In the 1992 general election, Smith had won more than 60% of the vote in the constituency, with most of the remaining votes split fairly evenly between the Scottish National Party and the Conservative Party. Candidates For the by-election, Labour selected Helen Liddell. She was a high-profile candidate, who had been the first female general secretary of the Labour Party at only 26, and had been an aide to disgraced media tycoon Robert Maxwell until his death. The Scottish National Party (SNP) selected Kay Ullrich, who had previously contested Cunninghame South and Motherwell South.http://www.alba.org.uk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20070310211344/http://www.alba.org.uk/nextwe/w02.html usurped Alba Money – Financial news and budgeting advice. 10 March 2007 Despite achieving a reasonable third place in 1992, the Conservatives expected little from the election. The Conservative government was becoming increasingly unpopular. The party stood Susan Bell, whose husband Arthur Bell was the leader of the Tory Reform Group.Scottish Politics – North East Scotland by-election The Liberal Democrats were particularly weak in the area, narrowly losing their deposit in 1992 in their eighth-worst performance nationally.http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/m13.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20051208012735/http://www.parliament.uk/documents/upload/m13.pdf dead General Election Results, 9 April 1992 8 December 2005 They ran a low-profile campaign and stood Stephen Gallagher, a former President of Glasgow University Union.https://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/314.htm https://web.archive.org/web/20041114222455/http://www.bbc.co.uk/election97/candidates/314.htm dead BBC: Stephen Gallagher 14 November 2004 Two other candidates stood; Abi Bremner on a platform opposing the Criminal Justice and Public Order Bill, and Duncan Patterson of the Natural Law Party. Campaign The main issue of the campaign was allegations of sectarian bias on Monklands District Council, which included the constituency (see Monklandsgate). It was alleged that the council, controlled by Labour members, had favoured spending in Coatbridge, a predominantly Roman Catholic area, over Airdrie, a mostly Protestant area; and that councillors had unfairly influenced council employment policies. Proponents of the allegations of sectarianism noted that all seventeen Labour councillors were Catholics.http://www.alba.org.uk/ https://web.archive.org/web/20110716180346/http://www.alba.org.uk/scot03constit/c01.html usurped Alba Money – Financial news and budgeting advice. 16 July 2011 Nicholas Wood of The Times said it was "one of the dirtiest by-election campaigns of recent times".Mark Stuart, John Smith. A Life (London: Politico's, 2005), p. 392. On the night of the electoral count, Liddell was spat upon and called "scum" and a "Fenian bastard".Stuart Mark https://books.google.com/books?id=2pBnAAAAMAAJ&q=monklands+%22Fenian+bastard%22 392 John Smith: A Life 2005 Politico's 978-1-84275-126-8 en In her victory speech Liddell claimed the SNP had "played the Orange card", something which Alex Salmond strenuously denied. Both Liddell and Ullrich wished to avoid focusing on the allegations. Liddell initially supported the council, but towards the end of the campaign, she became critical of it. Her criticisms were strongly opposed by Tom Clarke, Labour MP for Monklands West and former Provost of Monklands Council. Result The controversy boosted support for the SNP, and by the day of the election, Labour were not certain of holding the seat. Liddell held on to win, but with a much reduced majority of only 1,640. The SNP took a close second, while the Lib Dems fell back even from their weak position to again lose their deposit, and the Conservatives also lost their deposit, as they saw a dramatic loss of support move them into fourth place, with only 799 votes.http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html By-elections in the 1992–97 Parliament 20 October 2006 20 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170720031954/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html dead Despite a run of disappointing by-election results, this was the first time since the 1991 Liverpool Walton by-election that the Conservatives had failed to take one of the top three places in a by-election. At the 1997 general election, the constituency was abolished, most of it being replaced by Airdrie and Shotts. Liddell stood for the new seat and held it with a comfortable majority. Ullrich became a Member of the Scottish Parliament for West of Scotland from 1999 to 2003, while Bell later left the Conservative Party for the Liberal Democrats. Monklands East by-election, 1994http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html Results of Byelections in the 1992–97 Parliament Boothroyd David 2015-10-01 United Kingdom Election Results 20 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170720031954/http://www.election.demon.co.uk/by1992.html dead Scottish Labour Helen Liddell 16,950 49.8 −11.5 Scottish National Party Kay Ullrich 15,320 44.9 +26.9 Scottish Liberal Democrats Stephen Gallagher 878 2.6 −2.0 Scottish Conservatives Susan Bell 799 2.3 −13.7 Independent politician Abi Bremner 69 0.2 New Natural Law Party Duncan Patterson 58 0.2 New 1,640 4.9 −42.4 34,074 70.0 −5.0 Scottish Labour -19.2 Previous election General election 1992: Monklands East Scottish Labour John Smith 22,266 61.3 +0.3 Scottish National Party J. Wright 6,554 18.0 +5.1 Scottish Conservatives S. Walters 5,830 16.1 −6.8 Scottish Liberal Democrats P. W. Ross 1,679 4.6 −4.8 15,712 43.3 −0.9 36,329 75.0 +0.2 Scottish Labour -2.4 See also List of United Kingdom by-elections (1979–2010) References Category:By-elections to the Parliament of the United Kingdom in Scottish constituencies Monklands East by-election Monklands East by-election Category:1990s elections in Scotland Monklands East by-election Category:Politics of North Lanarkshire Category:Religious controversies in the United Kingdom Category:Sectarianism Category:Christianity and politics