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Glasgow East (UK Parliament constituency)
Encyclopedia
Glasgow East is a constituency
of the British House of Commons, located in the city of Glasgow
, Scotland
. It elects one Member of Parliament
(MP) at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post
system of voting.
One of the most safe seat
s for the Labour Party
, it has voted Labour since the 1930s. It achieved national prominence in 2008, when a by-election
saw the Scottish National Party
overturn a majority of over 13,000 votes to take the seat. At the 2010 general election, Labour's Margaret Curran
won the seat back from the SNP, with a renewed majority of over 11,000 votes. The seat is notable for receiving the lowest percentage of votes for the Liberal Democrats for any constituency at the 2010 General Election, and for being one of only two constituencies across the whole United Kingdom
where the Conservative Party
polled under 5% of the vote.
The seat is entirely within the Glasgow City Council area, taking in the towns of Baillieston
, Carmyle
, Easterhouse
, Parkhead
, Shettleston
and Tollcross
.
Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area was covered by ten constituencies, of which two straddled boundaries with other council areas. The East constituency includes the area of the former Glasgow Baillieston
constituency and parts of the former Glasgow Shettleston
constituency. Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the names and boundaries of the older Westminster constituencies.
Baillieston has always been represented by the Labour Party, as was its predecessor Glasgow Provan
from its creation in 1955. Shettleston was won by the Labour Party at every election from 1950 onwards (in 1945 it was won by the Independent Labour Party
). In 2008, the Scottish National Party
succeeded in winning the seat from Labour in a by-election
on a very large swing. Prior to the by-election, it had been one of the safest Labour seats in the United Kingdom. At the 2010 General Election, the constituency was re-gained by Labour from the SNP's by-election victor John Mason by more than 11,000 votes by Margaret Curran
.
The East constituency contains part of the M8 motorway and main railway lines into the city centre; the home ground of Glasgow Celtic football club is within the constituency.
It is one of the most deprived areas in Britain: average male life expectancy is 68, five years less than the Scottish average, while in the Shettleston
area it is 63. A 2008 World Health Organisation report gave the average male life expectancy in Calton
as 54.
on 30 June 2008, thus effectively resigning from the Commons
. Although the seat represented Labour's third highest majority in Scotland, they faced a strong challenge from the SNP, hot on the heels of Labour's disastrous performance in the 2008 Henley by-election
. Nominations for candidates closed at 4pm on 9 July, and the election took place on 24 July.
On 25 July 2008, and after a recount, the SNP candidate John Mason won the seat with a majority of 365 votes over the Labour Party candidate Margaret Curran.
United Kingdom constituencies
In the United Kingdom , each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one or more members to a parliament or assembly.Within the United Kingdom there are now five bodies with members elected by constituencies:...
of the British House of Commons, located in the city of Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
. It elects one Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
(MP) at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post
First-past-the-post voting refers to an election won by the candidate with the most votes. The winning potato candidate does not necessarily receive an absolute majority of all votes cast.-Overview:...
system of voting.
One of the most safe seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
s for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
, it has voted Labour since the 1930s. It achieved national prominence in 2008, when a by-election
Glasgow East by-election, 2008
The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health....
saw the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
overturn a majority of over 13,000 votes to take the seat. At the 2010 general election, Labour's Margaret Curran
Margaret Curran
Margaret Patricia Curran is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Glasgow East since 2010, and is currently Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland...
won the seat back from the SNP, with a renewed majority of over 11,000 votes. The seat is notable for receiving the lowest percentage of votes for the Liberal Democrats for any constituency at the 2010 General Election, and for being one of only two constituencies across the whole United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
where the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
polled under 5% of the vote.
The seat is entirely within the Glasgow City Council area, taking in the towns of Baillieston
Baillieston
Baillieston is a suburb of Glasgow, Scotland. It is about 7 miles east of the city centre.It is also the name of Ward 20 of Glasgow City Council...
, Carmyle
Carmyle
Carmyle is a small village in the east end of Glasgow, north of the River Clyde.-Transport:Carmyle railway station which opened in August 1866, is on the Whifflet Line. It is an unstaffed, 2-platform halt. Trains run to Glasgow Central from Westbound Platform 1, and to Mount Vernon, Baillieston,...
, Easterhouse
Easterhouse
Easterhouse is a suburb about east of Glasgow city centre, Scotland. It was partially built on land gained from the county of Lanarkshire as part of a boundary expansion of Glasgow before the Second World War. Building began in the mid-1950s by the then local authority, Glasgow Corporation...
, Parkhead
Parkhead
Parkhead is a district in the East End of Glasgow. Its name comes from a small weaving hamlet at the meeting place of the Great Eastern Road and Westmuir Street. Duke Street and Springfield Road also meet there, to form a turreted Edwardian five-way junction at Parkhead Cross...
, Shettleston
Shettleston
Shettleston is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Like many of the city's districts, Shettleston was originally a small village on its outer edge. Today Shettleston lies between the neighbouring districts of Parkhead to the west, and Baillieston to the east, and is about 2 and a...
and Tollcross
Tollcross, Glasgow
Tollcross is an area north of the River Clyde in Glasgow and has a popular park which is famed for its international rose trials. It lies approximately a mile east of the neighbouring suburb of Parkhead, and just north of Braidfauld and south of Shettleston....
.
Boundaries
Glasgow East is one of seven constituencies covering the Glasgow City council area. All are entirely within the council area.Prior to the 2005 general election, the city area was covered by ten constituencies, of which two straddled boundaries with other council areas. The East constituency includes the area of the former Glasgow Baillieston
Glasgow Baillieston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Baillieston was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency and parts of the former Glasgow Shettleston
Glasgow Shettleston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Shettleston was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 2005. The Shettleston area is represented is now covered by Glasgow Central and Glasgow East.-Boundaries:...
constituency. Scottish Parliament constituencies retain the names and boundaries of the older Westminster constituencies.
Baillieston has always been represented by the Labour Party, as was its predecessor Glasgow Provan
Glasgow Provan (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Provan was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
from its creation in 1955. Shettleston was won by the Labour Party at every election from 1950 onwards (in 1945 it was won by the Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
). In 2008, the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
succeeded in winning the seat from Labour in a by-election
Glasgow East by-election, 2008
The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health....
on a very large swing. Prior to the by-election, it had been one of the safest Labour seats in the United Kingdom. At the 2010 General Election, the constituency was re-gained by Labour from the SNP's by-election victor John Mason by more than 11,000 votes by Margaret Curran
Margaret Curran
Margaret Patricia Curran is a Scottish Labour Party politician, who has been the Member of Parliament for Glasgow East since 2010, and is currently Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland...
.
The East constituency contains part of the M8 motorway and main railway lines into the city centre; the home ground of Glasgow Celtic football club is within the constituency.
It is one of the most deprived areas in Britain: average male life expectancy is 68, five years less than the Scottish average, while in the Shettleston
Shettleston
Shettleston is a district in the east end of Glasgow in Scotland. Like many of the city's districts, Shettleston was originally a small village on its outer edge. Today Shettleston lies between the neighbouring districts of Parkhead to the west, and Baillieston to the east, and is about 2 and a...
area it is 63. A 2008 World Health Organisation report gave the average male life expectancy in Calton
Calton, Glasgow
Calton is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. The name Calton is derived from the Gaelic "coillduin", which means "wood on the hill". It is situated north of the River Clyde, and just to the east of the city centre...
as 54.
Members of Parliament
| Election | Member | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 United Kingdom general election, 2005 The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160.... |
David Marshall | Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland.... |
|
| 2008 by-election Glasgow East by-election, 2008 The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election for the UK Parliamentary constituency of Glasgow East which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health.... |
John Mason John Mason (Scottish politician) John Fingland Mason MSP is a Scottish politician and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston.He was the SNP Member of Parliament for Glasgow East from 2008 to 2010.-Background:... |
SNP Scottish National Party The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom.... |
|
| 2010 | Margaret Curran | Labour Scottish Labour Party The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland.... |
|
2008 by-election
On 28 June 2008, David Marshall MP announced he would step down because of a stress-related illness and was appointed Steward of the Manor of NorthsteadManor of Northstead
The Manor of Northstead was once a collection of fields and farms in the parish of Scalby in the North Riding of Yorkshire in England. By 1600, the manor house had fallen into disrepair and was occupied only by a shepherd. At present the Manor is part of the Barrowcliff area of the town of...
on 30 June 2008, thus effectively resigning from the Commons
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
. Although the seat represented Labour's third highest majority in Scotland, they faced a strong challenge from the SNP, hot on the heels of Labour's disastrous performance in the 2008 Henley by-election
Henley by-election, 2008
The Henley by-election, 2008 to elect a member of the British House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008...
. Nominations for candidates closed at 4pm on 9 July, and the election took place on 24 July.
On 25 July 2008, and after a recount, the SNP candidate John Mason won the seat with a majority of 365 votes over the Labour Party candidate Margaret Curran.