Glasgow Govan by-election, 1973

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The Glasgow Govan by-election was held following the death of Labour Party Member of Parliament for Glasgow Govan John Rankin on 8 October 1973.

Rankin had held the seat since 1955, and excepting a narrow Conservative victory in 1950, the seat had been solidly Labour-held since 1918. The Labour Party nominated Harry Selby, a veteran activist in Glasgow and former Trotskyist.

The Conservative Party, long the main opposition in the constituency, nominated John Mair, but as they were in mid-term government, expected little from the election. Party support had also suffered after refusing the important local employer Upper Clyde Shipbuilders a government loan to continue operations.

The Scottish National Party (SNP) had barely won 10% of the vote in the constituency at the 1970 UK general election. Nationalist sentiment had increased following the discovery of North Sea Oil, and the party had performed very well in the Stirling and Falkirk by-election, 1971, and the Dundee East by-election, 1973. They nominated the young teacher Margo MacDonald.

The Liberal Party, despite having held the constituency for considerable periods prior to 1918, had little base in Glasgow and had not even contested it in 1970. They stood Peter McMillan. The Communist Party of Great Britain had only received a low vote in the seat 1970, and chose not to contest the by-election.

[edit] Results

MacDonald won a shock victory for the SNP; this was only their fourth Parliamentary election victory, after the Motherwell by-election, 1945, the Hamilton by-election, 1967, and the Western Isles seat in 1970. The party gained an additional 31.2% of the vote, and MacDonald sat alongside Donald Stewart in the British House of Commons.

The Labour vote fell sharply, in an ominous defeat for the party, given that a general election was expected soon. The Conservatives vote halved, and the party lost its deposit, placing only just ahead of the Liberals.

MacDonald lost the seat at the February 1974 UK general election to Selby, who himself stood down after only five years. However, the SNP were able to win seven other seats at the election and establish themselves as a permanent grouping in the British Parliament.