| Glasgow North East | |
|---|---|
| Burgh constituency | |
| for the House of Commons | |
Boundary of Glasgow North East in Scotland. |
|
| Subdivisions of Scotland | City of Glasgow |
| Current constituency | |
| Created | 2005 |
| Member of Parliament | Willie Bain (Labour) |
| Created from | Glasgow Springburn Glasgow Maryhill |
| Overlaps | |
| European Parliament constituency | Scotland |
Glasgow North East is a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (at Westminster). It was first contested at the 2005 general election. Its current Member of Parliament (MP) is Willie Bain of the Labour Party, who has held the position since a by-election in 2009.
It was formerly represented since its creation by Michael Martin, previously MP for Glasgow Springburn from 1979. Martin was elected Speaker of the House of Commons in October 2000, but in May 2009 announced that he would be resigning as Speaker on 21 June 2009 due to his role in the MPs' expenses controversy. He was the first Speaker in 300 years to be forced out of office by a motion of no confidence.[1] He also resigned as an MP the following day, resulting in a by-election on 12 November 2009, which was won by Bain with 59% of the vote. This position was consolidated after Bain was elected as the MP for Glasgow North East in the May 2010 UK general election.
Contents |
Glasgow North 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 North East constituency includes most of the former Glasgow Springburn constituency and a small part of the former Glasgow Maryhill constituency.[2]
One of the most deprived constituencies in Britain, this part of Glasgow is blighted by gang violence and drug abuse. Most of the seat consists of some of the most deprived and crime-plagued parts of the UK: the heroin-ravaged Possilpark, the tower blocks of Sighthill and Red Road, the decayed housing estates of Springburn and the amenity-free Milton, product of earlier attempts at slum clearance. However the innermost area of Dennistoun retains the original Victorian tenements and has undergone some gentrification becoming popular with students and young professionals, while to the north there are new developments on the outskirts of Glasgow at Robroyston.
| Election | Member[3] | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Michael Martin | Speaker | |
| 2009 by-election | Willie Bain | Labour | |
| General Election 2010: Glasgow North East[4][5] | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Willie Bain | 20,100 | 68.3 | +9.9 | |
| SNP | Billy McAllister | 4,158 | 14.1 | -3.6 | |
| Liberal Democrat | Eileen Baxendale | 2,262 | 7.7 | +5.4 | |
| Conservative | Ruth Davidson | 1,569 | 5.3 | +0.1 | |
| BNP | Walter Hamilton | 798 | 2.7 | -2.2 | |
| Trade Unionist & Socialist | Graham Campbell | 187 | 0.6 | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist | Kevin McVey | 179 | 0.6 | -0.1 | |
| Socialist Labour | Jim Berrington | 156 | 0.5 | +0.3 | |
| Majority | 15,942 | 54.2 | |||
| Turnout | 29,409 | 49.1 | +3.4 | ||
| Labour hold | Swing | ||||
Thirteen candidates ran in the 2009 by-election, caused by the resignation of former Speaker of the House of Commons Michael Martin. Labour won fairly comfortably, compared to the surprising SNP win in the neighbouring constituency of Glasgow East in the previous year. The turnout was the lowest in Scottish history.[6]
| Glasgow North East by-election, 2009 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Labour | Willie Bain | 12,231 | 59.4 | N/A | |
| SNP | David Kerr | 4,120 | 20.0 | +2.3 | |
| Conservative | Ruth Davidson | 1,075 | 5.2 | N/A | |
| BNP | Charlie Baillie | 1,013 | 4.9 | +1.7 | |
| Solidarity | Tommy Sheridan | 794 | 3.9 | N/A | |
| Liberal Democrat | Eileen Baxendale | 474 | 2.3 | N/A | |
| Scottish Green | David Doherty | 332 | 1.6 | N/A | |
| Jury Team | John Smeaton | 258 | 1.2 | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist | Kevin McVey | 152 | 0.7 | -4.2 | |
| No Label | Mikey Hughes | 54 | 0.3 | N/A | |
| Socialist Labour | Louise McDaid | 47 | 0.2 | -14.0 | |
| Independent | Mev Brown | 32 | 0.2 | N/A | |
| The Individuals Labour and Tory (TILT) | Colin Campbell | 13 | 0.1 | N/A | |
| Majority | 8,111 | 39.4 | +3.7 | ||
| Turnout | 20,595 | 33.2 | -12.6 | ||
| Labour gain from Speaker | Swing | ||||
As is conventional, Michael Martin (a member of the Labour Party when first elected Speaker) stood as Speaker of the House of Commons in the general election of 2005. The Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats did not stand against him. Other parties did, including the Scottish National Party (whose constitution requires that they fight every seat in Scotland).
The most notable feature of the result was the large vote for Arthur Scargill's Socialist Labour Party, in an area where they had very little base. This appears to be a result of voter confusion (and not the first recorded example of its kind). A large number of traditional Labour voters may have voted for them because there was no Labour candidate on the ballot paper.
| General Election 2005: Glasgow North East | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | |
| Speaker | Michael Martin | 15,153 | 53.3 | -13.8 | |
| SNP | John McLaughlin | 5,019 | 17.7 | -0.5 | |
| Socialist Labour | Doris Kelly | 4,036 | 14.2 | N/A | |
| Scottish Socialist | Graham Campbell | 1,402 | 4.9 | -3.2 | |
| Scottish Unionist | Daniel Houston | 1,266 | 4.5 | +0.3 | |
| BNP | Scott McLean | 920 | 3.2 | N/A | |
| Independent | Joe Chambers | 622 | 2.2 | N/A | |
| Majority | 10,134 | 35.7 | |||
| Turnout | 28,418 | 45.8 | +1.9 | ||
| Speaker hold | Swing | -6.6 | |||
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Glasgow Springburn |
Constituency represented by the Speaker 2005–2009 |
Succeeded by Buckingham |
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