Candidates and Constituency Assessments

'I was a threat at that time, or seemed a threat, to both parties because they had a nice cosy carve-up. It was either a Labour seat or a Tory seat and a few marginals. They knew where they were. They had the trades union hacks and they had the local lairds and it was all nice and tidy. And low and behold, a safe majority like Hamilton toppled and they suddenly thought, 'If this can happen in Hamilton, it can happen anywhere.' And in the words of Oliver Brown 'A shiver ran along the Scottish Labour benches looking for a spine to run up.'' Winnie Ewing talking about her 1967 Hamilton by-election victory for the SNP.

Hamilton North & Bellshill

7 th June 2001 Westminster Election

Turnout: 30,404 (56.79 %)
Logo	Party	Candidate	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	Dr John Reid	18,786	61.79 %	- 2.22 %
	Scottish National Party	Chris Stephens	5,225	17.19 %	- 1.90 %
	Conservative	William Frain Bell	2,649	8.71 %	- 1.67 %
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Legg	2,360	7.76 %	+ 2.70 %
	Scottish Socialist Party	Shareen Blackall	1,189	3.91 %	(+ 3.91 %)
	Socialist Labour Party	Steve Mayes	195	0.64 %	(+ 0.64 %)
	Lab hold	Lab majority	13,561	44.60 %	- 0.32 %

1 st May 1997 Westminster Election

Turnout: 37,999 (70.88 %)
Logo	Party	Candidate	Votes	%	% change
	Labour	Dr John Reid	24,322	64.01 %	+ 5.73 %
	Scottish National Party	Michael Mathieson	7,255	19.09 %	- 0.64 %
	Conservative	Gordon McIntosh	3,944	10.38 %	- 4.83 %
	Liberal Democrat	Keith Legg	1,924	5.06 %	- 1.69 %
	Referendum	Raymond Conn	554	1.46 %	(+ 1.46 %)
	Lab hold	Lab majority	17,067	44.92 %	+ 6.37 %

Notional 1992 result

	Labour	23,422	58.28%
	Scottish National Party	7,932	19.73%
	Conservative	6,115	15.21%
	Liberal Democrat	2,715	6.75%
Labour win	Lab majority	15,490	38.55%