 | 'Bothwell South should not be forgotten by the national politicians. It is a wake-up call they will ignore at their peril.' Tom Brown, 27 th June 2004. |  |
| 'Bothwell South should not be forgotten by the national politicians. It is a wake-up call they will ignore at their peril.' Tom Brown, 27 th June 2004. | |
There was a by-election for the Bothwell South ward of South Lanarkshire Council on the 24 th of August 2004 following the death of Labour Cllr Alex McGuire on the 14 th of June 2004.
Bothwell South is in the new Lanark & Hamilton East Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's James Hood MP) and in the Hamilton North & Bellshill Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Michel McMahon MSP).
Tory gain from Labour. Swing: 15.6 % from Labour to Conservative. The new Tory Cllr is the husband of Tory MSP Margaret Mitchell.
| 26 th August 2004 By-election Turnout 38.8 % (- 9.0 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Henry Mitchell |  |
Conservative | 594 | 48.4 % | + 13.2 % |
| Jeanette McGuire |  |
Labour | 377 | 30.7 % | - 17.9 % |
| Douglas Herbison |  |
Liberal Democrat | 143 | 11.7 % | (+ 11.7 %) |
| Margaret Fox |  |
Scottish National Party | 67 | 5.5 % | - 10.8 % |
| Sam McHarg |  |
Scotish Senior Citizens Unity Party | 26 | 2.1 % | (+ 2.1 %) |
| Michael Martin |  |
Scotish Socialist Party | 20 | 1.6 % | (+ 1.6 %) |
| Conservative gain from Labour | |
Conservative majority | 217 | 17.7 % | |
| 1 st May 2003 Turnout 47.8 % (- 14.7 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander McGuire | |
Labour | 707 | 48.6 % | + 7.3 % |
| Henry Mitchell | |
Conservative | 512 | 35.2 % | + 11.4 % |
| Nicolas Gauld | |
Scottish National Party | 237 | 16.3 % | - 7.8 % |
| Labour | |
Labour majority | 195 | 13.4 % | - 3.8 % |
| 6 th May 1999 Turnout 62.5 % (+ 17.4 %) | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cllr Alexander O. McGuire | |
Labour | 810 | 41.3 % | - 8.3 % |
| Kenneth Shaw | |
Scottish National Party | 473 | 24.1 % | - 0.9 % |
| Raymond Ferguson | |
Conservative | 467 | 23.8 % | - 1.6 % |
| Ian D. Strachen | |
Liberal Democrat | 209 | 10.7 % | (+ 10.7 %) |
| Labour | |
Labour majority | 337 | 17.2 % | + 7.0 % |
| 6 th April 1995 Turnout 45.1 % | |||||
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alexander McGuire | |
Labour | 706 | 49.6 % | |
| Ian Macauslane | |
Conservative | 362 | 25.4 % | |
| Catherine Sutherland | |
Scottish National Party | 356 | 25.0 % | |
| Labour win | |
Labour majority | 344 | 24.2 % | |
ALEX McGuire, the convener of Strathclyde Fire Board, has died after a long illness. He was 61.
He was a serving firefighter for 30 years before retiring from the brigade in 1993. During his firefighting career he was based at Rutherglen, Cambuslang and Hamilton fire stations and was Scottish secretary of the Fire Brigades Union.
Two years after leaving the brigade, he was elected councillor for the Bothwell South ward of South Lanarkshire Council and he became a founder member of the fire board.
Councillor McGuire was appointed vice-convener in 1997, and became board's the convener last year.
On becoming convener, he pledged to help the fire service to move forward and to provide excellent public service.
Firemaster Brian Sweeney said Councillor McGuire more than met that pledge. He said: "Alex performed outstanding service as board convener. He was a staunch supporter of the brigade and under his convenership the board made a commitment to avoid fire-station closures and maintain levels of front-line cover. The emphasis was always on public safety and staff safety."
Councillor Eddie McAvoy, leader of South Lanarkshire Council, said Alex McGuire could be summed up in three words: service, courage and dignity.
Councillor McAvoy said: "Alex's entire life was focused on public service, first as a firefighter with Strathclyde Fire Brigade for over 30 years and then for the last nine years as a South Lanarkshire councillor.
"His desire to achieve the best for his constituents saw him work tirelessly on their behalf.
"For Alex I think it would be true to say his appointment as chair of Strathclyde Fire Board came as one of his greatest honours - a former firefighter helping to take the service into a new century.
"He did so with a courage and a dignity that he demonstrated so memorably over the last few weeks, despite the burden of his illness - always seeking to serve."
Councillor McGuire is survived by his wife, Jeanette, daughter Lisa, son John and one grandchild, John's son Michael John.
Tories bounced back to make four gains in council by-elections after a lacklustre performance through most of the month.
Their candidates Andrew Thwaite and Simon Street snapped up the last two Labour seats on CheshireÕs Congleton Borough Council in a double contest for the townÕs North ward.
Conservative Henry Mitchell, husband of MSP Margaret Mitchell, scored a landslide victory to take South Lanarkshire CouncilÕs Bothwell South seat.
The party had a second success in Cheshire when Stuart Russell won from Liberal Democrats at Lostock and Wincham, Vale Royal Borough.
However there was some Liberal Democrat cheer when they easily held on at East Marsh, North East Lincolnshire, a ward where Labour won another seat in JuneÕs main polls.
Analysis of 10 comparable contests in August suggest a projected 11.8% Tory nationwide lead over Labour Ð little changed from June.
But this marks a sharp turnaround during this month as Labour was ahead based on five by-elections in the first three weeks.
A projection based on four wards fought by a three major parties both times suggests nationwide figures of C 42.3%, Lab 28.4%, Lib Dem 24.3%.
No main council contests have been reported yet for next week.
RESULTS:
Congleton Borough Congleton North: Two seats C 191, 174, Lab 142, 133, Lib Dem 111, 108. (May 2003 Lab 222, C 153, Lib Dem 57, Ind 44). C gain two seats from Lab. Swing 12.5% Lab to C.
Melton Borough Melton Craven: Ind 304, C 251, Lab 137. (May 2003 Two seats Ind 593, 415, C 213, Lab 179, 177, Melton Borough Progressive Party 137). Ind hold. Swing 6.6% Lab to C.
Melton Borough Melton Dorian: C 397, Lab 140, United Kingdom Independence Party 125. (May 2003 Three seats C 367, 302, Ind 297, Lab 268, 239, 237, Melton Borough Progressive Party 188). C hold. Swing 15.3% Lab to C.
North East Lincolnshire Council East Marsh: Lib 979, Lab 419, United Kingdom Independence Party 139. (June 2004 Lab 1006, Lib Dem 746, Ind 406). Lib Dem hold. Swing 24.2% Lab to Lib Dem.
South Lanarkshire Council Bothwell South: C 594, Lab 377, Lib Dem 143, SNP 67, Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party 26, Scottish Socialist Party 20. (May 2003 Lab 707, C 512, SNP 237). C gain from Lab. Swing 15.5% Lab to C.
Vale Royal Borough Lostock and Wincham: C 414, Lib Dem 274, Lab 185, Ind 26. (May 2003 Two seats Lib Dem 476, 465, Lab 265, C 245). C gain from Lib Dem. Swing 19.3% Lib Dem to C.
THEY say if a leaf falls in the Amazon forest, it can cause a natural disaster on the other side of the world. What has just happened in my village could be a bit like that - it may seem like just an insignificant local event, but it could have far-reaching consequences.
What happened was that in the Bothwell South ward of South Lanarkshire Council, a traditional Labour seat in one of the party's staunchest Scottish strongholds, has gone ... TORY!
In five years, Henry Mitchell has taken the Tories from third place and less than a quarter of the vote to first place with almost 50%. In one year, he turned a 195 Labour majority into his personal majority of 217.
All sorts of excuses will be made for this stunning breakthrough by the Conservatives. But if the other political parties (especially Labour) shrug it off as a freak result or a local aberration, they will be guilty of gross complacency and they will deserve all they get in future elections.
The new councillor did not win because he is a Conservative. Tory policies hardly figured in his campaign, so it is not a victory for Michael Howard's Conservative Party. It is a victory for a Conservative who presented an acceptable alternative.
Mitchell won because he is an outstanding and personable candidate who obviously cares about his neighbours; because he understood and highlighted the issues which have been troubling local people and which the council has done little about; and because he is a smart and innovative campaigner. In other words, he re-connected politics with people.
Mitchell himself admits: 'This was an election fought very much on local issues and the Conservatives are in touch with the issues that matter to the people of Bothwell South.' For Conservatives, read Henry Mitchell himself.
(In fact, he was the epitome of the kind of politics I set out on this website months ago - see my page on 'The Up With This We Will Not Put Party'. I am not one to say 'I told you so', but if anyone from Labour is reading this: 'I ****ing well told you so!')
They will say that Bothwell is 'millionaire's village', with the highest-priced properties in the West of Scotland, and has become a Tory enclave amid safe Labour territory. True and not true.
The village, with its high-quality houses, commuter access on the M74/M8 motorway links, good schools and shops and restaurants is a magnet for the well-off. But Bothwell also has large council housing areas, which are visibly deteriorating while being taken for granted by the Labour machine politicians who run South Lanarkshire council.
Nor is it a haven for the 'we're all right, Jack' super-rich. The young professionals who live in the £200,000-300,000 houses have mostly come from more modest backgrounds and, believe it or not, have small 's' socialist consciences about their less fortunate fellow-folk. Mostly, they care about the facilities for their children and will fight anything that puts them at risk.
These are the issues that Henry Mitchell hit hard:
What is supposed to be a 'conservation' village has been hit by an explosion of new house-building. Why has the Labour-dominated council raised no objection to planning applications for thousands of new up-market houses which are swamping the local facilities? Because high rateable values in Bothwell mean they rake in millions in council tax revenue - yet they use precious little of that money in addressing village problems.
The lack of facilities for young people has been a running sore for years. The old village school would have made an ideal youth centre. Instead, the council let it fall into disrepair, then sold it to a devloper who turned it int - more houses. The result is gangs of youngsters with nowhere to go, hanging around, drinking and getting into mischief,
Juggernauts turning off the motorway and thundering along the village main street have become a safety menace. Nothing is done to stop them, or even slow them up.
The population influx causes perennial parking problems in the village centre, but the council does nothing to ease them by providing alternative parking.
A small thing, but a disabled access for the village library was started then inexplicably stopped for weeks. Suddenly, it was completed during the by-election - and Henry Mitchell got the credit for stirring things up!
The result, which amounts to an opinion poll with a pretty fair sample of 1227, will repay study by all the political parties:
| Conservative | 594 votes | 48.4% |
| Labour | 377 | 30.7% |
| Lib Dem | 143 | 11.7% |
| SNP | 67 | 5.5% |
| SSCUP | 26 | 2.1% |
| SSP | 20 | 1.6% |
| Majority | 217 | Turnout 38.8% |
Return to home page