 | 'Let those who aspire to power over the ordinary people of Renfrewshire and want to control our lives, adopt the policy towards the electorate of Scottish politician and Prime Minister Andrew Bonar Law who said: 'I must follow the people. I am their leader.' Derek Parker, in the Herald, 29 th February 2000. |  |
The Tories held on to their marginal ward of Giffnock North in East Renfrewshire, which they had won from the Lib Dems in 1999. With Labour contesting the seat for the first time, the opposition was split with the Tories increasing their majority from 81 to 87 over the Lib Dems despite a fall in the Conservative vote of almost 10 %.
In Eastwood 79.5 % of households are owner occupied, by far the highest percentage in the whole of Scotland, compared to 24.0 % in Glasgow Maryhill. Just 17.2 % of housing is council, the third lowest, compared to 62.5 % in Airdrie and Shotts. Unemployment stands a 3.5 %, the 9 th lowest in Scotland, compared to 13.4 % in Glasgow Springburn. This area should be a natural Tory stronghold yet the Conservatives lost control of the local council in 1995, the Westminster seat in 1997 and failed to win the Scottish parliamentary seat in 1999. Eastwood is a monument to how the Tories managed to alienate their own natural supporters by 18 years of insensitive anti-Scottish policies.
Back in 1992, the Tories controlled the 12 ward Eastwood Council with 8 seats, compared to two for the Residents' Association, one for Labour and one for the Lib Dems. The Conservatives were unopposed in two wards, Broom and Kirkhill, while the Residents' Association was unopposed in Netherlee. The only seat to change hands was Busby, a Residents' Association gain from Independent.
Giffnock is to the south of Glasgow on the A77, and to the north of Newton Mearns. In Eastwood District Council, Giffnock was divided into East and West, whereas in East Renfrewshire Council, it is divided into North and South. In 1995, Giffnock East was held by Lib Dem A. Steel with 1,191 votes (54.2 %), giving him a majority of 324 (14.7 %) over Tory A. Coldwell with 867 votes (39.5 %) with L. Gibson of the SNP taking 139 votes (6.3 %). Giffnock West was held by Tory J. Shaw with 1,533 votes (76.2 %) giving him a 1,188 (59.0 %) majority over G.J. Devenney of the Residents' Association with 345 votes (17.1 %) while the SNP's K. Goodale took 135 votes (6.7 %).
If any council could be expected to be run by the Tories, it is East Renfrewshire. When they gerrymandered the boundaries of the new Unitary Councils, they carved out a little kingdom for themselves in East Renfrewshire, corresponding to the old Eastwood District Council plus Renfrew wards 21 - 25. This should have been safely Tory, but in the 1995 elections the unthinkable happened and although the Tories were the largest party with nine seats on the 20 ward council, Labour won 8 wards, the Lib Dems two and a Residents' Association Cllr the remaining seat. After much wrangling between the various groups, Labour and the Liberal Democrats formed an alliance and took control of the council. Thus, despite their gerrymandering, the Tories did not control a single council in Scotland - a prelude to them losing all their Scottish seats in the 1997 general election.
In 1995, the new ward of Giffnock North on East Renfrew Council was won by Liberal Democrat Alexander Mackie with 697 votes (44.1 %) giving him a majority of 40 (2.5 %) over Tory Jack Addison with 647 votes (40.9 %) with the SNP's Mairi Weatherhill taking 236 votes (14.9 %).
Giffnock North will prove to be a real test of whether the Tories are on the road to recovery or not in Scotland. In 1999, following boundary changes, the ward was again a close contest between Scotland's two second division teams - the Tories and the Liberal Democrats. The ward was won back by the Tories with a majority of just 81 (3.2 %) over the Lib Dems and undoubtedly it was only the fact that the Tory candidate was the highly respected veteran Cllr Gordon Macdonald that allowed them to beat the sitting Lib Dem councillor here.
The by-election is caused by the death of Cllr Gordon Macdonald. Before being elected to Giffnock North in 1999, he was the councillor for Williamwood on Eastwood Council from 1988 until 1996 and on East Renfrewshire Council from 1995 until 1999. He won the Williamwood District ward with 73.6 % of the vote in 3 way contest in 1992, and the new Williamwood Unitary Council ward with 73.6 % of the vote in a 4 way contest in 1995.
Labour faced a dilemma in Giffnock North. They had never contested the Giffnock North unitary council ward, hoping that giving the Lib Dems a clear run would help beat the Tories. If Labour were to contest the ward in the by-election they would risk splitting the anti-Tory vote and preventing their allies the Liberal Democrats from winning the ward. In the event, Labour contested Giffnock North and undoubtedly this helped the Tories to hold the ward.
The SNP candidate was Joyce Lythgoe who contested the seat in 1999. The LibDem candidate was the former councillor for Giffnock North on the old boundaries, Alex Mackie. Mr Mackie combined this contest with being a LibDem General Election candidate in Renfrewshire.
The Tories held Giffnock North with a majority of 87, up from 81 in May 1999, although their percentage majority was down from 3.2 % to 3.0 %. The Tory vote fell by 9.8 % to 31.5 % while the Lib Dem vote fell by 9.5 % to 28.6 % with the SNP down by 13.4 % to 7.2 %. Labour, standing for the first time here since local government reorganisation, came a close third with 25.5 % of the vote.
Twelve votes were rejected, one fof 'Voting for more than one candidate' and 11 for 'Unmarked or void for uncertainty'.
The turnout was 73.5 %, up from 70.5 % in 1999.
Following the by-election in Giffnock North, the composition of East Renfrewshire Council is unchanged at nine Labour, eight Conservatives, two Liberal Democrats and one Residents' Association Councillors.
I am grateful to Andrew Kidd of Eastwood SNP for sending the result.
Scottish local government lost a stalwart of the old school of public service when Councillor Gordon Macdonald, who represented Giffnock North on East Renfrewshire Council, died on April 19 after a brave battle against prostrate cancer.
Gordon was born on June 15, 1935, in Giffnock, and attended Giffnock Primary School and Hutchesons' Grammar School, before embarking on a career in the retail trade.
National service took him into the Royal Navy, but a return to civvy street saw Gordon rise to become general manager of Sauchiehall Street's prestigious Pettigrew and Stephens store.
He retired in 1998 as manager of Cumbernauld shopping centre and it was the idea of putting the public first that he translated seamlessly into his work as a councillor when elected to the Williamwood Ward of Eastwood District Council in 1988.
There Gordon became well-known for his sincere interest in people, which was reflected in his tireless work for special interest groups, such as the local Scout council and the Friends of the Victoria.
His genial and skilful leadership of the administering Eastwood Conservative group stood him in good stead when he was elected to the then new East Refrewshire Council in 1995, where he was well respected by his fellow 19 councillors, as well as serving as deputy leader of the Conservative group, vice-chairman of the licensing board, and as a member of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority.
His SPT work resulted in improvements in bus and train services in east Renfrewshire, but, by then, Gordon had already embarked on a journey into the unknown after being diagnosed with prostrate cancer.
That became a very positive journey for him. Not only did he find unanimous, cross-party council support to back him in a prostrate cancer awareness campaign, which included talks to a multitude of groups across the west of Scotland, but he succeeded in raising funds for a scanner to be installed in the Southern General Hospital.
Gordon Macdonald will be much missed by his constituents and by all on east Renfrewshire Council. He was a people's person who never said no to anyone, a view of him that his wife, Margaret, and daughter, Susan, would readily subscribe to, as they supported him in his council work, and, latterly, in his determination and drive to save lives by raising awareness of prostrate cancer.
Gordon Macdonald, born June 15, 1935, died April 19, 2001.
| 7 th June 2001 | 6 th May 2000 | ||||||
| Laurence Haniford |  |
923 | 31.5 % | Gordon MacDonald | |
1041 | 41.3 % |
| Alexander Mackie |  |
836 | 28.6 % | Alexander Mackie | |
960 | 38.1 % |
| Ian McAlpine |  |
747 | 25.5 % | Joyce Lythgoe |  |
519 | 20.6 % |
| Joyce Lythgoe | |
211 | 7.2 % | ||||
| Con hold | Con maj | 87 | 3.0 % | Con win | Con maj. | 81 | 3.2 % |
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