 | 'It is with regret that North Lanarkshire Council has to announce the death of Councillor Francis Griffin, elected member for Kilsyth, on Saturday 10 November. Councillor Griffin had served the people of Croy and Kilsyth since 1988 and made an extremely significant contribution to the work of North Lanarkshire Council since its inception.' North Lanarkshire Council, November 2007. |  |
There was a by-election in the Kilsyth ward of South Lanarkshire Council on the 31 st January 2008 following the death of Labour Cllr Francis Griffin on 10 th November 2007. Cllr Griffin was first elected as Cumbernauld & Kilsyth District Cllr for Croy & Kilsyth in 1988.
Kilsyth is in the Cumbernauld, Kilsyth & Kirkintilloch East Westminster parliamentary seat (held by Labour's Rosemary McKenna CBE MP) and in the Cumbernauld & Kilsyth Scottish parliamentary seat (held by Labours's Cathie Craigie MSP). In May 2007, three Cllrs were elected: David Key for the Scottish National Party, and Francis Griffin and Jean Jones for Labour.
Labour held their seat in the by-election, with Mark Griffin becoming the new Cllr for Kilsyth.
 |
 |
 |
| Cllr Mark Griffin Labour Newly elected Cllr |
Cllr David Key Scottish National Party |
Cllr Jean Jones Labour |
| Seats | Candidates | Counts | Electorate | Quota | Rejected votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 1 | 32.1 % turnout | 1,465 | 20 |
| Candidate | Logo | Party | 1 st Pref | Share | Quota | Count | Status | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mark Griffin |  |
Labour | 1,855 | 63.38 % | 1.27 | 1 | Elected | 1 |
| Claire Fyvie |  |
Scottish National Party | 891 | 30.44 % | 0.61 | 1 | Not elected | |
| Rob Kay |  |
Scottish Green Party | 66 | 2.25 % | 0.05 | 1 | Not elected | |
| Robert Burgess |  |
Conservative & Unionist | 50 | 1.71 % | 0.03 | 1 | Not elected | |
| Willie O'Neill |  |
Scottish Socialist Party | 48 | 1.64 % | 0.03 | 1 | Not elected | |
| Stuart Douglas |  |
Liberal Democrat | 17 | 0.58 % | 0.01 | 1 | Not elected |
| No adjustments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Count 1 |
| Mark Griffin | |
Labour | 1,855 Elected |
| Claire Fyvie | |
Scottish National Party | 891 Not elected |
| Rob Kay | |
Scottish Green Party | 66 Not elected |
| Robert Burgess | |
Conservative & Unionist | 50 Not elected |
| Willie O'Neill | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 48 Not elected |
| Stuart Douglas | |
Liberal Democrat | 17 Not elected |
| Non-transferable votes | 0 | ||
| Seats | Candidates | Counts | Electorate | Quota | Rejected votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3 | 5 | 1 | 9,342 | 1,332 | 162 |
| Candidate | Logo | Party | 1 st Pref | Share | Quota | Count | Status | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francis Griffin | |
Labour | 2,037 | 38.25 % | 1.53 | 1 | Made Quota | 1 |
| David Key | |
Scottish National Party | 1,480 | 27.79 % | 1.11 | 1 | Made Quota | 2 |
| Jean Jones | |
Labour | 1,386 | 26.03 % | 1.04 | 1 | Made Quota | 3 |
| Archie Giggie | |
Conservative & Unionist | 260 | 4.88 % | 0.20 | 1 | Not elected | |
| Willie O'Neill | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 162 | 3.04 % | 0.12 | 1 | Not elected |
| No adjustments | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Logo | Party | Count 1 |
| Francis Griffin | |
Labour | 2,037 Elected |
| David Key | |
Scottish National Party | 1,480 Elected |
| Jean Jones | |
Labour | 1,386 Elected |
| Archie Giggie | |
Conservative & Unionist | 260 Not elected |
| Willie O'Neill | |
Scottish Socialist Party | 162 Not elected |
| Non-transferable votes | 0 | ||
It is with regret that North Lanarkshire Council has to announce the death of Councillor Francis Griffin, elected member for Kilsyth, on Saturday 10 November. Councillor Griffin had served the people of Croy and Kilsyth since 1988 and made an extremely significant contribution to the work of North Lanarkshire Council since its inception.
The thoughts and sympathies of everyone at North Lanarkshire Council are with Francis' wife Susan, their four children and other members of his family at this time. Flags at all council buildings are flying at half mast as a mark of respect to Councillor Griffin.
BE SURE and use your vote in the forthcoming by-election on Thursday, January 31 and organisers are reminding voters how the system works.
The vote will be by the single transferable vote system, which replaced the old first-past-the-post system for the first time in Scotland at the local government elections held in May last year. This is the first time it has been used in a by-election anywhere in central Scotland since then.
Instead of placing one cross against their preferred candidate, voters in Kilsyth can rate the candidates in order of preference (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6Š) and they can mark as many or as few candidates as they want.
Staff in the polling stations will be available to answer any questions that voters have about the ballot paper and how to complete it.
Polling takes place between 7am and 10pm on Thursday, January 31, at Kilsyth Academy, Kilsyth Primary, St. Patrick's Primary in Kilsyth, Holy Cross Primary in Croy, Banton Primary, Chapelgreen Primary in Queenzieburn and Burnhall Green, Kilsyth. When the polls close, the returning officer for North Lanarkshire, Gavin Whitefield, will oversee the count at Kilsyth Academy which will be counted manually.
The Kilsyth by-election was called following the death of Councillor Francis Griffin in November last year. Returning officer Gavin Whitefield says: "By using your vote, you have the opportunity to influence the way that local government operates and have a say in choosing a person to represent your local area.
"I would, therefore, encourage as many people as possible in the Kilsyth ward to exercise their democratic right and vote on next week's by-election. If you are not sure about the new voting system, our polling station staff will be happy to answer your questions."
More information on arrangements for the by-election is available from North Lanarkshire Council's election office on (01698) 302119 or by e-mail at electionoffice@northlan.gov.uk.
Mark Griffin has been elected to serve as one of the three members for Ward 1 (Kilsyth) following yesterday's by election. The percentage poll was 32.1%, the electoral quota 1,465 and the number of first preference votes polled for each candidate at stage 1 was as follows:
Scottish Labour last night won a tremendous by election victory in the Kilsyth ward of North Lanarkshire Council.
Labour won 63% of the vote
Labour 1855
SNP 891
Green 66
Conservative 50 (fifty)
SSP 48 (forty eight)
Lib Dems 17 (seventeen)
Total votes cast - 2927
Turnout was 32.1%
Local MSP Cathie Craigie said:
"Local Government is best when it is Labour. I am delighted that local people have put their trust in Labour once again. This sends a strong message that people want to support a Labour Party committed to fairness, tough action on crime and investment in public services. Alex Salmond's broken promises have let communities across Scotland down, I know Mark Griffin will work hard and in the interest of the people of Kilsyth & Villages and that he will keep his promises."
Labour's newest Councillor, Mark Griffin said:
"I am delighted to have been elected, and will work tirelessly for people in the area. I would like to thank everyone who took the time to come out and vote, on what was one of the worst days of weather this winter. Labour has a strong message to tell people, we are the party fighting for social justice and equality, people of Kilsyth and the villages of Banton, Croy and Queenzieburn support this agenda too and I will work with them and for them to achieve our common goal. "
Well, it has taken me a number of days to get round to blogging about the by-election result. After one of the most hectic months of my life, the first day I had off (from work and campaigning) was yesterday, so I scheduled the task 'do nothing' in my diary!
Anyway, after a long, cold, wet and windy campaign, we didn't manage to win the council seat for Kilsyth ward - despite working hard, and having an excellent candidate in Claire Fyvie.
Lab 1855 - 62.95%
SNP 891 - 30.23%
GRN 66 - 2.24%
CON 50 - 1.7%
SSP 48 - 1.63%
L/D 17 - 0.58%
However, we did get a swing towards us after improving on our share of the vote from the council elections last May, and we have had a surge in membership applications in the area.
There is still massive loyalty to the Labour Party in this ward, so actually winning here was always going to be an uphill struggle. Generations of loyalty to Labour can't be undone during the course of a by-election. And while I find this loyalty to Labour frustrating, I can understand why people are still so attached to Labour and admire them for this loyalty in some ways.
Going round the doors in the area I was struck by just how many people mentioned their absolute hatred (and I'm not exaggerating) of the Tories, and their attachment to the Labour Party - who at the time of the last Conservative Government - positioned themselves as the defender of Scotland against the London Tories.
The Kilsyth ward is an ex-mining community. It suffered under Conservative rule, and it formed even stronger attachments to the Labour Party. I'm sure I've written about this before, but so many Labour voters in Scotland see Labour as part of their identity. They don't look at the different parties in the run up to elections, and weigh up who has the policies that would benefit them, their community, and their country. They ARE Labour, so they VOTE Labour. I had a number of people apologise to me during the Scottish Parliament elections because they were Labour, so they had to vote Labour. It's part of who they are, part of who their parents are and their parents before them. This kind of loyalty is admirable.
I do find it rather contradictory though, that in the age of the so-called consumer voter, that people do continue to vote out of loyalty rather than to put their own interests first. I was speaking to a man in Cumbernauld about 5 years ago, who told me that he was in his eighties, and that he had been a 'Labour man' all his life. He told me he was disgusted with them, particularly because of the miserly 75p increase in the state pension Gordon Brown had set soon after Labour formed the government. He felt absolutely betrayed because he thought that low state pensions and means-testing would be a thing of the past under a Labour Government. I asked him if he would consider supporting the SNP. 'Oh no', he said, 'I'm a Labour man - have been all my life - I'll give them another chance'. He smiled apologetically...
I don't think the Labour Party deserve this kind of loyalty, and I don't believe they can inspire it for too much longer. They have just become so removed from the founding principles of their party, and let people down too many times. People in Scotland deserve better.
I am incredibly proud of the SNP campaign for Kilsyth ward. We all worked extremely hard to get round as many doors as possible to speak to people, and when we did, we found a warm reception from most. I'm sure that with continued hard work, and with an excellent SNP councillor for the area in David Key, even more people will see that the SNP is on their side and fighting hard for their communities.
MARK Griffin, the Labour candidate, won North Lanarkshire Council's Ward One (Kilsyth) by election. He received more than double the number of votes that were cast for Claire Fyvie, the Scottish National Party's candidate.
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