 | 'Labour's attempts to thwart its own members expressing opinions on the war by insisting it is an issue reserved to Westminster is an echo of the early 1960s when the Scottish party was prohibited from debating the Polaris controversy.' Murray Ritchie in the Herald, 19 th March 2003. |  |
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Jim Byrne |  |
Frank McAveety MSP |
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Dorothy Luckhurst |  |
Lewis Hutton |
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Rosie Kane |
Shettleston saw major boundary changes for the 1997 election and now covers the areas of Gorbals, Oatlands, Parkhead, Calton and Shettleston itself. Names can be misleading and it would have seemed just as logical for this seat to have been called Central as Shettleston. It bears very little resemblance with the Shettleston of the 1950s and covers much of the old Bridgeton, Central and Gorbals constituencies of the 1950s and Central and Queen's Park of the 1970s. The seat therefore has a complicated electoral history.
Glasgow Bridgeton was won by Jimmy Maxton of the Independent Labour Party in 1922 and he held the seat until his death in 1946. In the 1946 by-election the ILP vote was down 32.1 % to 34.3 % with Labour coming second with 28.0 %. The ILP vote collapsed to 5.8 % in 1950 and Bridgeton was won by Labour's J. Carmichael with 59.4 % of the vote. In the 1961 by-election, James Bennett held Bridgeton for Labour and held the seat until 1974 when it was fused with Central.
Glasgow Gorbals was held by Labour's Mrs A. Cullen from 1950 until 1969. In the November 1969 by-election, Frank McElhone held the Gorbals with a 4,163 majority. The SNP contested the seat for the first time with John Brady coming second taking 25.0 % of the vote, while the Labour vote went down by 19.7 %. In the 1974 boundary changes, the Gorbals was fused to half of Cathcart and became Queen's Park.
In 1980, following the death of Tom McMillan in Central, Bob McTaggert held the seat with a 2,780 majority over the SNP's Gil Paterson, who is now an MSP. By then Central was the smallest seat in Scotland with an electorate of just 18,838 compared to 101,482 in the largest, Midlothian.
Following the death of Frank McElhone in 1982, there was a by-election in Queen's Park in December. Despite the fact that this was held only eight months after Roy Jenkin's victory in Hillhead, the Liberals came fourth with just 9.4 %. The seat was won by Mrs Helen McElhone with a 5,694 majority over the SNP's Peter Mallan. The 10.3 % increase in their vote represented a turning point for the SNP, who had seen their vote increase by just 1.2 % in Hillhead in March and fall by 1.5 % in Coatbridge & Airdrie in June.
In 1983, Queen's Park was abolished, but in fact it formed the core of the new Central seat with 52 % coming from Queen's Park, 23 % from Central, 15 % from Pollok, 5 % from Govan and 4 % from Maryhill. The Scotsman commented 'The seat's principle political peculiarity lies in the fact that it will be Bob McTaggart, not Helen McElhone, who will be the MP there on June 9. McTaggert's victory, in a ferociously-fought contest with Mrs McElhone for the Labour nomination, was superficially surprising... The fact that she failed illustrates the deep split among her own Queen's Park contingent, many of whom simply never forgave her for inheriting the seat when her husband Frank died last year. In the East End, these personal vendettas are conducted into the fourth and fifth generations.' Thus did Mrs McElhone, mother of one of the members of Altered Images, go into the history books as a MP for less than a year.
Glasgow Central was held by Bob McTaggert until his death in 1989. In the June by-election, Mike Watson held the seat for Labour with a 6,462 majority over the SNP's Alex Neil, now an MSP in the Scottish Parliament. Despite the swing of 15.1 % to the SNP, Labour and the Unionist media reacted as if Central had been a historic by-election gain for Labour. This almost hysterical overreaction can be better understood when put in context. In November 1988, Jim Sillars had won Glasgow Govan for the SNP and once again a shiver had been sent along the Labour benches, looking for a spine to run up. Labour had deliberately held the by-election on the same day as the Euro elections. This was a excellent tactical move as SNP activists were diverted to Central from North East Scotland where Labour held on for another four years, only to be soundly defeated in 1994.
In 1997, Central was abolished, but with almost half the new Shettleston seat being made up from Central, Mike Watson appeared to have as good a claim on the seat as David Marshall. Potential conflict was averted by the fact that Jimmy Dunnachie was retiring in Pollok. Govan MP Ian Davidson was selected in Pollok and Mike Watson was to be selected for Govan. The, in a deliberate scuppering move, Dunnachie decided to contest the Govan candidacy, which opened it up to all comers. Mohammad Sarwar put his name forward and Dunnachie then withdrew his name. The rest is history with Mike Watson first being selected by one vote and then Sarwar in the re-run. Mike Watson promised to expose Labour in a book but was bought off with a peerage and reappeared as a New Labour MSP in the Scottish Parliament as Lord Watson of Invergowrie.
Glasgow Shettleston itself has been held by Labour since 1950. Until 1959 it was represented by J. McGovern who saw his majority reduced from 8,241 in 1950 to 5,819 in 1955 when the Tories took 42.2 % in Shettleston, the highest vote they ever achieved there.
In 1959, Mr McGovern retired and was replaced by Myres Galpern, a former Lord Provost of Glasgow who was knighted before the 1964 election and became deputy speaker of the House of Commons. He steadily increased the Labour majority to 8,173 in 1959, 11,896 in 1964 and 13,351 in 1966.
In 1970, there was 5.1 % swing to the Tories and Sir Myres's majority was reduced to 9,871. In February 1974 there was a further swing of 7.4 % from Labour, this time to the SNP's W. Lindsay who was contesting the seat fro the third time. This reduced Sir Myres' majority to 7,736 over the Tories.
In October 1974 the SNP increased their vote 6.7 % and Sir Myres was elected with a 6,349 majority over the SNP's R. Hamilton. Labour took 54.3 %, the SNP 28.5 %, the Tories 14.4 % and the Liberals 2.8 %.
In 1979 Sir Myres retired and was replaced by David Marshall, a Strathclyde regional councillor. Like many other Glasgow MPs, Mr Marshall has been systematically elected with majorities of well over 10,000 and the only question in Shettleston has been who would win second place.
In 1979 David Marshall took 64.0 % of the vote and had a majority of 9,161 over the Conservatives who took 22.0 %, while the SNP fell to 13.9 %. That David Marshall's majority was under 10,000 simply reflected the fact that Shettleston was one of Britain's smallest constituencies with the entire electorate being composed of just 32,129 voters, which was less that the 37,733 votes which Labour's Alex Eadie had polled in the largest constituency, Midlothian.
In 1983, the seat was greatly increased in size to an electorate of 52,648. 57 % came from Shettleston, with 27 % being added from Bothwell, 9 % from Rutherglen and 7 % from Glasgow Central. David Marshall took 54.2 % of the vote and had a majority of 12,416. The silver medal position again went to the Tories who took 19.1 %, with the Liberals seeing a massive increase to 18.5 % and the SNP languishing on 7.9 %.
In 1987, there was a large swing from the Tories to Labour and David Marshal took 63.6 % of the vote, increasing his majority to 18,981. The Tories took 13.3 %, the SNP's Jim McVicar moved into third place with 12.7 %, while the Alliance fell back to 10.4 %.
In 1992, Mr Marshall took 60.6 % of the vote and his majority was reduced to 14,834. The party in second place was not the Tories, but the SNP, whose candidate Nicola Sturgeon was the youngest in Scotland. She increased the SNP vote to 19.1 % and went onto contest Glasgow Govan in 1997 and 1999, being elected as a Glasgow list MSP for the SNP. Tory fortunes increased slightly and they took 15.1 % while the Lib Dems slumped to just 5.2 %.
In 1997, there were major boundary changes in Shettleston Half of the old Shettleston was transferred to Baillieston while half of the new Shettleston came from Central which was abolished. In the new Shettleston, David Marshall had a notional majority of 15,644 making it the safest seat in Scotland.. There were no surprises in Shettleston. David Marshall took a massive 19,616 votes, 73.2% of those cast. Even his majority of 15,868 (59.2 %) was more than many MPs obtained. As expected, the SNP's Humayun Hanif came second. Even Mr Hanif's 3,748 votes (14.0 %) although modest when compared to David Marshall's, totalled more than the other six candidates together. In the only real contest in this seat, the battle for third place, the Tories won with 5.5 %, with the Lib Dems coming fourth and losing their deposit with 4.0 %. The Scottish Socialist Alliance's Christine McVicar had polled over 31 % in one ward in the 1995 Unitary Council elections, but polled just 1.8 % in Shettleston in the general election.
Although David Marshall has been an MP for over 20 years, he is almost unknown outside Shettleston Byron Criddle has described him as 'a quiet TGWU-sponsored transport specialist' who 'serves unobtrusively as one of the panel of Commons chairmen.'
As Mr Marshall was not interested in standing for the Scottish parliament, Labour's safest seat in Scotland and it was up for grabs. The winner was Cllr Frank McAveety who took over as the youngest ever leader of Glasgow Council after the whole council leadership including council leader Robert Gould and Lord Provost Pat Lally were suspended due to the 'Vote for trips' revelations. However, being a local councillor can often be a handicap to a Labour candidate, particularly in a place like Glasgow. Cllr McAveety himself was plunged into controversy in March 1999 when he was described as Scotland's biggest slum landlord. The Herald reported 'The controversy over Glasgow's housing stock transfer reached new depths of bitterness yesterday when leader Cllr Frank McAveety found himself being reported to the council's Standards Committee for an alleged conflict of interest.'
Whether or not Cllr McAveety's problems had any effect can be judged by the fact that he took 53.9 % of the vote, down 19.2 % on David Marshall's share in 1999. He was returned as MSP for Glasgow Shettleston with a majority of just 5,467 over the SNP in what had been Scotland's safest seat at the 1997 general election. In second place was the SNP's Jim Byrne, an optical assistant and first time candidate, who increased their vote by 13.4 % to 27.4 %. In third place was Rosie Kane for the SSP who polled 8.0 % of the vote, their best result after Tommy Sheridan in Glasgow Pollok. The other parties remained almost an irrelevance with the Tories taking 6.1 % and the Lib Dems 4.6 %.
Frank McAveety was born in Glasgow in 1962 and educated at All Saints School, Strathclyde University and St Andrew's College of Education. A Glasgow councillor from 1988 until his election in 1999, he was the youngest ever leader of Glasgow Council. Donald Dewar appointed him as Junior Minister for Local Government but as the only member of the Executive to support (albeit briefly) Jack McDonnell's leadership bid, he was sacked by Henry McLeish and returned to the back benches. In November 2002, after Dr Richard Simpson resigned, having allegedly called Scottish firemen 'fascist bastards' Hugh Henry became Deputy Justice Minister in his place, and McAveety returned to government as Deputy Minister for Health & Community Care. McAveety is one of the few ex-councillors who appears to be enjoying his time in Edinburgh and often socialises with journalists after parliamentary sessions.
The SNP have again selected Jim Byrne who represented them in the 1999 Scottish election and also in the 2001 Westminster election.
The SSP candidate is once more, Rosie Kane who came a good third in the August 1996 Toryglen Glasgow council by-election when the SSA took 18.6% of the vote. At the 1997 Westminster election in Rutherglen, however, the SSA only took 251 votes, less than the 315 which Rosie Kane obtained in the Toryglen local by-election. In Shettleston in 1999 she increased her percentage vote over ten-fold, taking 8.0 % of the vote and third place, ahead of the Tories and Lib Dems. In the Anniesland Scottish parliament by-election in 2000 she came fourth with 7.1 %, ahead of the Lib Dems. Rosie Kane is in second place in the SSPs's Glasgow list and as such is well placed to become the SSP's second MSP.
The Tory candidate is Dorothy Luckhurt. In 1999 she contested Clydebank & Milngavie, coming third with 11.1%, and in the Westminster Anniesland by-election of 2000 she also came third with 10.8 %.
The Lib Dem candidate is Lewis Hutton, who contested Shettleston in the 2001 Westminster election, coming fourth behind the SSP with 5.4 %.
Assessment:
Rank on Scottish National Party hit list: 55
Swing required for Scottish National Party gain: 13.31 % from Labour to Scottish National Party
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Labour | Cllr Frank McAveety | 11,078 | 53.95 % | - 19.21 % |
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Scottish National Party | Jim Byrne | 5,611 | 27.33 % | + 13.35 % |
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Scottish Socialist Party | Rosie Kane | 1,640 | 7.99 % | + 6.19 % |
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Conservative | Colin Bain | 1,260 | 6.14 % | + 0.61 % |
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Liberal Democrat | Laurence Clarke | 943 | 4.59 % | + 0.63 % |
| Lab win | Lab majority | 5,467 | 26.62 % | - 32.56 % |
| Logo | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
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Labour | 9,869 | 48.11 % |
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Scottish National Party | 5,304 | 25.86 % |
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Scottish Socialist Party | 1,739 | 8.48 % |
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Conservative & Unionist Party | 1,107 | 5.40 % |
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Liberal Democrats | 848 | 4.13 % |
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Socialist Labour Party | 546 | 2.66 % |
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Scottish Green Party | 505 | 2.46 % |
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Scottish Unionist Party | 264 | 1.29 % |
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Pro Life Alliance | 153 | 0.75 % |
| Socialist Party of Great Britain | 48 | 0.23 % | |
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Natural Law Party | 39 | 0.19 % |
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Communist Party of Britain | 34 | 0.17 % |
| Humanist Party | 34 | 0.17 % | |
| Bridget McGeechan, The People Choice | 23 | 0.11 % | |
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Lab maj | 4,565 | 22.25 % |
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
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Labour | David Marshall | 19,616 | 73.16% |
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Scottish National Party | Humayun Hanif | 3,748 | 13.98% |
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Conservative | Colin Simpson | 1,484 | 5.53% |
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Liberal Democrat | Kerry Hiles | 1,061 | 3.96% |
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Scottish Socialist Alliance | Christine McVicar | 482 | 1.80% |
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BNP | Robert Currie | 191 | 0.71% |
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Referendum | Thomas Montguire | 151 | 0.56% |
| WRP | John Graham | 80 | 0.30% | |
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Lab hold | Lab majority | 15,868 | 59.18% |
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