 | 'When I did arrive to work for Henry McLeish, as the First Minister's Press Secretary, I had heard a lot about Alexander's style as a minister, but dismissed it as gossip from rivals jealous of her ability and her rapid rise to the Scottish Cabinet. I soon discovered that this was a hopelessly naive view.' Peter MacMahon in the Scotsman, 26 th January 2002. |  |
 |
George Adam |  |
Wendy Alexander MSP |
 | Allison Cook |  |
Brian O'Malley |
 | Sean Hurl |
Paisley is Scotland's largest town. It was originally a seat on its own, but in 1983 the town was split into two halves. The new Paisley North seat consisted of 62 % from Paisley, 32 from Renfrewshire West and 6% from Renfrewshire East. In the review for the 1997 Westminster election, there are minor changes between Paisley North and South.
The North seat was more closely identified with the old Paisley seat as it contained the town centre, to which was added the town of Renfrew on the Clyde.
Paisley was once Liberal territory and the 1920 by-election was won by former Liberal Prime Minister Herbert Asquith who had lost his seat of East Fife. Like Roy Jenkins years later, he held the seat at the next general election (in 1922) but lost it at the one after (in 1924). The Liberals made a comeback in 1931, however, and held Paisley until 1945 when they were beaten by Labour.
Paisley was won by Labour at each election from 1945 until 1983, although the Liberals still continued to mount a challenge in by-elections. At the 1948 by-election John MacCormick, a founder member of the SNP, stood as a National liberal candidate with the support of the Tories as a pro-Home Rule candidate against the anti-devolution Labour party. MacCormick took 43.2 % compared to 56.8 % for Labour, cutting Douglas Johnston's majority to 6,545. In the 1961 by-election Liberal John Bannerman, father of Ray Michie, the MP for Argyll & Bute, came even close to beating Labour when he took 17,542 votes (41.4 %) to 19,200 (45.4 %) for Labour's John Robertson, whose majority was slashed to 1,658.
The 1970 election was notable as the first electoral foray of the SNP's Margo MacDonald, later winner of the 1973 Glasgow Govan by election. She came third and took 3,432 votes (7.3 %).
The two 1974 elections saw the Conservative vote in the Labour stronghold of Paisley collapse from 14,923 in February to 7,440 in October. The SNP's David Rollo increased his vote from 10,455 in February to 15,778, cutting Labour MP John Robertson's majority from 8,897 to 5,590.
However, it was neither the SNP nor the Liberals who caused Labour to lose Paisley, but the Labour Party itself. When Harold Wilson's Labour government started to renege on their commitment to set up a Scottish Assembly, two of their Scottish MPs, Jim Sillars, and John Robertson resigned the whip in protest and went on to form the short-lived Scottish Labour Party.
In 1979, Mr Robertson retired after 18 years of representing Paisley. In the election, the new Scottish Labour Party candidate, Brian Monahan came third with 8,111 votes, 806 votes ahead of the SNP's David Rollo. The new MP for Paisley was Labour's Allen Adams, who was elected with a majority of 13,755 over the Conservatives.
Mr Adams was adopted as candidate for the new Paisley North seat and obtained a majority of 7,587 over the SDP's Eileen McCartin. He went on to take over 55% of the vote in 1987, almost doubling his majority to 14,442 over the Conservative's Mrs Eleanor Laing.
Mr Adam's tragic death in 1990 at the age of 44 and the death of Norman Buchan, the MP for neighbouring Paisley South resulted in a unique double by-election. The Labour candidate was Mrs Irene Adams, widow of Allen Adams. Although there was a 14% swing from Labour to the SNP's Roger Mullin, it was not large enough for the SNP to emulate their success in Glasgow Govan in 1988 and Mrs Adams was elected with a majority of 3,770.
Mrs Adams was following the example of Mrs Helen McElhone, who had won the 1982 Glasgow Queen's Park by-election for Labour following the death of her husband Mr Frank McElhone. However, unlike Mrs McElhone, Mrs Adams did not stand down at the following election and she was re-elected in 1992 with an increased majority of 9,329, again over the SNP's Roger Mullin.
In 1997, Mrs Adams was returned with a 12,814 majority of the SNP's Cllr Ian Mackay. Labour took 59.5 % of the vote, the SNP 21.9 %, the Tories 9.6 % and the Lib Dems 6.9 %.
When Mrs Adams followed her late husband as MP for Paisley North, this was not the first time she had succeeded him, having replaced him as a Strathclyde Regional councillor in 1979 and was his constituency secretary while he was an MP. Mrs Adams, a native of Paisley, was one of Labour's few pro-devolution MPs. She was a founder member of the now defunct Scotland United along with Dennis Canavan, John McAllion and George Galloway.
At the 2001 Westminster election, the SNP candidate was George Adam, the convenor of Paisley South constituency association. The Tories selected Craig Stevenson, who contested Falkirk West by election in December 2000 coming third with 1,621 votes (8.31 %). He contested East Kilbride in the 1999 Scottish election coming third with 4,465 votes (10.8 %). The Lib Dems selected Jane Hook, the SSP candidate was Jim Halfpenny while Robert Graham stood for the ProLife Alliance.
In June 2001, Irene Adams was returned to Westminster with 55.5 % of the vote and a majority of 9,321 over the SNP's George Adam who polled 21.1 %. In third place were the Lib Dems with 10.0 %, followed by the Tories with 8.9 %, the SSP with 3.6 %, and the ProLife Alliance with 1.0 %.
Mrs Adams did not stand for Holyrood and in her place, Labour selected Wendy Alexander. Her wee brother was already an MP - he is Labour's 'Invisible Man', Douglas Alexander who held Paisley North for Labour with a greatly reduced majority in the 1997 by-election following the tragic death of Gordon McMaster. Wendy Alexander was one of the Labour party's rising stars and like her brother she is a Blairite moderniser.
The SNP candidate was Cllr Ian Mackay, who contested the seat in 1997. An ex-deputy leader of the SNP Group on Strathclyde Regional Council, Mackay was Cllr for Lochwinnoch & Howwood on Renfrewshire Council where he had a 477 majority over Labour, and had . Born in Balfron he was educated at the Glasgow College of Building and Printing works as a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in Glasgow. He joined the SNP in 1990 and is a member of the National Council.
In the 1999 Scottish election there was a 10.5 % swing from Labour to the SNP and Wendy Alexander was elected as MSP for Paisley North with a 4,616 majority over the SNP's Ian Mackay. Labour took 48.6 % of the vote, down 10.8 % on 1997 with the SNP on 32.0 %, up by 10.1 %. The Tories took 8.1 %, the Lib Dems 7.7 % and the SSP 3.6 %.
Before the 1999 election, Blairites were already postulating that Wendy Alexander will take over from Donald Dewar when he retired although some Old Labour members remarked that Ms Alexander would 'have to learn to walk before she starts to run'. Wendy Alexander became Minister for Social Inclusion, Local Government and Housing in Donald Dewar's administration. She was slated in the tabloid newspapers for her (mis)handling of the section 28/clause 2A debate, and Donald Dewar died tragically in 2000 before he was able to pave the way for his own preferred successor. As Henry McLeish had the full support of the London establishment (but not his own backbenches), Alexander supported his leadership bid, inheriting his brief as Minister for Enterprise & Lifelong Learning. When McLeish resigned a year later, Wendy Alexander decided to stand for the Labour leadership and canvassed support, irritating those who had declared public support for her when she suddenly changed her mind. Jack McConnell became First Minister almost by default and purged his cabinet of almost all of Henry McLeish's ministers, none of whom had supported him in his first leadership bid, and installed his own cronies in their place. The only Minister, apart from McConnell himself, to survive from Donald Dewar's cabinet was Wendy Alexander who saw Transport added to her brief of & Lifelong Learning, earning her the nickname of the 'Minister for Everything'. However it seemed that even Alexander found it hard to cope with such a large portfolio and in May 2002 she shocked the political establishment by announcing that she had decided to resign. Opinion was divided between those who believed that Alexander was looking for a life away from a Minister's desk, and those cynics who believed that she was distancing herself from the McConnell in order to prepare her own bid for the leadership when the time was right.
Wendy Alexander was born in 1963 in Glasgow and educated at Park Mains High School in Erskine. She studied at Glasgow University, Warwick University and INSEAD Business School in France before going to work as a Parliamentary assistant from George Galloway, the controversial Glasgow MP from 1987 until 1988. She then became a researcher for the Labour Party in Scotland, and after a period as a consultant, in 1997, she became a special advisor to Secretary of State for Scotland Donald Dewar who was a great friend of her father. Although one of the brightest Labour MSPs in the parliament, Alexander is not popular. Her rapid speech, poor people skills, and lack of patience with those who cannot follow her logic make her appear patronising, with one journalist describing her as being 'like a gerbil on amphetamine'.
The SNP candidate is George Adam, the convenor of Paisley South constituency association, who stood here at the 2001 Westminster election, coming second with 21.1 %.
The Tory candidate was originally Neil Richardson but he was replaced by Allison Cook. The Lib Dems have selected Brian O'Malley, while Sean Hurl is standing for the SSP.
The Paisley North constituency forms part of the Labour-run Renfrewshire Council which has been accused of "anti-democratic practices". The SNP took 38.5% in Renfrewshire (which includes Paisley North, South and part of Renfrewshire West) to Labour's 45.9% in the 1995 unitary council elections, while in 1999, the SNP polled 37.6 %, compared to 41.9 % for Labour.
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % | % change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | Wendy Alexander | 13,492 | 48.62 % | - 10.84 % |
|
Scottish National Party | Cllr Ian MacKay | 8,876 | 31.99 % | + 10.07 % |
|
Conservative | Peter Ramsay | 2,242 | 8.08 % | - 1.49 % |
|
Liberal Democrat | Tamsin Mayberry | 2,133 | 7.69 % | + 0.76 % |
|
Scottish Socialist Party | Fiona Macdonald | 1,007 | 3.63 % | + 3.63 % |
|
Lab win | Lab majority | 4,616 | 16.63 % | - 20.91 % |
| Logo | Party | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | 11,969 | 43.29 % |
|
Scottish National Party | 8,406 | 30.40 % |
|
Conservative & Unionist Party | 2,378 | 8.60 % |
|
Liberal Democrats | 2,285 | 8.26 % |
|
Scottish Socialist Party | 746 | 2.70 % |
 |
Scottish Green Party | 548 | 1.98 % |
 |
Pro Life Alliance | 391 | 1.41 % |
 |
Socialist Labour Party | 364 | 1.32 % |
| Canon Kenyon Wright | 270 | 0.98 % | |
 |
Scottish Unionist Party | 187 | 0.68 % |
 |
Natural Law Party | 68 | 0.25 % |
| Independent Labour Keep Scotland's Water Public | 37 | 0.13 % | |
|
Lab maj | 3,563 | 12.89 % |
| Logo | Party | Candidate | Votes | % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Labour | Mrs Irene Adams | 20,295 | 59.46% |
|
Scottish National Party | Cllr Iain Mackay | 7,481 | 21.92% |
|
Conservative | Kenneth Brookes | 3,267 | 9.57% |
|
Liberal Democrat | Alan Jelfs | 2,365 | 6.93% |
|
Pro Life Alliance | Robert Graham | 531 | 1.56% |
 |
Referendum | Edwin Mathew | 196 | 0.57% |
|
Lab hold | Lab majority | 12,814 | 37.54% |
Return to home page