Glasgow East by-election, 2008
Encyclopedia
The 2008 Glasgow East by-election was a by-election
for the UK Parliamentary
constituency of Glasgow East
which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health.
The by-election was won by John Mason
, candidate of the Scottish National Party
, who defeated the Labour
candidate Margaret Curran. Curran would subsequently regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election.
The election was significant as it was the second safe Labour seat to be contested, and to be lost, since a downturn in political fortunes for the Labour Party
and incumbent UK Labour government under the premiership of
Gordon Brown
, and was also held in the wake of the resignation of the leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament
, Wendy Alexander
. The seat was the 3rd safest Labour seat in Scotland, and their 26th safest seat in the UK.
. Its area came from the majority of the Glasgow Baillieston
constituency, with the remainder formed from the Glasgow Shettleston
constituency.
In the 2005 general election the new Glasgow East seat was Labour's
26th safest seat
in terms of percentage majority, and within Scotland, the seat at which it received its second highest share of the vote. In the 2005 election, Labour defeated the Scottish National Party
(SNP) by a majority of 13,507 votes, who beat the Liberal Democrats
to third place by 1,603 votes.
Prior to his 2005 win of Glasgow East, Marshall had continually held the predecessor seat of Glasgow Shettleston
since 1979. Shettleston had been held continuously by previous Labour Party members since an Independent Labour Party
member defected to Labour in 1947. The Glasgow Baillieston constituency
, and its predecessor seat Glasgow Provan
, had always returned Labour MPs since its creation in 1955.
In the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections
Labour lost power to the SNP, who formed a minority government
. In this election, the SNP deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon
won the neighbouring Glasgow Govan
Scottish Parliament constituency with a swing from Labour of 10.7%, while all other Glasgow constituencies remained in Labour control.
On 28 June 2008, Marshall informed local party leaders that he would be stepping down on medical advice, after 10 weeks of sick leave
from the House of Commons. On 30 June 2008 Marshall accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead
, a device allowing him in effect to resign as an MP
, triggering the by-election
had asserted that if Labour lost the by-election, further pressure would be heaped on Gordon Brown.
The by-election followed a run of poor results since May, in the Crewe and Nantwich
and Henley
by-elections in England, English and Welsh local elections
and losing the London mayoralty
. By the end of May, Labour had registered its worst ever independent opinion poll result since records began in 1943, of 23%. This was also the first by-election since Labour declined to field a candidate in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election
in England 14 days previously, fought over a recent controversial government anti-terrorism bill
. The by-election also came within days of the controversial resignation of the Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander
, with voting for a replacement not taking place before polling.
Turnout is usually lower in by-elections; at the previous general election turnout was 48% but was down just under 6% at 42.25%. Voter share was likely to have been distributed differently, with nine candidates standing for this election, compared to five in 2005. Turnout was higher than expected, despite the election being held during the school holidays, and during a traditional Glasgow holiday period.
In a Scotland-wide opinion poll of Westminster voting intentions, released on 11 July, the SNP was on 33%, with Labour on 29%, Conservatives on 20% Lib Dem on 14%.
However in an opinion poll conducted solely within the Glasgow East constituency, released on 12 July, Labour led on 47%, SNP on 33%, Liberal Democrats on 9% and the Conservatives on 7%.
The SNP chose John Mason, a longtime resident of the constituency, and leader of the opposition on
Glasgow City Council.
The Labour Party had some difficulty finding a candidate. The most likely initial choice, local councillor George Ryan, failed to attend a selection meeting. The position was then offered to Stephen Purcell, the Labour leader of Glasgow council, then Lesley Quinn and Frank McAveety, the party's general secretary and the MSP for Glasgow Shettleston respectively, but all turned it down
. The position was eventually accepted by fifth-choice candidate Margaret Curran, MSP
for Glasgow Baillieston
, on 7 July.
The Green Party
selected Dr. Eileen Duke, a retired GP and co-convenor of the party's local branch, on 5 July. The Scottish Socialist Party
stood Frances Curran, a former MSP who originally came from the east end of Glasgow. Solidarity
stood Tricia McLeish, a trade union activist who lived in the constituency.
Howitt stood under the label "Freedom-4-Choice", a minor party of his own creation, having stood under the same title in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election
.
, the website Wikileaks
later disclosed that senior US diplomats perceived Gordon Brown to be "finished" following the result.
Curran would subsequently defeat Mason and regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election with a majority of almost 12,000.
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
for the UK Parliamentary
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
constituency of Glasgow East
Glasgow East (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow East is a constituency of the British House of Commons, located in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It elects one Member of Parliament at least once every five years using the First-past-the-post system of voting....
which was held on 24 July 2008. The election was triggered when, on 30 June 2008, the sitting MP David Marshall stood down due to ill health.
The by-election was won by John Mason
John Mason (Scottish politician)
John Fingland Mason MSP is a Scottish politician and the Scottish National Party Member of the Scottish Parliament for Glasgow Shettleston.He was the SNP Member of Parliament for Glasgow East from 2008 to 2010.-Background:...
, candidate of the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
, who defeated the Labour
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate Margaret Curran. Curran would subsequently regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election.
The election was significant as it was the second safe Labour seat to be contested, and to be lost, since a downturn in political fortunes for the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
and incumbent UK Labour government under the premiership of
Premiership of Gordon Brown
The Premiership of Gordon Brown began on 27 June 2007, when Brown accepted the Queen's invitation to form a government, replacing Tony Blair as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and ended with his resignation as Prime Minister on 11 May 2010...
Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
, and was also held in the wake of the resignation of the leader of the Labour group in the Scottish Parliament
Scottish Parliament
The Scottish Parliament is the devolved national, unicameral legislature of Scotland, located in the Holyrood area of the capital, Edinburgh. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood", is a democratically elected body comprising 129 members known as Members of the Scottish Parliament...
, Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander is a Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the leader of the Labour Party group in the Scottish Parliament from 2007-2008...
. The seat was the 3rd safest Labour seat in Scotland, and their 26th safest seat in the UK.
Results
History
The Glasgow East constituency was created for the 2005 general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 2005
The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005 to elect 646 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party under Tony Blair won its third consecutive victory, but with a majority of 66, reduced from 160....
. Its area came from the majority of the Glasgow Baillieston
Glasgow Baillieston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Baillieston was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
constituency, with the remainder formed from the Glasgow Shettleston
Glasgow Shettleston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Shettleston was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 2005. The Shettleston area is represented is now covered by Glasgow Central and Glasgow East.-Boundaries:...
constituency.
In the 2005 general election the new Glasgow East seat was Labour's
Scottish Labour Party
The Scottish Labour Party is the section of the British Labour Party which operates in Scotland....
26th safest seat
Safe seat
A safe seat is a seat in a legislative body which is regarded as fully secured, either by a certain political party, the incumbent representative personally or a combination of both...
in terms of percentage majority, and within Scotland, the seat at which it received its second highest share of the vote. In the 2005 election, Labour defeated the Scottish National Party
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party is a social-democratic political party in Scotland which campaigns for Scottish independence from the United Kingdom....
(SNP) by a majority of 13,507 votes, who beat the Liberal Democrats
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
to third place by 1,603 votes.
Prior to his 2005 win of Glasgow East, Marshall had continually held the predecessor seat of Glasgow Shettleston
Glasgow Shettleston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Shettleston was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1918 until 2005. The Shettleston area is represented is now covered by Glasgow Central and Glasgow East.-Boundaries:...
since 1979. Shettleston had been held continuously by previous Labour Party members since an Independent Labour Party
Independent Labour Party
The Independent Labour Party was a socialist political party in Britain established in 1893. The ILP was affiliated to the Labour Party from 1906 to 1932, when it voted to leave...
member defected to Labour in 1947. The Glasgow Baillieston constituency
Glasgow Baillieston (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Baillieston was a burgh constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system....
, and its predecessor seat Glasgow Provan
Glasgow Provan (UK Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Provan was a burgh constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1955 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament using the first-past-the-post voting system.-Boundaries:...
, had always returned Labour MPs since its creation in 1955.
In the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections
Scottish Parliament election, 2007
The 2007 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday 3 May 2007 to elect members to the Scottish Parliament. It was the third general election to the devolved Scottish Parliament since it was created in 1999...
Labour lost power to the SNP, who formed a minority government
Minority government
A minority government or a minority cabinet is a cabinet of a parliamentary system formed when a political party or coalition of parties does not have a majority of overall seats in the parliament but is sworn into government to break a Hung Parliament election result. It is also known as a...
. In this election, the SNP deputy first minister Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Sturgeon is the Deputy First Minister of Scotland, Cabinet Secretary for Health, Wellbeing and Cities Strategy, Deputy Leader of the Scottish National Party and Member for Glasgow Southside....
won the neighbouring Glasgow Govan
Glasgow Govan (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Govan was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election....
Scottish Parliament constituency with a swing from Labour of 10.7%, while all other Glasgow constituencies remained in Labour control.
On 28 June 2008, Marshall informed local party leaders that he would be stepping down on medical advice, after 10 weeks of sick leave
Sick leave
Sick leave is time off from work that workers can use during periods of temporary illness to stay home and address their health and safety needs without losing pay. Some workplaces offer paid sick time as a matter of workplace policy, and in few jurisdictions it is codified into law...
from the House of Commons. On 30 June 2008 Marshall accepted the post of Steward and Bailiff of the Manor of Northstead
Manor of Northstead
The Manor of Northstead was once a collection of fields and farms in the parish of Scalby in the North Riding of Yorkshire in England. By 1600, the manor house had fallen into disrepair and was occupied only by a shepherd. At present the Manor is part of the Barrowcliff area of the town of...
, a device allowing him in effect to resign as an MP
Resignation from the British House of Commons
Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. To circumvent this prohibition, a legal fiction is used...
, triggering the by-election
Political situation
The election gained attention throughout the UK due to worsening results for Labour during 2008. The Daily RecordDaily Record (Scotland)
The Daily Record is a Scottish tabloid newspaper based in Glasgow. It had been the best-selling daily paper in Scotland for many years with a paid circulation in August 2011 of 307,794 . It is now outsold by its arch-rival the Scottish Sun which in September 2010 had a circulation of 339,586 in...
had asserted that if Labour lost the by-election, further pressure would be heaped on Gordon Brown.
The by-election followed a run of poor results since May, in the Crewe and Nantwich
Crewe and Nantwich by-election, 2008
The Crewe and Nantwich by-election, 2008 was a parliamentary by-election held on 22 May 2008, for the British House of Commons constituency of Crewe and Nantwich, in Cheshire, England...
and Henley
Henley by-election, 2008
The Henley by-election, 2008 to elect a member of the British House of Commons for the constituency of Henley in Oxfordshire was held on 26 June 2008. It followed the election of Boris Johnson as Mayor of London in May 2008...
by-elections in England, English and Welsh local elections
United Kingdom local elections, 2008
The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....
and losing the London mayoralty
London mayoral election, 2008
The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
. By the end of May, Labour had registered its worst ever independent opinion poll result since records began in 1943, of 23%. This was also the first by-election since Labour declined to field a candidate in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election
Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008
The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
in England 14 days previously, fought over a recent controversial government anti-terrorism bill
Counter-Terrorism Bill 2008
The Counter-Terrorism Act 2008 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which increased police powers for the stated purpose of countering terrorism...
. The by-election also came within days of the controversial resignation of the Scottish Labour leader Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander
Wendy Alexander is a Scottish politician and the former Member of the Scottish Parliament for Paisley North. She held various Scottish Government cabinet posts and was the leader of the Labour Party group in the Scottish Parliament from 2007-2008...
, with voting for a replacement not taking place before polling.
Turnout is usually lower in by-elections; at the previous general election turnout was 48% but was down just under 6% at 42.25%. Voter share was likely to have been distributed differently, with nine candidates standing for this election, compared to five in 2005. Turnout was higher than expected, despite the election being held during the school holidays, and during a traditional Glasgow holiday period.
In a Scotland-wide opinion poll of Westminster voting intentions, released on 11 July, the SNP was on 33%, with Labour on 29%, Conservatives on 20% Lib Dem on 14%.
However in an opinion poll conducted solely within the Glasgow East constituency, released on 12 July, Labour led on 47%, SNP on 33%, Liberal Democrats on 9% and the Conservatives on 7%.
Candidates
When nominations closed, there were nine candidates.The SNP chose John Mason, a longtime resident of the constituency, and leader of the opposition on
Glasgow City Council.
The Labour Party had some difficulty finding a candidate. The most likely initial choice, local councillor George Ryan, failed to attend a selection meeting. The position was then offered to Stephen Purcell, the Labour leader of Glasgow council, then Lesley Quinn and Frank McAveety, the party's general secretary and the MSP for Glasgow Shettleston respectively, but all turned it down
. The position was eventually accepted by fifth-choice candidate Margaret Curran, MSP
Member of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.-Methods of Election:MSPs are elected in one of two ways:...
for Glasgow Baillieston
Glasgow Baillieston (Scottish Parliament constituency)
Glasgow Baillieston was a constituency of the Scottish Parliament . It elected one Member of the Scottish Parliament by the plurality method of election...
, on 7 July.
The Green Party
Scottish Green Party
The Scottish Green Party is a green party in Scotland. It has two MSPs in the devolved Scottish Parliament, Alison Johnstone, representing Lothian, and Patrick Harvie, for Glasgow.-Organisation:...
selected Dr. Eileen Duke, a retired GP and co-convenor of the party's local branch, on 5 July. The Scottish Socialist Party
Scottish Socialist Party
The Scottish Socialist Party is a left-wing Scottish political party. Positioning itself significantly to the left of Scotland's centre-left parties, the SSP campaigns on a socialist economic platform and for Scottish independence....
stood Frances Curran, a former MSP who originally came from the east end of Glasgow. Solidarity
Solidarity (Scotland)
Solidarity is a political party in Scotland, launched on September 3, 2006 as a breakaway from the Scottish Socialist Party in the aftermath of Tommy Sheridan's libel action...
stood Tricia McLeish, a trade union activist who lived in the constituency.
Howitt stood under the label "Freedom-4-Choice", a minor party of his own creation, having stood under the same title in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election
Haltemprice and Howden by-election, 2008
The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden...
.
Aftermath
As a result of the United States diplomatic cables leakUnited States diplomatic cables leak
The United States diplomatic cables leak, widely known as Cablegate, began in February 2010 when WikiLeaks—a non-profit organization that publishes submissions from anonymous whistleblowers—began releasing classified cables that had been sent to the U.S. State Department by 274 of its consulates,...
, the website Wikileaks
Wikileaks
WikiLeaks is an international self-described not-for-profit organisation that publishes submissions of private, secret, and classified media from anonymous news sources, news leaks, and whistleblowers. Its website, launched in 2006 under The Sunshine Press organisation, claimed a database of more...
later disclosed that senior US diplomats perceived Gordon Brown to be "finished" following the result.
Curran would subsequently defeat Mason and regain the seat for Labour in the 2010 general election with a majority of almost 12,000.